Buying advice: used 2018 model 3 or 2020 model 3

[Rdx11]

Hi everyone,

first time tesla buyer so i am looking for advice on how to buy a model 3.

My options
1. Brand new model 3 long range in red color
2. Used 2018 model 3 rwd long range silver metallic with fsd and 3400 miles only for 46600

now am leaning towards the used option but since i cannot test drive this, i had a few questions on if its worth it to buy a used tesla.

1. What are the cons here? Deal seems pretty good to me and while i do not care much about fsd, having fsd is a bonus
2. Besides awd/rwd difference, is there anything else major which will make this a bad deal?

if anyone has any feedback/experience buying used teslas, would love to hear from you!

 

[ZapM3]

Assuming the wheel and interior color are the same Looks like you’d be saving $2,300 and getting FSD in order to take the older car. Plus there are potential sales tax savings depending on your situation. Four main things jump to mind.

1) Warranty. That 2018 is probably two years into its warranty periods, both the four year bumper to bumper and the eight year drivetrain warranty.

2) Resale value. You’ll be able to sell the 2020 for more.

3) Battery Health. With such low miles, there is a chance the car was left sitting and discharged to zero and sat like that for an extended period, which would damage the battery. Be sure to see what range it’s reporting at 100% (when charging, open the app and slide the charge limit to 100%). For such a low mileage car, it should be close to the 320 miles.

4) Does your state offer a tax and ncenruve for buying an electric car? If so, it’s likely only for new car purchases.

 

[XLR82XS]

Get the new one. A few grand is worth it plus a new car with no paint, wear issues and higher resale on the end.
The 2018 is at least 3 years old now. My 2020 LR premium was 50K.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

They are very different cars. You should choose based on which car you want.

Rent both on Turo if you can get test drives from Tesla or owners.

 

[CapeOne]

If FSD doesn't matter that much to you and silver is not your first choice for color, I'd say go brand new in the color you want and get the full warranties. You also gain a little in acceleration with the AWD plus can take advantage of the $2,000 California rebate (if still applicable) buying new.

 

[Aellinsar]

Get the new one. A few grand is worth it plus a new car with no paint, wear issues and higher resale on the end.
The 2018 is at least 3 years old now. My 2020 LR premium was 50K.

I think "at least 3 years old" is probably overstated. I was a day 1 waitlist reservation for the model 3 and my 2018 just turned 2 this week.

If it were an A/B comparison, $2300 wouldn't be worth 2 years of warranty usage and potential battery health issues. Resale wouldn't be a big factor to me as I tend to drive cars for a long time. Getting FSD for the used car also wouldn't be a factor for me since it doesn't exist.

I'm happy with RWD but for some people AWD is a big plus and that would be another push towards the new car.

 

[diamond.g]

Don't forget the older car will come with Homelink and possibly (depending on the VIN) premium connectivity for life (also depending on if this is a private sale).

 

[GZDongles]

Don't forget the older car will come with Homelink and possibly (depending on the VIN) premium connectivity for life (also depending on if this is a private sale).

That's true, homelink is a $300 value, give or take, and the net present value of 10 years of free premium connectivity is somewhere around $900.

To the OP, the price for the 2018 model seems a bit high honestly. Any chance of negotiating then down? Despite the low mileage, it's a 2-3 year old car made in a time where Tesla was struggling with their production ramp up. The AWD may not have a lot of value personally to you, but it has real market value. The current owner should expect that options like FSD depreciate a lot more than the base car. Especially with COVID, the used car market has largely evaporated for the last few months. If the seller is someone you know, I can see wanting to meet in the middle somewhere, but it's a buyer's market and I think you can press your advantage.

 

[Gasaraki]

The 2018 has none of the tweaks and fixes that later 2019+ Models 3 have.

 

[RC2785]

the 2018 will have some minor perks that come with it such as the garage door opener (you have to buy it separately for $300 on the 2020 model), bag hooks in the funk, a carpet mat in the frunk (assuming the previous owner left it in there), the 240v pin (assuming the owner left it), iphone and usb-c charging cables (assuming the owner left them). I also hear they got rid of ambient lights for the 2020 model but I cant confirm this.

 

[KenC]

Hi everyone,

first time tesla buyer so i am looking for advice on how to buy a model 3.

My options
1. Brand new model 3 long range in red color
2. Used 2018 model 3 rwd long range silver metallic with fsd and 3400 miles only for 46600

now am leaning towards the used option but since i cannot test drive this, i had a few questions on if its worth it to buy a used tesla.

1. What are the cons here? Deal seems pretty good to me and while i do not care much about fsd, having fsd is a bonus
2. Besides awd/rwd difference, is there anything else major which will make this a bad deal?

if anyone has any feedback/experience buying used teslas, would love to hear from you!

I have a 2018 silver LR-AWD and with FSD, if memory serves, it would have cost me about $62k, before credits. You've quoted a RWD, so that should be $4k less, $58k, then fed tax credits would have knocked off $7500, so $50500 to the original owner. If he was in Cali, he probably got even more off. So, the price seems to be barely less than the original owner paid in 2018, after-tax. That would bother me.

 

[TX_M3P+]

I recently bought a 2018 M3 Performance with 10k miles, that came with EAP and HomeLink for $53k. The car was practically brand new and because it came with EAP I was also able to upgrade to FSD for $4k. So, for right around $57K I'm in a performance M3 with FSD! You won't get into a 2020 M3P for that price! I don't think you can even get into a LR AWD for that price. Fully loaded M3P with FSD is doing to be around $65K.

 

[C141medic]

I have a 2018 silver LR-AWD and with FSD, if memory serves, it would have cost me about $62k, before credits. You've quoted a RWD, so that should be $4k less, $58k, then fed tax credits would have knocked off $7500, so $50500 to the original owner. If he was in Cali, he probably got even more off. So, the price seems to be barely less than the original owner paid in 2018, after-tax. That would bother me.

Exactly. My 2018 LR/AWD EAP & FSD with 6K miles is barely worth 46K for a private sale in NJ.

 

[T3SLAROD]

Forget RWD if you’re looking for performance upgrades from Tesla, they have pretty much abandoned RWD for performance. Get a new AWD.

If you are not into performance then the RWD is the best buy

 

[SlimJim]

AWD. NEW. 2 more years of warranty.

 

[john5520]

1. What are the cons here? Deal seems pretty good to me and while i do not care much about fsd, having fsd is a bonus
2. Besides awd/rwd difference, is there anything else major which will make this a bad deal?

If you care about performance, the AWD is quicker and as mentioned already, has the Performance Boost option.

 

[jfabula]

2020 Model 3 LR only comes with Dual Motor

 

[JBT66]

FSD is a pretty expensive feature to be meh about. If that isn’t a killer feature for you I wouldn’t spend that much on it and would go with the new car. If FSD is an absolute then it’s a pretty good deal.