- To be range comparable you'd have to go with a 100D
- Used = no federal tax credit
- No AP
- Too wide for me
- Used
That about covers it for me
I'm driving an S60 and trying to decide between another CPO S with a larger battery or a Model 3. My take on the OP's question and your list is somewhat different than that of many here:
1. I agree that comparing an S60 to a 3LR doesn't make sense. However, in my experience actual range isn't as much of an issue as Supercharging speed. My S60 takes twice as long to Supercharge as a larger battery Tesla and that makes road trips — the majority of my miles — significantly longer. A 2014 or newer S85 would Supercharge plenty fast enough for me and have adequate range, even if the total range wasn't as great as the 3LR.
2. I don't qualify for the federal tax credit — too low income — so it doesn't matter at all. However, a new 3 LR would qualify me for the $5000 Colorado state tax credit, so that's a consideration. So far as "used" goes, my hope is that CPO Model S prices will come down significantly over the next year due to the Model 3 release; that could make the choice more interesting.
3. I have zero interest in AP, save that I would like TACC. Will I pay $5000 for it? No way, not a chance. AP wouldn't be useful at all where I live and after
many thousands of road trip miles I don't find myself wishing I had AP for that, again, save for TACC. I enjoy driving the Tesla myself — it is fun.
4. I found, to my surprise, that I really appreciate, and use, the size of the Model S. Also, I went from two cars in a two car garage to just one car, so the width isn't a problem. The Model 3 seems as if it will be too small to have useful cargo space and I greatly prefer the liftback of the S. It is very unlikely that I could fit my large mountain bike in the 3 without major disassembly and putting it in the S is trivial.
5. Used versus new is a concern although the warranty for a CPO S is actually
better than the warranty for a new Model 3, which is something to consider (8 years drive train on the S versus just 8 years battery for the 3; the 4 year 50,000 mile overall warranty is the same for CPO versus new). One subtle advantage of a used S for me is that I don't worry as much about the first scratch or rock chip — it is a used car, after all. I think that I would be more concerned about the inevitable damage from use if I had a new Model 3. Perhaps that's just me and not an issue for most others here.
Some other differences between the S and the 3:
6. The S has full instrumentation and the 3 does not (to put it mildly). I really like the Instrument Cluster on the S and use it a lot. Especially the power meter; the power meter on the 3 is pathetic.
7. The touch screen on the S is bigger and the vertical orientation is more useful for displaying the information that I need, especially on road trips (nav on top, energy plot below). That information figures to be awkward to view on the smaller horizontal oriented 3 display. The steering wheel buttons also look to be easier to use on the S, especially with gloves on in winter.
8. Liftback on S versus trunk on 3. I mentioned earlier that I greatly prefer the liftback and I am loathe to give it up.
9. Actual roof on S (except for the newer ones, which are not affordable as CPOs anyway) versus glass roof on the 3 or a narrow strip of roof over just the front seats, which I think may look odd (no pictures exist yet, so far as I am aware). I have trouble with glare and a glass roof would mean having to wear a hat during daytime driving. Also, the glass roof figures to be
much hotter in the summer and colder in winter. User reports from those with the glass roof in sunny places seem to be mixed but just the dark color figures to soak up a lot of heat. In winter, my experience is that windows lose heat quickly compared to the roof of my S; I can feel the difference.
As always, YMMV. Even with all the above, a new 3 is tempting. However, I don't have to decide for another year or more since I still have about 17k miles on my S60 warranty and I can't use the federal tax credit anyway!
