Looking for advice RE: an ICE-free house

[Dante]

So a bit of background: got my LR RWD 3 August of last year. Love the car. Had a Mazda3 as second car in the house which we used for things such as driving to and parking in the airport (avoids worry of battery drain in the winter, to say nothing of dings/scratches). Was also family member's car for running errands/etc... while I'm at work. Was considering replacing the Mazda with the Model Y once the former got older and the latter was available for sale. Mazda got rear ended and car a write-off, so now need a new car. Looking for advice: SUV/CUV not necessarily high "need" or even "want", so likely will purchase another sedan. Is it crazy to buy a second Model 3? I love the car, but it isn't cheap. However I really have a strong negative reaction to going back to stealerships and haggling about prices for an ancient technology that seems on its way out. I'm not even sure why I'm posting here, because I sound like I've basically made up my mind about not buying another gas car. My questions are:

- Any problems people have run in to if your only car(s) are all-electric?
- If I'm going with a second Model 3, SR VS LR? Debate I'm having is whether we need 2 long range cars: likely never to go long distance in 2 separate directions. On the other hand, will LR maintain its value for longer?
- If people think a second Model 3 isn't a good idea (I know, right forum to get this answer) what else would you suggest?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Matt L]

I’d be all over that. I’d love to get an SR+ as second car but my wife is still skeptical...but warming. I think she may be open to a Y.

 

[likeafox]

Paging @MXWing. He wrote a whole thread about how he bought the lowest cost Model 3 while waiting for the Y. Have a gander.

Crazy fire sale going on with Model 3. Y wait?

 

[Leafdriver333]

I would order a SR for $35000 ASAP.
Who knows when they will discontinue that.
It will be the highest resale value (%) car because when Elon stops selling SR at a loss, it will keep the price up very close to SR+ resale values.

 

[Tam]

...Any problems people have run in to if your only car(s) are all-electric?...

I switched to EV only since 2012.

I used to board airplane quite often prior to EV but since I got my Tesla in 2012, I've been driving instead of flying.

As long as you know where to charge your car and I was able to deal with that since 2012 when there was only a handful of Superchargers, I don't see the need to deal with gasoline again.

 

[Tummy]

We’ve been gas free since 2014 when we leased two BMW i3. I then got a Model S 60 in 2016, Model 3 LR, then traded the S for a S P100D a few weeks ago.

When we had the i3s with only 80 miles of range we only needed a gas car for road trips. At the time, the BMW dealers would just give us a loaner whenever we needed for free, up to two weeks per year per i3. Usually a 3 series, x3 of x5. I don’t think they do that anymore. You might consider a used i3 since they are way less than $20k used. They also come with a version with a range extender with a tiny 600cc gas engine and 2 gallon fuel tank. You might also consider a Chevy Volt which is a similar range extender, but much more conventional looking, though smaller.

 

[JFChenger]

Are monthly Uber (Ride Pass) /Lyft (All-Acces) available in your area of Canada? Pretty reasonable here in Chicago if you have a predictable pattern of short-transportation needs.

 

[MXWing]

Easiest problem ever to solve.

35KSR and sell in 2 years, exchange for Model Y of your choice.

Monthly cost each month will be between 250-350 for 24 months.

 

[David_Cary]

At 4 years of EV only.
We survived (quite easily) on a Leaf and a 70D.
Every once in a while (twice maybe), we wished we had 2 long range cars. Never to the point where we rented a car but it would have given more flexibility. We have a beach house 150 miles away that we rent (and has 240V). Sometimes it would have been helpful to leave at separate times to go there.
Now the Leaf has been replaced with an LR. The 70D has degraded to 222 or so. So we have the equivalent of a SR and an LR. The LR was nice for a day trip to the inlaws 150 miles away on Easter.
I will take the LR on a camping trip for the weekend 150 miles away with no SC stops. I did the 70D before, plugged in at 120V overnight, but it was a concern. Did the 45 mph thing very early in the AM.

 

[Saghost]

The second 3 will probably lose less value than any other car you could buy today. As EVs take over, finding buyers for used ICEs will get harder, and Tesla OTA updates keep the car more current.

This is also a chance to get an AP3 car with FSD - all new cars have the new chip, apparently.

 

[UngaBunga1989]

I have a slightly different take. We have an M3P (mine) and a 2016 Volt (my wife's). Most of my wife's driving is local and so she is electric almost all the time. As a matter of fact, the last time we put gas in the Volt was when I used it on a road trip to Boston last Fall. Yes, you do need to burn one tank of gas a year, BUT if you need to go on a longer trip and don't want to deal with charging, the Volt gives you that flexibility. Great used examples (2017 or 2018 models) can be had now with low miles in the mid-20k price-range. To me this gives you a virtually "ICE-free" house with an "insurance policy."

 

[Dante]

So it's interesting that everyone's perspective RE: the SR is that it will lose the least of it's price. People's reasoning makes sense, but in my head I had thought the shorter range would make it less popular (but I guess it's balanced out by the cheaper price that is going to drop less...?)

One of my other lines of thought were: if I get the LR AWD 3, then sell my RWD car down the line, I can end up with a HW3 AWD car that is likely to become the standard bearer as Tesla phases out the RWD vehicles. After owning the RWD for a year, I think I'd actually prefer the added range over the AWD/cost... I know it's only a few extra thousand, but I don't need the added power/stability as the RWD handled winter just fine. Also I'm unsure about whether Tesla will continue to make the SR and RWD LR cars (maybe they're just clearing inventory with the off-menu option). So maybe getting an SR or LR RWD will result in a non-HW3 car. As a side note, I do not intend to buy FSD anytime soon (if ever). My (maybe unfounded) thought is that long term, the HW3 will be a benefit even for AP and general safety features.

 

[afadeev]

got my LR RWD 3 August of last year. Love the car. [...]Was considering replacing the Mazda with the Model Y once the former got older and the latter was available for sale. Mazda got rear ended and car a write-off, so now need a new car. [...] Is it crazy to buy a second Model 3? I love the car, but it isn't cheap.

Model Y is a heavier, and slightly more expensive flavor of Model 3.
If you were considering the former, I don't see any downsides to getting the latter?

I'm not even sure why I'm posting here, because I sound like I've basically made up my mind about not buying another gas car. My questions are:

- Any problems people have run in to if your only car(s) are all-electric?
- If I'm going with a second Model 3, SR VS LR? Debate I'm having is whether we need 2 long range cars: likely never to go long distance in 2 separate directions. On the other hand, will LR maintain its value for longer?

If you don't need another LR car, go SR.
Note that SR car is heavily de-contented (lousy audio, cloth seats, no heaters, etc), which may make SR+ more viable.
It's not clear which will have higher resale value in the future, as battery capacities grow overtime, and today's LR will be eclipsed by yet longer range offerings in a few years.

The only reason to not go 100% EV is if you do long-distance ski trips in the winter, in Canada.
Between the cold temp range penalty, spotty charger availability in the mountains and other remote destinations, and need for higher drive-train clearance for driving on unplowed roads, an ICE SUV might be a consideration.
If you don't do a lot of winter or remote trips, then 100% EV is viable.

I can end up with a HW3 AWD car that is likely to become the standard bearer as Tesla phases out the RWD vehicles.[...]I do not intend to buy FSD anytime soon (if ever). My (maybe unfounded) thought is that long term, the HW3 will be a benefit even for AP and general safety features.

There is no evidence that Tesla will phase out RWD options.

Long-term, HW3 might be beneficial, but without FSD, it's not clear by how much.
Short term, it isn't.

a

 

[devilmountain]

I bought my 3 at the beginning of June, and my wife was skeptical about the car. On March 17 we bought our Second model 3, mid range. The plan is to hold onto for maybe 2 years and get a Y. We charge using a 110V and 240V outlet, and it works for us. Our only challenge now is which car to take when we have to park in a crowded movie theater lot since we don't want either of them banged up.

 

[ninpb]

Easiest problem ever to solve.

35KSR and sell in 2 years, exchange for Model Y of your choice.

Monthly cost each month will be between 250-350 for 24 months.

Nope. He's going to use his own referral and win the Y raffle. Not the roadster. That I'm going to win.

 

[JohnSnowNW]

We did just fine when we had a Model X and Leaf (107 mile version), really no issues for our use case (we have 3 kids).

That said, we decided not to get another commuter BEV when the LEAF lease expired. It wasn't really a concern about needing to take the vehicles separately on long journeys, but the fact that the LEAF was taxed a bit on occasion just from making several errands around the metro. I also didn't like that I would have to take the Model X for every journey over ~35 miles...it just felt wrong to take the MX on short drives as a single occupant.

With the TM3 and MX we drive each vehicle as though it were ICE, there is no second thought given to taking them wherever we need to go.

There are considerably more choices than when we leased the LEAF, so even a commuter BEV has decent range these days.

 

[SR22pilot]

I got an AWD Model 3 on September 30. My partner decided she had to get rid of her Mustang and now has a LR RWD Model 3. So, we are all EV and love it. The Model 3 was a huge stretch for her but she says it was worth it to have something she loves so much more than the Mustang.

 

[Leafdriver333]

I bought my 3 at the beginning of June, and my wife was skeptical about the car. On March 17 we bought our Second model 3, mid range. The plan is to hold onto for maybe 2 years and get a Y. We charge using a 110V and 240V outlet, and it works for us. Our only challenge now is which car to take when we have to park in a crowded movie theater lot since we don't want either of them banged up.

Why charge at 110v if you have 240V?
Can't you share one cable on 240v?

 

[jkoya]

I'm with @UngaBunga1989 - Since I retired, we've never had to put gas in our 2016 Volt. So many disasters lately in Northern CA, we decided to keep the Volt in case of an emergency evacuation and our P3D wasn't fully charged. Fire Dept said our neighborhood would be under 26 feet of water if the levee were to break.

 

[Lhshockey24]

Family of 5 here, 3 kids between 19mos and 5 years old.

Wife has Model X w/~275mi range, I have M3P w/~300mi range. We alternate between homes here and about 190 miles away with several superchargers available in-between. It looks like you're in Canada so I would consider your range loss in such a cold climate. My wife wished we had an ICE SUV when we were driving up to the mountains in almost a foot of snow and ice on the roads. The X handled it like a champ though, despite her hesitations.