Pre-Purchase Questions

[JS77]

I'm pulling the trigger in the next couple of weeks and had a random assortment of questions I figured the TMC community can help answer (Specifically, would be great to hear from UK owners) - I'm sure these have been answered on other separate threads in the past but who has time to use a search function?

1. Does premium connectivity (£9.99) include the premium subscription for Spotify? I was watching a YT video and it claimed you had to pay £9.99 p/month for premium connectivity and an additional £9.99 p/month for Spotify (IF you want Spotify) - that doesn't sound right so thought I'd check with other owners

2. If Spotify IS included with the £9.99 premium connectivity charge, does it provide you with a log-in that can be used on other devices (phone, laptop etc) or is it strictly for use in the M3?

3. Water Ingress.... this is my biggest concern about buying a M3. I notice a lot of early 2020 deliveries are still having issues with water in the boot lid, rear lights and in some extreme cases, in the cabin. Is there anything specifically that I should check on collection that might signal my M3 could develop this issue? (I know about the standard checklist for collections, but I mean anything specifically to do with water ingress)

4. As the newer M3s have a single USB-A in the front (with the USB-C used for the wireless charger) is it possible to use a USB Hub to make more ports available? If so, are there any specific recommendations, and will this cause any degradation/issues with sentry mode recordings?

5. I've been agonising over the colour to go for but have settled on black. Obviously with Tesla paint quality being an ongoing issue, I am nervous about scratches etc which always show up worse on darker colours. Any other M3 owners who picked black, do you regret your choice or are you happy you went with it? Any tips?

6. I'm likely going to be buying my M3 through my Ltd Company... for anyone else who has purchased through a Ltd Company, do you personally insure the car yourself, or do you purchase insurance through your Ltd Company? (I've only ever owned my past cars personally, so this is new to me)

Thanks!

 

[GRiLLA]

1. Premium Connectivity includes access to Spotify using Tesla's account. It allows you to search and play anything, but not save your own playlists, artists etc. Typically if you use this you'll need your own Spotify account then log in with that. It's best to think about the Premium Connectivity as the data access.
2. No
3. Not had anything like this on mine so can't comment. Has a bit of water collect in rear lights and they were replaced by a ranger.
4. Take a look at the Jeda or Taptes hubs, they are designed to fit into the Tesla and look like part of the car, allowing you to hide the usb drive used for sentry mode etc. I have the Taptes and I'm very happy with it.
5. I have black and I love it. I did have it ceramic coated by PPProtect and with reasonably careful washing it comes up looking like new each time. There are a few stonechips after doing 12K miles, but nothing unexpected.
6. Sorry can't answer

 

[Adopado]

3. Water Ingress....

Some condensation in rear lights is probably the only thing that could be said to affect quite a number of owners. A few people have had rear light units replaced but for most people it appears not to be an ongoing problem. I had the rear light cluster condensation visible shortly after I picked up the car (Model 3) last September but it has completely disappeared despite the winter and some very wet periods of weather since. More significant water ingress in other areas has only affected a very much smaller number of cars ... (though a tough one to solve in some instances).

 

[FRUNKS]

Mine is being leased through my limited company which means it is a company car, therefore the company pays the insurance etc.

 

[Lucanesque]

4. As the newer M3s have a single USB-A in the front (with the USB-C used for the wireless charger) is it possible to use a USB Hub to make more ports available? If so, are there any specific recommendations, and will this cause any degradation/issues with sentry mode recordings?

6. I'm likely going to be buying my M3 through my Ltd Company... for anyone else who has purchased through a Ltd Company, do you personally insure the car yourself, or do you purchase insurance through your Ltd Company? (I've only ever owned my past cars personally, so this is new to me)

Thanks!

4. I've ordered the Jeda USB Hub for Model Y (as that's the one compatible with the newer M3s) and have got myself a Samsung T5 for dashcam/sentry mode that'll fit nicely inside it.

6. I've bought mine through my Ltd company too. Take a look at this thread, as this is a subject a few of us have discussed recently, but in short, yes your company should pay for the insurance. However, as company car insurance policies designed for companies can cost many £thousands (usually because they cover multiple drivers etc), it may be best to look at buying the insurance personally, and then expensing it to your company.

 

[JS77]

Thanks guys, that helps a lot!

 

[DaveW]

Most of the points have been covered already, but..

Please DON’T order your hub from Jeda, they are the absolute pits to deal with. Ordered my pre June 2020 hub June 3rd, not here and they won’t acknowledge my refund request, I’ve had to get the bank involved, have a search on Reddit if you think this is an isolated case, they really are awful to deal with.

TapTes are selling there compatible hub for your car, dispatching 10th September, they’ve sped up their delivery service again now, so it’ll be cheaper and it’ll get to you quicker

I also went for black, looks amazing when clean, lovely deep shine. But... (and there’s always a but), as with any black car it’s hard to keep it looking clean. The Tesla paint is soft across all colours, so don’t worry about it being black being any worse in my experience.

Cleaning tip wise, I put together this guide: https://www.teslaev.co.uk/cleaning-your-tesla/

Also, don’t forget to apply a referral on point of order, it’s rare they’ll let you do it after. Either ask a friend / colleague who has a Tesla for their code, or one of us lovey lot (there’s a section in your profile on here to put your code) to make sure you get some free supercharger miles. Only worth around £60, but very handy to have

Even though black is a pain to keep clean, no regrets here

 

[Mr H]

Did someone mention referral code???

btw the premium connectivity package does not include a Spotify premium subscription, there is a generic Tesla one but it's pretty limited, you will need your own account which you can log in on the screen.

I've got a rear light with condensation as well, Tesla are saying it's not bad enough to change yet (on a 40k car really)

 

[curmudgeon]

3. Not had any problems with water ingress since aUgust 2019 delivery
5. If you are undecided on colour, I still think MSM looks great. (as do the 19 inch sport wheels in combination)
6. Company pays for personal policy with company listed as owner. Cheaper policy and easier to maintain the no claims this way. LV policy llists owner and keeper as seperate which is reassuring:

 

[Joelly]

My advice to you would be skip premium connectivity and just get a premium Spotify account and run it through the phone. The maps are nice, but unless you’re trekking and adventuring often (I find it good to spot that lake, footpath or car park I was looking for).
paint I went white because none stood out to me and was included in the price, no issues with paint work whatsoever.
I assume if business car then business insurance would be best. Just make sure it covers leisure as well.

 

[TrickyRicky]

Hi to everyone on the forum. I've been reading this forum for many months, decided to register just now!

Cars have never done it for me really and I'm now in my mid 40s. When I saw the Teslas whilst walking through Bluewater, I was very taken with them, and the whole idea of electric cars has grown on me.

My wife bought me a 24 hour driving experience in a Model S that I drove last month and that completely blew me away, what a car. Mind you speaking as a current owner of a 6 year old VW Golf it was bound to make an impression!

I'm in a similar position to the OP. Thinking of ordering a Model 3 over the next few months. Pre-requisite is that the wife tells me I need to clear out the garage first!

I too would be looking to finance through my limited company, not sure of leasing for 2 years first and then maybe consider a purchase after that. I'm thinking that in 2 years or so, we might start to see Model 3s being produced from Berlin, and i would hope that the build quality and paint quality would be much improved. Is this likely?

Another option would be maybe go for a ID3 for 2 years until the Berlin Model 3s come out. My son is off to York uni, so we would have a few nice road trips from deepest Kent to have to make over the next few years, and having already experienced the supercharger network in the model S, that is a big attraction.

Decisions decisions!

 

[DaveW]

Hi to everyone on the forum. I've been reading this forum for many months, decided to register just now!

Cars have never done it for me really and I'm now in my mid 40s. When I saw the Teslas whilst walking through Bluewater, I was very taken with them, and the whole idea of electric cars has grown on me.

My wife bought me a 24 hour driving experience in a Model S that I drove last month and that completely blew me away, what a car. Mind you speaking as a current owner of a 6 year old VW Golf it was bound to make an impression!

I'm in a similar position to the OP. Thinking of ordering a Model 3 over the next few months. Pre-requisite is that the wife tells me I need to clear out the garage first!

I too would be looking to finance through my limited company, not sure of leasing for 2 years first and then maybe consider a purchase after that. I'm thinking that in 2 years or so, we might start to see Model 3s being produced from Berlin, and i would hope that the build quality and paint quality would be much improved. Is this likely?

Another option would be maybe go for a ID3 for 2 years until the Berlin Model 3s come out. My son is off to York uni, so we would have a few nice road trips from deepest Kent to have to make over the next few years, and having already experienced the supercharger network in the model S, that is a big attraction.

Decisions decisions!

Hi @TrickyRicky, welcome to the forum (or at least the posting side of things )

If you are only thinking short term on the Model 3 until Berlin is producing cars, I think 2 years isn't a bad shout, from what we've read I believe it will be open next year, you might also then have the option for the Model Y. 2 years also gives them Berlin time to settle in and hopefully demand will settle a bit.

There's a good chance the fit / finish will be better from Berlin, as this has been seen in China. There is also going to be a fancy paint shop in Berlin too from what Elon has been tweeting about.

Please don't be put off from ordering a current Model 3 though, yes sometimes the fit / finish isn't perfect, however Tesla are pretty good at sorting this stuff out, although any paint defects must be raised very quickly (within 100 miles) for Tesla to accept them.

I've had my Model 3 for over a year now, still love it. Two big advantages over the ID3, the supercharger network as you've mentioned and over the air software updates (where you get genuinely good features and improvements, as well as games etc.. turn up for free), from what I've read, right now VW are manually having to update all the ID3's following the software nightmares they've had.

Dave.

 

[TrickyRicky]

Hi @TrickyRicky, welcome to the forum (or at least the posting side of things )

If you are only thinking short term on the Model 3 until Berlin is producing cars, I think 2 years isn't a bad shout, from what we've read I believe it will be open next year, you might also then have the option for the Model Y. 2 years also gives them Berlin time to settle in and hopefully demand will settle a bit.

There's a good chance the fit / finish will be better from Berlin, as this has been seen in China. There is also going to be a fancy paint shop in Berlin too from what Elon has been tweeting about.

Please don't be put off from ordering a current Model 3 though, yes sometimes the fit / finish isn't perfect, however Tesla are pretty good at sorting this stuff out, although any paint defects must be raised very quickly (within 100 miles) for Tesla to accept them.

I've had my Model 3 for over a year now, still love it. Two big advantages over the ID3, the supercharger network as you've mentioned and over the air software updates (where you get genuinely good features and improvements, as well as games etc.. turn up for free), from what I've read, right now VW are manually having to update all the ID3's following the software nightmares they've had.

Dave.

Thanks for the kind welcome Dave!

 

[DaveW]

Thanks for the kind welcome Dave!

You're most welcome.

There's loads of us on here who can help with any questions etc.. you might have, so feel free to post them up and I'm sure someone can help

 

[Radders]

As dave, m3 over the ID3, i think is far better value for money than the ID3 as well, especially if you are planning on longer jounreys and needing to charge away from home.

ive had my SR+ since early Nov just over 12k miles, no issues with anything yet on mine, not had to return to SC at all.

also when you order feel free to ask me for my referral code to get yourself (and me) 1000 free supercharging miles...

 

[DaveW]

As dave, m3 over the ID3, i think is far better value for money than the ID3 as well, especially if you are planning on longer jounreys and needing to charge away from home.

ive had my SR+ since early Nov just over 12k miles, no issues with anything yet on mine, not had to return to SC at all.

also when you order feel free to ask me for my referral code to get yourself (and me) 1000 free supercharging miles...

There's always one... and today it's you

 

[Radders]

Yes thought as no one else had let him know i may as well