A little reassurance required

[Jez_GB]

I am really excited about the eventual delivery of my new car. However I find I’m now feeling a little apprehensive and unsure..... a great many posts on here carry some form of negative - “it’s a great car but”... There is no doubt a name for the phenomenon and it must be the same for doctors who probably think everyone has some form of illness or chiropractors who think everyone has a bad back - that is their experience.

This is a massive change for me, I haven’t bought a new car for 20 years and all that time I’ve run LR Discoveries. Recently changed jobs and now doing 500+ miles a week, not 30 - not ideal in a SUV for the pocket or the environment! I wanted something that was inexpensive to run, would make Greta happy, and would keep me in the refinement I have become accustomed to - the M3 seemed a good choice.

Don’t get me wrong, Discos have their fare share of issues. I’m looking for those that have been living with their Tesla to confirm, on balance, that it is everything I hope it will be!

Cheers

 

[Alan J]

I am really excited about the eventual delivery of my new car. However I find I’m now feeling a little apprehensive and unsure..... a great many posts on here carry some form of negative - “it’s a great car but”... There is no doubt a name for the phenomenon and it must be the same for doctors who probably think everyone has some form of illness or chiropractors who think everyone has a bad back - that is their experience.

This is a massive change for me, I haven’t bought a new car for 20 years and all that time I’ve run LR Discoveries. Recently changed jobs and now doing 500+ miles a week, not 30 - not ideal in a SUV for the pocket or the environment! I wanted something that was inexpensive to run, would make Greta happy, and would keep me in the refinement I have become accustomed to - the M3 seemed a good choice.

Don’t get me wrong, Discos have their fare share of issues. I’m looking for those that have been living with their Tesla to confirm, on balance, that it is everything I hope it will be!

Cheers

Natural to be a little worried about such a significant change but as a 6 Month Owner I doubt that you'll you will not regret it.
- Do get a Home Charger ASAP
- Do change your Electricity Supplier to one which offers EV friendly Rates.
- Do be realistic about Range in Cold Weather
- Do enjoy the Car it is great

 

[DJP31]

41k miles in 2 years 11 months. Two minor warranty issues over that time, both sorted by mobile service.

These forums are the equivalent of the GP’s surgery, only the sick make an appearance

I had exactly the same apprehension you’re currently experiencing - and my previous three cars were super reliable bullet proof Lexus’s.

It’s true to say Tesla’s comms are shocking, but you’ll be fine

 

[NorfolkMustard]

4 months so far, love it. 1,400 miles/month

 

[Alan J]

I am really excited about the eventual delivery of my new car. However I find I’m now feeling a little apprehensive and unsure..... a great many posts on here carry some form of negative - “it’s a great car but”... There is no doubt a name for the phenomenon and it must be the same for doctors who probably think everyone has some form of illness or chiropractors who think everyone has a bad back - that is their experience.

This is a massive change for me, I haven’t bought a new car for 20 years and all that time I’ve run LR Discoveries. Recently changed jobs and now doing 500+ miles a week, not 30 - not ideal in a SUV for the pocket or the environment! I wanted something that was inexpensive to run, would make Greta happy, and would keep me in the refinement I have become accustomed to - the M3 seemed a good choice.

Don’t get me wrong, Discos have their fare share of issues. I’m looking for those that have been living with their Tesla to confirm, on balance, that it is everything I hope it will be!

Cheers

It's natural to be a little worried about such a big change but as a 6 Month Owner I doubt that you'll regret it, some hints :
- Do get a Home Charger ASAP
- Do get a good Electricity deal
- Do being realistic about Range in the Cold
- Do enjoy the Car and Don't sweat the small stuff

 

[pgkevet]

It's a great car but...
Getting service or repairs has limited choices, potentially long waits and high costs despite service centre personnel being very nice and roadside assistance being very efficient. Parts waits can be prolonged. Tesla has a history of changing their mind on what is or is not covered.
Apart from motors and battery (and they determine when they think batteries have degraded too far) the warranty is/was?? 4yrs or 50K miles which you will do in 2 years....
Fans will rave about the minimalist interior, the rest of us call it cheap. I've just been driving a loaner Jaguar XF (a tad cramped for my size) but headlights illuminate my unlit rural roads way way better. The screens may be smaller but the resolution is retina screen perfect.
For a computer based company the level of bug introduction is really poor.
The car keeps one using it only because of that instant torque response, the idealism of environmental benefit and the limited functions allowing some relaxation on the right types of roads. With the current camera systems having no cleaning methods or condensation protection (apart from the front) then any promises of FSD are only going to work on dry warm days.
How far you drive per trip and what sort of roads and whether you will need to charge en route will determine costs and practicality. Games and silly things don't impress me and the screen usage has caused me to pull over to use it when not on roads I can trust self drive to manage while I fiddle with eyes on both road and screen

 

[Avendit]

Do a careful check at pickup time and you will be fine. its awesome, I'd never go back. AP will make those 500 miles a week so much easier on you. Check your common trips on abetterrouteplanner.com if in doubt and you'll be fine.

addressing the above:

• Interior depends what you are coming from. Beats my 2011 top end seat (leather, mod cons etc). Its not there with the absolute top notch, but its only very slightly behind.
• Headlights are fine, don't be put off by the warning against adjusting them. The auto config was way better than factory delivery for me.
• I've not seen any bugs manifest, but I do wait for advanced releases to stabalise before installing. If you aren't compelled to have the freshest firmware and features and everything works for you, sit on the slower release cycle.
• FSD is totally fine on motorways and big A roads and gives you a good break. If you want to push it, run it on medium A roads, but supervise carefully. I do this, but thats cause I'm a computer guy and I like working out the proccesses that are happening in the background. Motorway in bucketing rain has been fine for me.
• Its green, its awesome and I get paid .45p a mile for work .

You'll love it. I do. My wife, not a car person, loves it other than the lack of physical button for the glove box.

 

[ACarneiro]

6 months and 10.000 miles later and I still get disappointed at the end of my 50 mile commute to work because I’m enjoying the drive so damn much!

You’re going to absolutely love it and will wonder how anyone else can still drive an ICE.

Welcome to the family!

 

[Rooster6655]

Great cars 10/10 but company service is awful and gets a 1/10, the people are often great 8/10.

If you are going to go ahead, your number 1 rule is make sure your car is in pristine condition on pick and ignore the delivery guy getting you to sign, do not sign until the car is checked over completely and don't take the car if anything however little is wrong otherwise you may have to wait 5 months for it to be fixed (My experience)

These forums are the equivalent of the GP’s surgery, only the sick make an appearance

Plenty of happy people on these forums but its important to not be naive and be aware of what to expect, if people's cars are breaking down then often or there are known issues the forum is a good place to spread awareness incase it happens to them.

 

[Vidyutyaan]

We have an SR+, 2 months and 3,800 miles in we have no regrets.

As a car it is a joy to drive, handling is quick and grip gives incredible confidence. The torque and acceleration is effortless.
It's very comfortable for long journeys with pliant seats and the ability to relax with autopilot.
Running costs are a fifth of the other car in our household (BMW 6er) so very easy on the wallet.

I guess you can come on this forum and be convinced that every M3 is going to disappoint you in some way, but don't take it to heart. You can end up being neurotic about something that might be inconsequential.

Our car was almost perfect on pickup, the minor problems we found were corrected within 20 minutes and we went on our way.

You have to be realistic with your expectations though:
- Range, like mpg, is to be safely assumed to be an overestimate
- Autopilot, its basically active cruise control and lane keep assist, don't expect more than that and always keep an eye on the road ahead
- Charging is super convenient if you have a home charger, not so much if you rely on public chargers (but you will adapt quickly to charging where you shop, or go to the gym, etc)

Once you know what to expect its easy to adapt.
The M3 is easily our favourite car out of all our past vehicles. I hope you will feel the same.

 

[Jez_GB]

Thanks everyone, honest feedback. I’ll be going in eyes wide open.

so I’ll just sit back and wait...... and wait

 

[ewoodrick]

Forums, for essentially ALL products are always full of gloom and doom. They are places where people often go, just to complain.

I could create a forum that grants folks a million dollars and there would be thousands of posts of people complaining about it. (It's not real, it's not enough, I've got to pay taxes on it, It's not in my currency, It was too much money, I've got to now hire a lawyer (who's paying for them), and so many other things)

Go out to your nearest Supercharger and talk to the owners, I suspect that many will be friendly and want nothing more to do but talk about their cars!

 

[freekie]

M3 LR AWD
4 months in and 4K plus miles. More than my fair share of issues with car on delivery.
BUT
I love it.
Weirdly envious of your 500 miles a week
Embrace and enjoy.

 

[Artiste]

It's a great car but...
Getting service or repairs has limited choices, potentially long waits and high costs despite service centre personnel being very nice and roadside assistance being very efficient. Parts waits can be prolonged. Tesla has a history of changing their mind on what is or is not covered.
Apart from motors and battery (and they determine when they think batteries have degraded too far) the warranty is/was?? 4yrs or 50K miles which you will do in 2 years....
Fans will rave about the minimalist interior, the rest of us call it cheap. I've just been driving a loaner Jaguar XF (a tad cramped for my size) but headlights illuminate my unlit rural roads way way better. The screens may be smaller but the resolution is retina screen perfect.
For a computer based company the level of bug introduction is really poor.
The car keeps one using it only because of that instant torque response, the idealism of environmental benefit and the limited functions allowing some relaxation on the right types of roads. With the current camera systems having no cleaning methods or condensation protection (apart from the front) then any promises of FSD are only going to work on dry warm days.
How far you drive per trip and what sort of roads and whether you will need to charge en route will determine costs and practicality. Games and silly things don't impress me and the screen usage has caused me to pull over to use it when not on roads I can trust self drive to manage while I fiddle with eyes on both road and screen

An excellent summary of the car and of Tesla customer service.

I love my M3 but it’s certainly not perfect. The windscreen wipers are still very poor even after various software updates. The automatic headlights are too slow to adjust and may well earn you an angry response from oncoming blinded drivers. And they’re just bog standard LED headlights rather than the far more sophisticated matrix lights. Lack of a head up display to me is a major omission. NOA and TACC is subject to sometimes violent phantom braking. Voice commands are very poor. Comfort and refinement, especially on 20” wheels, are disappointing on a £50k+ car. FSD is not FSD or anywhere near it.

I’m still glad I bought the car despite its many imperfections. My next car will most definitely be a BEV, but there’s certainly no guarantee it will be a Tesla.

 

[Jason71]

echoing what others say. The car is great but the service is terrible so if you get one of the ( relatively few) cars with issues you will be in a world of pain trying to get it sorted. Give yourself the best chance by
a) not collecting from West Drayton
b) not going to collection in a position where you cannot walk away if necessary
c) inspect the car very thoroughly with a check list.
d) don't accept the car unless you are entirely happy.

I collected in Birmingham, could have had all day to check it over if I wanted but 3 of us managed to find only 1 very minor paint defect and I have had zero issues since. Which, using the analogy of a doctors surgery that seems to be bandied around, makes me some kind of wierdo with no medical qualifications who hangs around the surgery giving unqualified advice and opinions to the sick people. hmm I need to re-think my life choices

 

[Artiste]

Oh, and there’s no camera based traffic sign/speed limit recognition, another massive omission. The displayed speed limit is often wrong and should never be relied on.

 

[SSedan]

I have a 2014 Model S at just about 94k miles, reliability wise it has not been a great car.
A co-worker has a 2018 Model 3 she put 32k miles on in a year and has been flawless.
I expect your experience will be closer to her's than mine.

I do share the issues I have had with mine regularly though because I feel many here are ignorant about mechanical things and are let's call the fanboys.

Yes an electric motor is more simple than ICE, but the rest of it is just a car, a heavy for it's size with a lot of torque car subject to the same wear and tear and failures as any other.

 

[pgkevet]

...

• Headlights are fine, don't be put off by the warning against adjusting them. The auto config was way better than factory delivery for me.
• I've not seen any bugs manifest, but I do wait for advanced releases to stabalise before installing. If you aren't compelled to have the freshest firmware and features and everything works for you, sit on the slower release cycle..

Lights: Do you ever drive on unlit country roads when the car dips it's headlights coming into a tight bend because it thought the chevron reflection was an on-coming car? Particularly nasty on hairpins with the slow return to full-beam. Do you ever drive on single track country backroads when it won't auto full beam under 25mph and you can't get to that speed without full beam? Do you ever see a car parked at the side of a narrow road facing you and car 'sees' switched off headlights as a reflection and dips yours unnecessarily? Have you compared the illumination of these lights with any other car of that price range?
If you rarely drive on roads without lamp-posts it's not an issue - try rural Wales.

Bugs: So you've never rebooted, all voice commands work, you've never had a phantom braking experience (I mean a real one where it slams on the brakes at 70mph), you've never had a red screen warning and alarm because of a difference in ultrasonic reflection from a bush or tree or a car angled slightly in the right turn zone coming to a junction or a car turning left ahead of you etc..False alarms can be more distracting/dangerous by distracting drivers in case it's an imminent breakdown warning. And your auto-wipers never let you down and keep the screen clear in all conditions?

 

[MrBadger]

I think if you get a good car and only plan to own it for a few years, you should be ok most of the time. For the others, its going to be a rollercoaster ride.

Might be a different story in a few years once they iron out the regional issues that most other manufacturers sorted decades ago. Until then, based upon my experience, I would not buy another Tesla. But I don't know what I would buy.

 

[drmarkreid]

My view nearly two months in is that it's a great car and so far no issues (unlike some of my previous ICE cars). Yes it's a car but I also think you need to view it in some ways the same as you do with your mobile - it'll get regular updates to fix things, and from time to time you might need to do a reboot but after you do it all works again.