My car is great, it was easy to buy, and everything is fine.

[stickman]

Just to balance out the negative threads here so prospective buyers don't think buying a 3 is like suddenly finding yourself in a new Jordan Peele movie or something.

I put a deposit down before it was revealed.
I waited because our situation necessitated it
I lusted after the P when I read about track mode, but thought we'd get the 3D and hope someday they'd let us buy track mode as an add on.
My wife got a job back here in town, and I found out Tesla would give us decent money trading in her C class.
We test drove a P3D+. I was suitably impressed but was expecting to be. My wife was blown away. The sales guy was nice but had some sketchy/incorrect info. Not surprising or particularly off putting.
We bought a P3D+. They had one in stock that was the color we wanted. They couldn't apply the deposit because it was a new reservation (heh) We got the refund within a week after I requested it.
We took delivery a week after test drive. The delivery (at my house) was totally painless and took way less time than any new car delivery I've been at.
The body panels line up.
The build quality is on par with modern cars in the same price range.
It's the most comfortable car I've ever driven, with the most adjustment range of seat + steering wheel I have ever experienced.
There are no weird noises, except passengers giggling delightedly when I mash the accelerator.
The car drives like it's a sedate sedan when you want it to and like it's german sports sedan that just did a line of meth when you want it to.
There have been a few weird software/operation things come up. Some are glitches, some get fixed with updates, some just pop up sometimes and never come back. So what. All cars do weird things at some point.
I still don't have my spoiler or badge but..meh. They're both stick on cosmetic pieces and I don't really care.
The car is so good I forget it's an EV sometimes, then I remember, and I'm like..oh hellz yes.
I'd buy another one.

 

[Visionary]

Congrats!. So happy for you.

Did you get a '19 or '18?

 

[stickman]

18, and I sleep like a baby.

 

[Zaxxon]

I'm sorry, but I can't seem to find the drama in this thread. Is it hiding somewhere?

 

[tiggerlu]

Just to balance out the negative threads here so prospective buyers don't think buying a 3 is like suddenly finding yourself in a new Jordan Peele movie or something.

I put a deposit down before it was revealed.
I waited because our situation necessitated it
I lusted after the P when I read about track mode, but thought we'd get the 3D and hope someday they'd let us buy track mode as an add on.
My wife got a job back here in town, and I found out Tesla would give us decent money trading in her C class.
We test drove a P3D+. I was suitably impressed but was expecting to be. My wife was blown away. The sales guy was nice but had some sketchy/incorrect info. Not surprising or particularly off putting.
We bought a P3D+. They had one in stock that was the color we wanted. They couldn't apply the deposit because it was a new reservation (heh) We got the refund within a week after I requested it.
We took delivery a week after test drive. The delivery (at my house) was totally painless and took way less time than any new car delivery I've been at.
The body panels line up.
The build quality is on par with modern cars in the same price range.
It's the most comfortable car I've ever driven, with the most adjustment range of seat + steering wheel I have ever experienced.
There are no weird noises, except passengers giggling delightedly when I mash the accelerator.
The car drives like it's a sedate sedan when you want it to and like it's german sports sedan that just did a line of meth when you want it to.
There have been a few weird software/operation things come up. Some are glitches, some get fixed with updates, some just pop up sometimes and never come back. So what. All cars do weird things at some point.
I still don't have my spoiler or badge but..meh. They're both stick on cosmetic pieces and I don't really care.
The car is so good I forget it's an EV sometimes, then I remember, and I'm like..oh hellz yes.
I'd buy another one.

Happy for you and happy to hear. I have zero doubt in my mind, that other cars face similar or possibly worse production issues. My current car (soon to be old car) is a 2011 Hyundai Tucson. It's had 2 recalls...one of them involves catching on fire for no reason.

It's been a very reliable car - and yet these recalls don't make the news, or seem to affect Hyundai's sales much.

My point is, it seems the whole industry and even some Tesla adopters are waiting for the dream to be over - everything is under scrutiny and a microscope. Because Tesla is the first accessible and relatively transparent company (you can tweet Elon)...name another car company that does that? lol

 

[SMAlset]

Happy for you and happy to hear. I have zero doubt in my mind, that other cars face similar or possibly worse production issues. My current car (soon to be old car) is a 2011 Hyundai Tucson. It's had 2 recalls...one of them involves catching on fire for no reason.....

How about being a BMW owner in the Netherlands and having your hybrid BMW i8 (that runs about $150K and only gives a measly 18 miles of electric range), have an apparent fire resulting in this treatment! This from yesterday's news:

Firefighters dunk smoking $150,000 electrified BMW in tank of liquid to extinguish it

According to a translation from a Facebook post on it, the car was in the showroom when it started smoking. They drove the car outside where it then got the deep bath treatment.

Given that BMW has had dozens of car fires reported and even South Korea mulling a ban to prevent them from driving on the roads there unless they were safety inspected in 2018, I wonder if this Netherland i8's issue will be battery- or engine-related. There was the recall issue in late 2018 of plug-in hybrids and fully electric 2018 and 2019 BMW and Mini models. The i8 had a problem all the way back into 2014 ( i8 back in 2014 ) with gasoline fire risk.

I do think with the upcoming onslaught of different manufacturers EVs, Tesla won't be the only one in the news if there's a battery fire.

 

[82bert]

My previous ICE had literally 12 painful, time consuming recalls. I’ll take a Tesla every day of the week and then some, which is why we now have his and hers and will for the rest of our lives.

 

[tiggerlu]

How about being a BMW owner in the Netherlands and having your hybrid BMW i8 (that runs about $150K and only gives a measly 18 miles of electric range), have an apparent fire resulting in this treatment! This from yesterday's news:

Firefighters dunk smoking $150,000 electrified BMW in tank of liquid to extinguish it

According to a translation from a Facebook post on it, the car was in the showroom when it started smoking. They drove the car outside where it then got the deep bath treatment.

Given that BMW has had dozens of car fires reported and even South Korea mulling a ban to prevent them from driving on the roads there unless they were safety inspected in 2018, I wonder if this Netherland i8's issue will be battery- or engine-related. There was the recall issue in late 2018 of plug-in hybrids and fully electric 2018 and 2019 BMW and Mini models. The i8 had a problem all the way back into 2014 ( i8 back in 2014 ) with gasoline fire risk.

I do think with the upcoming onslaught of different manufacturers EVs, Tesla won't be the only one in the news if there's a battery fire.

I totally agree with you !

 

[Jbidwal]

I think the key to your easy delivery was the car was in stock. Much easier to get you the car in a timely manner.

 

[turtlesz]

Cars are great, software has bugs but does get better. I think the company sales tactics are what leave a sour taste for some. You got a discounted inventory performance model probably at a hell of a deal. Many believed Tesla when they said that they don't run sales like legacy automakers and would not discount and everyone would be paying same price which was not true. Many paid 65k for a loaded RWD LR less than a year ago and now P3D+ cars are being offered under that price. Technology improves and prices drop, such is life and best thing to do is be happy with what you have and try not to look back. Sit in the Tesla and that grin will come back, although your wallet may cry...

 

[Matt L]

I'm sorry, but I can't seem to find the drama in this thread. Is it hiding somewhere?

No kidding, I looked again and didn’t see any complaints about free features

 

[stickman]

Cars are great, software has bugs but does get better. I think the company sales tactics are what leave a sour taste for some. You got a discounted inventory performance model probably at a hell of a deal. Many believed Tesla when they said that they don't run sales like legacy automakers and would not discount and everyone would be paying same price which was not true. Many paid 65k for a loaded RWD LR less than a year ago and now P3D+ cars are being offered under that price. Technology improves and prices drop, such is life and best thing to do is be happy with what you have and try not to look back. Sit in the Tesla and that grin will come back, although your wallet may cry...

For the record I didn’t get any discount. I paid full boat and am happy, and if some folks got a better deal than I did good for them. The car is worth what I paid for it, to me

 

[mrbulk]

For the record I didn’t get any discount. I paid full boat and am happy, and if some folks got a better deal than I did good for them. The car is worth what I paid for it, to me

"A good deal is a state of mind". I try to keep that in my own mind so I can blissfully ignore all the drama of price bounces and the like, and just go drive my car.

 

[brianman]

The car drives like it's a sedate sedan when you want it to and like it's german sports sedan that just did a line of meth when you want it to.

Thanks for the belly laugh.

 

[AustinPowers]

I'm German, so obviously I have to chime in and add some much needed negativity to this thread

No, but seriously, I am happy you had such a pleasant experience. Mine wasn't as pleasant, not by a wide margin.

But like many have said before, the memory of all these unpleasant experiences before (and even during and after) delivery quickly fade away once you actually own the car and drive it on a daily basis.

Yes, perfectionists have to be aware that this is no Audi, BMW or Mercedes (or even VW). Especially the quality of the paint is so bad in parts it beggars belief. My PPF installer only shook his head at the shoddy overall quality of the paint job, and I quite agree. Luckily, most of the worst spots are on the door sills and similar areas you rarely see, but still, some bad spots of the paint job on more visible areas are so obvious it is hard to not see and not get a bit miffed about. Compared to our e-Golf it's just mind-boggling how Tesla can be so bad at painting cars properly.

Otoh, panel gaps and general interior build quality on mine is much better than what I had feared, so not many complaints there. Some details need fixing (which I never had on any car before, but that's Tesla for you), and that quite a few pieces of headliner had dirt marks was also not what I would have expected on a brand new, 70K Euro car, but a bit of treatment with my miracle solution (shaving cream (!), as recommended by a detailer) did the job of cleaning it all up perfectly.

On the software side of things there are several glitches and especially the connection between the app and the car is sketchy, the auto-open of the doors only works about half of the time, and the LTE connection often takes very long to get up and running when I start driving, but all this might be able to get better via software updates. Same with the Homelink function, which I can't get to work for the life if me, even though the manual of my garage door opener clearly states that it is compatible with the HL hardware and software version installed in the Model 3 according to Tesla. Again, someday, perhaps.

Overall, I am very happy with my Model 3 up to now. I wouldn't say it's the best car that I've ever owned, but it's very close.

 

[Probllama]

Overall, I am very happy with my Model 3 up to now. I wouldn't say it's the best car that I've ever owned, but it's very close.

Congrats on the new Model 3! And just out of curiosity, which car you owned ranks higher than Model 3 on your list?

 

[Scott7]

the auto-open of the doors only works about half of the time

What phone model are you using? I've only had my Model 3 for less than a week but the BT connection with my iPhone X has so far had a 100% success rate.

 

[82bert]

Never once have I had any connection issues with my iPhone X. Any BT connections for people are purely a phone issue.

 

[AustinPowers]

What phone model are you using? I've only had my Model 3 for less than a week but the BT connection with my iPhone X has so far had a 100% success rate.

I have already been told by Tesla staff that apparently Apple products work better in conjunction with Tesla cars, but I never had an Apple device nor do I intend to ever own one. Imho all their products are just grossly overpriced.

I use an Honor 8X, which for my needs is the perfect phone. It works splendid other than in conjunction with my Model 3. Then again, first world problems indeed.

 

[AustinPowers]

Congrats on the new Model 3! And just out of curiosity, which car you owned ranks higher than Model 3 on your list?

Thank you.

Don't laugh, the car at the top of my list is our current e-Golf.
Sure, it hasn't got the range or the acceleration of the Model 3, but other than that it is better in almost every aspect:

- the build quality is spot on.
- the paint job is the complete opposite of the one in our Model 3. Not a single defect, blemish, covered piece of dust or the like.
- even though the seats in the Model 3 to me feel very comfortable, the ones in the e-Golf feel better still, plus offer a little more side support (and the headrests are adjustable).
- the voice controls in the Model 3 work sketchy at best, entering an address into the navigation system works, but then the system just doesn't do anything with it. In the e-Golf, the voice commands work flawlessly.
- the radio station setup and usage in the Model 3 is very basic. In the e-Golf it works a treat and is visually much more appealing (station logos, presets of regional station sets, traffic warning setup)
- the Dynaudio sound system in the e-Golf sounds just as good overall as the "premium" one in the Model 3, bass levels are better even
- plus there is some small things that I prefer in the e-Golf, like (again, don't laugh) the sound of the doors or trunk lid closing, which is such a nice soft "thud" in the e-Golf but a metallic "bang" in the Model 3 (similar to that on my old BMW E46 coupe actually. Perhaps it's the frameless doors, but on the trunk?), the trunk liner material, the oh sh*t grab handles, the exterior door handles (my second biggest complaint about the Model 3 actually)
- overall, the e-Golf just feels so much more solidly built, while the Model 3 is far better in terms of sheer performance and range of course
- as for the interiors, the one in the Model 3 looks nicer, yes, but the one in the e-Golf is more practical.
- and one final thing I really miss in the Model 3 is dynamic bending light plus cornering light. Got that even in my 15 year old BMW and of course in the e-Golf, not even available as an option on the Model 3. On the roads I drive along at night, this is one feature I sorely miss. Plus it's a real downgrade in terms of safety. Don't know why Tesla cheaped out on such an important feature.

Like I said, a really like our Model 3, it's just a few small steps away from perfect. (Plus of course the e-Golf was almost 30K Euro cheaper).