Considering buying Tesla 3 Long Range

[gallk]

Hi, all! I'm new here.
I'm thinking of buying a Tesla 3, and I guess I would like to know anything that anyone wants to tell me on the subject--knowing that this is a group mostly of fans.
Specially interesting questions: How much range can I realistically expect? I know that depends on all sorts of factors (speed, stops, temperature, hills, wind, etc.), but whatever you can say would be useful.

What do you think of reliability of the car? Maintenance? (I know nothing about what sort of maintenance this kind of car needs.)

Rear wheel vs. AWD models? I haven't driven a rear wheel drive car regularly in decades--we've mostly had FWD Toyotas and AWD Subarus recently.

Options--I'm a somewhat old guy looking for safety features (especially blind spot monitoring and rear monitoring) and liking the safety package on my wife's new Subaru Crosstrek (highest trim level). How well does the Base level work? Does the Autopilot add a lot? What about the "self-driving" level?

Anything else I might want to know? I live on the Olympic Peninsula. I'm not a complete newbie to electricity in cars--I had a Gen 3 Prius that I liked a lot (except that the side and rear visibility was terrible).

I admit to finding the Tesla website pretty sparse on hard information about their cars--I can't find detailed specs, etc. What am I missing?

Answers to any or all of these questions will be greatly welcome.

gallk

 

[iwannam3]

Spend hours watching you tube reviews, that's what I did in my 751 day wait...........

 

[MyJoule]

We own Model S's so our experience is probably a little different than that of a Model 3. but in general, these are great cars, The Model 3 interior is sparse (on purpose) Dual Motor (AWD) will be nice for your location now that it seems to snow a lot on the peninsula Seriously, you could probably get by with RWD only, but the Dual Motor would give you some additional piece of mind although it costs both terms of up front and it costs some in range ( unlike the Dual Motor Model S getting better efficiency in Dual motor vs RWD.

Living in Sequim- you will have easy access to the supercharger that is at the Holiday Inn on the East end of town. Although I would still recommend charging at home, especially since the electric rates in that area are pretty low since you still have hydro power. We've driven the S to Sequim a couple of times, and will likely be returning there again this summer.

As for range, the RWD LR is good for it's advertised range from what I've read. But unless you are doing a lot of commuting, you will likely never have to worry about range, Just plug the car in when you return from the store or whatever has you out and about in a day. We don't worry about range except on road trips, and the supercharger network really eliminates the anxiety, its just you have to plan a little before driving on a road trip. But going to Seattle for the day and back wouldn't even worry me at all. I probable wouldn't even charge at Lynnwood- I'd just get back on the ferry and head home

As for the car itself, I can't speak directly to a Model 3, I've sat in them, but never driven or ridden in one, but I can tell you driving an electric car is amazing, you'll love the instant torque and the regen of Tesla's lets you basically drive one footed, You only touch the brake to finish stopping- I hope this has helped a little.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy a model 3 if we didn't have our Model S's

 

[gallk]

Spend hours watching you tube reviews, that's what I did in my 751 day wait...........

Thanks! Ah, yes, that raises another question. The Tesla website says the wait for a car is only about two weeks. Can anyone tell me if that's real?

 

[buckerine]

Have an X and a 3. If you’re getting the Long Range, you’ll never have to worry about range. Check with an electrician to see what the cost is to install a 50 amp plug in your garage. It’ll make life with an electric car a breeze.

These are fantastic cars. Be sure you can get comfortable with the electronics. It’s intuitive so it shouldn’t be an issue, but check one out first. If that’s all good, pull the trigger. You won’t regret it.

 

[buckerine]

Thanks! Ah, yes, that raises another question. The Tesla website says the wait for a car is only about two weeks. Can anyone tell me if that's real?

Might be able to drive one off the lot tomorrow depending on how many your local Tesla store still has.

 

[MyJoule]

Thanks! Ah, yes, that raises another question. The Tesla website says the wait for a car is only about two weeks. Can anyone tell me if that's real?

I can't be certain there isn't a longer wait now that they have been taking orders of the less expensive cars for a few days, but I would recommend getting at least the MR - and if you can stretch it get the LR both of those probably can be had very quickly .

 

[iwannam3]

No one has ever said "I wish I had gotten a smaller battery".

 

[Krugerrand]

M3 LR AWD is a beast. It’s also the most efficient of the group. I went 18” aeros to get most efficiency. 26k miles averaging 226 usage. And I’ve driven it like I stole it for hundreds of miles (sometimes in a row - road trip quite a bit). I have EAP and about to add FSD. Use TACC a lot!!! Godsend. Love PUP features, especially stereo. Now with 325 miles and even faster supercharging, range and travel is non-issue.

Phone a friend and take one for a spin if you aren’t sure, but really you can’t go wrong with any config. Be honest with yourself about your driving habits and needs, then spend as much as you can to add extras and goodies otherwise you’ll be wishing you had, imo, especially if you love to drive.

 

[Zaxxon]

I'm a Model 3 LR RWD owner since last May--14,000 miles and counting. Formerly was a Gen 2 Prius and Gen 3 Prius V owner. Also have a PHEV Volvo SUV that cost $25k more than the 3.

The 3 is the best car I've ever owned, by a wide margin. Cannot wait to replace the Volvo with a Y.

I would get the base Autopilot. It's good at what it does. FSD is your call--Nav on Autopilot is cool (I have EAP, so I have this despite not having FSD), but the true FSD feature set has been 3-6 months away for 2+ years and won't be done for 2+ more.

 

[Zaxxon]

Also, welcome to the Tesla family. (Once you're this interested, it's only a matter of time.)

 

[Tam]

...How much range can I realistically expect?...

Get the longest range you could. That has been my policy since 2012 and I have no regrets.

I don't drive in snow so my range is pretty good. Since 2012 with 3 different models S/X/3, I start a trip with 50 miles extra.

If my trip is 200 miles, I make sure charge up at home at least to 250 miles. That does the trick for the past 7 years despite climbing 4,144 foot Tejon Pass.

If you live in a snowy region, cabin heater eats up a lot of energy.

Some say winter EV uses 40% more in cold winter.

I have never been out of range since I started owning a Tesla since 2012 but I did run out of gasoline quite a few times prior to owing an EV.

...
What do you think of reliability of the car?...

My 3 Tesla have been reliable in the aspect that they have not left me stranded on the road while there were quite a few times my gasoline cars did.

If my 12V needs replacement, it gives out a visual text alert on display so I can get a mobile service come to my place and swap it out. I was stranded on the road with my gasoline cars because they did not give me such a nice text alert!

I haven't needed to fix anything for my 2017 X and 2018 3 but my 2012 S did have costly repairs after 50,000 miles but all were covered by my pre-paid Extended Service Agreement:

>$500 Gen1 Mobile Connector

$4,000 for re-manufactured MCU (17" screen and computer)

$4,500 for cabin heater

The truth is: all car can have something go wrong whether gasoline or EV. I like the way Tesla breaks down better because it gives out readable text message and have not left me stranded in the middle of the road just yet!

...Maintenance?...

It has some maintenance tasks that are the same as gasoline car:

Fill up your windshield fluid
Check your tire pressure at least once a month and pump them up as needed.
Wash, polish and wax your car.

I have faithfully gone to annual checkups for my S and X but the 3 won't due until every two years.

Here's the list of maintenance:

Car Maintenance

...Rear wheel vs. AWD models?...

Since you have not driven Rear Wheel Drive for quite some time, I would stick with Dual Motor (AWD) again.

If you live where there's snow or rain, Dual Motor is a good choice for traction.

...safety features (especially blind spot monitoring and rear monitoring) and liking the safety package on my wife's new Subaru Crosstrek (highest trim level). How well does the Base level work? Does the Autopilot add a lot? What about the "self-driving" level?

Basic safety features are included in base model but I wouldn't count on them.

Tesla doesn't have a robust blind spot warning system with urgent alarm and flashing lights but I like nice and calm Tesla's way.

Blind spots are represented by sonar rays on your display. Those rays change colors with the distance of obstacles. They are also detected by 8 cameras and displayed on your instrument clusters as car/truck/motorcycles/people... icons. These icons do not change colors.

Tesla does not have rear radar so it does not do rear cross traffic detection.

It does have 8 cameras, including rear one for blind spot detection in addition to sonars.

I am not sure the base model would have blind spot sonar/camera detection display.

I would pay more to get more safety features.

For $3,000 more, you'll get Autopilot:

1) Traffic Aware Cruise Control TACC or smart cruise/adaptive cruise.

2) AutoSteer

With the two above features, that's how the sleeping guy didn't die when caught on video:

Tesla driver appears to be sleeping in car as it travels down California highway

Autopilot works lots of time but it can still crash and resulted in fatalities at any time if drivers are not in control at all time.

On top of $3,000, if you want to pay an additional $5,000 for Full Self Driving Capability:

1) Navigate on Autopilot: Currently works on the freeway only. You enter the destination and it works from on-ramp to off-ramp but drivers have to do manual signaling before it Auto-Lane-Changing.

Expect that you won't have to do manual signaling anymore and it'll take you from on-ramp to off-ramp soon.

2) AutoPark: Currently, it can still crash because it uses sonars only but Cameras usage is coming which will improve this feature.

3) Summon: You don't have to get in your car and you can command it to come to you. Currently just simple garage task / parking space task:

Marques Brownlee on Twitter

With the price you bought, Tesla's goal is to have the car driving on its own without a driver in it but I think it's pretty much science fiction so although I did spend the money on it but I won't hold my breath to expect it any time soon.

I consider these safety features beta because they still require an attentive driver at all times.

But I have enjoyed the above features very much since I bought them in 2017!

 

[BrakeDome]

Options--I'm a somewhat old guy looking for safety features (especially blind spot monitoring and rear monitoring)

Unfortunately the blind spot monitoring on the 3 isn’t all that great. The only visual alert is a line that turns red on the center screen. There is an update coming (some have it already), to add an audible alert when the car senses something in your blind spot, but from what I seen so far, it still doesn’t seem to work the way many people would like.

And if you mean rear cross traffic alert, sorry the 3 doesn’t have that. I wish it did though. Maybe in some future update... That being said, I still love driving my 3 every chance i get!

 

[ewoodrick]

I'm thinking of buying a Tesla 3, and I guess I would like to know anything that anyone wants to tell me on the subject--knowing that this is a group mostly of fans.
Specially interesting questions: How much range can I realistically expect? I know that depends on all sorts of factors (speed, stops, temperature, hills, wind, etc.), but whatever you can say would be useful.
In the summer, the RWD LR isn't hard to hit 310.

What do you think of reliability of the car? Maintenance? (I know nothing about what sort of maintenance this kind of car needs.)
2 years is first maintenance, aside from tire rotation

Rear wheel vs. AWD models? I haven't driven a rear wheel drive car regularly in decades--we've mostly had FWD Toyotas and AWD Subarus recently.
Unless you are running in snow, and then I don't think that it a huge deal, the traction control system seems to be awesome

Options--I'm a somewhat old guy looking for safety features (especially blind spot monitoring and rear monitoring) and liking the safety package on my wife's new Subaru Crosstrek (highest trim level). How well does the Base level work? Does the Autopilot add a lot? What about the "self-driving" level?

LR RWD, add the EAP and FSD and I think that a fully optioned car.

 

[rae4fred]

I Live in Las Vegas. I bought my Model 3 on January 12, 2019. i was told i had a 2 week wait as it was coming from Fremont Ca. but 5 days later i got a call and was told my 3 had arrived and the person asked if she could deliver it that day (January 17, 2019). (Yea!) so i got mine in 5 days. My 3 is the long range, duel motor, Black Ext. and Black Int. don't know if that is kinda standard or not but it worked for me.
Side note: This is the best and most fun car I have ever owned.

 

[Dan123]

Options--I'm a somewhat old guy looking for safety features (especially blind spot monitoring and rear monitoring) and liking the safety package on my wife's new Subaru Crosstrek (highest trim level). How well does the Base level work? Does the Autopilot add a lot? What about the "self-driving" level?



gallk

I personally don't like Tesla's blind spot monitoring. There is no visual indicator on the mirror, nor an audible warnings, as far as I know. It just shows a red line on the center screen - but I am not going to look there when I change lanes.

Tesla also doesn't have cross-traffic alert.

 

[N8Howell33]

I have had 2 plug in cars before I got the 3 LR RWD (volt and then sonata). I live south of you in Oregon and we had a bit of snow (nothing like Washington got in February) and the RWD was perfectly fine. I did purchase the chains online just in case it came to that. With the battery being so low to the ground I think it handles well. You can also add winter tires if traction is your concern. The RWD has superior range, is more efficient compared to AWD and costs less. This is by far the funnest and most efficient car I have EVER owned. I preferred range because it’s the one thing I can’t upgrade. We actually used the Sequim supercharger last summer when my wife and I took the model 3 on a road trip to Victoria.

As far as options: I would add the AP for 3K. If you drive freeway or road trip it will pay for itself quickly in piece of mind (auto steer and traffic adaptive cruise control).Wheel I have the 18 inch Aeros and love them.

For maintainence: I had mobile service rotate my tires when I got to 6,500 miles (they did this in my driveway which was great!)

For reliability: I have had no issues and plan on keeping this car for 10 years (or more)

 

[ps004ynos]

We have an X and a 3. I can't speak for the S but the 3 easily gets the advertised range using 18" wheels. We picked 19" and still get 300 miles. Our X gets something like 75% of the advertised range on 20" wheels and 65% on 22" wheels.

I initially wanted to get AWD "just to be sure" but we had an early reservation number and did not want to risk losing the full tax credit (this was very early on when nobody knew when the AWD or performance models were going to arrive). I was disappointed to see the AWD versions getting less range (since the S AWD improved range) so I'm more than happy with RWD and more range. We are in SoCal however and rarely go skiing.

I never bothered with AP, EAP or FSD. I wasn't comfortable enough despite several AP trials so I still prefer to drive. The lowered AP price of $2k is very tempting however.

So far reliability has been good. We had one charge port notification requesting replacement but it still worked so we were never stranded. Surprisingly the tire wear has been good. Our X chews through tires despite my efforts to drive slower to improve range.

Downsides:
1. I had a flat one time. Tesla roadside was very helpful but I didn't realize until then that Teslas need flatbed towing. Drag towing is not recommended. I feel like I got lucky with a flatbed truck available within 30 minutes. I imagine some cases may need to wait longer if flatbeds aren't nearby.
2. There is no official tow hitch available. There are aftermarkets available but it may void warranty. There is at least one person I've seen on the Facebook group that attached a hitch and used a cargo box for extra luggage space. With this arrangement his range was barely affected as the box was in the slipstream. Others who chose the official roof racks suffered noticeable range loss. I am very tempted to try the aftermarket hitch setup for road trips as I feel our X's range is not well suited for the way I like to do road trips (really don't like stopping too often). The new V3 and the update to the older superchargers should help though.

 

[tonybelding]

To me personally, the RWD LR looks like the sweet spot with maximum range and still quite good performance. But keep in mind that I live in Texas where we have lots of long highways and not much ice. As always, your mileage may vary.

 

[Zaxxon]

To me personally, the RWD LR looks like the sweet spot with maximum range and still quite good performance. But keep in mind that I live in Texas where we have lots of long highways and not much ice. As always, your mileage may vary.

FWIW, snow/winter tires are far more important than AWD for traction on actual roads. Having both is better, but the widespread belief of AWD first is backwards.