Is $9k worth 310 miles v 220?

[GadgetGeek407]

It has been very insightful to read all the comments, I have yet to place my order. So confused. Lots of you mentioned only charing to 80% why would I not charge to 100% every time?

I live in Orlando, FL mostly drive in the city, my furthest road trip is usually to drive to Atlanta, which is like a 7 hour drive about 475 miles. Or to Miami which is about a 200 mile ride. But that is not often. For the most part I like to rent when I travel out of state, mostly due to space and not putting tons of miles on my own cars.

A few of you mentioned potential resale value. I would have the full tax credit available now, does anyone know the battery size on LR? The unknown of what Tesla may due in the future drives me nuts! I do not know if maybe later they may make the 0-60 times faster or add more range even.

I just did not think I would have been spending close to 60k on a 35k car thats all. I saw a lot of you mention how weather makes a difference as well.

I have bought and sold about 6 MS P85 in the last one year (I own a used car business). I cannot say I have learned a lot about the car in terms of true range, charging times, speeds, etc and all the data detail everyone talks of, perhaps because I would just either supercharge and go. Or once installed at the office charge on a daily basis. So it did not matter to me I suppose. I am not one to keep cars more then a few years.

All the thoughts and details are appreciated. I would love some detailed feedback from those who can understand my situation.

 

[Need]

It has been very insightful to read all the comments, I have yet to place my order. So confused. Lots of you mentioned only charing to 80% why would I not charge to 100% every time?

I was told by the DS staff that it is not good for the battery to charge it up to 100% for daily drives. I guess it will help lessen battery degradation. Anyway, ours were set to 90%. Some people said you should set it at 80% or even 70%, but our MX 75D range is at 235 or something like that, so 90% is already down to about 210 miles. If we got the 100D, I may have set to 80%.

But I am not sure really how much degradation it will be if set to 100%. I am driving a loaner 2014 MS 85 with about 55K miles. It is set to 100% charge and still showing 260 miles at full charge. I look up on google that 2013 MS 85 had a full range of 265, so losing 5 miles in 50K and 4 years doesn't sound too bad.

 

[Dan Detweiler]

I was told by the DS staff that it is not good for the battery to charge it up to 100% for daily drives. I guess it will help lessen battery degradation. Anyway, ours were set to 90%. Some people said you should set it at 80% or even 70%, but our MX 75D range is at 235 or something like that, so 90% is already down to about 210 miles. If we got the 100D, I may have set to 80%.

But I am not sure really how much degradation it will be if set to 100%. I am driving a loaner 2014 MS 85 with about 55K miles. It is set to 100% charge and still showing 260 miles at full charge. I look up on google that 2013 MS 85 had a full range of 265, so losing 5 miles in 50K and 4 years doesn't sound too bad.

I think the point is that if you need the full range then it isn't going to hurt to charge it to 100% and then start driving. What hurts, if I am not mistaken, is charging to 100% and then leaving it there for hours on end. If you don't need full charge on a daily basis then set it to 90, 80, 70...whatever you're comfortable with, then there is no problem. The range is there for 100% when you need it.

Dan

 

[gregincal]

I think the point is that if you need the full range then it isn't going to hurt to charge it to 100% and then start driving. What hurts, if I am not mistaken, is charging to 100% and then leaving it there for hours on end. If you don't need full charge on a daily basis then set it to 90, 80, 70...whatever you're comfortable with, then there is no problem. The range is there for 100% when you need it.

Dan

Exactly, when thinking about range it's good to divide your needs into daily needs and occasional needs. For 99% of people charging to 80-90% even with a SR Model 3 is totally fine for daily needs, and is better for the battery. But there is no problem charging to 100% whenever you are about to take a longer trip. I did this on my Model S and had about 6% degradation after 5 years and 50K miles, which seems fine.

 

[ElecFan]

It has been very insightful to read all the comments, I have yet to place my order. So confused. Lots of you mentioned only charing to 80% why would I not charge to 100% every time?

I live in Orlando, FL mostly drive in the city, my furthest road trip is usually to drive to Atlanta, which is like a 7 hour drive about 475 miles. Or to Miami which is about a 200 mile ride. But that is not often. For the most part I like to rent when I travel out of state, mostly due to space and not putting tons of miles on my own cars.

A few of you mentioned potential resale value. I would have the full tax credit available now, does anyone know the battery size on LR? The unknown of what Tesla may due in the future drives me nuts! I do not know if maybe later they may make the 0-60 times faster or add more range even.

I just did not think I would have been spending close to 60k on a 35k car thats all. I saw a lot of you mention how weather makes a difference as well.

I have bought and sold about 6 MS P85 in the last one year (I own a used car business). I cannot say I have learned a lot about the car in terms of true range, charging times, speeds, etc and all the data detail everyone talks of, perhaps because I would just either supercharge and go. Or once installed at the office charge on a daily basis. So it did not matter to me I suppose. I am not one to keep cars more then a few years.

All the thoughts and details are appreciated. I would love some detailed feedback from those who can understand my situation.

I suggest you fill in a couple of your trips in abetterrouteplanner.com for both LR and SR and check the difference in travel time. You can fill in different weather conditions, temperature. The batterycapacity is a little less than official (71 kWh instead of 78 kWh for the LR) so you might change the standard energy consumption.

 

[ex-bimmer]

I'll risk getting run out of town with following:
Save the $9k, and rent a regular ICE car for your trips.
It's possible in the future you'd be able to rent an LR Model 3.

From an economic perspective it doesn't make much sense to spend a significant amount of money on the extra capacity if you're not going to use it on on a regular basis. At this point the only reason to get the LR in your case is earlier delivery.

 

[Trips]

I'll risk getting run out of town with following:
Save the $9k, and rent a regular ICE car for your trips.
It's possible in the future you'd be able to rent an LR Model 3.

From an economic perspective it doesn't make much sense to spend a significant amount of money on the extra capacity if you're not going to use it on on a regular basis. At this point the only reason to get the LR in your case is earlier delivery.

No worries saying that as I'm buying an ICE SUV.

Option A: Get a Long Range ($9,000), Dual Motor (~$4,500), possibly miss part of tax rebate ($3,750) and pay extra tax (~$2,000). Total Extra Cost: ~$19,250
Option B: Buy a 2012 Ford Escape AWD with 30k miles on it. Total Cost: $7,500

Buying an ICE gives me an extra vehicle, more space, towing, no range anxiety and 4 cylinders of pure gasoline power. It also has an AM radio and a manual rear door release

 

[gregincal]

4 cylinders of pure gasoline power.

I assume that's a joke. The Ford Escape is a fine car, but a powerhouse it is not. Obviously a totally different kind of car to a sports sedan like the Model 3.

 

[GadgetGeek407]

Lol you guys are hilarious. I do want it right now lol

 

[Dan Detweiler]

I'll risk getting run out of town with following:
Save the $9k, and rent a regular ICE car for your trips.
It's possible in the future you'd be able to rent an LR Model 3.

From an economic perspective it doesn't make much sense to spend a significant amount of money on the extra capacity if you're not going to use it on on a regular basis. At this point the only reason to get the LR in your case is earlier delivery.

I don't think you are going to get run out of town for your opinion. LOL! Valid point...however, faster charge speed, better warranty, piece of mind are all worth something to some people too. Nothing wrong with sharing your opinion. That's what this forum is all about.

Dan

 

[timk225]

Those who have new 3's - set it to charge to 100% every night and let it, to test the degradation. You have a 100,000 mile battery warranty!

 

[MP3Mike]

Those who have new 3's - set it to charge to 100% every night and let it, to test the degradation. You have a 100,000 mile battery warranty!

People with a long range Model 3 have a 120,000 mile battery warranty...

 

[gregincal]

Those who have new 3's - set it to charge to 100% every night and let it, to test the degradation. You have a 100,000 mile battery warranty!

The battery warranty allows 30% degradation. No thanks. With normal use my S battery had 6% degradation after 50,000 miles. Why would I want it to have several times more degradation?

 

[Electroman]

You guys all have it backwards. Its not that LR is $9K more than SR. It is just that SR is $9K less than LR.

If Tesla had not even mentioned SR at all, all of us will be drooling at the amazing 310 mile range car that is half the price of the slightly bigger Model S that has less range !!

And then one year later, what if Tesla out of the blue had announced SR that is only 90 mile less range but is priced an incredible $9K less than LR. Which means they have reduced the price as $100/mile of range. Which is a fantastic reduction in price.

Tesla didn't play their cards right in this.

 

[MediumFidelity]

I wonder if Tesla has considered a "road trip battery" that you tow behind you. Sounds silly, but it could give you range only when you need it, so you're not driving around with extra battery mass for daily commuting.

There are practical problems like projecting a battery pack outside of the frame of the car, and the lack of tow hitch, but look at everything Tesla has done.

-MF

PS. I'm on the fence about the LR model, I'll probably go for it if it means the full tax credit (so a $5250 option instead of $9000).

 

[Electroman]

PS. I'm on the fence about the LR model, I'll probably go for it if it means the full tax credit (so a $5250 option instead of $9000).

The problem is the $5000 premium package is forced on you. So you are actually paying 10250 more with the fed tax credit.

 

[MediumFidelity]

The problem is the $5000 premium package is forced on you. So you are actually paying 10250 more with the fed tax credit.

That was assuming a non-PUP version of the LR model is deliverable before the end of September. Since we haven't even seen a non-PUP version of the car yet, that doesn't seem likely. Beyond the publicly known issues at the Gigafactory, we don't know exactly where the bottlenecks are. Maybe it's hard to make two types of battery packs at GF1, so we'll see more iterations of the LR model before the SR comes out... or maybe that's been resolved.

 

[Dan Detweiler]

You guys all have it backwards. Its not that LR is $9K more than SR. It is just that SR is $9K less than LR.

If Tesla had not even mentioned SR at all, all of us will be drooling at the amazing 310 mile range car that is half the price of the slightly bigger Model S that has less range !!

And then one year later, what if Tesla out of the blue had announced SR that is only 90 mile less range but is priced an incredible $9K less than LR. Which means they have reduced the price as $100/mile of range. Which is a fantastic reduction in price.

Tesla didn't play their cards right in this.

Great point!

Dan

 

[Scrith]

I'm not sure this is all that interesting, but I accidentally charged my Model 3 to 99% or so yesterday at work (I forgot to set the 90% limit, and it said it would be done charging in 5 minutes when I got to the car, so it was quite full) and the rated range was 315 miles.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

You guys all have it backwards. Its not that LR is $9K more than SR. It is just that SR is $9K less than LR.

If Tesla had not even mentioned SR at all, all of us will be drooling at the amazing 310 mile range car that is half the price of the slightly bigger Model S that has less range !!

No, I'd be saying "Oh crap, it's still too expensive. Impressive, but I don't need that much range.".

And then one year later, what if Tesla out of the blue had announced SR that is only 90 mile less range but is priced an incredible $9K less than LR. Which means they have reduced the price as $100/mile of range. Which is a fantastic reduction in price.

"Oh, that's great, maybe I'll get one. Wait, what?! $5,000 so I can get heated mirrors and a bunch of stuff I don't care about?!"

Tesla didn't play their cards right in this.

No, they played their cards OK. But they haven't drawn yet.