Currently in a '17 M240i with manual transmission, 25k miles. I love the car, but I realize I'm an ideal candidate for a 3. [...]
Other than the 95% of my driving that's in town, almost all of the rest is a 240 mile round trip to visit family. Am I right that this will be just outside the "usable" range for the long range 3, meaning I'll have to make provisions to charge it somewhere along the trip?
Depending on the time of the year, and the model you buy, you may, or may not be able to make the 240 mile trip without midway charging.
Tesla has discontinued selling a RWD LR Model 3, but if you can still find one, it will give you 325 miles of range (LR AWD is 322 miles) under ideal circumstances. Figure -30-35% of that on a highway with temps below 40F, or ~210-225 miles. Add hills or BMW-grade highway cruising speeds, and your range will drop even further.
Long story short - in the winter, you will need to charge mid-trip.
Sounds like 240 mile round trip might be a bit much on LR 3, particularly when variables like temperature come into play. Would 10-12 hours of trickle charge at my destination (this would add 20-40 miles of range, yes?) be enough to make this "work"?
Not year-around.
Not when ambient temps below 40-50F (aka winter) at highway speeds.
Not without a stop to charge along the way. Some treasure that prospect, I find it undesirably long and unattractive. YMMV.
FYI - 120V trickle charge is ineffective in the winter as well. You really need to plan out access to L2 (240V) or L3 (DC) chargers for longer trips. That's doable, but requires more planning.
Also, what's known about expected life of the batteries? My thinking on leasing vs. buying was that it makes sense to date the technology, not marry it, presuming battery performance will deteriorate over time (and battery technology will improve over time).
Battery range degrades over time.
But degradation rate varies from one car to another, and is further impacted by how you charge/discharge the batteries. Expect 10-15% range loss over 50-100K miles.
w.r.t. leasing, Tesla's lease rates and residuals are just flat-out terrible. So are the financing rates (shop for financing on your own).
I can't think of any reason to recommend a lease, unless you can write-off lease payments as a business expense.
Run the #s!
Curious what sort of operating costs (non power) you're seeing in the early years of lease/ownership. I'm presuming very low...which is where I am now in the BMW...but I anticipate maintenance will begin creeping up as I put more miles on the car.
If you are a DIY-kinda guy (6spd and all that), the delta in maintenance in negligible.
Yes, you save a few bucks on oil filter and filter once a year (or every 2 years, depending on your CBS intervals), but that costs peanuts.
Real savings come in the cost of energy that propels the EV vs. ICE cars.
There, the cost delta is about 1:4 per mile between EV:ICE.
Cost penalty comes from higher insurance costs on Teslas (for many reasons). Expect ~25-50% premium over what you are paying to insure M240i.
These operating savings would help offset the "loss" of not owning what would then be a five year old M240i when the lease on the Tesla ends (I have historically driven cars for far longer than three years).
Why not keep the M240i for longer road trips, and track days?
You are at the nearly flat slope of the depreciation on your bimmer. Why rush to get rid of it?
2nd "pleasure" car gets an insurance discount!
Why did you decide to lease or buy? [...] considering lease here...as I said earlier, seems to make sense to "date" the technology (including potential degradation in battery) rather than "marry" it. What did you decide, and why?
Run the #s - Tesla's lease terms are atrocious (nearly same monthly payment as buying).
How is highway noise? CR suggests it's loud (and not just because the engine is quiet).
Wind-noise is definitely louder than in a bimmer.
But stereo is awesome, and you can drawn out wind-noise with music.
Do you miss leather seats in a car this expensive?
Hell YES!
Not just the breathable leather surfaces, but how supportive BMW M-seats are, in general.
This really shows up on longer drives.
Is CarPlay coming? Rarely anyone in my back seats (other than the dog)...are they comfortable enough?
No/Good enough, though rear leg rooms is not excessive.
Finally, the nearest dealer/service is about an hour from where I live. Others without local dealers have any regrets about buying "out of town"? Guessing service needs (not sure how the remote service works...what might I need in the initial three years of ownership that would require a trip to the dealer, versus what can be done by remote service) are minimal for first few years.
Tesla service is highly inconsistent, and usually sucks.
What gets, or doesn't get, covered by warranty is whimsical, and varies from one Service Center (SC) to another. There is no way to appeal, as the SC's are owned by the automaker itself.
I've been to my nearby SC least 5 times since buying the car 9 months ago, and there are still things that they haven't been able to order for replacement under warranty.
No independent mechanic will touch a Tesla for anything other than basic tire/suspension work. So if anything goes wrong, you will get seriously stuck.
Yet another reason to keep the M240i !
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Like most owners, you will likely find that range is no issue at all with the LR and LR/AWD Model 3.
