Is anyone getting a base model?

[Big-T]

Due to the Tax rebate going away when the volume ramps up, buying a well equipped model might actually save you money by giving you quicker delivery while the tax rebate is still available.

High line models will be delivered before the base models are produced.

Was the same way with S and X.

I'm thinking this exactly. No I don't need a maxed out car, I'd like to keep it under 40k myself, but if buying a close to base model car looses me $10k+ in tax incentives (Federal plus state here in WA) I'd rather pay $45k and get a highly optioned car now & cash in on the rebates than a 35k base car in 2019/2020 with no rebates.

 

[Rpm2]

Here is what I want

- Glass roof (doesn't have to open)
- Dual Motor
- Leather Seating
- AP

I would like to keep it under 50k CAD but I'm thinking thats not going to be possible.

 

[Brian Minick]

I agree and hope that the region and reservation queue will trump options. When they did this for the X they did not have nearly as many pre-orders.

I can't imagine they ask me to configure (assuming I should be in the first 2 waves of the Southeast) and I select base, and then go wave after wave collecting build outs without delivering my base model.

Also, it would not be fair or reasonable to ask someone to build their car, commit, then deliver it 2-3 years later.

 

[Mr. Watts]

Not getting the base model.

Will prob get: AWD, Panoramic glass and tech/sound package. Maybe an upgraded battery size but ill see what my budget is like when the time comes

 

[Topher]

Base model for me. Possibly a tow package depending on how many we would otherwise have in the family.

But with adequate funds some options that seem reasonable: [prices taken from Model S options]
All Wheel drive. I don't know how much difference it makes on a Tesla, but given an option which INCREASES both performance and efficiency, and improves handling in snow et al as much as it does on other cars. At under $5k. Deal.
Autopilot. Be part of the revolution, ease long drives, be an unpaid driving instructor to our eventual robot overlords. Heck yes.
Larger battery. Determine your personal limit on the trade-off between price and convenience. There will be Superchargers where you need them. There might not be so many that adding battery actually lets you skip one on your trip.
Tow package. If you do a lot of towing.
Air filtration. Only if you or your family has horrible asthma. Bio-weapon defense mode is a joke, people.

Cool to have, but overpriced:
Subzero Winter Package. $1000 buys a lot of down comforters for the kids.
Openable roof. Loved mine when they didn't leak. Not actually that overpriced compared to other cars. Possibly cheaper on the ≡.

Thanks for buying high margin options, and thus making my car cheaper:
Upgraded paint. $1500, seriously?
Upgraded wheels. All the Tesla wheels look cool. Presumably they are all aerodynamic. I am not paying up to $4,500 for wheels that are slightly darker, and drop my range by 10-15% (21-32 miles).
Upgraded Seats. This was actually hard to put down here. The geometry of the upgraded seats is very nice, and I think would be far more comfortable (for me). Reminds my of the supremely comfortable seats I had on my old Honda Prelude. Leather (and pseudo-leather) are meh. Sometimes better, sometimes worse.
Decor. I actually like the default on the model S. But it is all merely some pattern behind thick plastic. Real wood with an oil finish, maybe.
Headliner. It never even occurred to me. $3,000 lets you change the headliner (of which there is precious little with the pano roof) from white to black. I'll suffer.

Thank you kindly.

 

[WileyTheMan]

Its just too darn early to tell. That said, I am not a bare-bones car buyer so I'll probably get some options like extended range and a good looking paint color. I plan on keeping the car for a while, so I might as well be happy with my choices.

 

[McHoffa]

Due to the Tax rebate going away when the volume ramps up, buying a well equipped model might actually save you money by giving you quicker delivery while the tax rebate is still available.

Exactly. If I can get a P60D or whatever for $20k more than a 60D (going by price differences on Model S) but that means I actually get the full $7500, then I just upgraded to a P for only $12.5k. Personally I'm looking at spending $60k (way more than I've ever even considered spending on a car) and if I'm getting the rebate, then that's $67.5k in reality. I'd LOVE to have the M3 equivalent of a P90DL. I put my deposit down that morning in store, and was near the front of the line.

My wife's on the other hand was a deposit I made that night just before the reveal. The plan for hers is base + autopilot + paint, not planning on going over $40k, but again, I guess if it meant getting another rebate vs not just by adding some options, then I could do $7500 in options and come out even.

 

[Topher]

Musk has already said that highly optioned cars will tend to be produced sooner.

Musk is also not an idiot. He can put out a bunch of cars to employees, friends etc. for 'beta testing'. Then put out a few more to California for 'gamma testing'. Put out some high margin cars until they reach 199,999 cars. Then build 6 months or more of production, and release them on the first day of a quarter. So 1 year's worth (6 months pre-built, 6 months regular production) of cars (after 199,999) at full tax credit. Call it 100,000 cars. That should take care of everyone who ordered on release day (who lives in the US, sorry). Regions won't make much difference. It mattered for the Model S and X where they need to ship a full truck to a given place. For 100,000 Model ≡s, not a problem. They will need to scale their delivery fleet to distribute the production volume to places the average distance from the factory; that probably doesn't change over time, so build up takes time, but once done, they need to deliver equally everywhere.

Thank you kindly.

 

[Dutchie]

I'm still unsure about how many options I'm going to get, but if the canadian dollar crashes again I can only afford the base model. With current rates, the base model would be close to 55k in Canada (my province has no rebates)

I'm blown away with how many people claim they are ordering very option. I'm thinking that will easily double the price on the car.

So here's to hoping the base model range improves to 230 miles haha

You might want to consider buying US $ in amount equavelant to what you want to spend when you feel the exchange rate is right. In this way you will be covered if th CA$ crashes just before you want to purchase.

 

[Borgholio]

I won't be buying the actual base model, I will have a few upgrades but I have no desire to splurge. I will certainly be getting autopilot (this is non-negotiable) and I will pay for supercharging if necessary. If they charge extra for any paint color other than white or black then I'll pay for a nicer color like cobalt blue. I will also get a basic accessory hitch for a bike rack and the glass roof if it's not too expensive. But that's the limit. I will not be paying extra for the premium comfort or sound packages, I don't need a bigger battery (thanks to supercharging), going 0 - 60 in 6 seconds is fine for me so no need for AWD or performance package, and I live in SoCal and park in a garage so I don't need the cold weather package. My goal is 40k so here's hoping they don't charge too much for AP...

 

[Matthew Lock]

I live in Canada, in a Province with no rebate so I also have to keep the costs down. I can’t believe the number of people saying they are going to max it out! Assuming that the upgrades are similar to the Model S and Auto Pilot can be added after the fact, I will get one upgrade… Supercharging. That is if they don’t bundle it in.

215 miles of range is plenty, 0-60 in less than 6 seconds is plenty, I don’t like sun roofs, I can’t tell the difference between high and low quality sound, it will probably have heated seats standard ($1000 for a heated steering wheel and wipers is insane), AWD would be nice.

 

[ttupper92618]

I agree with you, Xaff, but what scares me with cars is that they're the worst investment ever. (With the exception of certain models of old-timers)

Worst investment meaning they de-value faster than any other type of investment, with or without options. So I'm thinking maybe getting a badly equipped 40K model 3 in 2018, selling that in 2023 and getting a newer, better model 3 for 40K again (in 2023) is way better in the long run than purchasing one top of the line model 3 for about 65K and holding on to it for 10 years.

As you can tell: I'm still very much in doubt. Re-sale value of the options is very limited, from what I've experienced.

It's not that cars are the worst kind of investment ever, it's that cars are not an investment of any sort whatsoever. Viewing a car as an investment is the core problem. A car is a tool. It is a means of transport for yourself and the people / things that matter to you... to get you from point A to point B. The amount you are willing to shell out for that opportunity determines how pleasant that conveyance is - nothing more, and nothing less. I'm not sure there is much to be gained from trying to game the residual value; almost all cars eventually fall to a residual value near zero.

 

[03DSG]

Here is what I want

- Glass roof (doesn't have to open)
- Dual Motor
- Leather Seating
- AP

I would like to keep it under 50k CAD but I'm thinking thats not going to be possible.

I sgree. If you look at the MS prices in the US and Canada you will see that the price across the board is 35% higher for the base cars (70, 70D 90D, P90D) up here. The options average 32.5% higher. If the same carries over to the M3 than the base car would be $47,250 with Zero options. In Canada the Dual Motor alone on the MS70D is $6600 compared to the MS70. Fingers crossed the dollar improves!

 

[Twiglett]

I agree with you, Xaff, but what scares me with cars is that they're the worst investment ever. (With the exception of certain models of old-timers)

Worst investment meaning they de-value faster than any other type of investment, with or without options. So I'm thinking maybe getting a badly equipped 40K model 3 in 2018, selling that in 2023 and getting a newer, better model 3 for 40K again (in 2023) is way better in the long run than purchasing one top of the line model 3 for about 65K and holding on to it for 10 years.

As you can tell: I'm still very much in doubt. Re-sale value of the options is very limited, from what I've experienced.

An Investment implies something that grows in value. That will happen to only a very small number of cars that are never used as actual cars.
So - no car purchase is even remotely be considered an investment. All it can do is depreciate at different speeds.
Depreciation only matters when you come to sell the car, with the impact lessening the longer you own the car.
If you don't want to worry about depreciation, get a lease, or hold on to it for a long time

I tend to hang on to cars, so I'll get getting as much Model 3 as I can fit into my budget.
Definitely supercharging (if that is an option), Autopilot, biggest battery, AWD - then see what other toys they have. After all its going to be in the family for quite a while.

Everyone posting here - don't forget to sign on to Model3Tracker.info

 

[ttupper92618]

It's a little premature to say what options over base we would want, or whether we will buy the base... given that we don't even know what that base will be, exactly. But no, I don't expect to buy the base, unless it includes:

- Autopilot
- Supercharging enabled

And possibly:

- AWD
- Bigger battery
- Pano roof (maybe, possibly, not really sure)

 

[smythey]

Yes indeed - base model for me. In the UK, it should be ~£30k, and the most I'll be going for in the way of extras will be metallic paint and possibly dual motors. It will partly depend on the state of the UK incentives by the time I order the car.

 

[WhiteFang]

Given where I live and assuming my financial situation does not worsen between now and having to lock in the sale, I would add the cold weather package and AWD, then if my budget still allows for it and/or if the options make the difference between getting the tax incentive or not, I would fill up on other options, roughly in the order of super-charger access (if not included), autopilot activation, tow hitch for bike rack, panoramic glass roof, upgraded sound, ... but realistically, I will likely end up with "just" the base + cold weather and AWD option and a final price around 40k +/-2k..

 

[Red Sage]

If the base car has less than a 60 kWh battery pack, that will guarantee that whichever capacity is highest will be the best seller.

 

[1.21 Jiggawatts]

Actually with the current exchange rate it's closer to $45K for the base model.

No it's not. Tesla is using a 35% markup for the exchange rate for the base vehicles and about 32.5% for options. On top of this you then add 6.1% duty as due to The % of foreign parts they don't meet NAFTA requirements. On top of this add 1-2% for Tesla's admin cost for the export.

 

[182RG]

Priorities: Range/Battery Upgrade, Supercharger Access, Autopilot, Leather, Cold Weather, HUD (if it's optional), AWD (maybe).

Late reservation and east coast delivery. Hopefully, 2019-2020 will bring additional options, especially in battery tech.