I'll never be able to decide on a color

[Xambler]

I think my red looks amazing, and it doesn't show dirt and scratches so much, but ....

I've been chased by road rage freaks TWICE in the year I've had it. Compared to 0 times for all 8 of the cars I had before it. It's only 2 data points, not very scientific I admit, but I was wondering if a red Tesla makes you a target for weirdos?

Doubt it. Haven’t had any issues in 18k miles. I wonder if what pisses people off is that when you pass someone in a Tesla and then switch to their lane, 2 things happen…1st you zip ahead fast so probably notice you are going over speed limit so take foot off the pedal to slow down…2nd, the regen slowing you down I assume puts the brake lights on even if you don’t touch the brakes, slowing you down quickly and then you continue on not realizing your car looked like it brake checked the car you zipped around. Thoughts?

 

[Xambler]

What a lively thread and on point for us. My wife and I are wrestling with color and model both. My wife really wants the red. Her second choice is white. Neither of us never want another black car for reasons similar to those mentioned.

Been trying to find the other colors in the wild without much success to see how they look on the M3 and MY. We were on a road trip this weekend and we saw a MYP in the red and it looked amazing. OTOH - red tends to be a very highly ticketed color. Most recent data I saw white surpassed it but there was some crucial info missing. As an overall percentage, white was more ticketed (19% vs 16% red). They didn't provide the info for what proportion of total white vs red (or any other colors).

Based on another study in Ohio, black was the most ticketed (then white, gray and red). At least the Ohio data I found showed that as a percentage, there were far more black cars than red. So you would think that overall there would be more black cars ticketed. When I looked at the percentages of tickets vs the percentages of each car color, red was over-represented in the tickets compared to black by about 20%.

I tend to drive fairly fast but not recklessly, so I'd prefer to blend in as much as I can. I have to leave the cars parked outside so another downside to the red is the breakdown of the paint in the sunlight. Black is pretty bad too. We live in Florida and the sun is intense so that is a consideration.

At least the interior color is easy. We have a kid so white is out. We have cream leather in my wife's car and I don't think there is a single spot our kid missed getting something on it. You would they actually tried to get every possible place they could.

We'll probably go the safe choice (white) and hope the bumpers don't mismatch in color as bad as the two I've seen at the Tesla store so far. For those with the red, how well does the red paint match up bumpers and with the quarter panels? How is the MSM in this regard?

I am still new to the site here. Is there a gallery anywhere here where you can browse through photos of actual member's cars?

I am trying to find real photos of the MY (preferably P) in MSM and red.
For the M3 (preferably P) red, MSM and blue.

I think the shape of the body really can impact the color choice for me.

Wife wanted red so we got red. I wanted the $2k stealth option so I got that. We were both happy. Paint was defect free, all same color…when I picked it up there was one black car, one red car (ours), and 7 white cars all prepped and ready to be picked up. Pretty much the ratio we see while traveling…with a blue every once in a while.

 

[Transformer]

I am trying to find real photos of the MY (preferably P) in MSM and red.
For the M3 (preferably P) red, MSM and blue.

Look in the Model 3 & Model Y forums for threads titled "Pictures of your Model __ right now." Lots of nicely composed photos of cars that were washed just now.

Fun thread!

The observations on sun damage reminded me of a silver Scirocco decades ago with paint that was already oxidized when I bought it from a couple years in L.A. sun.

Now I keep cars in the garage and am amazed at how many others are parked outside. Some neighbors are even getting metal parts welded on to protect their catalytic converters from thieves.

 

[Hayden]

Don't get me wrong, I was going to take red ... until my wife asked for the matching lipstick. Then just went for white, which you still had to pay for at that time.

 

[DayTrippin]

Don't they make white lipstick too? I think my wife had one of every shade of lipstick ever created before we married so any color Tesla would have worked. Now she has scaled it back quite a bit. I am really leaning toward the red but not really sure it is worth the upcharge. The savings over the red would go a long way toward PPF where needed.

My second choice would be white, not because I love it, but it would hold up best in the Florida sun. At first I did like the white, at least on the MYP, maybe not as much on the M3P. When I saw the red, that was the one that really grabbed my attention. Just may be too challenging to keep it looking like it should.

 

[Hayden]

Don't they make white lipstick too? I think my wife had one of every shade of lipstick ever created before we married so any color Tesla would have worked. Now she has scaled it back quite a bit. I am really leaning toward the red but not really sure it is worth the upcharge. The savings over the red would go a long way toward PPF where needed.

My second choice would be white, not because I love it, but it would hold up best in the Florida sun. At first I did like the white, at least on the MYP, maybe not as much on the M3P. When I saw the red, that was the one that really grabbed my attention. Just may be too challenging to keep it looking like it should.

There is not much choice and color is very personal. If you like red you are not going to look at a few dollars more, are you?

 

[DayTrippin]

I am less picky about the price than my wife is. With white, I am not sure I would do PPF on it. With red, I see almost no way around it. The white undercoat shows through if you get a chip. As luck would have it, I saw a red M3 at lunch today. No PPF on the front and it looks like the nose of the car had acne it was so bad. So the surcharge going with red isn't just the 2k for the color, but probably another 2k for the PPF on the front at a minimum. So it turns into about 7-8% increase in price for the color change. That would almost cover wheels and coilovers.

Also, the red color looked different. It looked like either an earlier model of the M3. Is the red the same shade from the first 2 years as 2021? The MYP I saw on the road clearly looked like a different red than the M3 I just saw. Or if it is the same red color, it clearly didn't age well.

 

[jjrandorin]

I’m just in awe there are 3 pages in a thread about 5 colors.

That was 2 pages ago , its on page 5 now and still going strong, lol.

 

[adamw13]

white + wrap ...

I'd have chosen red if it was more maroon. That blaring primary color is not something I've ever liked. I love maroon/burgundy as a color. That's in the running for my wrap choice color at the moment.

 

[hellocar]

Doubt it. Haven’t had any issues in 18k miles. I wonder if what pisses people off is that when you pass someone in a Tesla and then switch to their lane, 2 things happen…1st you zip ahead fast so probably notice you are going over speed limit so take foot off the pedal to slow down…2nd, the regen slowing you down I assume puts the brake lights on even if you don’t touch the brakes, slowing you down quickly and then you continue on not realizing your car looked like it brake checked the car you zipped around. Thoughts?

Could be for some cases - my two cases were city streets slow traffic where I wasn’t passing anyone, I think the people were already frustrated with the traffic and then locked onto the Tesla. So wondering if I had a less noticeable color would have let me escape their notice

 

[SantaFeSpence]

The more I see MSM, the more I like it. Not sure how it will look with white seats though.

It looks fantastic!

 

[CanadianRob]

I chose white because I like the contrast between the white paint and the black trim. I'm one who will wrap the car though, so there's no point in spending the extra money on another permanent colour. Quite literally my only gripe about the white is how much the massacred bugs on the front stand out until I can get at them lol.

This car will be its original white for a few months, then british racing green for a bit and then switch to magma orange... and I haven't decided what comes after that.

 

[roblab]

Yep. No imagination, I say. Everybody gets white. Good old plain vanilla. Boring. Got a friend who asked about color, and I said, "Anything but white!" So he orders white. Why??? I don't get it. Knew a girl from Korea, wanted to buy a car. I suggested "anything but white!" So? She buys a white car. "It's so clean," she says. So is my blue car, especially after I wash it.

Oh, well. I guess most of the population is color blind and tone deaf.

 

[CanadianRob]

This thread is honestly horrible. So many people just blatantly putting down someone else' color choice because it's not the same as what they like.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the wonderful thing about life is that we all see things from different perspectives.

It is completely possible to make a comment on which color you like the best without degrading anyone else' color choices. Just sayin'

In the end, y'all went with whatever color suited YOU because it's YOUR car.

/end rant

 

[Star Platinum]

Yep. No imagination, I say. Everybody gets white. Good old plain vanilla. Boring. Got a friend who asked about color, and I said, "Anything but white!" So he orders white. Why??? I don't get it. Knew a girl from Korea, wanted to buy a car. I suggested "anything but white!" So? She buys a white car. "It's so clean," she says. So is my blue car, especially after I wash it.

Oh, well. I guess most of the population is color blind and tone deaf.

You should listen to your friends. White is absolutely the best color. Blue is not the right shade of blue. Too dark at night and shows swirls and scratches easily.

 

[SSJ1]

Was in a similar spot as you a month ago. I ordered white w/ white. Unfortunately I only realized that I preferred the black w/ white for a few reasons,

Black (or any color besides white) will be less common for newer cars as its not the free option.
IMO, lighter colors make the Model 3 look more "bubbly" while darker colors make it look more sporty.
I also liked the contrast of dark exterior vs light interior.

 

[NickStu]

Was in a similar spot as you a month ago. I ordered white w/ white. Unfortunately I only realized that I preferred the black w/ white for a few reasons,

Black (or any color besides white) will be less common for newer cars as its not the free option.
IMO, lighter colors make the Model 3 look more "bubbly" while darker colors make it look more sporty.
I also liked the contrast of dark exterior vs light interior.

Yes, I agree! Color is really a personal and subjective choice. For me black looks the nicest, albeit I get the upkeep is a lot. I just got the black/black as a lot of owners where I live have white. It's like asking what color should you paint your bedroom walls...the answers will be all over the place.

 

[Star Platinum]

You should listen to your friends. White is absolutely the best color. Blue is not the right shade of blue. Too dark at night and shows swirls and scratches easily.

Was in a similar spot as you a month ago. I ordered white w/ white. Unfortunately I only realized that I preferred the black w/ white for a few reasons,

Black (or any color besides white) will be less common for newer cars as its not the free option.
IMO, lighter colors make the Model 3 look more "bubbly" while darker colors make it look more sporty.
I also liked the contrast of dark exterior vs light interior.

Black is an awesome color when pristine. I owned a black car before and it’s near impossible to keep it scratch and swirls free unless you fully pdf it. Thus I’m never owning another black car again even though it’s an awesome color.

 

[CanadianRob]

Yes, I agree! Color is really a personal and subjective choice. For me black looks the nicest, albeit I get the upkeep is a lot. I just got the black/black as a lot of owners where I live have white. It's like asking what color should you paint your bedroom walls...the answers will be all over the place.

This is exactly what I was trying to say. We're all going to get what we think is best for us. Those here who are saying their colour is better are absolutely right, their colour is better for them specifically. There's 5 choices for a reason, people are different

 

[bobbyg123]

Wife wanted red so we got red. I wanted the $2k stealth option so I got that. We were both happy. Paint was defect free, all same color…when I picked it up there was one black car, one red car (ours), and 7 white cars all prepped and ready to be picked up. Pretty much the ratio we see while traveling…with a blue every once in a while.View attachment 661809

Great color. Pity about the black seats. Kidding.