Newbie Question

[Kappelan]

Thats my main worry the kona electric has a slightly higher range

I almost got a Kona EV myself, but they couldn't find a vehicle in Ontario for me to sell. They are claiming that Kona should perform better in wintertime due to the heat pump. You don't have to charge the Kona battery up to 80% only which gives you more range. It's not a bad vehicle, but they don't have a Supercharger network which is a big disadvantage for Kona, Niro and other EVs. Regular public charges could be overcrowded, broken and so on.

The prices for Kona EV and SR+ are pretty much the same.

Anyway, I ended up ordering SR+ and waiting for delivery )

 

[Chetanh]

Right now the warranty of the non battery components is bothering me. I think i can finance 6 years instead of 7

 

[Chetanh]

When did you order your SR+? What location? Did they give you a good trade in offer? If you dont mind replying, Finance? What rate did you get?

 

[Kappelan]

Right now the warranty of the non battery components is bothering me. I think i can finance 6 years instead of 7

Warranty for Kona EV is 5 yr/100,000 km for Tesla3 is 4 yr/80,000 km plus 8 years or 160,000 km for the battery and drive unit. Which is not bad I think.

 

[Chetanh]

Does the Tesla warranty cover only the battery or the entire drive unit?

 

[Kappelan]

When did you order your SR+? What location? Did they give you a good trade in offer? If you dont mind replying, Finance? What rate did you get?

The order was made on July 19
Delivery scheduled for Aug 15
Delivery at the Lawrence location in Toronto
I am still waiting for the final numbers for my trade-in
The finance offer from RBC is 96 months at 3.7%

 

[Chetanh]

Thanks, How many kms do you expect to drive a year?
Did you think about buying gap insurance?

 

[MexiCanuck]

The range should be okay, but I'm confused about your math. If you drive 150km for work, that's 250 workdays a year, so 37,500km a year, but you say later your total mileage will be 35k a year, including other driving. That's alot of driving. Do you really want to be paying off your car loan in Year 7, when the car will have over 200km? Be sure to get gap insurance!

The math for workdays may be different in the US and Canada (where the OP lives).


5*52=260 days.

260 minus 12 statutory holidays = 248

248 minus 20 vacation days = 228

(Few Canadians get less than three weeks vacation. None of my acquaintances gets less than four weeks.)

Many Canadians work a nine-day fortnight, i.e., nine days every two weeks, resulting in 26 fewer workdays annually.
228 minus 26 = 199 work days

199 times 150 = 29,850 commuting miles annually leaving 5,150 "other" kilometers of driving.

 

[Kappelan]

Thanks, How many kms do you expect to drive a year?
Did you think about buying gap insurance?

About 40,000 annually
Don't know yet.

 

[MexiCanuck]

I live on Vancouver Island, so I don't have to deal with -40 degree weather. I have an SR+.

My commute is about 150 km/day, about 100 km of that being highway, although mostly 90 km/hour. In addition, I drive a considerable amount most days.

I do not have charging at work. There is a Level 2 charger at a shopping mall a block or so away. There is a Super Charger about 15 kilometers out of my way.

If there is a CHAdeMO charger near your workplace or on your commuting route, you might be able to charge using the Tesla CHAdeMO adaptor. CHAdeMO is slower than Super Charger, much faster than Level 2, and in Canada it is often free charging.

The "Stats for Tesla" app indicates that for the past couple of weeks I did not drive on a couple of days, but on most days I drove between 160 to 489 kilometers. My seven-day average is about 1400/week.

Financing through Tesla was under 4%.

I fully expect my Model 3 to be taking me places 10 years from now. My 2004 Prius was in great shape with over 300,000 km on it when it was totaled in 2014. My 2014 Prius v has about 185,000 km on it and it runs like new.

I've been driving my Model 3 since June 21 and have about 8,000 km on it. I don't imagine the Model 3 will perform worse than my Toyotas.

 

[Fernand]

Tesla has simply more experience with pure EV cars.
While the Prius has been out for a while, it's just not
a comparable car. And I wouldn't even be looking at the
Johnny come latelies. There's a pleasure in driving factor,
plus the AP, that makes commutes less unpleasant, and
that's hard to put a price on, but it's real. You're looking
at this from a minimal utilitarian perspective, you'll see what
I mean when you get your M3. I don't know, but I wouldn't
overthink this. My Honda Accord is from 2007 has over
150k miles and drives like new. My friends in Europe all
have cars in great shape at 200k Km. I expect my M3 to
be working fine in 10 years.

 

[Kappelan]

I live on Vancouver Island, so I don't have to deal with -40 degree weather. I have an SR+.

Teslas and other EVs are perfect for Vancouver area, not too hot and not too cold.

That's us leaving Vancouver Island from Nanaimo

 

[KenC]

Thanks, How many kms do you expect to drive a year?
Did you think about buying gap insurance?

I only mentioned gap insurance since your requirements seemed to fit, high miles, long term loan. No one wants to be in the situation in 5 years, where an accident payout leaves you with less money than is on your loan balance.

 

[MXWing]

Sentry mode if I recall cost 1 mile per hour?

Gotta think about that and future features like camper mode which gives you more flexibility and features in exchange for juice.

 

[TomLee]

Hello World,
We are looking to replace one of our vehicles (2007 camry with 350k+ on it) and are considering the model 3. I have a few questions, hopefully you guys can help answer them:
Here are some assumptions that wont likely change in the near future:
1) I can only afford the model 3 with the 386Km range (i think it is called SR+) in the base color with base wheel and base interior and no other options. That one will be financed for 7 years, which makes me a little uncomfortable (never financed a car for more than 4 years)
2) My commute is 150km roundtrip with 140km highway (speeds of around 120kmph and rest bumper to bumper city traffic)
3) I want the car to last atleast the duration of the finance period.
4) i dont have charging facilities at work.

Given the facts, can someone help me answer the following:
1) Given my commute distance will i be able to make the roundtrip even when its -40 outside without charging at work?
2) Given the battery degradation, can i expect that i will be able to do this commute for all the 7 years.
3) Including all the other driving, i expect to use the vehicle for 35K a year. Tesla warranty will end, does Tesla sell extended battery?
4) I have heard of the following issues with the vehicle:
Door handle freezing
Door windows freezing at the sil and door not opening
Water/ice buildup and bumper falling off
Any ideas if these have been resolved?
5) How effective is the touchscreen only usage in peak winter when we are wearing gloves?
6) What kind of charger to installl at home that works for Tesla as well as other brand EV's?
Any other comments/suggestions?

Thank you very much for taking the time to read my post.

If your worry is about the battery, you really should go to the battery sub section of Model 3. Some topics have real meat. Besides, 1xxWh/km thing most people talking about here is the driving efficiency. If range is a big concern for you, you need to consider the wall-to-wheel efficiency which is much lower than the average driving efficiency. Sorry to throw in a new term here but I think that’s relavent to you. Driving efficiency determines the longest range you can drive without stop. For example, if you drive 130Wh/km (rates or 100%), you get full 380km range if you keep driving. However, between your drive you have to park your car for certain period of time. During this time period, the famous Tesla vampire drain will kick in. Some say 1km/hr losses, some say 1%/hr losses. For you, that’s 8km or 31km loss (more in winter) in range for the 8hr of parking! This is where this wall-to-wheel efficiency makes more sense here. You measure how much range you put in for your car and how much range it yields from that. This take all the losses into consideration and makes more sense if you don’t have charger in between your drives. For my limited first 2xxx km ownership in good weather condition, wall-to-wheel efficiency is 205Wh/km compares to 150Wh/km driving efficiency. That’s about 63% efficiency. if you drive exactly like me, you can have 220km range with 90% SoC, aka, drive to work, park for 8 hours and drive back home with 70km left. I’ve seen ppl reporting 310Wh/km wall-to-wheel efficiency in extreme cold weather. That’s about 42% efficiency which yields about 160km range. What that means to you? With a fully charged SR+ travelling a whole day, you arrive home with 10km range left on screen. Don’t worry too much thou, there are technics to minimize the range impact in the cold weather: don’t turn on the heater!

Hope this make sense to you.

 

[Fernand]

"don’t turn on the heater!" LOL.
Is THAT the reason for range drop
in cold weather?
Drive organic horse & buggy.

 

[Chetanh]

For us the math is 5 weeks vacation plus 2 weeks stat holiday so 225 days. So commute is $33,750km

It is easy to find the remaining balance on the loan. Insurance company will look at autotrader and provide you a payout assuming that you will buy a vehicle with similar mileage. How to find out the payout given that model 3 is so new?

What is SOC? Sorry, i am a newbie to EV's. My understanding was that i plug in the car when i get home, it charges overnights, unplug it in the morning and drive. I charge the battery 100%. The software ensures degradation is minimal. Can i control how much percentage i can charge the battery? If i charge to 100% all winter (6 months a year), how does it impact the battery in the long run?

They are thinking about putting in a charger at work. I am not sure what type though and when. In any case i may be able to convince our FM to get me access to a 120V plug. So, if the recommendation is charge 80% to 20% and if i reach work and the battery says 40% or 30% remaining then is it recommended that i do not charge at work?

I have a covered garage at home and underground parking at work. How does that affect things? I am thinking that if i pre heat the car at home, its -20 outside but its +10 in the garage then as soon as i pull out the temperature starts falling and it will use motor to heat the car. In that case shouldn't i park outside in winter with it plugged in, this way i will have more range going to and back from work?

This wall to wall versues driving efficiency is making me slightly nervous. Am i overthinking my range anxiety? With kids to pick up, its not really feasible for me to stop at a charger for even 20 mins on my way home.

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

I drive ~120km round trip across the 401 and have an LR. Here are some insights/answers to your questions:

1) I can only afford the model 3 with the 386Km range (i think it is called SR+) in the base color with base wheel and base interior and no other options. That one will be financed for 7 years, which makes me a little uncomfortable (never financed a car for more than 4 years)
You will save ~$10,000 CAD on Fuel in four years. Does that help?

2) My commute is 150km roundtrip with 140km highway (speeds of around 120kmph and rest bumper to bumper city traffic)
Recommend getting AP (Included in SR+?) for the RUSH HOUR grind. Make your life way easier and enjoy an audio book.

3) I want the car to last atleast the duration of the finance period.
No data on longevity of Model 3. There is a four year warranty but at the rate of kms, you'll go through it in 2.5 years.

4) i dont have charging facilities at work.
There are plenty of Destination chargers. Check Plugshare and see if any near your work. PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You
Also, ask work to install chargers, AFAIK, Tesla is still offering free installation for workplaces. Just pay for the kWs.

Given the facts, can someone help me answer the following:
1) Given my commute distance will i be able to make the roundtrip even when its -40 outside without charging at work?
Yes, at 90% of 386, you'll have more than enough to make it home or make it to a charger somewhere in the GTA. I used all 90% of an LR during a terrible storm that lasted four hours of driving. Next time, I'll just check into a destination charger and enjoy a meal.

2) Given the battery degradation, can i expect that i will be able to do this commute for all the 7 years.
Assuming the Model 3 has better battery chemistry than it's predecessors. Many Model S's from 2013 retain over 90% of their original charge. Check twitter: Elon tweeted something about the Model 3 driver train lasting over 20 years?

3) Including all the other driving, i expect to use the vehicle for 35K a year. Tesla warranty will end, does Tesla sell extended battery?
There was talk of battery replacement service for $$$. This is already available for Model Ss that are out of warranty.

4) I have heard of the following issues with the vehicle:
Door handle freezing (Yes, only experienced it once last winter during freezing rain storm).
Door windows freezing at the sil and door not opening (Same as above, Freezing Rain, nothing some cabin heating can't fix)
Water/ice buildup and bumper falling off (Read about two cases, never seen it or experienced).
Any ideas if these have been resolved? (Yes, Tesla released OTA updates to address for extreme winter conditions).

5) How effective is the touchscreen only usage in peak winter when we are wearing gloves? (No idea, I've always ran 21+C on the coldest of winter days/nights).

6) What kind of charger to installl at home that works for Tesla as well as other brand EV's?
Any other comments/suggestions? (For SR+, get an NEMA 14-50 plug and use the mobile charger)

Thank you very much for taking the time to read my post
You're most welcome, enjoy the electric ride
.

 

[TomLee]

"don’t turn on the heater!" LOL.
Is THAT the reason for range drop
in cold weather?
Drive organic horse & buggy.

I bet you know what I mean

 

[TomLee]

For us the math is 5 weeks vacation plus 2 weeks stat holiday so 225 days. So commute is $33,750km

It is easy to find the remaining balance on the loan. Insurance company will look at autotrader and provide you a payout assuming that you will buy a vehicle with similar mileage. How to find out the payout given that model 3 is so new?

What is SOC? Sorry, i am a newbie to EV's. My understanding was that i plug in the car when i get home, it charges overnights, unplug it in the morning and drive. I charge the battery 100%. The software ensures degradation is minimal. Can i control how much percentage i can charge the battery? If i charge to 100% all winter (6 months a year), how does it impact the battery in the long run?

They are thinking about putting in a charger at work. I am not sure what type though and when. In any case i may be able to convince our FM to get me access to a 120V plug. So, if the recommendation is charge 80% to 20% and if i reach work and the battery says 40% or 30% remaining then is it recommended that i do not charge at work?

I have a covered garage at home and underground parking at work. How does that affect things? I am thinking that if i pre heat the car at home, its -20 outside but its +10 in the garage then as soon as i pull out the temperature starts falling and it will use motor to heat the car. In that case shouldn't i park outside in winter with it plugged in, this way i will have more range going to and back from work?

This wall to wall versues driving efficiency is making me slightly nervous. Am i overthinking my range anxiety? With kids to pick up, its not really feasible for me to stop at a charger for even 20 mins on my way home.

Some questions have been answered by others so I’ll skip them.

As long as you have charger between drives, you don’t need to worry too much about wall-to-wheel efficiency. Most vampire drains will be covered during the charging time IMO. Even with a 120v charger, you can get 8km of range per hour which spares you 64km of range. I wouldn’t worry too much if the field manager allows you to charge. You should be able to make it even in cold weather.

For the daily charging, it’s not recommended to charge to 100% to minimize the battery degration. Full charge also reduce the head room of the battery and limits the regen. But this is huge YMMV, some abused theirs and still get good results. Some babied theirs but were disappointed . You should really try it by yourself to know your range. I’ve read that Tesla has long term test drive program which you can test for a week or two. Give them a call and find it out.

Good luck!