New Member from San Francisco

[Cree]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum and I've loved Tesla since the S was released. I think I'm now ready to buy a Model 3 and get rid of my Jeep. I am still trying to decide if I should buy a standard rwd or dual motor awd. Any feedback/information from Model 3 owners would be great. I will continue reading reviews on the forum.

 

[Silicon Desert]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum and I've loved Tesla since the S was released. I think I'm now ready to buy a Model 3 and get rid of my Jeep. I am still trying to decide if I should buy a standard rwd or dual motor awd. Any feedback/information from Model 3 owners would be great. I will continue reading reviews on the forum.

Welcome. It could help get some replies if you can indicate a bit more about how you plan to use the car and how you plan to charge it. ie. commute? go to Tahoe in show? long trips, plan to install a charger at home.

I'm sure you will get a lot of great advice here.

 

[Cree]

Welcome. It could help get some replies if you can indicate a bit more about how you plan to use the car and how you plan to charge it. ie. commute? go to Tahoe in show? long trips, plan to install a charger at home.

I'm sure you will get a lot of great advice here.

Good point Silicon Desert, it will be a daily driver but not very far from home maybe 10/20 miles daily. We do plan on taking some long trips down the coast but probably not in the snow. I love the speed of the dual motor and the additional features but does that justify for me to spend more money.

I am still unsure if I plan on installing a charger at home I know the upside of doing this and was wondering what if I do not plan on installing a charger at home. Does anyone go to a supercharger everyday or other day to charge their car?

Thanks all!

 

[Puddles]

You can keep her topped up with a 120v outlet for short daily trips, then use supercharger for longer trips.

The single motor I find to be very quick and strong enough to make traction control engage during “fun” driving. It’s up to you to decide if having the extra speed is worth the money, but nobody could argue with a straight face that you *need* it.

The only time I wish I’d have gone double is when I can’t keep up with somebody who has it and isn’t afraid to use it

 

[Cree]

You can keep her topped up with a 120v outlet for short daily trips, then use supercharger for longer trips.

The single motor I find to be very quick and strong enough to make traction control engage during “fun” driving. It’s up to you to decide if having the extra speed is worth the money, but nobody could argue with a straight face that you *need* it.

The only time I wish I’d have gone double is when I can’t keep up with somebody who has it and isn’t afraid to use it

Thank you, I am leaning more towards the standard rwd to save some money.

 

[bmah]

I am still unsure if I plan on installing a charger at home I know the upside of doing this and was wondering what if I do not plan on installing a charger at home. Does anyone go to a supercharger everyday or other day to charge their car?

Welcome to TMC!

Home charging is a wonderful thing...it's hard to beat waking up every morning knowing that your car has a full "tank". How you do it depends a lot on how your home is set up. It doesn't always need an expensive wall charger setup. Many of us have "made do" for years with the (Universal) Mobile Connector that comes with the car, plugged into a NEMA 14-50 outlet fr 40A (or 32A depending on the version of the mobile connector) charging. Other people have done fine with 240V electric dryer outlets. If your commute is only 10-20 miles, you can easily make that up in a few hours on a "normal" 120V outlet, and I know people who have done this too. If you live in a condo or apartment, it gets a little more complicated to install charging circuitry (not technically but because you have to work with or through other people to get it done).

My brief experience (for about a week) depending a nearby Supercharger in lieu of home charging was not pleasant. I don't recommend it. With your short commute, if you have no home charging, you might get away with visiting a public charger such as a Supercharger once a week, but it's still less convenient than being able to charge at home. Bay Area Superchargers are notoriously busy, but in general if you can charge at home, you won't care about any Supercharger within about a 50-mile radius of your house.

Bruce.

 

[Streetcat]

Hi:
I just joined here as well. And, I just bought a Model 3 dual motor / long range.
I’m retired and live in Phoenix, AZ. Cars are a hobby for me.

My rational for my Tesla configuration was that I wanted the extra range and speed. I quite frequently visit friends in California. I take frequent road trips and I just drove to New York to “ beat the heat “.

Going to NY, I easily did 300 miles before charging. I had a Tesla home Charger installed right away. I found a free level 2 charger not far from where I live but it appeared to be constantly in use. There are a lot of EV’s and hybrid, that I wasn’t even aware of, out there ... like Cadillac, Audi and BMW... etc. Also, on my NY trip, I made a reservation at a Best Western that advertised a convenient dual charging station. When I arrived It turns out both chargers were broken. If I didn’t have a long range, I might have been in trouble.

So, If you plan to travel, it seems to me that the convenience, range insurance and speed is worth it.
But, I’m new myself. Best to ask experienced owners to get the lowdown.

 

[Cree]

Hi:
I just joined here as well. And, I just bought a Model 3 dual motor / long range.
I’m retired and live in Phoenix, AZ. Cars are a hobby for me.

My rational for my Tesla configuration was that I wanted the extra range and speed. I quite frequently visit friends in California. I take frequent road trips and I just drove to New York to “ beat the heat “.

Going to NY, I easily did 300 miles before charging. I had a Tesla home Charger installed right away. I found a free level 2 charger not far from where I live but it appeared to be constantly in use. There are a lot of EV’s and hybrid, that I wasn’t even aware of, out there ... like Cadillac, Audi and BMW... etc. Also, on my NY trip, I made a reservation at a Best Western that advertised a convenient dual charging station. When I arrived It turns out both chargers were broken. If I didn’t have a long range, I might have been in trouble.

So, If you plan to travel, it seems to me that the convenience, range insurance and speed is worth it.
But, I’m new myself. Best to ask experienced owners to get the lowdown.

Wow, you drove to NY already. I actually placed my order a few nights ago and went with the standard RWD. I went back to the Tesla dealership and test drove the RWD and I thought it was good enough for me. As much as I would love to go fast and get the extra range living in SF with all this traffic i thought let's just save money and go RWD. I appreciate the information and thanks for sharing your drives! #teslafamily

 

[Streetcat]

Wow, you drove to NY already. I actually placed my order a few nights ago and went with the standard RWD. I went back to the Tesla dealership and test drove the RWD and I thought it was good enough for me. As much as I would love to go fast and get the extra range living in SF with all this traffic i thought let's just save money and go RWD. I appreciate the information and thanks for sharing your drives! #teslafamily

Yeah, I like to drive it’s kind of a Zen thing for me. Also, my last car was a Mercedes Benz which has the same shift as the Model 3 so, I was familiar with the operation ... which takes some getting used to. But, I am sure you are going to like this car a lot. I’ve had all types of cars and this one is great fun.