Second guessing my SR+ purchase can you give me some help?

[acarney]

I'm kind of second guessing my SR+ purchase. I have a Blue on White SR+ on order (about 3 or 4 days now) and I'm kind of second guessing what to do. I've been approved for financing and everything seems to be in place. I know I don't really want to stretch my budget more so a brand new AWD LR is out of the question.

My question/second guessing is this.

Should I keep my SR+ purchase or should I look at getting a 2018 LR RWD used? I would probably try to find one that had the most recent VIN number but was about $42,500 or less. It looks like that would put me in the range of 4,000 to 7000 miles on it depending what color it is.

The SR+ will handle my day to day stuff perfectly fine, I usually drive 20 miles a day and even on busy days it's less then 60 or 70 miles. I'll be able to charge at home at Level 2 speeds (probably installing a 30 amp line so roughly 5.7kW)

However, I do take 3 to 5 trips a year, sometimes in winter (20 to 40F) that are 150 miles to 215 miles long at 70mph highway speeds. There ARE superchargers along my route and ABettterRoutePlanner said I'll be able to do each trip I want with at least one 20 to 25 minute supercharger stop, possibly two 15 to 20 minute stops if I want like ~65 miles of range when I hit my destination.

The LR RWD though could do the route point to point without a stop, or with a 5 to 8 minute stop and still have like 65+ miles of range when I get to my destination. That truly seems like driving a gas car, I would stop at least once 90% of the time for a bathroom break. I literally wouldn't notice the charging stop. This is really where the LR looks nice though, if I only charge to 90% and leave on the trip I STILL would only need to do like a 10 minute supercharge stop. So the coldest of days, keeping the battery safe by only doing 90% charge, and still 10 minutes or less delay on my trip. Just sounds really nice...

Though a BRAND NEW SR+ sounds nice.... not sure what I should do...

 

[willow_hiller]

Having owned an SR+ myself for just over 3 months now, I can almost guarantee that you'll never miss the range. We set our limit at 80% during the week, and it's rare for us to see the percent drop down to 50%. For road trips, we just finished a 1,300 mile trip from Maryland to Montreal, and we were grateful for the stops. Our last leg home went from 97% down to 13% and took about 4 hours.

Only negative that most people don't consider is that the SR+ will supercharge at a slower rate than the LR. At the moment the SR pack is limited to 100 kW, although I'm told that it could theoretically support up to 170 kW. Compare that to a V3 LR supercharge at 250 kW.

Are you able to take advantage of the Federal tax credit? It only applies to new vehicles, and $1,875 off the price of an SR+ is a very attractive prospect...

 

[Mr X]

I'd stick with the SR+. I thought about a used LR as well but I really don't/won't need the extra range


It doesn't take long to charge for those very few times a year long distance trips and charge times will only continue to become quicker over time


+ White Interior would be hard to find on a used 2018 LR. Such a huge difference being in a black interior vs. the Ultra White


White is just amazing. Inspired after the Dragon Capsule's interior

 

[acarney]

Having owned an SR+ myself for just over 3 months now, I can almost guarantee that you'll never miss the range. We set our limit at 80% during the week, and it's rare for us to see the percent drop down to 50%. For road trips, we just finished a 1,300 mile trip from Maryland to Montreal, and we were grateful for the stops. Our last leg home went from 97% down to 13% and took about 4 hours.

Only negative that most people don't consider is that the SR+ will supercharge at a slower rate than the LR. At the moment the SR pack is limited to 100 kW, although I'm told that it could theoretically support up to 170 kW. Compare that to a V3 LR supercharge at 250 kW.

Are you able to take advantage of the Federal tax credit? It only applies to new vehicles, and $1,875 off the price of an SR+ is a very attractive prospect...

So I did think about the faster Supercharger rate and that is a factor for me as well. Current V2 supercharger are hitting what, like 130kW with LR Model 3? SR Model 3 is only getting what, 100kW?

I was thinking SR supercharger rate was a hard technical hardware limit, but do you think there is a possibility that Tesla increases the charge rate down the road a little (once data is gathered on how safe for the battery it is), especially if they start to have a crowding issue at supercharger stations? Thinking down the road I might see 120 to 150kW peak on the SR makes me lean more toward that again.

I do qualify for the federal credit and a $2500 WA state credit, so I would be giving up $4375. I would pay more out of pocket in the used one to bring it back to the same monthly payment rate as the SR+

 

[acarney]

I'd stick with the SR+. I thought about a used LR as well but I really don't/won't need the extra range


It doesn't take long to charge for those very few times a year long distance trips and charge times will only continue to become quicker over time


+ White Interior would be hard to find on a used 2018 LR. Such a huge difference being in a black interior vs. the Ultra White


White is just amazing. Inspired after the Dragon Capsule's interior

Ya, I would give up the ultra white and instead gain the rear heated seats, the audio upgrade, and streaming music. (I don’t care about the sat view maps, I actually prefer to use the standard map view)

 

[willow_hiller]

Thinking down the road I might see 120 to 150kW peak on the SR makes me lean more toward that again.

Some of the battery tech enthusiasts on this forum estimate that if the SR pack were allowed to charge at the same C-rate as the LR, it would reach a peak of 170 kW on V3 superchargers. But yeah, I'm guessing that Tesla is being cautious with the new pack size until some data is collected.

 

[Mr X]

Ya, I would give up the ultra white and instead gain the rear heated seats, the audio upgrade, and streaming music. (I don’t care about the sat view maps, I actually prefer to use the standard map view)

See, I can't give it up. Ever since I sat inside the white I've been mesmerized. Then went I sat in a black interior it felt so morbid and dull after being in the ultra white. The white literally made me feel happy and the black made me feel dreary


I'm in SoCal so there's no need for rear heated seats + I'll always be in the driver seat!


The SR+ audio sounds very great to me. Been in both to compare with my ears. LR does have some more thump coming from the rear but it virtually sounded the same in the front to me. I always use my USB so I never stream music


I also heard the $100 a year premium connectivity package will be available for all Model 3's so sat maps view can be had then in the SR+ (again)

 

[acarney]

See, I can't give it up. Ever since I sat inside the white I've been mesmerized. Then went I sat in a black interior it felt so morbid and dull after being in the ultra white. The white literally made me feel happy and the black made me feel dreary


I'm in SoCal so there's no need for rear heated seats + I'll always be in the driver seat!


The SR+ audio sounds very great to me. Been in both to compare with my ears. LR does have some more thump coming from the rear but it virtually sounded the same in the front to me. I always use my USB so I never stream music


I also heard the $100 a year premium connectivity package will be available for all Model 3's so sat maps view can be had then in the SR+ (again)

I doubt I would use the rear heated seats very often either (hardly ever have more then two people in the car) but, at least I would be getting something while giving up white. Good to know the SR+ audio sounds pretty good. I listen to a lot of podcasts so the upgraded audio isn't huge to me, but I do listen to some music when on road trips. Interesting about the connectivity package being an add on for all cars somewhere down the road... I doubt I would use it for sat maps but if it allowed for streaming music I might toss $100 Tesla's way every year...

 

[ewoodrick]

Go with the bird in your hand

 

[Cheezed]

I just went through this exact same delema. I ended up keeping my Pearl White with white interior SR+. Now I just hope that it doesn't take forever to get one delivered. I see a lot of teslas around town in Florida Panhandle but rarly see any with white interior. I can't wait to get it and chrome delete it to white as well. Below is a screenshot of a White Model 3 with a white chrome delete on it, just imagine that with white interior.

 

[mbarrier]

Ya, I would give up the ultra white and instead gain the rear heated seats, the audio upgrade, and streaming music. (I don’t care about the sat view maps, I actually prefer to use the standard map view)

FYI, I just got my SR a few weeks ago and it has heated rear seats, so the SR+ should have them. I just turned the center rear heat on just to see what it felt like, so I know it does work.

 

[acarney]

FYI, I just got my SR a few weeks ago and it has heated rear seats, so the SR+ should have them. I just turned the center rear heat on just to see what it felt like, so I know it does work.

Don’t expect those to hang around, BUT, it’s good news that the hardware is there. I see no reason Tesla can’t introduce a “cold weather” package for $750 or something a year or two down the road to suck a little more money out of SR+ owners that wanted them...

I still go back and forth every day and check the used lists every night for a LR RWD. I still think 240mi will do it, but boy or boy I keep watching YouTube videos of people supercharging on road trips at 140kW with their long range and mentioning going to a national park and back or something without worrying about range or charging....

Then I remind myself I only put an average of 6,500 miles/year for the last three years on my leased Volt. Work is only about 6 miles away, and my longest drives around town are about 25 miles in a day. So even if I ended up moving and didn’t have access to level 2 charging, I could supercharge once a week and be fine. I also can’t remember the last time I went skiing, to a national park, or other “remote” area that might not have chargers....

But $40k is a huge purchase for me and is something I plan on keeping for years and years (unless I get decent trade in value on a Model Y in ~3 years, lol).

Decisions decisions...

 

[mbarrier]

Don’t expect those to hang around, BUT, it’s good news that the hardware is there. I see no reason Tesla can’t introduce a “cold weather” package for $750 or something a year or two down the road to suck a little more money out of SR+ owners that wanted them...

My car already has the reduced charge level (220 miles) for the SR, so I assume it came with the software downgrade installed. I've had it almost 4 weeks so far. I'll let you know if the rear heated seats option goes away from my controls.

 

[jrcase]

My car already has the reduced charge level (220 miles) for the SR, so I assume it came with the software downgrade installed. I've had it almost 4 weeks so far. I'll let you know if the rear heated seats option goes away from my controls.

What does the screen display look like for the rear heaters? Do you have four heated seat displays?

 

[acarney]

What does the screen display look like for the rear heaters? Do you have four heated seat displays?

Hopefully it’s five, considering all three rear seats are heated

 

[mbarrier]

What does the screen display look like for the rear heaters? Do you have four heated seat displays?

The rear seat controls only show up when I click the fan icon. Then I see this. (I turned on the center back and driver seat heaters for example)

 

[mbarrier]

The rear seat controls only show up when I click the fan icon. Then I see this. (I turned on the center back and driver seat heaters for example)

Oops, the picture didn't upload belore.

 

[TDFW]

I'm in the exact dilemma. I want the extra range of the lr awd but not the extra expense of the second motor. I wish the lr rwd was still available.

To me as OP stated, the lr greatly reduces the need for charging for road trips of about 200miles. Which is my most common road trip route. Also for me I have two you g kids and a skeptical wife. Any additional inconveniences equals major headaches for me...lol. so an extra charge here and there can mean alot for a simple road trip. Also keep in mind battery degradation if you plan on keeping car forever.

My theory is that the lr rwd drive will return early next year once the federal incentives go away at the end of the year.

I think prices will drop and lr rwd will return to continue to drive demand next year. We'll see....

I'm gonna wait it out...

 

[willow_hiller]

Oops, the picture didn't upload belore.
View attachment 432919

Thanks for the photo. Just checked our SR+. No such menu on the side, only fans; the front seats are controlled exclusively via the buttons on the bottom, or by the app.

So odd that these bugs crop up. And no matter what Tesla does about them they're going to anger somebody. We saw what happened on this forum when Tesla started actually capping the SR range...