Are there any TM3s out there without ANY issues?

[Mulligan Jake]

Hello!

First time poster here. Have followed the forum for quite a while since I have been a 2nd day Model 3 reservation holder.

I have followed enthusiastically every bit of info that has been trickling out ever since the Model 3 unveil. I am not a fanboy who will ignore factual issues for the greater good (whatever this may be to you), also not a previous Tesla owner. I am more representative of what the Model 3 was claimed as being aimed at, the mass of consumers. A father of 2 little ones, with a good paying stable job but also cost-conscious. I don't hesitate spending more for quality - provided it is there. I normally buy new, but hang on to the car for long periods to justify the expense of a depreciating assett.

I am enthusiastic about going greener (I know - debatable once factoring in the whole production chain and energy sources), saving on a vehicle with less moving parts and thus likely requiring less maintenance and repair (putting aside the potential cost of battery replacement after a yet to be determined end of life cycle, as well as potentially high Tesla repair costs), saving on "fuel" cost, owning a great looking safe car, etc. However, I am concerned about the issues I am constantly reading about. You may not like how they are being reported (Munro's vids come to mind), but they do appear to have a basis in facts. The question is, how frequent are these issues or are they being blow out of proportion? I won't hesitate in buying the LR model, but $50+k is a considerable amount of money and I would want to make sure that the expense makes sense in my mind. I rely on the cars that I drive for both work and privately, and cannot afford to be constantly bogged down with car issues.

Having said this, how many Model 3 owners who have had the car for over a month have had zero issues whatsoever? Ignoring issues because they don't strike you as a big deal doesn't count as "zero" for this exercise. I appreciate if you can mention how long you've had the car and whether there were zero issues or otherwise.

Thank you!

I have had 0 issues, none, zilch. If you are too concerned about what a few people report then it may not be the car for you.

 

[EV-lutioin]

No issues... no rattles, nothin'. Happy.

 

[DFibRL8R]

4 weeks 1300 miles no issues of note.

 

[RubberToe]

You may have forgotten to order it!

Joke aside, thank you to everybody reporting on their cars!

I think the agony of the two year wait has finally gotten to @WarpedOne . I'm close to the abyss myself these days.

RT

 

[svp6]

Did not own it long enough to make comments on reliability. But build quality is excellent - and better than my previous model S. Exterior is fabulous, interior is minimalist (some would say plain - but it is growing on me).

 

[Willy3988]

4 weeks. 1300 miles no issues.

 

[roblab]

5. weeks. No. Problems. 2000. miles.

 

[jdo]

Zero issues. VIN 508X. Exponentially better built than my 2017 Model S.

This is actually data I would be interested in, if there was a rigorous way to collect it: comparative impressions of Model S owners now buying M3s.

 

[donguanella]

This is actually data I would be interested in, if there was a rigorous way to collect it: comparative impressions of Model S owners now buying M3s.

I’m still on the fence on which car I prefer better, but the Model 3 is hands down more solid and better built. No rattles, smaller gap tolerances, and just more bespoke and nuanced.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

I would find it hard to imagine that the Model 3 would be perfect out of the gate. What you really have to look out for is repeated problems. Things like the noise the interior HVAC system makes where there have been a few complaints.

Usually with any car you want to wait a year or two after the first Model year or after a major revision. I don't think there is anything about Tesla that makes the rule any less important. In fact it might be more important as it's only their second truly new car, and there is a lot of new stuff on it.

But, in a lot of ways what's different is a good thing. A lot of the problematic points were taken care of. I imagine by the time you're able to get your hands on one that most of the initial problems points would already be dealt with. At the quantity that they're making them Tesla can't afford to have costly mistakes stretch out.

I'm pretty confident that by the time that Tesla has the AWD version of the Model 3 that the problems per 100 cars is going to be within the acceptable range. Waiting could also cost losing out on tax credits.

 

[sooner]

My car is totally dead, I cannot connect to it, I can't unlock it, windows are totally unresponsive,it does not wake up, no way make frunk work, stereo insists to play at volume 0. Just awful car.
I can't even see it ...

I expect to see this in the LA Times soon...

 

[HenMeister]

No issues to report. Echoing above comments that my '18 3 is built way better than my '17 S.

#33XX.

 

[Chickenlittle]

Hello!

First time poster here. Have followed the forum for quite a while since I have been a 2nd day Model 3 reservation holder.

I have followed enthusiastically every bit of info that has been trickling out ever since the Model 3 unveil. I am not a fanboy who will ignore factual issues for the greater good (whatever this may be to you), also not a previous Tesla owner. I am more representative of what the Model 3 was claimed as being aimed at, the mass of consumers. A father of 2 little ones, with a good paying stable job but also cost-conscious. I don't hesitate spending more for quality - provided it is there. I normally buy new, but hang on to the car for long periods to justify the expense of a depreciating assett.

I am enthusiastic about going greener (I know - debatable once factoring in the whole production chain and energy sources), saving on a vehicle with less moving parts and thus likely requiring less maintenance and repair (putting aside the potential cost of battery replacement after a yet to be determined end of life cycle, as well as potentially high Tesla repair costs), saving on "fuel" cost, owning a great looking safe car, etc. However, I am concerned about the issues I am constantly reading about. You may not like how they are being reported (Munro's vids come to mind), but they do appear to have a basis in facts. The question is, how frequent are these issues or are they being blow out of proportion? I won't hesitate in buying the LR model, but $50+k is a considerable amount of money and I would want to make sure that the expense makes sense in my mind. I rely on the cars that I drive for both work and privately, and cannot afford to be constantly bogged down with car issues.

Having said this, how many Model 3 owners who have had the car for over a month have had zero issues whatsoever? Ignoring issues because they don't strike you as a big deal doesn't count as "zero" for this exercise. I appreciate if you can mention how long you've had the car and whether there were zero issues or otherwise.

Thank you!

0 problems with ours waiting for AWD option to get our second and third one

 

[hrmhrm]

first, welcome to TMC.

now, we'll see how much feedback you are able to get to your thread here, but, as you are looking for some data as a consumer, it's worth noting that Tesla's comments in the LA Times article contained the only collection of data (vs. anecdotes) on many Model 3s vehicle quality and condition according to owners which I am aware of.

"In a statement to The Times, the company said: "Tesla's customer satisfaction scores for Model 3 vehicle quality and condition are at an all-time high of 94% — the best scores we've received from customers for quality and condition ever, across all of our vehicles, during early ownership. In the rare case a customer does have an issue, we take it very seriously, working closely with each owner to proactively address it." "

When you combine that with the fact that the Model S and X have put Tesla at the number 1 spot in Consumer Reports surveys of owner satisfaction (a survey based on the question of whether an owner would buy the same vehicle again), the TM3 outscoring the S and X thus far is quite very encouraging.

Also worth considering from that article- it indicates that Munro was hired by another automaker to tear down the Model 3. I.e, Munro's comments were not just an anecdotal account of one car, but, they are the account of people being paid by another automaker specifically for their look at the Model 3. I'm not so sure what value there would be in some public comments to the media about Pepsi soda from someone paid by Coke to do research for them on Pepsi, lols : )

 

[MikeBur]

Thank you!

Color preferences are obviously not a production issue, but rather a personal one. In similar fashion with resolution on an otherwise perfectly working camera (unless resolution is so low that you can't distinguish anything!). I think most of us will be able to distinguish between clear production issues (car won't start, fit and finish leading to water infiltrations, excessive ghost draining of battery, malfunctions, etc.) and preferences or wishes.

I do appreciate the feedback. Waiting it out until the dust settles may be the way to go for a customer who is not as unforgiving as early adopters. However, the tax credit is going to phase out soon, and representing ~20% of the purchase it does change the equation considerably (for the masses, not the likely better off early adopters).

Welcome to tmc. Same as any car enthusiast forum there is a significant amount of talking through issues as well as speculation to increase awareness and education. There is a disproportionate void of people saying “everything is good”, though that is implicit...

My m3 is my wife’s. She is intolerant of problems with cars. We’ve had software buglets with secondary functionality, though everything else is so great, she doesn’t care. This is the first time she loves a car, ever. She now says “I have a Tesla grin!”.

Perhaps your question would be best asked as: knowing everything you know today, how likely are you to recommend the model 3 to others?

 

[dragoljub]

We have had our Model 3 since christmas eve 2017. About 1000 miles on it. No issues at all. It seems like the best built Tesla we have purchased. We hope to have it for 100k miles so this is still early days but so far so good.

 

[MXWing]

My imaginary Model 3 that I am waiting on has no problems, though if it did I believe Tesla would address it as they did my first run AP2 Model X.

Between many people with a vested interest in seeing Tesla fail and it's cult icon status - ANY issues of significance would be over-reported and over-represented.

Consider these two statements and I think you will find more comfort in taking the plunge:

1.) How many people post about Model 3 sightings? How many people post about Bolt sightings? Exactly, no one cares about the latter. Whether a Bolt works or not works, is irrelevant because the interest level is practically 0 next to the Model 3.

2.) How many post daily that "My Model 3 just works! It worked to the grocery store! It worked to the gym! It went to soccer practice like A CHAMP. It worked to grandmas!" You would never hear the end of problems from owners who are actually spurned.

It will be around 10k more but you can also consider an inventory Model S with a showroom discount if you are particularly risk adverse. If you are in for 50.. might as well be in for 60. Not that terrible amortized over 3 years or more.

AWD standard and the extra room helps justify the costs a bit.

 

[R.S]

Welcome to tmc. Same as any car enthusiast forum there is a significant amount of talking through issues as well as speculation to increase awareness and education. There is a disproportionate void of people saying “everything is good”, though that is implicit...

Very true, it's like with the news. No news paper would ever publish a headline "Nothing important happened today". So people w/o issues won't make a thread discussing having no issues at all.

Also, the people that have their cars right now are still mostly early adopters, which tend to post things more often in general.

On the other hand, the amount of 3s is still low and we had a fair amount of issues for that small amount of cars. But for everyone else who's still has no 3, the issues owners have today will be mostly fixed by then, be it software or build quality issues.

Tesla has taken the approach of getting the car out sooner than other OEMs would, so many of the early cars are not on the same level of automation, as later ones will be. I personally expect build quality to further increase and SW glitches to decrease over time.

 

[nocoolnamehere]

ANY issues of significance would be over-reported and over-represented.

I think that this thread helps to balance out reporting of issues. Personally, it is reassuring to see that there are Model 3s out there without issues thus far. I was getting cold feet just based on all the problems being reported on.

Of course, the ideal thing to paint the big picture would be if all Model 3 owners (>1 month) reading this thread report on their cars, whether it has issues or not.

Thanks again to everybody!

 

[rpm001]

I think this topic is overblown. Cars are reasonably complicated machines with lots and lots of parts and need to work in harsh environments. Every car I've ever owned, including from the "most reliable" Japanese brands, has had some type of issue in the first 30 days. I'm not going to get all bent out of shape about it though, as long as the company owns up and deals with them appropriately.

Now the exception will be the Hyundai Santa Fe I had which was on it's third transmission within the first 6 months. That one I'm calling out as exceptionally bad. But since then it's only had "normal" issues like tie rods, rust, and such.

My Model S had issues in the first 30 days. Tesla accepted and fixed them all. I'm happy.