Considering a used 2017 MS90D

[Yebi9803]

Hello all! I am about to purchase a Tesla and would like to hear your suggestions!

My wife will start a new job soon which involves in 150 mile round-trip commute for at least 3 days a week. So we are considering buying her a car that's less stressful to drive in southern California traffic. We have never driven a tesla before but it directly came to our mind because of it's self-driving capability and it's potential to save fuel cost.
Some other considerations:
1. We prefer AWD because we drive to mountains for skiing during winter. (Please let me know whether Tesla can handle snowy road)
2. Subjectively we both prefer exterior of face lifted MS -- if we go with MS
3. would like to have AP2 over AP1 for it's future potential (however I am not sure whether this one holds)

The budget range is $50k-$60k. So we have several choices:
1. new M3, AWD, Long Range + FSD, ~55k
2. used 2016+ MS 75D, ~50k
3. used 2016+ MS 90D, ~60k

We've tested drive both MS and M3. We both like the premium feeling of MS and its exterior design so we are leaning toward MS. I know these are not practical reasons to choose MS over M3, and M3 is a more rational choice. So if someone can give me a good reason to go for M3, I'd appreciate it!

Among MS, I am leaning toward 90D because of it's longer range.
In my understanding, several factors affect the actual range:
a. degradation, let's say it's 10%.
b. battery charge level, charge to 90% and drive till 10%. This gives 80% of range.
c. AC, speed, weather, let's factor out another 10%
Combining those, 65% of rated range can be reliably used, which means a rated 260mile would give 170mile, and rated 300mile can give 200mile. So 75D is just on the margin and 90D is adequate.
There are a couple of 90D in inventory:
2017 Model S | Tesla
2016 Model S | Tesla (this one is previously repaired, but price is competitive, should I avoid?)
2016 Model S | Tesla

I guess most of charging will be done at home over night. There are super chargers near her work with 10-15min walk, but the process of "waiting in line, start charging, go back to work for a few hours, then step out to unplug, then get back to work" seems cumbersome in my imagination. Is this the real case?

Thanks for reading till here. I got excited thinking about buying a Tesla and at the same time nervous. Feel free to share your thoughts and correct my thinking process.

 

[SantaFeSpence]

With a 150 mile r/t for your wife, all she’d need to do is charge overnight in your garage - no need to “top off” near her place of employment.
I purchased a Tesla wall charger, had an electrician install it in my garage and it works fine - haven’t had to use a Supercharger yet, but I haven’t gone on long road trips yet. I agree with you on the styling of the S being a bit more attractive than the 3 and was going to get one. But then my brain (connected to my wallet) engaged, and I figured a new 3 was the way to go. I am absolutely delighted with it.

 

[SilverGS]

Since Tesla's are very much advanced technological products, its always better to buy the latest simply because technology changes so quickly.

Having said that, I decided against buying a Model 3, but bought an S instead because I wanted a bigger car, the S looks much better, is more comfortable etc.

The slower charging, slower MCU, older battery tech came in a close second.

So based on your budget, if you like the S much better in terms of looks, get one that is as new as possible based on what you can afford. For an AP2 car, make sure the build date is after October 2016. If you want the latest generation of MCU, the build date has to be May or June 2018.

 

[BoringMod]

Reasons why you want an S : It’s prettier, wider for storage and more seating room. Reasons why a 3 is better: lower depreciation, 90D Batteries are awful, don’t buy old tech. If you get an S, wait for a good Deal in the end of q3.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Reasons why you want an S : It’s prettier, wider for storage and more seating room. Reasons why a 3 is better: lower depreciation, 90D Batteries are awful, don’t buy old tech. If you get an S, wait for a good Deal in the end of q3.

Lower depreciation than the Model S? The Model 3? No. In another year or two the bottom will fall out of the used Model 3 market when they all come off of lease and everyone decides they want something new all around the same time. They made SO many of these that were basically all the same with only a couple feature differences and a few color variances people will have nothing to compete with that's different other than price. The Model 3 will hold it's value about like the Dodge Neon did due to how many are being cranked out.

Also, the concern for depreciation and buying a new car of ANY brand do not go hand in hand.

Also also, the 90D battery is far from "awful" as you put it. I agree that the newer chemistry and design of the current 3 is better but that in no way makes the 90D battery pack awful. When the new S/X comes out with all new battery chemistry and design array will that make the Model 3 packs awful? Nope. They're still perfectly suited to their design it's just that something better has come along. The 90D represents a fair step up from it's predecessors that were also suited to their design and more than meet the needs of most all of their owners.

In the end, I'm glad there are people like you who must have bleeding edge tech in their vehicles because it means I get a 3-4 year old car car that is 95% the car as the brand new one at about 50% (or less) the entry fee. Thanks for thinking your car is worthless the moment you "drive it off of the lot" because people like me hate the rate of depreciation of buying new.

Also, Waiting several months for something you want now is silly. Especially if you find a good deal that meets your needs now and especially if you're driving ICE. There's no way at all to predict that the prices will be any better at the end of three months. There's been people on this very forum for years now who act like they know what they're talking about when it comes to the used car market and they've been proven wrong each and every time. What could very well happen (and I've seen it happen several times now) is that the used car market could dry up in terms of available units that match your needs. This causes the prices to level off and even go up a little bit in some cases. Anyone who acts like they know for a fact that the prices will be lower at a specific time in the future knows not of which they speak.

 

[BPeter]

On the other hand depending on what happens with batterygate the S/X value could completely tank. Although that issue may also affect the 3 but none are old enough to see yet.

 

[pilotSteve]

Related question (don't want to hijack OP's thread) but I will be selling my 2017 S90D soon, and since I have FSD pre-purchased, I would appreciate opinions on whether I should leave my MCU1 and have HW3 installed, or if I will recoup the $2500 it costs to have MCU2 installed. What would you prefer if you were purchasing?

 

[Cheburashka]

Both 75D and 90D would be able to do a 150-mile round trip commute no problem.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Related question (don't want to hijack OP's thread) but I will be selling my 2017 S90D soon, and since I have FSD pre-purchased, I would appreciate opinions on whether I should leave my MCU1 and have HW3 installed, or if I will recoup the $2500 it costs to have MCU2 installed. What would you prefer if you were purchasing?

IMO just leave it since you rarely get back what you put into modifications. There are some people out there who would rather get the car for a grand or two less with the MCU1 that's already in it.