Cost of model 3 ownership first 100k miles

[patrick80132]

I am comparing the cost of ownership for a model 3 for the first 2 years. We put 20,000 miles per year on our car. I can estimate the electric vs. gasoline part, but it's the service I am questioning. I'm guessing someone has plowed this road before. If anyone has the numbers or a link to them I would be grateful. Trying to get my wife on board over the cost of our Audi A4. It's be a service pig and the cost of ownership has been a real pain.

 

[woodisgood]

The only service a Model 3 will require is rotating the tires, windshield wiper fluid, and eventually, brake fluid/brake pads. Oh, and a cabin air filter every 2 years. Because most braking is done via regenerative braking, the brake pads would be expected to last until around 150K miles.

Car Maintenance

Essentially, your 2 yr maintenance costs should be $0 if you do your own tire rotations. There may be fixes here and there but those are covered under warranty. We had a headlamp that needed to be replaced. At 21K miles, maintenance costs have been $0 so far.

In two years, 40K miles, you'll need around 5-6 tire rotations and a cabin air filter, and probably a set of new tires near that time.

Tires will come slightly more frequently than an ICE depending on your driving style since the instant torque from an EV is harder on tires. If you like to floor it from stoplights a lot you might grind your tires down in 10K miles. If you drive conservatively, you should get around 40K miles.

EDIT: Just curious, what's been your 2 year maintenance costs on the A4?

 

[ebmcs03]

At two years brake flush and 4 years there’s brake flush and coolant flushes.

 

[Knightshade]

At two years brake flush and 4 years there’s brake flush and coolant flushes.

Nope.

There's no required coolant change, ever, on the Model 3.

See the link woodisgood posted



Air filter every 2 years

Change AC dessicant every 6 years

Those are the only "definitely do this thing every X years" maintenance listed for the Model 3.


They also suggest you CHECK your tires every 10-12k miles, and rotate/align/balance if needed...and CHECK your brake fluid ever 2 years and replace as needed.

That's it though.

 

[patrick80132]

Really doesn't look like any costs other than wiper blades, tire rotation.....etc. My Audi oil changes, spark plugs and other things really add up. Going to have to do the math on all that.

 

[Runebane]

Nope.

There's no required coolant change, ever, on the Model 3.

See the link woodisgood posted



Air filter every 2 years

Change AC dessicant every 6 years

Those are the only "definitely do this thing every X years" maintenance listed for the Model 3.


They also suggest you CHECK your tires every 10-12k miles, and rotate/align/balance if needed...and CHECK your brake fluid ever 2 years and replace as needed.

That's it though.

It actually says to check the manual and on page 128 it says coolant every 4 years, break fluid every 2 years...

/edit a quote from the link "Please check your Owner’s Manual for latest maintenance recommendations for your Tesla."

 

[Az_Rael]

I just did the 25k service on my 3 that Tesla no longer lists as a package. It was $425. I also did the 12,500 service before any service notes were out and it was $150.

I haven't had to buy new tires yet, and I haven't been rotating mine beyond the above mentioned service visits. I did require a new cabin air filter prior to 2 years due to AC odor issues. Since it was part of the 25k service, I dont know how much it would have cost ala cart

 

[jbcarioca]

For my Model S P85D the only expense I had was new tires at 35,000 miles. I could have deferred that but I'm an ultracautious person about tires. I never had a rotation because there was zero wear imbalance.

FWIW, my P3D was attacked by a passing large RV towed by a pickup truck. Despite substantial body damage and two destroyed wheels upon body shop examination the body alignment and wheels alingnment were both well within new specification. I expect Model 3 durability and lack of maintenance to be far better than was the S. IMHO there are very few vehicles likely to come near the Model 3 for being maintenance-free.

Imagine that there is exactly zero required servicing in the first six years other than air filters and fluid changes!

 

[Knightshade]

It actually says to check the manual and on page 128 it says coolant every 4 years, break fluid every 2 years...

/edit a quote from the link "Please check your Owner’s Manual for latest maintenance recommendations for your Tesla."

Sadly the team in charge of updating the online owners manual appears to consist of one barely literate and poorly trained spider monkey, given how much of the manual is often badly out of date compared to more recently published info from Tesla.

This is one of those cases.

 

[Runebane]

Sadly the team in charge of updating the online owners manual appears to consist of one barely literate and poorly trained spider monkey, given how much of the manual is often badly out of date compared to more recently published info from Tesla.

This is one of those cases.

I would like the source of your information that coolant replacements have been taken out of the 3's maintenance. While the website doesn't say to do a coolant replacement/check, it also doesn't say to ignore it, but it does say to follow the manual. While I agree Tesla isn't the best at updating everything, an official source saying it's not needed would be great.

 

[Jlager]

Maybe not likely to happen in the first 100k miles but you still have axle wear items like wheel bearings, CV joints, tie rods and ball joints that will need replacement at some point. Also, brake calipers aren't any different from a regular car and will need servicing/replacing eventually. They could perhaps be even more likely to seize up as you don't use the brakes as much.

 

[Leafdriver333]

In the first two years of ICE ownership, all is required extra compared to EV is the engine oil changes.
About $160, in my case.
So that's how much I would be saving in 2 years of EV ownership in maintenance.
In gas, I save about $1400 over 2 years.

Overall, that's 3 car payments.

 

[Knightshade]

I would like the source of your information that coolant replacements have been taken out of the 3's maintenance. While the website doesn't say to do a coolant replacement/check, it also doesn't say to ignore it, but it does say to follow the manual. While I agree Tesla isn't the best at updating everything, an official source saying it's not needed would be great.

You mean besides the link at tesla.com already cited that lists the updated info including which items are actually recommended with specifics for each model in each recommendation and that does not list coolant at all?

There's also similar threads since that was published where folks spoke directly to their service centers and the confirmed same- you can do that as well if you're still unclear.

There's also numerous news reports from when Tesla made this change to eliminate a lot of routine maintenance items-for example:

Tesla kills yearly service program, focuses on EV requiring less maintenance
Tesla's vehicle reliability makes way for as-needed service, no annual maintenance needed
Tesla eliminates annual service, keeps some periodic maintenance



Nobody's owned a model 3 for 4 years of course (or even 2 yet) so plenty of time to get additional clarification if you feel you need it beyond all of the above.

 

[Knightshade]

In the first two years of ICE ownership, all is required extra compared to EV is the engine oil changes.
About $160, in my case.
So that's how much I would be saving in 2 years of EV ownership in maintenance.
In gas, I save about $1400 over 2 years.

Overall, that's 3 car payments.

2 years is a relatively small window for ICE maintenance- in the 4-6 year range you can start to run into things like spark plugs or coolant or timing belts on some cheaper/older cars (probably nearer 6-8 for those things, coolant, etc on newer ones)

 

[Leafdriver333]

2 years is a relatively small window for ICE maintenance- in the 4-6 year range you can start to run into things like spark plugs or coolant or timing belts on some cheaper/older cars (probably nearer 6-8 for those things, coolant, etc on newer ones)

Brakes also need replacing on ICE every 30K miles or 3 years in my family's case.
They cost $300 to $700.
on Tesla, they last for the life of the vehicle.

 

[woodisgood]

I just did the 25k service on my 3 that Tesla no longer lists as a package. It was $425. I also did the 12,500 service before any service notes were out and it was $150.

I haven't had to buy new tires yet, and I haven't been rotating mine beyond the above mentioned service visits. I did require a new cabin air filter prior to 2 years due to AC odor issues. Since it was part of the 25k service, I dont know how much it would have cost ala cart

What was done for 25K/$425?

 

[woodisgood]

2 years is a relatively small window for ICE maintenance- in the 4-6 year range you can start to run into things like spark plugs or coolant or timing belts on some cheaper/older cars (probably nearer 6-8 for those things, coolant, etc on newer ones)

Very true, not to mention some premium brands/dealers can offer free service for the first 2-3 years to sweeten the deal. It will be that 4-6 year range where the TCO on Model 3 should really shine compared to ICE. On the other hand, we are working off the assumption that there won't be major part failures that happen after 50K miles. Having to replace the center screen out of warranty, for example, would literally wipe out a lot of savings.

 

[Leafdriver333]

Very true, not to mention some premium brands/dealers can offer free service for the first 2-3 years to sweeten the deal. It will be that 4-6 year range where the TCO on Model 3 should really shine compared to ICE. On the other hand, we are working off the assumption that there won't be major part failures that happen after 50K miles. Having to replace the center screen out of warranty, for example, would literally wipe out a lot of savings.

My iPad mini 2 is really old. It still works great.
My Mac computer is 2011 version and it still works fantastic.

BTW, how much RAM does our car computer have?

 

[Az_Rael]

What was done for 25K/$425?

- Pulled logs and checked for active faults: No active faults (3/21/19).- Checked firmware version: Updated to latest version.- Performed function check of closures (moving glass, doors, trunks): Cleaned and lubricated latches. Good, no issue.- Tested and inspected customer’s charge cable: Good, no issue. Vehicle charged normally @40amps.- Replaced:-Desiccant Filter- Wiper Blades- Remote Keyless Entry: Good, no issue- Seat belts and latches: Good, no issue- Interior/exterior lighting and horn: Good, no issue- Performed inspection of powertrain and chassis components: Good, no issues.- Checked fluid levels: Topped off washer fluid. Brake and coolant levels optimal. No signs of leakage.- Inspected tires- Measured tire tread depth at:LF: 7/32RF: 7/32 LR: 7 /32 RR: 7/32 - Adjusted tire pressures to B-pillar spec: 42psi Front, 42psi Rear- Measured brake pad thickness (mm)LF: 8mm RF: 8mm LR: 8mm RR: 8mm Park: 5mm- Test drive: Vehicle functions as designed.

Additional Items
Test drove vehicle and inspected alignment no adjustment need at this time.
Correction: Fixed Price Annual Service 2 Year/25000 Mile/40000 km

Parts Replaced or Added
PartQuantityM3, CFM, COND, IRD SERVICE KIT (1129679-00-A)1HVAC, COMBINATION FILTER, M3 (1107681-00-A)1BRAKE FLUID DOW SERVICE 1 QT (1060099-00-A)1P

 

[Az_Rael]

My iPad mini 2 is really old. It still works great.
My Mac computer is 2011 version and it still works fantastic.

BTW, how much RAM does our car computer have?

Well, Model S's and X's are running a very high failure rate on their MCUs right now, many out of warranty. Hopefully Tesla has corrected those issues on the Model 3, but we won't know that for a while.

So it is a legit concern given Tesla's history