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If Only I Had Known...

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Hi All,
I picked up my M3 LR on 7/1/18. Prior to that I owned 3 vehicles, 2010 E550, 2012 SLK350, and a 2011 Ridgeline RTL. I decided to sell the SLK when the M3 was going to be delivered. I had not yet driven the M3, or any Tesla for that matter. It's now been 7 weeks and I've put 1052 miles on it. Previously my gas costs averaged out to $145/month (Jan-June 2010), I've received my 1st PG&E bill since picking up my M3. This bill is $44.00 more than the prior month, during which I charged my car 4 times. I did not purchase gas during July, and only drove 10 mile on the 3 ICE vehicles. So my fuel costs dropped $100 per month.

Now on to the purpose of this post. If only I had known how much I'd enjoy driving the M3, I would've ordered the performance version, paid the extra $15k and sold the E550 too. There are some things I'll miss in the other cars that the M3 is lacking (CD/DVD player, massager in the driver's seat, cooling seats, Night Assist, and the auto opening/closing trunk). But overall it's a blast to drive. The regenerative braking is like driving a stick without a clutch.

One last thing I'd like to touch on is the complaints of non-M3 owners that there's no FOB. This is no issue at all, since your car unlocks via bluetooth when you walk up to it, it's much more convenient than a fob you've got to push a button on. And you generally have your phone on you anyway. Also, the RFID card is much smaller and lighter than a FOB and doesn't need batteries. Some also complain that you've got to put the RFID card on the center console to start the car, untrue as long as you can get in and press the brake pedal in under 30 seconds the initial swipe is all that's needed. Also, has any of them ever had to replace a FOB? Frigging EXPENSIVE, replacing an RFID card is $10 plus you can have more should more people need access to the M3. Don't know too many that want to drop $150+ each to have 3 or 4 total keys. Just my thoughts after a month and a half.
 
Can’t agree more. Sad that I did not get the AWD or P. Wish there was an option to add a motor to front of RWD! Haha. Would lose too much selling RWD and rebuying tho. Will now know for my next car (waiting for the Model Y).

Regarding Bluetooth phone as key: it’s great but some phones have funky drivers and it doesn’t work 100% of the time (seems to be mostly android phones, and iPhone owners that don’t allow background access to Tesla app). That is the complaint. Works 100% for me tho so I love it (on iPhone X).
 
CD/DVD player

LOL

I can't imagine how much grief Tesla would get if they *did* include an optical disc reader. That would pretty much scream "old and busted" rather than "new hotness." And this is coming from someone who drives a 2002 Subaru (for two more days anyway!).


This is no issue at all, since your car unlocks via bluetooth when you walk up to it

The issue is that the Bluetooth unlock feature is very unreliable for many. If it was 100% reliable, I don't think many would have a problem.
 
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... it's much more convenient than a fob you've got to push a button on...
That's not how many modern fobs, including those in Teslas, work. No need to touch the fob to open the doors or start the car (or to lock the car when walking away). However, the fob does have easy-to-use buttons if you want to open the frunk, for example — no fussing with screens or menus. Not everyone wants to carry a smartphone everywhere they go and not everyone has a smartphone that works seamlessly with the Tesla bluetooth LE system, leading to frustration (as described in numerous threads on the subject).
 
My fellow economists will crucify me for saying this but I’d work on a means to sell the 3LR even if you just took it before end of year and get the P if you can take the hit.

Action is painful. Inaction is also painful. :(

A badass arbitrage move is to take P3 delivery on dec 31st and sell the 3LR on Jan 1st.
 
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Not gonna lie, I didn't know anyone actually used the CD/DVD players in cars anymore except maybe families who put Frozen on the minivan's TV screen to keep the kids pacified on long trips.

As an S owner, I want a damn fob on my 3. Fortunately there are rumors everywhere that a fob is coming, and hopefully sooner rather than later.
 
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lack of a 3.5 mm aux jack so that I can plug-in my MP3 player for audio books on long trips.
Would this work ?
Probably depends whether your player is sending out digital or analog.

Screen Shot 2018-08-19 at 4.21.57 PM.jpg
 
While I have no use for a CD player, one of my biggest disappointments with Tesla is the lack of a 3.5 mm aux jack so that I can plug-in my MP3 player for audio books on long trips.
My Benz's can play DVDs. If you're driving it only plays the sound. I record and copy stand-up routines and play them in my cars (most stand-ups really don't require you to see the video to get the jokes. Christopher Titus is one of my favorites, but streaming only plays a short segment instead of the entire 1.5 hour routine.

On the Fob point, yes my Benz's both have/had keyless go and I do/did find it convenient, but I haven't experienced many issues with the phone as key. If you connect via wifi/LTE before approaching your car, I think that'll make the phone work 100%. I much prefer the RFID card to a FOB in my pocket.
 
That's not how many modern fobs, including those in Teslas, work. No need to touch the fob to open the doors or start the car (or to lock the car when walking away). However, the fob does have easy-to-use buttons if you want to open the frunk, for example — no fussing with screens or menus. Not everyone wants to carry a smartphone everywhere they go and not everyone has a smartphone that works seamlessly with the Tesla bluetooth LE system, leading to frustration (as described in numerous threads on the subject).
Most of the complaints I read specifically say they want the button. I have/had 2 cars which you don't have to push a button (Mercedes calls it keyless go). I still think the majority of cars that use a fob require you to push the button. Since my phone works the vast majority of the time I don't have issue with being FOBless. I've had no issue with opening the frunk with my phone either. I do wish both cargo compartments were motorized to open and close, once you get used to having some feature, its hard to go back. Especially the keyless go. Can't tell you how many times I've gone to my truck, used the FOB to open the door, dropped my key back into my pocket, got in the truck, then realized I had to pull out the damned key to start the car. Just getting forgetful in my old age.
 
Would this work ?
Probably depends whether your player is sending out digital or analog.

View attachment 327149
No, the signal is analog so it wouldn't work. The idea behind the auxiliary jack is that the car's sound system just acts as an amplifier for the analog signal and control is done by the little MP3 player.
I plug my MP3 player into the right USB port and the car can control the player, unfortunately the M# doesn't have random play (yet?).
My car doesn't recognize my MP3 player via the computer jack to USB. Perhaps that depends on the device? Even if it did, it would be tricky to play many hours long audio books in order, with pause and resume play at the correct place; the MP3 player does this easily and well.

It is a kludgy solution but I use an RF transmitter to play audio books via the MP3 player. That, in turn, requires finding an open FM frequency, something I can usually do on my road trips but which can be difficult in very large metro areas. A Bluetooth transmitter would be better but I gather from reviews that they tend not to work with Tesla Bluetooth; don't know why. What some people do is play audio books on their phones but I don't want to use a huge, clunky phone, instead of my tiny clip-on MP3 player, for audio books (I have around 500 audio books). [I also don't link my phone to my car since I never, ever, want to deal with phone calls and the like while driving. Phone calls and texting are for Supercharger stops.]