Anyone else trade up from LR RWD to AWD?

[Zidarich]

Hey all,

Got my Model 3 LR RWD last August and have loved it.

Made it through the first, mild Northern NJ winter on all seasons mostly unscathed, but had one incident getting stuck where I had to get pushed out, and another where the back end went out a little on us at slow speeds (we live in a hilly area).

Wife and I have our first baby coming, and have been discussing at length feeling more comfortable with an AWD. I’m not interesting in running snows and switching out tires every year.

Have 15,000 miles on the car, and got a decent trade in offer of $38,000. I paid $42,500 for the car (factoring in the tax credit), and we don’t pay sales tax on electric vehicles in New Jersey.

Anyone else make the jump to AWD? Curious to see if you felt it was worth it.

 

[lol_gas_co]

Where is your trade in offer from? Tesla offered $30K for my LR RWD.

 

[CCIE]

I wouldn’t give up the greater range the LR RWD provides (especially in winter). Get a set of winter tires and you’ll be fine.

 

[TMThree]

AWD isn't magic. You will find snow tires on RWD beats AWD with summer tires:

https://jalopnik.com/lets-settle-the-winter-tires-vs-all-wheel-drive-debat-1462180324

Wife and I have our first baby coming, and have been discussing at length feeling more comfortable with an AWD. I’m not interesting in running snows and switching out tires every year.

If you want your family to be safe, don't be lazy. Get winter tires. Being able to maneuver and stop is a safety issue based on tire traction, not which wheels are powered.

 

[ePowerman]

I upgraded from the RWD to the AWD on December 31 2018. I had the RWD since May 2018. I’m extremely happy with my decision. I had three main reasons to switch. One, like you I was looking for better winter performance. I live in Northern Virginia and although there are not many snowy days, there are a few and I wanted to stability of all wheel drive. But I agree with some earlier posts that with snow tires on the rear wheel drive model, traction is very good. I don’t to swap out my tires so the improved stability with AWD on all seasons was a step up and good enough for me. I think there were only two occasions where I drove on snow with my other car so not a total test, but still.

The other two reasons are that I wanted to upgrade to white seats and also for more power. Without a doubt the AWD is faster. I know that’s not a big deal with some and yes, the RWD is plenty fast enough. But the smile you put on your face when you accelerate with the AWD is worth it. It’s substantially faster than the other model.

Those were my reasons and I’m glad I did it.

 

[SmartElectric]

I would trade up In your scenario.

However I would also invest in the safety of dedicated winter tires.

AWD does NOTHING FOR STOPPING DISTANCE OR ABILITY TO TURN. There, I said it.

 

[ewoodrick]

With a new one coming, you just want to decrease your risk factors overall.

• You just don't get out in bad situations
• You don't go spending money before the little one comes

 

[jamnmon66]

I have a rwd in Colorado. I put good snow tires on it last winter. It's one of the best cars I've ever driven in the snow. I'm sure awd is slightly better but snow tires are the real game changer.

 

[CCIE]

AWD isn't magic. You will find snow tires on RWD beats AWD with summer tires:

https://jalopnik.com/lets-settle-the-winter-tires-vs-all-wheel-drive-debat-1462180324



If you want your family to be safe, don't be lazy. Get winter tires. Being able to maneuver and stop is a safety issue based on tire traction, not which wheels are powered.

This!

From a safety perspective you’re much better having winter tires than AWD. You want to be able to stop in slippery conditions, which AWD does not help you do.

 

[Gottafly]

I would trade up In your scenario.

However I would also invest in the safety of dedicated winter tires.

AWD does NOTHING FOR STOPPING DISTANCE OR ABILITY TO TURN. There, I said it.

I had read that the AWD offers better (stronger) regenerative braking than the RWD, as well as more stability when regenerative braking is applied due to all 4 tires slowing at the same time whereas the RWD has the possibility of getting a little loose when the rear is braking stronger than the front. I imagine this could be an issue on loose surface roads &/or wet surfaces, possibly snow as well. Just a thought...

 

[Triplett]

One of the reasons I bought a Tesla and got rid of much more expensive Benz was for AWD.

 

[Zidarich]

Appreciate the informative and useful responses everyone. This forum has always been fantastic.

One more question for everyone:
Tesla lists a $1,200 destination charge. I looked at my last Motor Vehicle Purchase Agreement (from 8/18) and the destination fee was $0. I only paid a $75 documentation fee on top of the $49,000 car price.

Is the $1,200 destination fee new, or did someone screw up on my original purchase?

 

[jjrandorin]

Appreciate the informative and useful responses everyone. This forum has always been fantastic.

One more question for everyone:
Tesla lists a $1,200 destination charge. I looked at my last Motor Vehicle Purchase Agreement (from 8/18) and the destination fee was $0. I only paid a $75 documentation fee on top of the $49,000 car price.

Is the $1,200 destination fee new, or did someone screw up on my original purchase?

I paid the 1200 destination fee in december of last year, and from what I can tell, you are the first person to report that they did not pay that fee. I dont remember if its listed out separately on my MVPA however... would have to dig it out and look. I know it was a part of the car price (like it is on every new car I have ever purchased).

 

[Zenov]

I had read that the AWD offers better (stronger) regenerative braking than the RWD, as well as more stability when regenerative braking is applied due to all 4 tires slowing at the same time whereas the RWD has the possibility of getting a little loose when the rear is braking stronger than the front. I imagine this could be an issue on loose surface roads &/or wet surfaces, possibly snow as well. Just a thought...

If it's snowing you should turn regen to low. Having it on standard can cause the tires to lock up unexpectedly in a slowing situation. Much like down shifting in snow can cause your tires to lock up even though you're not braking. All it really is, is the tires attempting to slow at a rate the surface won't allow.

 

[HyperionMark]

IMO the people saying snow tires on RWD being better than all season AWD don't have the proper sources or data to back that up. I am absolutely open to being wrong, just haven't seen that data myself.
And the people mentioning stopping better with AWD are absolutely correct. Obviously the best would be snow tires on AWD.

And for all those times during the year where it doesn't matter as much, you still have a lot better acceleration, less wear and tear on just one motor, better regen, less tire wear and tear, and likely better resale. As far as the negative of less range.....it's 15 miles...........on a 310 mile car.

 

[groovidad]

Snow tires for now, speculate down the road.

 

[TMThree]

IMO the people saying snow tires on RWD being better than all season AWD don't have the proper sources or data to back that up. I am absolutely open to being wrong, just haven't seen that data myself.

You could start by looking at the URL I provided in this thread, which clearly shows winter tires are better than summer on AWD.

And if you want to argue otherwise, you could start by providing some evidence to back up your claim, rather than asking for sources from others while proving none yourself.

In other words, don't be hypocritical.

 

[ngogas]

Don’t kid yourself, if you live in a snow area get awd. I owned rear wheel with snow tires but I find awd is always better.

 

[mswlogo]

AWD isn’t a substitute for snow tires.

AWD is great, but tires are more important.

No surprise you got stuck on RWD with OEM all seasons.

If you don’t want to swap tires (RWD or AWD) you might consider some “All Weather” tires like Nokian WR tires.

There is no substitute for running the appropriate tires for the appropriate season. Takes all of 30 min to swap mine. I swap and rotate at the same time. So no time wasted. The rubber you run in Winter saves your rubber for summer. So in the long run it basically costs an extra set of rims.

 

[mswlogo]

IMO the people saying snow tires on RWD being better than all season AWD don't have the proper sources or data to back that up. I am absolutely open to being wrong, just haven't seen that data myself.
And the people mentioning stopping better with AWD are absolutely correct. Obviously the best would be snow tires on AWD.

And for all those times during the year where it doesn't matter as much, you still have a lot better acceleration, less wear and tear on just one motor, better regen, less tire wear and tear, and likely better resale. As far as the negative of less range.....it's 15 miles...........on a 310 mile car.

Why does better regen matter when RWD already beats AWD in efficiency? To be honest the whole “AWD has better regen” is nonsense. Your carrying more weight around that you often don’t need. More stuff to break with AWD. Smaller Frunk. Generally, the higher the price tag the worse the depreciation.

My point is, you can “justify” anything you want. If you want AWD, get it.

Don’t get me wrong, I love AWD. And would never cripple it without snows.