Did I Make a Mistake?

[DSMLVNV]

Hello: You may have seen this in another thread, but I thought I'd start a new one. One alternate note I forgot to put there was that my apartment complex will not let me charge in my garage.

Let's cut to the chase here. I only put on about 6,000 miles per year on my car. I am away for work much of the time. And I work from him when in Vegas. I don't think I'm going to be able to move, for family reasons, into a house from my apartment complex for at least a few years. Thus, I have no ability to charge whatsoever except at Super Chargers. Was this a massive mistake to buy the M3? Should I take the financial hit and sell it? It has under 300 miles. And I love it to death. But if I'm going to ruin the battery, not so sure I like that idea. Please advise. Thanks everyone!

 

[Boourns]

You will only "ruin" your battery if you leave the car parked at a very high (95%+) or very low (10%-) state of charge for an extended period.

Certainly you will have extra inconvenience that a person with access to charging at home will not have, but if you can put up with it, there's no reason to sell the car at a loss. If you haven't already, check Plugshare. Superchargers may not be your only option.

 

[DSMLVNV]

I've tried PlugShare, and it seems like there isn't much around other than Super Chargers. Plus, wouldn't I have to sit at a non-super charger for hours on end or even leave it there overnight and have to Uber back and forth to the car?

 

[dusdev]

Was this a massive mistake to buy the M3? Should I take the financial hit and sell it? It has under 300 miles. And I love it to death. But if I'm going to ruin the battery, not so sure I like that idea. Please advise. Thanks everyone!

It doesn't seem like a mistake to me. If you're driving 6000/yr, that works out to about 115/week. I don't know how even it is. But it seems to me that you can just do a 30-60 minute charge at an SC once per week or so to 'top-up'.

Tesla has an 8-yr warranty on the battery so what are you exactly worried about? If you had an ICE car you'd have to be making trips to a gas station regularly. Bring an iPad to the SC and watch a TV show while you're charging or something...

 

[lencap]

Glad you're enjoying you car. So if you enjoy it ("I love it to death") and get use out of it (6000 miles a year) it seems your only question is about charging. If the SuperCharger location isn't too far from you, there doesn't seem to be a big issue. With a 300 mile range you're talking about 20 full charges, or maybe 30 partial charges a year. That's 2-3 times a month, and maybe an hour of time for each. That doesn't seem too burdensome.

You can also use ChargePoint chargers as a backup to Tesla Superchargers. Why not keep the car and see how it works out? If it isn't working you can likely resell the car for a reasonable amount since new buyers will only get a $3750 tax credit instead of the $7500 you got, making used cars potentially worth a bit more.

Good luck regardless; it's a fun car and one that you'll likely continue to enjoy as you drive it more and more.

 

[DSMLVNV]

OK, so I like the last post. What I'm concerned with is losing range. A lot of people have said by only using superchargers your battery degrades. There will be times that I'd love to drive the family to LA, SD, etc. and would like to be able to say to myself "This car still has a range of 310 miles."

 

[TexasEV]

Why would you think you’re going to ruin the battery? Thousands of Model 3 owners like yourself don’t have home charging. Stop reading things from fear mongerers who repeat something they heard from someone and just enjoy your car.

 

[DSMLVNV]

Glad you're enjoying you car. So if you enjoy it ("I love it to death") and get use out of it (6000 miles a year) it seems your only question is about charging. If the SuperCharger location isn't too far from you, there doesn't seem to be a big issue. With a 300 mile range you're talking about 20 full charges, or maybe 30 partial charges a year. That's 2-3 times a month, and maybe an hour of time for each. That doesn't seem too burdensome.

Agreed - Mainly worried I'll degrade the battery quickly, as some have suggested by only super charging. Just because I only put 6,000 a year on it doesn't mean I don't want the option to do road trips around the Western US.

 

[TexasEV]

OK, so I like the last post. What I'm concerned with is losing range. A lot of people have said by only using superchargers your battery degrades. There will be times that I'd love to drive the family to LA, SD, etc. and would like to be able to say to myself "This car still has a range of 310 miles."

The car will not continue to have 310 miles of range no matter how you charge it. It’s physics. The capacity will drop 1-2% in the first year and less in subsequent years. So what? Chill out and enjoy your car. When your car has “only” 300 mile range will it be any less useful? Of course not.

 

[DSMLVNV]

Why would you think you’re going to ruin the battery? Thousands of Model 3 owners like yourself don’t have home charging. Stop reading things from fear mongerers who repeat something they heard from someone and just enjoy your car.

GOT IT. I am a financial advisor and have to continually tell my clients to never get swayed by the bastion of negativity on the internet. This makes me feel better. And all I hear is "you're going to kill your battery range that way,"

 

[DSMLVNV]

The car will not continue to have 310 miles of range no matter how you charge it. It’s physics. The capacity will drop 1-2% in the first year and less in subsequent years. So what? Chill out and enjoy your car.

OK, thank you!

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Hello: You may have seen this in another thread, but I thought I'd start a new one. One alternate note I forgot to put there was that my apartment complex will not let me charge in my garage.

Let's cut to the chase here. I only put on about 6,000 miles per year on my car. I am away for work much of the time. And I work from him when in Vegas. I don't think I'm going to be able to move, for family reasons, into a house from my apartment complex for at least a few years. Thus, I have no ability to charge whatsoever except at Super Chargers. Was this a massive mistake to buy the M3? Should I take the financial hit and sell it? It has under 300 miles. And I love it to death. But if I'm going to ruin the battery, not so sure I like that idea. Please advise. Thanks everyone!

6,000 mpy ~= 115.39mpw

You'll be able to Supercharge less than once per week. If you keep it in a nice range, it should take you less than diversion+1/2 hour per week. That's assuming zero road trip charging.

Whether that's worth it is up to you.

 

[Boourns]

I've tried PlugShare, and it seems like there isn't much around other than Super Chargers. Plus, wouldn't I have to sit at a non-super charger for hours on end or even leave it there overnight and have to Uber back and forth to the car?

Here is the map of Vegas I get from plugshare when I filter out paid stations, restricted locations, and home chargers.



There are even more if you are willing to pay. You say you work from home when you're in Vegas. Is one of these close to a coffee shop you can park at for a couple hours to work and charge simultaneously? I don't know, but maybe. Plus, as @dusdev pointed out, you drive so little, just a few minutes a week at a supercharger is likely all you need.

As I said above, you will have to deal with more inconvenience than most of us. Your situation will require a bit of creativity, but it's definitely possible. If having the car is still worth it to you, keep it. If that inconvenience outweighs how much you like the car, sell it.

 

[JohnSnowNW]

One alternate note I forgot to put there was that my apartment complex will not let me charge in my garage.

What do you mean, exactly? Will they not let you use an outlet to charge your vehicle, or they won't allow you to install a charging solution?

 

[gilscales]

If you can charge from 20% to 80% at the SC then it takes about 30 min. assuming those numbers and you will add anywhere from 170 to 180 range miles to your car, even with vampire drain you will probably be able to get away with once a week charging, 30 min. a week is not bad.

 

[mswlogo]

If you already bought it. And you don't do that many miles and you really love it, I would not sell it.
It's just going to be less convenient without home charging. It's hard to know how it will fit your life style after just 300 miles.

Always charging at SC, won't be ideal for the battery but it should not ruin it. The car will protect itself.
But it may charge slower in the future, which will just make it a bit more annoying. Particularly when you want to take a long road trip with normal "trip" based supper charging (which is what it's designed for).

We have a vacation house we use almost year round. There is SC about half way near a nice restaurant.
We have made the trip like 4-5 times now. And it used to be a 2.5 hr trip. And sometimes we'd stop to eat and sometimes not.
Now we stop at SC for 1 hour or so and eat/watch a movie on the way up and back.
This is "fun" now, but it may get old. And super chargers might be full during peak season.

I'm entitled to $5000 refund for P3D-. But I'm on the fence about losing Free Super Charging.
But if I did we would only stop when we absolutely have to (which would be rare if we planned ahead [car properly charged before we leave]) I have charging at the vacation house. The free super charging is worth about $400 /yr to me (if we religiously use it). But will we get tired of stopping for free juice?

 

[DSMLVNV]

What do you mean, exactly? Will they not let you use an outlet to charge your vehicle, or they won't allow you to install a charging solution?

They won't allow me to do either!

 

[DSMLVNV]

Here is the map of Vegas I get from plugshare when I filter out paid stations, restricted locations, and home chargers.

Please explain how I can utilize this. Again, aren't most of those stations slow, meaning I'd have to Uber back and forth or sit for 5 hours? All I've used so far is super charging. Please clarify. Thx

 

[ewoodrick]

Hello: You may have seen this in another thread, but I thought I'd start a new one. One alternate note I forgot to put there was that my apartment complex will not let me charge in my garage.

Let's cut to the chase here. I only put on about 6,000 miles per year on my car. I am away for work much of the time. And I work from him when in Vegas. I don't think I'm going to be able to move, for family reasons, into a house from my apartment complex for at least a few years. Thus, I have no ability to charge whatsoever except at Super Chargers. Was this a massive mistake to buy the M3? Should I take the financial hit and sell it? It has under 300 miles. And I love it to death. But if I'm going to ruin the battery, not so sure I like that idea. Please advise. Thanks everyone!

Not sure where in Las Vegas you are, but looking at PlugShare, there are over 100 J-1772 charging locations around town.

 

[DSMLVNV]

J-1772 charging locations around town.

OK, I'm a Newbie, and maybe that's my problem! How long does it take to charge at one of these type stations?