CyranoBleu
Member
Looks like right now the lowest inventory vehicle (which is brand new) in CA (Burbank) is a AWD White with Black/White interior and 18” Aero for $49,990. If you get the fed and state that would reduce it to $46,115.
Again I think a new with HW3 is worth it. The “Christmas” update that they just pushed in the last couple days requires HW3 for the FSD visual sneak peak. Traffic lights and road signs will only show up with HW3. Again, if you buy FSD you WILL get HW3 for free, but on Tesla’s terms and timeline. I don’t think you’ll get it for these previews or partial rollouts. You probably wouldn’t be called in for the upgrade until full self driving really is released, end of next year at “pie in the sky” optimistic but really probably two or more years from now.
Right now the only difference with FSD is navigate on autopilot. The main feature is it will change lanes if a car in front of you is going slower then your cruise control speed is set. It will also try to get you over to the lane that your exit is. This is all NAV on AP does that is different than normal AP. There are reports of the lane change being a little hit or miss still, either not able to complete the lane change because of traffic or whatever. Obviously that’s constantly getting better, but it’s certainly not *perfect* right now.
The other FSD feature right now is Smart Summon. The car “will” come to you in a parking lot or back out of your garage or something. Now realistically the car stops and pauses every time it senses a person or car near it (within maybe 3 feet) and will wait for the object to move past before going again. In an empty parking lot it’s a fun party trick and works decent (from videos and reviews I’ve seen). In a busy parking lot (think Walmart or Costco), I have no idea how it would work... I don’t think we’ve seen many YouTube videos showing a real world situation. At one point the car also would pull up to you head on at the curb rather then with the passenger side door parallel to the curb, like a normal human being. Maybe this got fixed with updated maps, but again this isn’t *perfect*, in fact far from it.
Are those two features worth $7,000 for you?
Obviously more features will come, but you can buy FSD at any time and if history is anything to go on, Elon will probably tweet warning of a price increase to encourage people to buy.
I think that’s why many of us here are suggesting not to worry about FSD right now. If budget isn’t a worry, go for it, but otherwise spend that money somewhere else right now, either stretching into an AWD or getting paint protection film applied to keep the car looking amazing.
Very helpful.
So, even though the 2017 is LR and has FSD built-in at $43,400, the 2020 AWD at $49,990 makes more sense if you can stretch the budget.
For me, I really want to stay as close to $40,000 as possible, which I originally put the deposit down for the SR+ will no FSD. So, I'm really looking at an $8,400 difference to step up to the 2020 LR. I can't absorb that big of a jump. That's why I was looking at the 2017 with all the specs (premium interior, LR, FSD, sports wheels) while only paying $1,500 more than the SR+.
But, actually:
#1. 2019/20 SR+ = $37,715 (after tax credit and rebate)
#2. 2019/20 LR = $46,115 (after tax credit and rebate)
#3. 2017 LR RWD = $43,300 (FSD included, a $7,000 value right now with hopeful possibility of increasing in value)
So, the 2017 actually costs $5,585 more than the SR+. But, it has greater range and FSD.
Assuming that I can't afford to step up to the 2019/20 LR, then is it better to get #1 or #3?
Again, I note that mileage of the 2017 is about $5,000 decrease in value. However, that depreciation should slow. The depreciation of the brand new vehicle will be high as soon as I pull it off the lot and for the first couple years. In the long run with long-time ownership (5-7 yrs+), that depreciation difference won't be so great or matter so much. And, by then, then increased value of FSD will have kicked in. And, the longer range of the 2017 will hold more value than the SR+.
Still a tough decision for me. Any other thoughts PLEASE!
p.s. I should mention that this is my first Tesla, so I don't want to over-splurge. I want to have it, see how I like living with it, and then maybe upgrade in 3-5 years. I expect to enjoy the experience, but I can't be sure.