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From 340xi to Tesla dual motor Model 3 - mini comparo.

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Before I recalibrated my expectation of what a car interior should look like I would have enjoyed that. Now I just see a ton of buttons I’ll never use. The whole iPhone sentiment is completely accurate - the Model 3 interior (among other things) is a paradigm shift that makes what came before look completely antiquated.

It is funny, but I am beginning to experience that already in my current car, not having taken ownership, yet. That heated steering wheel, though.
 
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Yes! That! The 6 series grand coupe. Full Merino Ivory white two tone leather interior. Full leather dash with that nice stitching. My favorite interior of all time. Can’t wait for the 6 series grand coupe to be sold in electric form. Hehe

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Maybe those interiors are common in the US? Here where I live most BMW:s have cloth or dakota interiors with plastic dash... :)
 
How did you measure "wind noise". Most ICE drivers who transition focus on the sounds now that the ICE engine isnt roaring. In reality if you get a DB meter you would see its less than the ICE car at various speeds.

I didn't measure wind noise but I do have a dB meter and if I was bored I suppose I could.

I think you might be mistaken on dismissing noise comments since Car and Driver, Consumer Reports and Motor Trend all I believe measured noise in the Model 3 and it was similar or even slightly higher than others in the segment such as BMW 3 series, Audi A4, etc.

The car is without a doubt quieter overall, although my example has some rattles that I'd like to be rid of... rattles that my BMW does not have.
 
How did you measure "wind noise". Most ICE drivers who transition focus on the sounds now that the ICE engine isnt roaring. In reality if you get a DB meter you would see its less than the ICE car at various speeds.
People keep saying this, but the engine in my 340i was very quiet when driving normally, to the point where you don't really hear it. My Model 3 is definitely noisier inside. TBH, the road noise on some rougher surfaces around here is a bit obnoxious. In the Beemer it was much less noticeable, even though it had run-flat tires. I also feel like the noises from other cars and trucks around me are louder inside the cabin.
 
So, running tab of gripes/issues with my new Model 3.

1. The suspension still flummoxes me. It's just too firm/bouncy for driving here, where many of the roads are concrete vs. smooth black top. I hope I get used to it. My wife's Mini Cooper handles the road imperfections much better and THAT's saying something.
2. Interior lighting is a joke. You literally can't see a damn thing with the weak tiny LEDs they put in the trunk, frunk, or center storage area. It's actually kind of terrible. Even the dome lights are weak and underpowered.
3. I would love to use the frunk (for my laptop bag) but I don't because closing it is a PITA. I'm always worried I'm going to dent it.
4. I was promised a mobile service appointment to fix my bad steering control module. That was about four days ago. I was told "the mobile service tech will reach out to you via email".... what? Do I get a ticket # or something? Seems like a really inefficient way to do things with no accountability of something goes wrong.
5. Picked up a new problem while pulling out of my garage this morning. Heard a grinding noise when turning the wheels. It went away after a few miles. I assume this is something wrong with brake caliper clips or similar. Hopefully if the mystery lady (mobile service tech) ever gets ahold of me I can try to get her to fix the problem on the same visit.
6. I think I like the old gen 1 seats that were in the Turo rental better than these Gen 2 seats. These seem tight in the side bolster area, and I'm not a huge guy (5'11" 190 lbs). The lumbar support is also horrible. I actually had a bit of a panic driving home yesterday, I was trying to get the lumbar comfortable and at one point it was actually stuck and wouldn't do anything as far as moving in/out... I had to lower it all the way down to the bottom to get it to reset. I just left it fully retracted after that.

I still really dig this car but the bloom is off the rose. On the plus side I do expect that Tesla will continue to make improvements and the cars they ship six months from now will be quite better than the ones they are building right now.
 
Just curious. How would that be done?

Pop out the tow hook cover, fish out the red and black wires, apply 12V. The original owner's manual called out that this would only work if the 3's 12V battery was dead, but testing on vehicle showed otherwise. Later editions of the manual were updated to reflect that you can always do this.

See page 15 of current edition "Opening with No Power"
 
Hey @voip-ninja , I'm just finding this thread. I remember you from the BMW forums, I'm registered as thunder550 over there. I'm thinking of ditching my 2016 340i for a Model 3 Performance.

Now that you've had the car for several months, what are your thoughts on your old 340 vs the Model 3?

I had another thread I started over here:
Feedback from BMW or other premium brand converts?

I would say that five months in it is a bit of a mixed bag.

1. First and foremost nothing drives like this car, nothing does. The handling and power are intoxicating. When I'm driving the car on a glassy smooth road (almost nonexistent in Colorado since it was taken over by a political party that is more concerned with being a sanctuary state than fixing infrastructure) it is a real rush and I have a grin on my face... it ALMOST makes it worth the other pain points but at this point not sure.

2. The car has a lot of squeaks and rattles. They come and go. Some appear to be temperature dependent. This is not just a matter of an EV being quieter than a gas car and noticing them more, my 340i was pretty quiet when cruising at low speed and made almost zero noise and the noises it would make, which would happen over grooved or rough concrete were somewhat "predictable".

My Model 3 has rattling noises, soft squeaking noises. It just doesn't sound like a car that was well put together. When I polished the car my paint was in better condition than most but still has badly applied paint in some areas, missing paint in other areas (behind door jambs) and has probably about 4-5 noticeable fish eyes. It is below even KIA paint quality honestly and Tesla charges a fortune for their paint options.

My car randomly throws errors like "autosteer disabled" that clear themselves later.

The car has TPMS sensors that will alarm if tire pressure is at 39-40 PSI when the door label calls for 42 PSI. Worse, the car doesn't adjust the claimed PSI for altitude so when my tires are at 45PSI the car thinks they are at 41-42 PSI. This means I have to run the tires overinflated which makes the ride harsh. Tesla gives ZERO f*ks about this or most other problems.

My charge port magnet fell out and I fixed it myself rather than deal with Tesla service. For a couple of weeks at one point the touch to open just didn't work, then it started working again. Lots of quirky things like that.

3. Winter range hit is horrible, much worse than I expected. Lots of owners of S and X insisted with a straight face (they are liars) that cold weather hit is about 20%. It is about 40-50% in typical commute distances. It doesn't matter if you leave home with a full charge if your range is going to be clobbered and you are going to spend 50% more charging the car in the winter time than you expected.

4. The climate control system is inferior. I have a hard time getting the vents pointed where I want using the touchscreen and I don't get that comforting blast of warm air over my hands when I get into the car and I'm freezing. I can crank the fan speed up to near maximum (disable auto) and there is barely any heat coming into the cabin. Sometimes the car claims the cabin is 75F but a portable digital thermometer shows that it's about 68. The car is not made for cold weather and very little thought seems to be put into cold weather comfort beyond it having seat heaters (which in fairness are pretty good).

5. Tesla media integration is pathetic and a joke. Slacker? Really? It can't resume playback of USB music, has no iPod integration (which pretty much every other car even $15,000 ones have had for nearly a decade), can't do playlists, etc. Considering how "high tech" the car is supposed to be with the giant touch screen and fancy navigation/map software the media piece is an enormous let down.

6. Tesla have absolutely shafted owners like me who spent upwards of $60,000 on a dual motor version. The car has gotten no 0-60 love and has seen aggressive price cuts. The same car I bought in September is now $4,000 cheaper and that's adjusted for tax credits. What's more, the huge slashing of the MSRP (nearly $8,000) means that my resale is toast.

7. The Model 3 shows wear/tear after only 3,000 miles I wouldn't expect with any Japanese or German car. For example I recently had to put some light velcro in the driver side footwell near the accelerator because the carpet there is getting badly worn from just my shoe resting near it when driving.

8. Tesla service is a joke. Whether you are calling the call center staffed with idiots who sound like they have an 8th grade education who will lie to you about everything, or the Millennial service employee/morons who will roll their eyes and scoff about complaints because you "only" bought a Model 3 (vs dropping $100K+ on an S or an X)... or the fact that you go to drop your car off and find out they need it for a week before even getting to it in their queue, service is atrocious. About the only bright spot is mobile service, which is decent, with very polite and attentive technicians but even then if it's something they can't identify and fix quickly they will try to pawn you off to one of the godawful service centers.

I was at the end of a lease on my 340i. So I was at a point where I would have had to buy out the 340i and flip it later for probably a big resale hit with the G20 platform launch imminent or I could have bought an S4 or I could have leased another car for three years. I'm not really regretting my decision to buy the Model 3 but I have zero brand loyalty to Tesla after how I feel I have been treated by them. I will happily jump to a BMW, Audi, VW, whatever if they are able to deliver 90% of the Tesla performance and do it without all of the Tesla incompetence.

I now view the Model 3 as a bridge car. I will keep it until something better comes along and then take it in the shorts and change it for another car, possibly that car will be another Tesla but a lot would have to change for that to happen.

Here's the problem for Tesla. I am an alpha geek and I provide input that weighs heavily with friends and family when they are making purchasing decisions. Doing things like slashing the price of the car just months after I bought it.... having terrible service, etc., means it will be harder for me to recommend Tesla products. I'm exactly the kind of customer Tesla needs and I'm exactly the kind of customer with high expectations that Tesla is driving away.
 
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Cross posted from my post in Bimmerfest Forum;

My current BMW is a 340xi that I've leased for the past three years. In fact I extended the lease a month as I had not yet received the car I ordered to replace it.

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Replacement car is a Tesla Dual Motor Model 3.

I put $1000 deposit on the Tesla back in April of 2016 after the "big reveal", the thought of an affordable electric vehicle with some performance chops was pretty exciting to me. I never would have thought it would take nearly 1,000 days for Tesla to deliver my car, but it did.

I finalized my order for the Tesla back in June. Right up until the month of June I was not convinced I wanted to own this car, I had read about Tesla's catching fire, shoddy quality of the vehicle assembly and I was worried about things like just one giant touchscreen for instrumentation.

I decided to rent a RWD Model 3 in Turn, to spend a day with it and figure out if it was for me. After the rental, which I was thrilled with, I committed my order.

After a few missteps from Tesla with moving my delivery date out, then pulling it back in I finally took delivery of my new car yesterday. I feel I'm in a good position to provide some direct feedback to those who might consider making the move to electric.

I've never considered myself much of an environmentalist... but I do recycle, I do have a 7,000 watt solar array on my house and now I have an electric car. Most of these decisions I make are driven by economics. In the case of the Tesla 3 it breaks down this way;

  • $49,000 Model 3 with LR battery and premium upgrades
  • $4,000 dual motor configuration
  • $1,000 Deep Blue Metallic Paint
  • $1,500 premium white interior
  • $1,000 delivery
  • -$7,500 Federal Tax Credit
  • -$5,000 State Tax Credit

So, final cost on this car will be $49,000 + taxes and registration. That's a pretty good deal. I guess the fact that the car has zero emissions and is good for the environment is a bonus.

I picked my car up at Colorado's big Tesla service center. Tesla does not have traditional dealerships. They have stores and service centers. I picked up on a weekday and the lot was filled to overflowing with Tesla S/3/X (no Y yet) vehicles and there were a decent number of deliveries going on. Two carriers with more cars were showing up while I did my delivery.

I walked in, identified myself, paired my phone with my new car, and started looking it over. If I had been ready to drive off, it would have taken 10 minutes. Literally. 10 minutes. I was a cash buyer with no trade in... no matter how I slice it though, fastest new car purchase I've ever done. Since Tesla sells to everyone, even employees at the same price there is no negotiating. They have been known to give customers discounts or concessions if there is a major problem with their purchase.

The car was in better condition than I expected. Examining with a flashlight there was no evidence of any re-paint and the paint was in great condition. Panel alignment that Tesla has been rightly criticized for was very good... not QUITE on the level of German automakers but close enough most would not notice. There was one very small alignment issue with the rear driver's side door, but it's so minimal I don't know that I care enough to ask them to fix it. After driving off with the car I did discover the left turn signal is not working correctly. Tesla will correct this with a part swap soon with their mobile service (rangers!) which is pretty nice... beats a service center visit with a brand new car.

I drove off and proceeded to spend the next 24 hours when not working driving the car, putting over 100 miles on it.

I wanted to share my initial impressions.

Compared to my 340xi the handling on the Tesla is better. Noticeably better. It points and turns much faster and the forward seating position (there is no engine so the cabin is forward of where it is in traditional cars), low center of gravity and near 50/50 weight distribution make it a joy to drive spiritidly.

The one downside to the handling is the suspension, which is firmer than on the BMW. It soaks up bumps well enough but there is some extra springiness in the suspension I find a bit objectionable. Some of this could be due to the very high (45 PSI!!) tire pressure that Tesla recommends for optimal range. My car came with 18" rims (the standard "aero" wheels), I'm not sure if I could take driving it with 19"s and definitely not 20"s. As these will be my winter wheels I probably have some time to figure it out.

I was initially concerned that the giant center display would be a turn off... but it's not. I can always see the speed out of my peripheral vision, the screen is enormous and incredibly responsive. It does not have CarPlay but neither does my current BMW. Bluetooth works well with my iPhone X... it does contacts, music, and of course my phone acts as a key (works perfectly so far). Backup key is a plastic credit card that has an RFID chip. You hold it up to the B pillar to unlock the car and you tap it to the center console to enable drive. The phone as a key is more convenient.

Power/speed wise there is no comparison between the 340xi and the Model 3 with dual motors. Both cars show similar 0-60 and 1/4 mile times (4.5 seconds and 12.7 seconds approximately). However, with the BMW you only achieve these times with sport+ mode enabled and in more or less perfect conditions. With the Tesla you squeeze the accelerator and the car simply takes off like a rocket... instantaneously. Turbo lag isn't "almost" nonexistent. It is nonexistent. The feeling of thrust is similar to what you feel in a very large 400+ horsepower V8 car like a Corvette but the responsiveness just doesn't have any comparison in the world of gas burning cars.

One of my biggest gripes with my 340xi and the 328xi it replaced is that slight delay and hesitation when something happens and you need to react quickly with SPEED. You press firmly on the accelerator and it takes the car a moment to figure out you want to MOVE like NOW. This happens even in Sport mode. The Tesla has none of this. Response for all purposes is instantaneous. Pretty incredible really.

Additionally, the car isn't making any noise other than a very faint whine when it is doing this. The feeling of extremely rapid acceleration coupled with no drama is kind of addictive. Scratch that, it is highly addictive.

Let off the accelerator and the car starts to immediately slow with the regenerative brakes... recapturing momentum and putting it in the batteries.

I didn't test drive the Performance version that is even faster with 3.5 0-60 and 11.6 1/4 mile times. The one I bought is fast enough. Never thought I'd say that but it's true. Plus, I saved $10,000 buying the "slow" dual motor one. Go me.

Interior wise the car is nice, but it's not on the level of a BMW/Merc/Audi. It just doesn't have that "bespoke" feel, but it is quite a lovely airy modern cabin. The lack of gauges and buttons and stuff feels weird at first but you quickly get used to it. Interior storage is fairly useful (much more so than S or X) but not on level with BMW. I still can't find a good place to store my sunglasses in this thing. :)

What are the strengths of the BMW comparatively?

Cosmetically the BMW looks higher end. The M body kit, the angel eye headlights, the aggressive "get the hell out of my way" stance, all scream "German Autobahn machine". The Tesla looks good but it's softer. Biggest problem with the looks are the pouty fish mouth. Still not in love with it. It's worth noting that other than a carbon fiber spoiler on the highest end Performance+ version and different rims, there is zero cosmetic differentiation between Tesla versions right now.... oh, I forgot one, the white seats are only available on all wheel drive variants, at least for now.

The suspension is tuned a bit better for a more compliant ride on the Beemer... trade off though is it handles nothing like the Tesla.

The BMW has a higher end feeling cockpit with more materials and the materials feel a bit higher end. The Tesla doesn't feel cheap, just spartan. The sport seats on the BMW have better adjustments, they are much firmer. The Tesla seats were still surprisingly comfortable... probably best next to Volvo I've sat in from a pure "comfort" perspective.

BMW has some features I will miss. I will miss the kick to open tailgate. I will miss the 360 surround view parking (In fairness though the Tesla has a better backup camera and it is displayed on a massive screen compared to the BMW)...

BMW has CarPlay, which the Tesla does not have. The Tesla does have a much better sounding stereo than the HK in the BMW.

The BMW might have just slightly less wind noise than the Tesla. The Tesla also exhibits a tiny bit of buzzing/vibration sounds from the cockpit when going over really grooved concrete, but I've experienced this to varying degrees with all cars I've owned.

That's about it for now. I've posted some additional pictures below. The Tesla looks quite good in person but is very hard to photograph this color with a smart phone. I'm debating having the aluminum trim wrapped in black and getting a light tint on the windows.

I'm here to answer any questions you have, so fire away and I'll respond the best I can.

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Cross posted from my post in Bimmerfest Forum;

My current BMW is a 340xi that I've leased for the past three years. In fact I extended the lease a month as I had not yet received the car I ordered to replace it.

IMG_2318.jpg


Replacement car is a Tesla Dual Motor Model 3.

I put $1000 deposit on the Tesla back in April of 2016 after the "big reveal", the thought of an affordable electric vehicle with some performance chops was pretty exciting to me. I never would have thought it would take nearly 1,000 days for Tesla to deliver my car, but it did.

I finalized my order for the Tesla back in June. Right up until the month of June I was not convinced I wanted to own this car, I had read about Tesla's catching fire, shoddy quality of the vehicle assembly and I was worried about things like just one giant touchscreen for instrumentation.

I decided to rent a RWD Model 3 in Turn, to spend a day with it and figure out if it was for me. After the rental, which I was thrilled with, I committed my order.

After a few missteps from Tesla with moving my delivery date out, then pulling it back in I finally took delivery of my new car yesterday. I feel I'm in a good position to provide some direct feedback to those who might consider making the move to electric.

I've never considered myself much of an environmentalist... but I do recycle, I do have a 7,000 watt solar array on my house and now I have an electric car. Most of these decisions I make are driven by economics. In the case of the Tesla 3 it breaks down this way;

  • $49,000 Model 3 with LR battery and premium upgrades
  • $4,000 dual motor configuration
  • $1,000 Deep Blue Metallic Paint
  • $1,500 premium white interior
  • $1,000 delivery
  • -$7,500 Federal Tax Credit
  • -$5,000 State Tax Credit

So, final cost on this car will be $49,000 + taxes and registration. That's a pretty good deal. I guess the fact that the car has zero emissions and is good for the environment is a bonus.

I picked my car up at Colorado's big Tesla service center. Tesla does not have traditional dealerships. They have stores and service centers. I picked up on a weekday and the lot was filled to overflowing with Tesla S/3/X (no Y yet) vehicles and there were a decent number of deliveries going on. Two carriers with more cars were showing up while I did my delivery.

I walked in, identified myself, paired my phone with my new car, and started looking it over. If I had been ready to drive off, it would have taken 10 minutes. Literally. 10 minutes. I was a cash buyer with no trade in... no matter how I slice it though, fastest new car purchase I've ever done. Since Tesla sells to everyone, even employees at the same price there is no negotiating. They have been known to give customers discounts or concessions if there is a major problem with their purchase.

The car was in better condition than I expected. Examining with a flashlight there was no evidence of any re-paint and the paint was in great condition. Panel alignment that Tesla has been rightly criticized for was very good... not QUITE on the level of German automakers but close enough most would not notice. There was one very small alignment issue with the rear driver's side door, but it's so minimal I don't know that I care enough to ask them to fix it. After driving off with the car I did discover the left turn signal is not working correctly. Tesla will correct this with a part swap soon with their mobile service (rangers!) which is pretty nice... beats a service center visit with a brand new car.

I drove off and proceeded to spend the next 24 hours when not working driving the car, putting over 100 miles on it.

I wanted to share my initial impressions.

Compared to my 340xi the handling on the Tesla is better. Noticeably better. It points and turns much faster and the forward seating position (there is no engine so the cabin is forward of where it is in traditional cars), low center of gravity and near 50/50 weight distribution make it a joy to drive spiritidly.

The one downside to the handling is the suspension, which is firmer than on the BMW. It soaks up bumps well enough but there is some extra springiness in the suspension I find a bit objectionable. Some of this could be due to the very high (45 PSI!!) tire pressure that Tesla recommends for optimal range. My car came with 18" rims (the standard "aero" wheels), I'm not sure if I could take driving it with 19"s and definitely not 20"s. As these will be my winter wheels I probably have some time to figure it out.

I was initially concerned that the giant center display would be a turn off... but it's not. I can always see the speed out of my peripheral vision, the screen is enormous and incredibly responsive. It does not have CarPlay but neither does my current BMW. Bluetooth works well with my iPhone X... it does contacts, music, and of course my phone acts as a key (works perfectly so far). Backup key is a plastic credit card that has an RFID chip. You hold it up to the B pillar to unlock the car and you tap it to the center console to enable drive. The phone as a key is more convenient.

Power/speed wise there is no comparison between the 340xi and the Model 3 with dual motors. Both cars show similar 0-60 and 1/4 mile times (4.5 seconds and 12.7 seconds approximately). However, with the BMW you only achieve these times with sport+ mode enabled and in more or less perfect conditions. With the Tesla you squeeze the accelerator and the car simply takes off like a rocket... instantaneously. Turbo lag isn't "almost" nonexistent. It is nonexistent. The feeling of thrust is similar to what you feel in a very large 400+ horsepower V8 car like a Corvette but the responsiveness just doesn't have any comparison in the world of gas burning cars.

One of my biggest gripes with my 340xi and the 328xi it replaced is that slight delay and hesitation when something happens and you need to react quickly with SPEED. You press firmly on the accelerator and it takes the car a moment to figure out you want to MOVE like NOW. This happens even in Sport mode. The Tesla has none of this. Response for all purposes is instantaneous. Pretty incredible really.

Additionally, the car isn't making any noise other than a very faint whine when it is doing this. The feeling of extremely rapid acceleration coupled with no drama is kind of addictive. Scratch that, it is highly addictive.

Let off the accelerator and the car starts to immediately slow with the regenerative brakes... recapturing momentum and putting it in the batteries.

I didn't test drive the Performance version that is even faster with 3.5 0-60 and 11.6 1/4 mile times. The one I bought is fast enough. Never thought I'd say that but it's true. Plus, I saved $10,000 buying the "slow" dual motor one. Go me.

Interior wise the car is nice, but it's not on the level of a BMW/Merc/Audi. It just doesn't have that "bespoke" feel, but it is quite a lovely airy modern cabin. The lack of gauges and buttons and stuff feels weird at first but you quickly get used to it. Interior storage is fairly useful (much more so than S or X) but not on level with BMW. I still can't find a good place to store my sunglasses in this thing. :)

What are the strengths of the BMW comparatively?

Cosmetically the BMW looks higher end. The M body kit, the angel eye headlights, the aggressive "get the hell out of my way" stance, all scream "German Autobahn machine". The Tesla looks good but it's softer. Biggest problem with the looks are the pouty fish mouth. Still not in love with it. It's worth noting that other than a carbon fiber spoiler on the highest end Performance+ version and different rims, there is zero cosmetic differentiation between Tesla versions right now.... oh, I forgot one, the white seats are only available on all wheel drive variants, at least for now.

The suspension is tuned a bit better for a more compliant ride on the Beemer... trade off though is it handles nothing like the Tesla.

The BMW has a higher end feeling cockpit with more materials and the materials feel a bit higher end. The Tesla doesn't feel cheap, just spartan. The sport seats on the BMW have better adjustments, they are much firmer. The Tesla seats were still surprisingly comfortable... probably best next to Volvo I've sat in from a pure "comfort" perspective.

BMW has some features I will miss. I will miss the kick to open tailgate. I will miss the 360 surround view parking (In fairness though the Tesla has a better backup camera and it is displayed on a massive screen compared to the BMW)...

BMW has CarPlay, which the Tesla does not have. The Tesla does have a much better sounding stereo than the HK in the BMW.

The BMW might have just slightly less wind noise than the Tesla. The Tesla also exhibits a tiny bit of buzzing/vibration sounds from the cockpit when going over really grooved concrete, but I've experienced this to varying degrees with all cars I've owned.

That's about it for now. I've posted some additional pictures below. The Tesla looks quite good in person but is very hard to photograph this color with a smart phone. I'm debating having the aluminum trim wrapped in black and getting a light tint on the windows.

I'm here to answer any questions you have, so fire away and I'll respond the best I can.

IMG_3790.jpg

IMG_2318.jpg

IMG_8774.jpg

IMG_9061.jpg

IMG_8964.jpg

IMG_3635.jpg

IMG_4357.jpg
You purchased the dual motor version; was this done because of better\traction control in winter? Or because you wanted the white interior.

This is the one trade I haven’t been able to sort out in my head
 
I share many of your thoughts, but see things a bit differently. I own a 2011 BMW 335d - a six cylinder twin scroll diesel engine. At the time it was in the third (and final) year of production in the 3 series BMW. The torque is intoxicating at 430 lb/ft, and with 266 HP the diesel was a great engine. Now, 8 years later and about 69K miles there are many problems. The car had to be "degunked" to remove diesel sludge in the manifold and valves - BMW blamed it on "short range driving". Well, maybe so, but there was no indication that the car shouldn't be driven in a particular way. I've owned 5 diesels before this car - several with 100K+ miles and never had a problem. The repair cost was $4K. BMW helped with the cost given my history of owning 11 BMWs. Still today my original $53K price BMW with 69K miles is worth $8500. Given the original list price of my Tesla M3 that would mean that in 2026 my M3 would sell for $8100 on a similar depreciation scale. That's possible, but extreme for both the Tesla and M3. The point is that any car depreciates, or has significant upkeep costs to maintain. What makes the M3 hard to accept is that I know of no manufacturer other than Tesla that cuts the list price of their cars so aggressively and in such a short timeframe. That makes the depreciation hit far worse than traditional European cars. The build quality issues remain, and Tesla has a lot of work to do there as well, but I knew that was a likely outcome when I signed up. Compared to the Leaf that I owned the Tesla has been great. And, not surprisingly, both BMW i3s that I owned were in the shop very frequently. I was left stranded more than once. That's not happened with my Tesla, but I've only had it for less than 4 months. Still, in that short time, my residual value has dropped by far more than expected as the selling price is now almost $7K less than I paid in November 2018, or $3200 less after rebates. I don't like that, but if that's what it takes to keep Tesla viable so be it.
 
I had 2008 335i 6spd, sport package, Cobb tune and have had my P3D+ for 5months. I had a rough start as I had to have the p3d+ towed to the service center less than 24hr after taking delivery. It was out of my hands a couple weeks and took 2 tries to finally fix it, but had a p90d loaner. Was a rough couple weeks...and i wasn’t happy at the time. But the service center made it right.....sent me a check to pay for part of my first months payment. Fast forward to today....that’s a faint memory and am LOVING the P3D+. I was cross shopping the M3 but needed something awd. I agree with voip-ninja that the power and handling are intoxicating...and that nothing drives like it. I don’t have issues with squeaks and rattles.....has been solid so far. I don’t take a lot of long road trips and work is only 42miles round trip. So even with the deep freeze we had a couple weeks ago....range is never an issue. Looking at my STATS app.....winter efficiency when its 30deg out is a little over 70%, 20deg it’s a little under 70% efficiency.
I recently took my first road trip in it the other week. Did a day ski trip that was 120 miles one way. It was 15 degrees out, had the car toasty and was driving 75-80mph. I stopped at a supercharger near the mountain, had breakfast while it was charging, skiied, got in the car in the afternoon and drove straight home.....no range anxiety. I was eyeing the range and keeping a track of it.....but more so...because it was my first road trip in it. I actually love the climate control. It heats up VERY fast....compared to ice cars.
Build quality isn’t on par with BMW, mine wasn’t perfect.....but honestly wasn’t that bad at all. I had one dust nib near the drivers side marker...nothing I was gonna send back and have a body shop try and repaint. Had micro swirls and a few hazy spots that they probably tried to polish out some imperfections. I’m an enthusiast detailer, so I did my own paint correction and ceramic coat. The hazy spots polished out pretty easily. The 335 also came with swirl marks too btw.

I wasn’t sure how I would feel loosing the 3rd pedal. But 5 months later, I haven’t looked back yet and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Had a couple inches of snow last night....so I decided to give it a wash after shoveling the driveway lol

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