Hello all. I'm a Belgian ICE-guy who is very interested in buying a Model 3. I did a test drive and I just fell in love with it instantly. It's a spaceship on wheels! Anyway, I'm just a lower-middle class guy and buying this car would really stretch my budget, so I have a few questions and concerns before I make this decision...
I heard some really bad things about... well, everything really. Car forums not owned by Tesla are just incredibly negative about the cars and the brand in general. Surely they can't all be paid shills? The complaints that alarm me the most are the countless, never-ending problems buyers seem to experience, often several big problems in the first few years after buying the car... The car itself is expensive enough, if such problems were to persist after the warranty period, that'd be pretty bad. I also heard Tesla's repairs are notoriously expensive. I experienced this first-hand when during my test drive, I made a tiny scratch on the wheel rim. They charged me 400 euro (450ish USD) to fix it. They also said that if they had to do even the simplest repairs like work on the front headlights, that cost would go into the thousands of euros as apparently the bumper is full of radars and other sensors, and they'd need to be replaced as well. That'd be a nightmare and a hard pass, if true.
Another concern is tyre wear. I heard Teslas were notoriously hard on their tyres, costing over $200 for each tyre, and needed to be replaced almost every year. Can I extend their life by not driving like a lunatic? I tend to be quite relaxed in traffic.
Last question is about charging. I live in a small apartment. No garage. My car is parked on the street outside. Charging at home is not going to happen. The nearest Tesla charger is quite far away, in the nearby city. I guess I could go there every week to charge, but that does sound like quite the hassle. There are, however, small non-Tesla charging stations in my town. Slower 22 kW ones, but within walking distance of my home. Can I charge a Tesla at a non-Tesla charger, or am I forced to use the Tesla ones?
Thanks in advance!
I heard some really bad things about... well, everything really. Car forums not owned by Tesla are just incredibly negative about the cars and the brand in general. Surely they can't all be paid shills? The complaints that alarm me the most are the countless, never-ending problems buyers seem to experience, often several big problems in the first few years after buying the car... The car itself is expensive enough, if such problems were to persist after the warranty period, that'd be pretty bad. I also heard Tesla's repairs are notoriously expensive. I experienced this first-hand when during my test drive, I made a tiny scratch on the wheel rim. They charged me 400 euro (450ish USD) to fix it. They also said that if they had to do even the simplest repairs like work on the front headlights, that cost would go into the thousands of euros as apparently the bumper is full of radars and other sensors, and they'd need to be replaced as well. That'd be a nightmare and a hard pass, if true.
Another concern is tyre wear. I heard Teslas were notoriously hard on their tyres, costing over $200 for each tyre, and needed to be replaced almost every year. Can I extend their life by not driving like a lunatic? I tend to be quite relaxed in traffic.
Last question is about charging. I live in a small apartment. No garage. My car is parked on the street outside. Charging at home is not going to happen. The nearest Tesla charger is quite far away, in the nearby city. I guess I could go there every week to charge, but that does sound like quite the hassle. There are, however, small non-Tesla charging stations in my town. Slower 22 kW ones, but within walking distance of my home. Can I charge a Tesla at a non-Tesla charger, or am I forced to use the Tesla ones?
Thanks in advance!