Fuel/Maintenance Savings vs. reasonable expectations

[Shelburne]

Massachusetts has a vehicle excise tax on all cars. As the car ages the tax amount drops, but I still had to pay over $700 for my 2020 Tesla after I bought it, on top of nearly $3000 in sales tax.

 

[mstatkus]

@meanestdadever totally agree on spreadsheets. Definitely have had some people refer to it as the 'grid system'. Regardless of what the visual data input issue is, they seem to also resort to having a panic about Kilowatts or Kilowatt hours which has been on their power bill this whole time. Aside from making a popup-book or some kind of coloring activity - the whole thing turns insulting lol

 

[VanHeath]

Hi all! I recently ordered a Model 3 LR with estimated delivery in December. I am excited at the thought of getting away from ICE (currently drive an Audi S5) mainly because I cringe every time I am at the pump paying for premium fuel. It didn't bother me as much in recent years but after moving I drive at least 90 miles a day during the week and savings on fuel alone seems to be a no-brainer. My first question is how accurate did you find the fuel savings calculators online? When customizing my calculations with estimated electrical costs (assuming my charging is done at home which I plan to do) is close to $20K when factoring in my current vehicle eats up premium fuel at a pretty hefty rate. This does not account for the oil changes and other maintenance but am not oblivious to the fact that these costs will be offset by maintenance on the M3 LR (i.e., service, tires, etc) and increase in insurance premiums.

Although I am excited about cutting out the gas stations, I do not find myself completely in love with the M3 (yet). Anybody else have similar on the fence feelings and made the move to the M3 based on a dollars and sense standpoint but come to love the vehicle after taking ownership?

Thanks all.

The money you save on gas ends up going into tires. I used to spend $130-$170/mo in gas, now I spend $30/mo to charge my Model 3. So that's like $1200-$1680 in gas savings over the year. Turns out, I put 23k miles on the car in the first year, and that's about all you get from your tires on the Model 3 (average is 18-25k based on driving habits). I go into Discount Tire to get a new set, and the Michelin Tires the car comes with are $1730 to replace. So there goes the gas savings.

I actually ended up getting Bridgestone Run Flats for $1450. I had gotten a flat tire while driving though a bad part of town and was stuck waiting for a Tow Truck for a couple hours. Don't want to deal with that ever again. We'll see how far they stretch. But basically looking like I'll be having to buy new tires every year instead of every 3 years.

 

[texas_star_TM3]

The money you save on gas ends up going into tires. I used to spend $130-$170/mo in gas, now I spend $30/mo to charge my Model 3. So that's like $1200-$1680 in gas savings over the year. Turns out, I put 23k miles on the car in the first year, and that's about all you get from your tires on the Model 3 (average is 18-25k based on driving habits). I go into Discount Tire to get a new set, and the Michelin Tires the car comes with are $1730 to replace. So there goes the gas savings.

I actually ended up getting Bridgestone Run Flats for $1450. I had gotten a flat tire while driving though a bad part of town and was stuck waiting for a Tow Truck for a couple hours. Don't want to deal with that ever again. We'll see how far they stretch. But basically looking like I'll be having to buy new tires every year instead of every 3 years.

the OEM tires are notoriously bad with wear and come with less factory tread than other tires. I got close to 30k miles out of the OEM michelins.
I opted for Pirelli P Zero AS Elect and they have a 50k warranty for wear - meaning if they are done after just 25k miles the next pair is 1/2 off...

 

[Shelburne]

As they say, your mileage may vary I had my tires rotated in October at about 17,000 miles by a Tesla mobile service guy. He told me I was just under halfway thru the tread depth and could expect to make it to 35,000. The tires are Continentals. But I drive mostly on roads with 50mph speed limits and never go over 75 on the interstates. I also avoid really quick acceleration

 

[charlieaf92]

You're spending the equivalent of gas savings on tires? LOL. What tires are you buying and why are they wearing out so fast? My pilot sport 4s tires are at 40k miles and just now needing to be replaced. I haven't priced them, but I can assure you that the gas savings over 40k miles is going to be more than enough to buy a set of tires. The last set of tires I bought was for a 911 4S and it was about $2k all in. I don't drive much and I'd estimate my gas savings in the $100/month range.