Red Model 3 & Showing Dirt

[Nifty-Stuff]

Yup, another "which color to buy" post (sorry).

I'm really struggling with my 1st world problem of which color to get.

White is totally not going to work for me.

GF wants me to get black, but I live on a dirt road and don't wash my car a lot.

All my other cars have been "practical" versions of gray, and I kinda want to mix things up.

So, I'm leaning towards red.

I figure it won't show dirt as much as the other darker colors. Does that sound accurate?

In the middle of trying to decide, I saw this on the freeway and really liked it:

(not a 3,but I like the red / black chrome delete combo).

 

[ducktales]

Black cars look dirty fastest because they rely on a reflection to look clean.

Red may have a similar issue.

Next to gray, I've found white to look cleaner for longer.

 

[Rachmaninov]

Agree with duck tales comment!
Surprisingly white cars do look cleaner much longer. The pearl white seems to especially mask dirt.

 

[mswlogo]

I've had a lot of Red cars and it's surprising how well they can hide dirt.

Red was high on my list of color choices but I decided on a practical color (and less flash) this time, I've had very few silver or dark grey cars. I'm pretty happy with my choice of Midnight Silver (especially after upgrading from Aero to OEM 19").

After seeing so many Tesla's on the road and at super chargers I am so glad I didn't get red. For some odd reason most of them look dreadful. I really don't understand why, but they just look dull and dirty, some even look a hair towards orange/brown. It's very odd. I don't know if the sun bleaches the red or what but they look nothing like the show room red's. Not one of them on the road. In fact, the OP picture of the red car doesn't look that great to me. I don't think it's the poor quality of the photo.

Also in hind site a Blue Tesla never seems to disappoint. Wow. Black ones look great, but only when clean (we all know that). Blue gets almost as dirty as black and is why I ended up ruling it out, looks wise it was very high on my list. But we've had a few blacks and was tired of the car looking dirty on the same day I wash it.

But if I get another Tesla, I think it will be Blue.

I also don't care for their Pearl, which isn't Pearl as I know it. If it was a real Pearl I would have considered it. For the Record Jeep and Audi have a real Pearl white.

 

[JulienW]

I have owned almost all red cars (1 black) and never found them to be anything like (showroom color) black. No doubt the if not washing much is a big concern then you should go with Midnight Silver. Also if you ceramic coat even the rain is like washing the car and dirt doesn't stick.

Also IMO nothing pops like a red car.

 

[Rottenapplr]

Yup, another "which color to buy" post (sorry).

I'm really struggling with my 1st world problem of which color to get.

White is totally not going to work for me.

GF wants me to get black, but I live on a dirt road and don't wash my car a lot.

All my other cars have been "practical" versions of gray, and I kinda want to mix things up.

So, I'm leaning towards red.

I figure it won't show dirt as much as the other darker colors. Does that sound accurate?

In the middle of trying to decide, I saw this on the freeway and really liked it:

(not a 3,but I like the red / black chrome delete combo).

View attachment 434077

I have red and I love it! I get so many compliments.

 

[Skione65]

I have red and I love it! I get so many compliments.

@Rottenapplr,

Same! I have even had multiple 3 owners pull up or at SuperChargers say “Wow! You’re car is amazing! I should have really gotten that color”!

Ski

 

[Skione65]

Yup, another "which color to buy" post (sorry).

I'm really struggling with my 1st world problem of which color to get.

White is totally not going to work for me.

GF wants me to get black, but I live on a dirt road and don't wash my car a lot.

All my other cars have been "practical" versions of gray, and I kinda want to mix things up.

So, I'm leaning towards red.

I figure it won't show dirt as much as the other darker colors. Does that sound accurate?

In the middle of trying to decide, I saw this on the freeway and really liked it:

(not a 3,but I like the red / black chrome delete combo).

View attachment 434077

@Nifty-Stuff,

Do it! I come from years of grey/MSM color cars....my initial choice was ANOTHER. MSM....for my 3. Wife and kids talked me into the Multicoat Red. Thought it might be too flashy. Man am I happy I did it! Wow! What a color! The BEST. In the sun it’s nothing short of SPECTACULAR!!! Still gorgeous on a cloudy day. Love it. Best choice I made next to choosing to get a Model 3. Do it!

Ski

 

[Deadpool_25]

Living in Arizona, I get tons of dust but very little rain. And when it does rain it pulls the dust out of the air and dumps it on the car. Here, I will likely never go with a color other than white because it doesn’t show the normal dust at all as long as it doesn’t rain. I was discussing this with a friend and I lightly ran a finger a few inches across a window. It was obvious where I did...it really stood out on the dark surface of the window. I did the same (LIGHTLY) on the paint. Couldn’t see anything at all, but I picked up the same amount of dust. LOVE white paint here.

 

[Deadpool_25]

Another benefit of the pearl white—it hides door dings. Luckily none on this car yet, but my previous car was a pearl white Ford Edge Sport. It got a few dings but they were very hard to see. I only found them when I was hand washing the car and felt them when drying. I usually just ran it through an automatic car wash because (a) pearl white paint also hides micro scratches (still got micro scratches on the black section between the side windows) and (b) I didn’t care all that much about the Edge’s appearance anyway.

 

[cab]

Back about 3 years ago I agonized over the Tesla red. I generally prefer a classic, non-metallic BRIGHT red, which the MCR definitely is not. I had also seen any number of examples "in the wild" that were less than exciting. Muted lighting and/or a layer of light colored dirt really alters the look of the color. Heck, it will even look Pink under some lighting with dirt!
Before it was all said and done, I had contacted a local owner and drove to their house to see a clean car. I even drove our bright red SUV over to compare them in the same lighting. I went from "very unsure" to "yep, that's the color" almost immediately when I saw it. My wife was not with me and remained skeptical - right up until delivery. We both really like it 3 years later...so much so that it would be hard to not get a Model 3 in the same color.

The flip side of the above is that I try to keep the car relatively clean. That layer of dirt does impact the look. If it were perpetually dirty (a reality for a lot of us), the juice might not be worth the squeeze. I also like the blue. I wish it were brighter too as it can turn very dark in dimmer lighting and can surprisingly be mistaken for black. It's not as bad as the old Model S midnight blue of course (which looked like black most of the time), but it does happen. The blue does, at least, appear to be more immune to "color shift" with dirt on it.

 

[rickdogg82]

Red shows pretty well when dirty. Silver is best when it comes to dirt, but sadly no longer available. The Model 3 looks great in silver too.

 

[follow.johnny]

+1 for Pearl White paint. Best color that hides dirt, swirl marks, and tiny scratches if its not through the clear coat/paint.

 

[JulienW]

....and Red goes well with Superchargers. Also stands out in a dark parking deck.