Planning to buy Model 3

[PoitNarf]

6. Cost of charging tesla per week ?

As others have already mentioned this is entirely dependent on these things:

1) How far do you drive per month?
2) How much do you pay for electricity?
3) How fast/aggressive do you drive?

As a point of reference I drive an average of 1100 miles a month and pay around $0.12 per kWh. I also drive my Model 3 pretty hard and have a lifetime efficiency after 13,000 miles of around 264Wh/mi.

So factoring all of that in, at an average of 264Wh/mi my 1100 miles a month equals around 290kW of battery power used. 290kW * $0.12kWh = $34.84, however charging is not 100% efficient so figure around a 15% loss and you get a monthly electric bill that of which $40 is from charging the car and this is pretty much what I’ve been seeing.

 

[Watts_Up]

Thanks everyone for your valuable inputs..I need one more help

I got a deal on Model 3 with RWD which has 1600 miles from a dealer with an upgraded color and 19 inch wheel.

I assume this is the LR (75 kWh) battery, not the MR (62 kWh)?
If so, even if you don't really need it for daily usage, I would choose the biggest battery, in few years battery size will even be larger.

The vehicle is priced at 44k but I was told that there be an additional discount which comes to 43k.
Do you think is it wise to get an upgraded color and wheel with 1500 miles on the car?
I was initially inclined to partial interior vehicle but with 3k plus I am getting upgraded option on color and tires,
not sure if its worth it but want to check with people who already own teslas if wheel size is going to make any difference.
Again thanks all for your wonderful inputs. Learn quite of a few things from last couple of days. Glad that I joined the forum

Color and wheel size is more a personal choice, I really like the look of the 19" and dislike the Aero 18" with or without the cover.
You have you live with whatever choice you make. I like silver and white interior.

 

[Tesnewbee]

Thanks everyone for your valuable inputs, wow you guys rock!
I am almost there to order but auto-pilot is the only one where I am kind of debating whether to take it or not. I am a very paranoid person when comes to driving, generally I don't use cruise control too lol..Now Auto-pilot I am saying No but my wife is inclined towards auto-pilot. I just saw few videos and went crazy seeing autopilot. I will test drive first thing in the AM before I add that option

 

[PoitNarf]

Thanks everyone for your valuable inputs, wow you guys rock!
I am almost there to order but auto-pilot is the only one where I am kind of debating whether to take it or not. I am a very paranoid person when comes to driving, generally I don't use cruise control too lol..Now Auto-pilot I am saying No but my wife is inclined towards auto-pilot. I just saw few videos and went crazy seeing autopilot. I will test drive first thing in the AM before I add that option

We’re all happy to help and answer any more questions you may have. Definitely take a test drive though and try out autopilot. However be aware that the car you test drive may be equipped with Enhanced Autopilot which is no longer available as an option. Tesla split some features of Enhanced Autopilot out and added them to the Fully Self Driving option. Check out this handy info graphic created by @Troy for more info. There may be some features you want that are now part of the FSD option.

 

[Zaxxon]

Autopilot is awesome if you like to do long road trips and/or frequently deal with slow highway traffic. Well worth it in those cases, IMO.

As for insurance, everyone's situation is unique but my insurance *dropped* slightly when I replaced my Leaf with the 3. Progressive.

 

[Watts_Up]

Thanks Ray! One last question from my end related to this car, sorry I have been asking too many questions.
Do I also need to worry about any bumper issues ?
Did anyone have any issues recently?
How can I prevent this happening?

There are some review of this issue on YouTube.

I'm a little bit surprised that some thorough immersion testings have not been performed before production.
I imagine that the Tesla design center must have those type of 'swimming' pool testing apparatus.

The important point is that the water is not going inside the car habitacle.
It look like that the underneath cover going from the rear axial to the rear bumper
was an after though added to improve the aerodynamic of the car.

I would not be surprise if there will be a re-call to fix the problem.
Adding few opening to drain the water and some water scoops behind each rear wheel
to avoid the water to get projected inside the cover should fix this issue.

 

[shinkle]

Can somebody explain/confirm the free upgrade on wheels and paint? I'm new to the forums and new to Tesla's also. I'm getting ready to put a deposit down on a model 3 with 19 inch wheels and a color other than black. Are you telling me that as long as there is a vehicle in stock already with upgraded wheels and paint, I won't be charged for them? The Tesla sales rep I've been speaking with hasn't offered that.

 

[Tesnewbee]

Sorry folks for not responding to the posts. I appreciate for all the help and inputs.

I have one additional question, may be a Tesla sales personnel can answer this but would like to get some inputs from the members here,

I placed order on partial interior car yesterday. My question is, say if Model Y is affordable and is better then 3, can I cancel the existing order? If yes, can I get the deposit back ? Not sure if anyone has asked this question here as I don't see any posts related to this topic. What is the grace period for cancelling the existing order and placing an order on Y model.

 

[Tesnewbee]

Can somebody explain/confirm the free upgrade on wheels and paint? I'm new to the forums and new to Tesla's also. I'm getting ready to put a deposit down on a model 3 with 19 inch wheels and a color other than black. Are you telling me that as long as there is a vehicle in stock already with upgraded wheels and paint, I won't be charged for them? The Tesla sales rep I've been speaking with hasn't offered that.

I believe it depends on the sales representative and also availability of cars in your area. My sales personnel was able to provide listing of 2 cars but didn't like it

 

[Tam]

...if Model Y is affordable and is better then 3, can I cancel the existing order?...

Affordable in term of less expensive or more expensive?

Elon Musk said that Y is 10% larger and costs 10% more so it will not cost less.

When are you ordering your Model 3? Model Y is not in production yet and there's no plan where to build it yet so are you expecting to keep your Model 3 order months or years for Model Y?

...can I get the deposit back...

The Terms and Conditions say it's refundable as long as it's not assigned to a vehicle.

If you want to avoid the penalty, once it's assigned to a vehicle, you have to pay for it fully first then you can return within 1 day (had test drive) or 7 days(never had a test drive.)

...What is the grace period for cancelling the existing order and placing an order on Y model.

You can cancel existing Model 3 order at any time but the timing above dictates whether you get the $2,500 back or not.

In the past, salespeople could move your deposit from one car to another instantly but if you want your deposit back and not ordering another instantly, the timing above dictates whether you could lose that deposit or not.

 

[Watts_Up]

I placed order on partial interior car yesterday.
My question is, say if Model Y is affordable and is better then 3, can I cancel the existing order?

If yes, can I get the deposit back ?
Not sure if anyone has asked this question here as I don't see any posts related to this topic.
What is the grace period for cancelling the existing order and placing an order on Y model.

You cannot place an order on a Model Y, you can make a reservation and wait for two years to order it.

A Model 3 reservation is $1k and is refundable.

A Model 3 order I think is $2,500 but I don't think it is refundable.
You might be able use it to make a different order (color...)

 

[Tesnewbee]

I order partial premium interior and upgraded color to White. My car will be delivered this Thursday. Are there any specific things that I need to review or be aware of during delivery? I see people had issues color and panels gaps etc..So just want to check if there are any additional items that I need to be aware of? Can someone please provide me a checklist ? I am just worried that people had issues and if Tesla doesn't provide us the required quality its waste of money for an average earning person like me.

Secondly, for charging the car what is the best option, can I use the charger provided by Tesla to charge the car? Do I need to upgrade 120v to 240v? Is Wall charger really needed? Any inputs are appreciated. TIA.

 

[Tesnewbee]

Also need advice on paint protection film please , do I need to get one? I am trying to understand difference between Ceramic coating and regular paint. Which is cheap an best

 

[BenPrice]

I order partial premium interior and upgraded color to White. My car will be delivered this Thursday. Are there any specific things that I need to review or be aware of during delivery? I see people had issues color and panels gaps etc..So just want to check if there are any additional items that I need to be aware of? Can someone please provide me a checklist ? I am just worried that people had issues and if Tesla doesn't provide us the required quality its waste of money for an average earning person like me.

Secondly, for charging the car what is the best option, can I use the charger provided by Tesla to charge the car? Do I need to upgrade 120v to 240v? Is Wall charger really needed? Any inputs are appreciated. TIA.

I’m in St. Louis.

I paid an electrician $650 to run lines to my garage and install Tesla’s $500 charger.

Highly recommend. I’m full every morning. No concerns about anything ever.

Depending on the difference in costs in your region I’d highly suggest you explore this route.

 

[SMAlset]

Also need advice on paint protection film please , do I need to get one? I am trying to understand difference between Ceramic coating and regular paint. Which is cheap an best

Lots of threads on the forum on helping new owners understand the differences (some with great photos or videos), but essentially PPF (paint protection film aka clearbra) is a self-healing film that will help protect your car from rock chips, sometimes door dings, shopping cart brushes, minor scrapes, etc. Comes in different thicknesses and therefore price levels. Installation costs will depend on the area you live, skill of the installer, and how much of the car you have "wrapped". If you decide to go this route which many of us have (both our cars are and my husband's PPF has now twice prevented the car from needing to be repainted on parts affected), do your research. There are precut panels and those handcut, you can get your car's edges wrapped so you don't see a line where the film ends (and dirt can collect). However most cars even when doing a full wrap will have a combination of both as you don't necessarily want to have the shop disassemble panels to wrap edges that are close together in spots. Do visit the shop ahead of time and see examples of their work. Look for a place that has done a lot of Teslas and Model 3s. Read up ahead of time and ask questions. Also be prepared for most skilled shops to be booked sometimes months in advance. Here in California with so many Teslas sold here and owners having PPF installed, it's not unheard of for shops to mostly be doing Teslas these days -- so easy to find an experience installer. If you don't get your car done right away, and you get paint chips, they will have to do paint correction before applying the film and that will add to the cost.

PPF once applied will require you to come back in a few days to the installer to check the film's adhesion and to make any corrections. It is not unusual for a few air bubbles to appear or sometimes edges to pop up. If brought in within the specified time they can deal with these issues before the film begins to harden. PPF can be costly depending on how much of your car is covered so be an educated consumer ahead of time. You will also find owners' accounts of poor installs and sometimes those not realizing what they were buying. You can learn from those as well.

A ceramic coating is great to protect your paint (or your film) from etching from bird droppings, bee poop and such. It's a hydrophobic solution applied over your paint (or PPF) so dirt and other crap that lands on your car will wash off with ease. It also gives a really nice shine. There are different levels of application (sometimes referred to as Silver, Gold, etc) and each additional application will run you more. It can be applied over PPF, but PPF will not adhere well to ceramic from what I know so plan your paint protection decisions in advance. Ceramic coatings will harden as the days go by, so you will be instructed not to get the car wet during this time, we were told 2 days minimum (garage kept or wait until it's not raining advisable). And a suggestion would be if you will be applying an HOV sticker to your car, have that available for them to apply before they do your ceramic coating.

Many of us have had the shop apply the HOV sticker to a matching cutout of PPF and that applied to the car so that when you need to remove the sticker after it expires, it will be easier to get off. You can buy PPF strips or pre-configured ones to DIY. Many owners also have the door sills covered with PPF to protect the plate from being scratched by shoes. Owners on here have also done there own ceramic coating. Applying PPF is generally something left to a shop to do and not something for first time DIYers with the exception of maybe small areas.

 

[SMAlset]

ISecondly, for charging the car what is the best option, can I use the charger provided by Tesla to charge the car? Do I need to upgrade 120v to 240v? Is Wall charger really needed? Any inputs are appreciated. TIA.

We decided to have our electrician install a NEMA 14-50 instead of the HPWC. But you could go either way. An advantage to the 14-50 would be that that outlet could be used for many power tools or if you also have a non-Tesla EV to charge. If you have any remodeling done at some point, your workmen will appreciate the convenience in the garage. If you have an RV, they would make use of a 14-50 as well.