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Mercedes C300 or Model 3 for Son?
- Thread starter Ghosty
- Start date
eye.surgeon
Active Member
That's a NTSB rating, not the IIHS I referred to above. NTSB is not the only, or even the best, determinant of vehicle safety. IIHS actually rates the Kia Forte higher overall than a Model S.
You also may want to peruse this statement from the NTSB where they refute Tesla's claims of being the safest vehicle they've tested. Tesla has a habit of, shall we say putting it's own spin, on NTSB crash test data, which NTSB made pretty clear they don't appreciate or agree with.
Love my Tesla and a happy owner for 4 years, which is long enough to learn not to believe everything that comes out of Palo Alto.
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Seeing how IIHS hasn't completed their test on the Model 3, you can't make the statement that Kia Forte is safer than any Tesla as you did in the previous post. So until then, 2018 Kia Forte only received 4 stars for frontal crash ratings and rollover on NHTSA. While Model 3 scored 5 stars in all categories. You can't dispute the test facts no matter how much NHTSA does not want to play bias.
In this thread we're talking about the Model 3, not the Model S.
Local driving only - on average about 70 miles a day.
We were looking at the C300 Sport trim. We just got back from test-driving the C300 and Model 3 (as Mercedes and Tesla are almost across the street from each other here in Vegas). The interior of the C300 is absolutely beautiful. However, the Model 3 is just on a whole different level. From the test drive, I honestly don't think both can compare. Night and day difference.
Looks like we're committed to the Model 3. As to "my first car" comments (good laughs) I had a similar experience. My first car was a Chevrolet Corsica with 250k miles. With that in mind, I'm contemplating giving up half the 7.5k tax incentive and waiting to make a purchase in a few months - giving him time to save and contribute to the purchase. Thank you all for your input. Much appreciated.
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SageBrush
REJECT Fascism
I'm sure the son is happy about getting a sports car but the father should reconsider if his son is typical and his safety is valued. The totaled prior car just might be a clue.
Some things I wanted to put my own 2 cents in.
For the typical younger driver, a car with less power is a good idea IMO. We drove everything aggressively. Old minivans, jeeps, base econo cars, 10+ yr old cars, etc. All that "power to pass or escape situations" things don't apply really.
A lesser car helps build character too. Of course, making him contribute (a good amount, not just a token amount) is just as character building.
My first cars were old and cheap too. My dad could have afforded a luxury car for me easily. I'm very glad he didn't (now).
My real opinion is to get him a Camry or RAV-4 or something like that. Safe and practical. Reasonable power. I also like the Leaf idea.
If really forced to choose, I'd go for the Merc. It's already too fast IMO, but it's not as bad as the Tesla. Plus, make him pay for premium gas and he might not feel like punching it all the time. The Merc is quite safe anyways.
Candleflame
Active Member
I don't think a lot of the members of this foru here realize how many VERY wealthy people are on this forum. The fact that he totalled his old car already shows that he shouldn't be getting a car with more than 150HP at all but this is not how it works here. The OP is looking for confirmation that he should be buying his son a Model 3.
sduck
Mr. Duck
Reported BenPrice. Don't need people like that here.
If it were me, and those were viable options, I'd go for the model 3. Maintenance on the Mercedes will be a bitch. And the tesla has a bit more cool factor, which is always a consideration. Me, I got my daughter an old volvo wagon, and after she lived with that for 2 years, proved that she was a good driver (and the volvo died) I got her what she really wanted, a BMW 535. Granted, it was a used one, but otherwise it ticked off a lot of checkboxes on both our lists.
If it were me, and those were viable options, I'd go for the model 3. Maintenance on the Mercedes will be a bitch. And the tesla has a bit more cool factor, which is always a consideration. Me, I got my daughter an old volvo wagon, and after she lived with that for 2 years, proved that she was a good driver (and the volvo died) I got her what she really wanted, a BMW 535. Granted, it was a used one, but otherwise it ticked off a lot of checkboxes on both our lists.
Candleflame
Active Member
maybe thats why he needs to be in a Model 3 (or any Tesla)
Enable speed limit mode and add TeslaFi so that trip data is saved.
The ultimate in offspring stalking
the problem is not the speed limit but usually the acceleration.
Candleflame
Active Member
How old is the kid? We bought our model 3 with the plans on giving it to our son in 4-5 years if he keeps his driving record clean. For now he is learning to drive in our 2004 Mercedes e320 4Matic.
After driving our LR AWD 3 for a month my biggest reserve for getting it for a kid is it’s fast, really fast, really really fast. Searously it’s as powerful/fast or more powerful/faster than either the Porsche 996 turbo or 997 GT3 I had.
Can you lock it in “chill” mode? I’m looking at the app and can speed limit it, but a teen Chill lock would be nice.
I would vote for an older MB c or e 4 matic, non-turbo Subaru, Rav-4... Or for an EV volt or leaf.
I would ask myself would you buy him a 911 turbo, Audi S- or R8, MB AMG, BMW M- because our (non-P) model 3 is in the same performance category as those cars.
After driving our LR AWD 3 for a month my biggest reserve for getting it for a kid is it’s fast, really fast, really really fast. Searously it’s as powerful/fast or more powerful/faster than either the Porsche 996 turbo or 997 GT3 I had.
Can you lock it in “chill” mode? I’m looking at the app and can speed limit it, but a teen Chill lock would be nice.
I would vote for an older MB c or e 4 matic, non-turbo Subaru, Rav-4... Or for an EV volt or leaf.
I would ask myself would you buy him a 911 turbo, Audi S- or R8, MB AMG, BMW M- because our (non-P) model 3 is in the same performance category as those cars.
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TravMor
Member
I've actually had a C300 before and I currently have the Model 3. I also had a GLC300. I was a big Mercedes fan before I switched to Tesla. As an owner of both, I can tell you that the M3 is soooo much better. Mercedes is nice, but it doesn't compare to Tesla. Also, the C300 has been around forever and it's just "meh" at this point. The M3 is new technology and everyone is at least curious about them, or in some cases stoked AF to see one. I'm sure your kid would much rather have the M3
Yes I know you can lock max speed like I said ^^^. But for a young driver it would be good to also limit acceleration. Hence the theoretical ability to lock in Chill mode.
The Tesla is amazing. I don’t think they have released the “base” model 3 specs but if you can wait that long may be a good idea.
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I think these organisations should add some scoring of how likely the vehicle will be in an accident.
If you look at the complaints at NHTSA. Model 3 has numerous complaints which can cause an accident itself. Autopilot bugs. Car shuts off while driving. Suspension broke. Unintended acceleration. And so on.
