Model 3 or Model Y? 3 teens

[mknmike]

My wife and I have been wringing every drop out of our 2006 Honda Ridgeline and 2007 Honda Pilot, gas hogs. I’ve got a bit of an addiction to cheap old Mercedes’ and have more than enough of them, but my wife doesn’t want to drive them. It’s time to get something from this century, something without a sagging headliner and dents all over. Our kids are 16, 14, and 11. They can bang up the dented cars. My wife and I need something we won’t be embarrassed to drive to a work function or wedding, something that doesn’t smell.

My gut was to go for what I perceived as most environmentally friendly, a PHEV. But when the Tesla $7500 tax credit came back, I decided we should take advantage of this credit with a <$50k car to get my state’s $2500 too. With the sleek body style of the model 3, and the low price of the single motor (just for around town, as we have the beater Hondas for road trips), that model 3 could be like $30k out of pocket. $8k on top of that for the model y, plus needing 19” wheels isn’t something that excites me. I prefer some rubber on my wheels so I can hit a pothole or curb without worrying about wheel damage. Now the extra cargo capacity of the model Y might be nice, but we’ve got the Hondas still, and that bobble top of the model Y just isn’t getting me excited.

The Model 3 seems like a great, “it’s sporty and cheap. Done!” The model Y gets me thinking we should look at other options on the market like the mustang Mach E, Blazer, Cadillac etc. those cars might not charge me if I want a color other than white too.

Opinions?

Oh. The guy in the store tonight claimed that prices would rise by $2000 (or $3000?) June 30. I wasn’t looking to rush, just take delivery before the end of 2023. Is there reason to rush?

Thanks!
Mike

 

[Anson Fung]

Welcome to TMC! Just came across your post and wondering if you've made a purchase decision yet. If not I can go into a little more detail about (what I perceive as) the relative merits of the M3 vs. MY. Three quick thoughts in the mean time:

• I can't speak about relative value vs. Mach E, Blazer, or Lyriq in particular. But I recently purchased a MS LR after comparison shopping contenders like the Lucid Air, Mercedes EQS, and BMW i7--the MS was, in comparison, by far the best value for money. You might come away w/ same conclusion w/r/t M3 vs. Mach E, Blazer, and Lyriq.
• MY's 19" wheels won't necessarily give you less sidewall vs. the M3's 18" wheels. M3 tires are 235/45 R18 vs. 255/45 R19 for the MY. The 45 refers to the tire aspect ratio and is calculated as (sidewall height/tire width).
• Still seeing discounts on new inventory M3 RWDs as of today. The store was likely speculating that the discounts were part of Tesla's EOQ push hence the 6/30 deadline. Also pure speculation, but I'm guessing these current discounts are due to the upcoming M3 refresh (Project Highland).

 

[Unclepaul]

If the kids can use the beaters, then the Model 3 might be a good financial choice.

Of course the Y has much more functionality, and I understand your dilema.

 

[mknmike]

I’m finally coming back here after my wife has read that the model y is reported to have a rough ride. She wants to sit up high though. So I’m looking to figure out if I was to buy a model Y if anyone might want to swap their model 3 18” wheels with some new take offs from a model y. I am assuming the swap would work.

 

[mknmike]

Still struggling with the choice, but feel its getting to be crunch time for a 2023 delivery. Site is showing Oct-Nov, and I don't trust that a Nov-Dec delivery date will be trustworthy. On the other hand, with the new RWD Model Y, and seeing I SHOULD be able to switch to 18" wheels, the Model Y with RWD is getting consideration. I'm guessing it's a long shot to get a deal on an INVENTORY RWD Model Y before the end of the year in my area on the east coast.

I just want to ask, if Tesla is really looking at appealing to the mass market and trying to offer an economical MY, then why not offer it with 18" wheels? I'm confused by the requirement of 19" wheels. I understand that 255/50/18 is a tire size that doesn't really exist, but the beef of some 245/55/18 sounds good to me. I guess I should be able to get cheap 5x114 wheels and try some things out since I've got access to mount and balance machines. Max they can handle is 18" though, and the smaller the sidewall, the harder everything is to mount. Heck, this could be a good reason to get some used beater wheels that won't get me upset when the family curbs them. Perhaps that's a reason to go with a MY. Just more expense, even if I go with cheap beater wheels and just save or sell the New-Take-Off 19".

 

[mknmike]

Coming back to this to update where my wife and I are with the decision process. If you read my posts, you won’t be surprised to read that my wife says I’ve worn her down, and she’s fine with whatever. She doesn’t seem to think that the MY is a suitable replacement for the Honda Pilot, and wants to keep it in the fleet. Seeing that if we take a $0 down loan, it’s cheaper to add a M3 RWD to the “fleet” than it is to replace the pilot with a MYLR, she’s fine with a M3. My son went with her to test drive both a M3 and a MY, probably RWD M3 and MYLR. They both reported that the M3 was much smoother, but that sounds like it was perhaps the greater torque and regenerative braking on the MY (front wheel regen probably on AWD whereas the standard M3 just drags the rear wheels. Right? So it’s possible that the RWD MY could be as smooth as the RWD M3. But I guess I can possibly try to explain that to my wife if I end up trying to order a RWD MY.

I don’t know if I’ve said it above, but the M3 is a better looking car, and it’s cheaper. The insurance is cheaper too. I did not prove our insurance on a MY RWD, but assume it’s somewhere in the middle of the M3 RWD and MYLR insurance costs. But the point with the M3 is that it’s the cheapest one by a pretty larger percent when considering the $10k that my governments are giving out. I guess it’s working bc it is stimulating the economy by getting me to purchase, most likely a M3 RWD.

The thing that I’ve learned is interesting about all this is that I understand/believe the CATL LFP Prismatic batteries of the MY RWD are made in China. I thought the reason that the M3 gets the $7500 is because the batteries are made in the US. I wonder if it’s just that the final assembly of the battery PACK is made in the US. So they are taking Chinese cells and welding them into the Prosmatic battery pack here in the US. This gets me thinking about whether the nationalistic or environmental impact is more important to me. Eliminating Cobalt (edit: nickel, manganese, and cobalt (NMC) or nickel, manganese, cobalt, and aluminum (NMCA).) the battery chemistry is apparently both cheaper and more environmentally friendly with fewer rare earth elements requiring the additional mining. Right? But the nationalistic aspect of it says, “I want to make batteries here in the US, not China.” I guess you would next need to look at where the cobalt and chromium or whatever chemicals are actually being mined, and then check to see if my political ideals match with whatever country the raw materials come from. Or I can simply say “In Elon we trust.” Or we can trust that the due dilligence that our government(s) have done in order to decide who gets the $7500 and who gets $3750, and who gets none is a just and righteous process. Oh Dear Lord. Here I am trusting in our governments to have done the right thing.

Well, the M3 looks good, and it’s cheap.

That last line is a lot simpler way to look at it.

“It’s got electrolytes. Electrolytes are what plants need.”

“Secretary of State, brought to you by Charles Jr.”.

Edit: sorry if I wrote chromium somewhere up there when thinking of chrome/nickel. Should be: nickel, manganese, and cobalt (NMC) or nickel, manganese, cobalt, and aluminum (NMCA).
Also, anywhere I wrote LFR should be LFP.

 

[mknmike]

Being in the Philadelphia area, I don't really know whether I'm in a "Very Cold Climate" based on Tesla opinions. I'm trying to learn if there's a big concern with LFP in winter. It's not REALLY cold yet, but I'm feeling cold in my office in October. We can get a few days in a row where the high doesn't break freezing in some of the winters and our garage is detached (not heated). So it's possible that we are in a cold climate. I don't know.

I watch a video that claims these are the batteries used in various models. I plan on keeping whatever we buy until it's a pile of parts. So whether batteries will need to be replaced with a like battery could be a concern and benefit of LFP since they are cheaper. Yes, I'm already trying to price in a full battery replacement.