M3 Standard 220 range 172 mile commute

[Sophias_dad]

I know I'm late to the dance, but whatever...

Don't get the SR. Its not enough range, especially if there are any unexpected loads (AC, rain, cold). I know that my 3 drives slower and slower as I get to the last 50 miles. It's still 'fast', but much slower than a nice >50% charge.

Hanging around waiting for a supercharger to give you another 40 miles on days when you are getting low is not what you should plan for. Its a waste of your time and money. What if its full someday?

I'm not sure how they are planning to handle the SR, but the LR battery is expected to lose capacity over years of ownership. Do you really plan to stop at a supercharger every day?

I wouldn't want to think 'am I gonna make it home?' literally every time I leave for work or hit the accelerator a little bit. That's not what any car experience should be.

 

[Dgmcginty]

Waiting for delivery of the standard range in about a week. Preparing the garage now having an electrician install a nema outlet. So I've been sweating bullets reading reviews, recommendations, complaints, maps, routes, etc.. on the SR.
My daily routine is 62 miles (80% open hwy 20% stop-n-go traffic) to drop off my son.
Turn around and backtrack 24 miles in very heavy stop-n-yell traffic to work.
Leave work, another 24 mile of aggressive road rage driving to pick up my son.
Finally 62 miles home in 80/20 traffic once again.

Yes, it is a lot of driving but I have no other option for now. Gas is currently costing $360 monthly so I'm happy to see that go down to zero as it will help with the cost of the new car. I'm just freaking out because 90% of full charge is 198 miles. Heat down here in Florida will likely affect the charge negatively and no way I can afford the LR model so I will be logging and calculating everything. Also read that the SR's 220 max range is already software limited so that 220 is under 90% of the 'real' max of 240.

A few days to go.

Last weekend we drove from Melbourne,FL to Disney/Lake BuenaVista. Temp was in upper 80’s distance was 85 miles one way. It took 100 miles off our battery. So our car used 15 “miles” for traffic and climate control. If yours does as well I think you got it. If your charge is 220: 220 x 85%= 185. If not, at lunch both you and your car get fed. Great car.

 

[Dgmcginty]

You're scaring me but I agree the standard is not the right car for me. Going to see if it's possible to find a single motor LR instead. Everyone has valid points here. Reading reviews, tables, stories, etc... seems that the SR can make it but it's going to be a hassle everyday and I will end up hating the car after a while.

My daughter and son in law take deliver of single motor Long Range this Friday. They found it through the Tesla store . It was in stock in NC. So they are out there. Good luck.

 

[F14Scott]

Concur with those who say "get the LR." Wringing every last drop of range out of an SR, taking the battery from 100 to zero SOC, and routinely hitting a Supercharger is no way to live.

Let's say the LR costs you $10,000 now, and yields you $2,000 back when you trade it in, 8 years from now. That's $1000 per year for the LR, $2.75 per day of ownership.

Looking at it another way , assuming you would have to hit the Supercharger on half your days of commuting, that's 125 sessions of Supercharging, times 30 gross minutes per session, equals 62 hours of Supercharging annually. You're paying yourself $16 bucks per hour at the supercharger (minus the supercharging fee's more expensive electricity). What's your time worth?

 

[sceptic]

I don't have anything to add to the discussion about range but I wonder about your "saving" $350/month on gas. Electricity isn't free! You may have lower rates - but in Calif. the cost of electricity or supercharging is about 50% the cost of gas - so you'll save some but not eliminate the cost entirely!

 

[nocelldontcall]

If you haven't bought the car already, cancel the order or return the car. As others have correctly pointed out, I can tell you that if you take weather and road conditions into account (apply a "standard deduction"), the maximum real world range for a SR is about 155 miles and SR+ is about 175 miles from 99% down to 1% to put it safely. You can certainly squeeze another 25 miles off each if everything works in your favor, which is rare. Warmer days in Florida will work in your favor, actually, if you keep the A/C in check.

SR+ is the minimum requirement for your commuting needs and LR is the recommended. You have a life and range anxiety on a daily basis is not something that's worth saving a few thousand dollars on a $40,000 car. Oh and another point of view - while you'll feel like you are saving $360 per month on gas, you are not. You are actually paying a whole lot more money for the new car and also buying into all the worrying if it gets hit/needs repairs/quality issues/breakdowns, etc. Owning a Tesla is expensive. Much more expensive than just paying for gas - I think a Prius is a better and cheaper alternative for you if you do not mind owning a gasoline vehicle. Just trying to be realistic here.

Good luck.

Maybe not actually saving money by going with a Tesla but here's what I'm looking at.

1. My current car needs an oil change every month.
2. It currently has 140K miles and coming up on the timing belt service.
3. Also has developed a problem with the brake booster vacuum line causing brake pedal stiffness randomly.
4. Cam position sensor needs replacing every couple of months because the engine randomly shuts off while driving
5. Crank shaft run-off is getting out of spec and causing #4

Priced out a Honda Civic LX - basic model with CVT. $5000 downpayment and 72 months = $307.80 out the door.
Add to that the cost of Gas that I have to pay + maintenance and we are over what the basic Model 3 will cost me. I don't get it but the numbers work out.

 

[Jase1125]

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/772725531/overview/

Long range $40k

 

[ucmndd]

I don't have anything to add to the discussion about range but I wonder about your "saving" $350/month on gas. Electricity isn't free! You may have lower rates - but in Calif. the cost of electricity or supercharging is about 50% the cost of gas - so you'll save some but not eliminate the cost entirely!

50%? No way.

I pay 0.12/kWh to charge my car overnight with PGE and drive 2500 miles a month at 315 wh/mi. That’s about $100.

The same 2500 miles in a 30mpg car at $4/gal is $333.

 

[233.3]

You can order the RWD long range but that only saves you $2,500 compared to the dual motor, AWD. That may not be enough to swing your financial decision. I heard of one person allowed to order a SR with AP and the plus interior deleted. To get those "off-menu" combinations you have to place your order with a liver person, in person or over the phone. I think if you could find a way to get into a LR I think you would be happier in the long run. No one ever kicks themselves for having too much range. If you can find a used LR you like at a good price I would do that before settling on the SR.

 

[sceptic]

50%? No way.

I pay 0.12/kWh to charge my car overnight with PGE and drive 2500 miles a month at 315 wh/mi. That’s about $100.

The same 2500 miles in a 30mpg car at $4/gal is $333.

Lucky you, my rates are .28-.32/kwh at home and .32 at superchargers! I cry when I read people who pay .06/kwh. It all depends on the rates where u live

 

[OCR1]

I pay .10/KWH in Southern California. Gas is approaching $5.00/gallon. Not even close.

 

[hcdavis3]

Lucky you, my rates are .28-.32/kwh at home and .32 at superchargers! I cry when I read people who pay .06/kwh. It all depends on the rates where u live

I’m at 25 cents per kWh here in MA and gas is around 2.90 where I used to buy it. It’s close, but in winter there isn’t a lot of savings for me.

 

[ucmndd]

Lucky you, my rates are .28-.32/kwh at home and .32 at superchargers! I cry when I read people who pay .06/kwh. It all depends on the rates where u live

Which utility and which plan?

 

[jjrandorin]

southern california edisonrates are pretty horrible, especially if you are not on a grandfathered plan. I am in SCE territory but have a Solar City (tesla) leased solar system that I had put in, in 2015 so I am grandfathered into MUCH better rates than they have right now.

Here are some screenshots from SCEs rate pages for TOU 4-9pm, TOU 5-8pm, TOU "prime" (EV / electric heating only) and tiered rates (traditional style rate based on overall usage).

EDIT -- Having some issues uploading photos.

In any case. even on TOU plans unless you ae grandfathered into a plan, it ranges from 19c to 23c off peak to 41c to 48c on peak... to 13c on the specific EV plan... but "off peak" is now 8am to 4pm.

 

[sceptic]

Which utility and which plan?

N Calif PGE (they have to try to recover their losses for the 2 major events they are responsible for in the last few years - not to mention bankruptcy).
I don't use much electricity now but called to see what the rates were if I shifted to a "timed" plan in anticipation of getting my model 3. Don't have the data in front of me but IIRC the LOWEST (nighttime) rate was .23 or .28!!!

 

[ucmndd]

N Calif PGE (they have to try to recover their losses for the 2 major events they are responsible for in the last few years - not to mention bankruptcy).
I don't use much electricity now but called to see what the rates were if I shifted to a "timed" plan in anticipation of getting my model 3. Don't have the data in front of me but IIRC the LOWEST (nighttime) rate was .23 or .28!!!

You are looking for the EV-A plan. That’s what I use.

Making sense of the rates

 

[nocelldontcall]

Picked up the car. Looks great. Have 7 days to play and return if we decide to upgrade. So we paid for the standard/basic 35K with 220 mile range BUT they gave us the S+ with 240miles of range. So far so good. Learning to keep an eye on Wh/ml and have been able to keep that below 230 average. Wife loved the car so she talked me into driving her car to work today. Figures.

 

[F14Scott]

Picked up the car. Looks great. Have 7 days to play and return if we decide to upgrade. So we paid for the standard/basic 35K with 220 mile range BUT they gave us the S+ with 240miles of range. So far so good. Learning to keep an eye on Wh/ml and have been able to keep that below 230 average. Wife loved the car so she talked me into driving her car to work today. Figures.

Did you have any luck talking to your employer about using even a 120VAC outlet? The 20 miles you got with the S+ along with the 30 to 40 miles you would gain at work would probably give you sufficient breathing room.

 

[Federico]

Lucky you, my rates are .28-.32/kwh at home and .32 at superchargers! I cry when I read people who pay .06/kwh. It all depends on the rates where u live

Well, in FL (FPL) it cost me like 0.89 cents per Kwh but when you add taxes+fees it ended up around 1.25/1.35 cents/Kwh, so in reality is always more of what they said

 

[Sophias_dad]

Well, in FL (FPL) it cost me like 0.89 cents per Kwh but when you add taxes+fees it ended up around 1.25/1.35 cents/Kwh, so in reality is always more of what they said

That's either impossibly low or impossibly high, depending on how you interpret it. 1.25 CENTS per kwh would be basically free,1/10th the average of Miami residential rates. $1.25 per kwh would be three times the highest rate in the US. Its also ten times the average cost in Miami(10.4c/kwh).