Only a dozen or so are left in flying condition, mostly in Florida and SE US, thanks to Jim Hill and South Florida Aircraft who bought all teh type certificats and inventory when BEA finally died.
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WileyTheMan
Peanut Gallery Member
More than likely it wont be the last car i buy, even with battery pack replacements. I'm sure there will be those who will keep theirs for eons, but I'm not one to keep a car for more than 10 years because of technological advancements, improved features and fresh designs.
ModelNforNerd
Active Member
Ya know....with a little bit of ominous music and some "scary" black and white footage, the thread title could almost have passed as some local news scare story.
"could the Model 3 be the last car you buy...?!?!? **scary music and footage** Find out, tonight at 11...."
"could the Model 3 be the last car you buy...?!?!? **scary music and footage** Find out, tonight at 11...."
It could be the last car some of us buy, as with ridesharing and autonomous cars and all, we may be able to just call up a self-driving Uber to get us to wherever we want to go around town. And then if you need to do a road trip or something, you rent a car.
Some people may still choose to buy if this kind of scenario comes to fruition, but for lots of people it's possible that buying may not make financial sense anymore.
Some people may still choose to buy if this kind of scenario comes to fruition, but for lots of people it's possible that buying may not make financial sense anymore.
As an example, pre-Uber it was hard to get a taxi to come to my house in Rio de Janeiro. Both we and our neighbours typically used our cars for almost every errand because of that. Post-Uber almost all of us use Uber and leave our cars gathering dust. We have driven only 6,000 km during the last year because of Uber. Now our car is for longer trips and supermarket visits. My guess is that urban transport will rapidly change to autonomous and/or Uber-like entities plus metro for places dense enough. Personal cars are already diminishing in major metropolitan areas around the world, even though car density continues to rise. EV's both short range and longer will be prime participants, partly because they are simpler to program than are ICE vehicles.
Good point. I live in the SF Bay Area. It doesn't snow here.
For areas where it snows a lot w/it sticking for weeks or longer, w/roads salted all the time, cars definitely rust out. Even if the body is something more resistant, the metal components underneath (e.g. suspension) aren't immune.
pinski
Not Ludicrous
Unless you've only got about 10-15 years remaining in your lifespan, I highly doubt it. Cars are now being designed with disposal in mind and I doubt the Model 3 will be any different. While the drivetrain may be robust enough for 20+ years of service, it's unlikely the rest of the car will follow suit. Enhanced technology, safety or levels of autonomy may exceed the hardware that came with the car when new. OTA updates can only go so far and I commend Tesla for overequipping these cars in a sense to allow for OTA updates to improve them in the future, but eventually that'll run its course as well.
Red Sage
The Cybernetic Samurai
38,000,000 used cars were sold in the US during 2015. The average age of those vehicles was well over 10 years. I sincerely doubt that a large quantity of those were either rusted out heaps or had bodies with carbon fibre/fiberglass construction. I rather believe it is more likely that most cars, in all parts of the country, simply last longer than they used to in the good ole days when Detroit Iron ruled the land. So, yeah... Even in the so-called rust-belt any new vehicle built to modern standards will last a good long while -- including the Tesla Model ☰.
My wife & I bought a Buick Century Coupe in 1990. It wasn't a top of the line car then and it isn't now, but we have enjoyed it since new and have no plans to replace it, ever. It has great "cruise night" possibilities! 
That said, I don't expect to buy another new car after the 3. If a Tesla EV is a disappointment, there's no real reason to buy one from someone else.
That said, I don't expect to buy another new car after the 3. If a Tesla EV is a disappointment, there's no real reason to buy one from someone else.
Garlan Garner
Banned
No way the car will last more than 50 years, even if it can I don't see myself using the same car for more than 10 years. To me, Tesla is a tech company not a car company, therefore the car is a computer and no one keeps their computer for 10 years.
I'll rather enjoy the car for a good ~5 years, then give it to my brother to spread the EV love.
I'll rather enjoy the car for a good ~5 years, then give it to my brother to spread the EV love.
My car will have 18 y.o. when I'll buy my M3.
I expect my new M3 to last the same as the car I'm driving today with minor operational costs.
But seeing the problems with drive units in MS I start thinking that keeping the car longer than the drive unit warranty period will be an economic disaster?
What do you think about this?
Will it be possible in a future that independent service centers access to oem tesla parts to mantain and repair any issue?
I expect my new M3 to last the same as the car I'm driving today with minor operational costs.
But seeing the problems with drive units in MS I start thinking that keeping the car longer than the drive unit warranty period will be an economic disaster?
What do you think about this?
Will it be possible in a future that independent service centers access to oem tesla parts to mantain and repair any issue?
ummgood
Member
My current car is 11 years old and it probably has another 8 or so in it if I had to guess. It is a Tacoma and around here even ones older than mine with almost 200k miles still have about 8k worth of value if you sell them. They sell like hot cakes. My neighbor across the street was trying to find one for his son and it was next to impossible because they were snatched up quicker than candy out of a piñata.
Anyway 10 years ago I would have never tried to keep a car this long but now that I am getting older I have other priorities. My wife's car would have been driven into the ground if it wasn't totalled 2 years ago. We got a new Odyssey and plan on driving it into the ground. I am hoping the Odyssey and my Tesla lasts me until I am retired (15 years) and the kids are out of college. Then my wife and I will probably buy one last car and only have one car. Then if we need another ride we'll use uber (which them and lyft pulled out of our area) but hopefully when they are autonomous they'll be back.
Anyway 10 years ago I would have never tried to keep a car this long but now that I am getting older I have other priorities. My wife's car would have been driven into the ground if it wasn't totalled 2 years ago. We got a new Odyssey and plan on driving it into the ground. I am hoping the Odyssey and my Tesla lasts me until I am retired (15 years) and the kids are out of college. Then my wife and I will probably buy one last car and only have one car. Then if we need another ride we'll use uber (which them and lyft pulled out of our area) but hopefully when they are autonomous they'll be back.
Red Sage
The Cybernetic Samurai
The drive unit issues were primarily because of the bearings when there was an actual problem. Since Tesla currently uses ceramic bearings that doesn't happen anymore. Many of the drive unit replacements were done for the sake of expediency, in order to get Customers back on the road as quickly as possible, not due to actual failure.
I think that most people will not have to worry about such things... EVER.
Certainly. But keep in mind that hotrodders didn't begin to do shade tree mechanic work on their cars in 1908 back when they first got a Ford Model T. Prohibition in the US didn't happen until 1920, and the need to improve speed was greatly enhanced so that bootleggers could escape government agents. That continued for some time and certain professional race car drivers that had that background became founding members of NASCAR. For a very long time anything as much as 140 to 180 horsepower was considered high performance. The thousands of auto parts shops that are seemingly outnumbered only by nail shops and donut shops in Los Angeles did not appear overnight. I certainly believe that once the Model ☰ becomes a big success, third party repair and maintenance companies will be willing to make sure their locations and staff are properly certified to work on them.
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