Sleepover with my dream car

[ChrisHenryOC]

I was thrilled to learn recently that Tesla is doing overnight test drives with their cars. Today I picked up a M3 LR AWD, white on white, with FSD. Sadly, I have to give it back tomorrow morning though.

Tonight’s commute home was easily the most fun I’ve had in a long time driving home. Got to play with autopilot, navigate on autopilot, and driving on a twisty windy road. I took the WAY long way home and loved every minute.

I actually test drove a first generation Model S when they were first coming out, and in fact had to put down a $10,000 deposit to even get a test drive. I ended up getting the deposit refunded because the car felt HUGE to me. At the time my daily driver was a 2008 Prius, and MS felt like a tank. A very fast tank, mind you, but a tank nonetheless. So I decided to bide my time and hope for something smaller. M3 is just the ticket for me, and finances are such now that I’ll be able to get one in a couple of months and put down about 50%, and thereby keep my monthly payment more reasonable. I’ll even be selling that 2008 Prius for a few bucks, hopefully enough to cover the cost of the white interior, though I’m not too hopeful on that score.

I know it’s not news to this group that M3 is amazing, but I thought I’d share my experience anyway. Hopefully my long-delayed gratification will be worth it.

Happy Trails,
-Chris

 

[SantaMonicaBum]

Glad to hear you like the AWD, overnight is nice. Was there a mileage limit? Was P3D available for overnight? My test drive was P3D on the 90 fwy, amazing, not overnight but took it over 90 and it felt like nothing. I ordered mine that day.

 

[TheNeck]

NICE

white on white is my favorite, no FSD on mine though

took me over a year to get my M3 after 1st test driving one in November 2018.

 

[ChrisHenryOC]

Not sure if a P3D was available or not, as I’m not planning for the performance version. The LR AWD is plenty spunky for me.

 

[derekmw]

Not sure if a P3D was available or not, as I’m not planning for the performance version. The LR AWD is plenty spunky for me.

you can never have enough 'spunk'.
I have the P3D- and it felt plenty fast before...then over time, I've gotten used to it, and now I wish it was faster. lol

 

[CharleyBC]

What is this “test drive” of which you speak? We committed based on a few web pictures. The first time I drove a Tesla was just after we plunked down $55K.

Seriously, it’s cool they do that now!

 

[SMAlset]

Congrats Chris I think you will be loving it. I'm also driving a Model 3 white (paid for the color at the time) but with black interior and never thought I would ever own or like a white car but I absolutely love my choice. Since it's not a flat white but with some sparkle to it, it's not boring and while I was concerned it would show a lot of dirt it doesn't (although I do have PPF and ceramic on it so the ceramic might help wash the dirt off when it rains--otherwise a waterless car wash has it looking shiny and brand new). Glad you got the overnight test drive to dispel any hesitation before ordering.

I'm waiting for my car to get the updated HW3 for FSD which has started to happen for owners with HW2.5 so looking forward to seeing cones, etc. like you'll be seeing. As far as spunk, you'll have the option to upgrade for $2K for a speed boost if you decide to later. I'm happy with the car as I have it now and spent extra funds for the wrap, Maxpider kagu mats, microSD card and reader for my TeslaCam/Sentry and a few other niceties. I'm excited for you 'cause once you drive one it's hard to forget and you long to be in one. Glad it's happening for you. BTW my husband drives a MS as his daily driver and it does feel like a much larger car (although not really so much) and has a great ride and is fast (he got the power boost when they were offering it and it did feel much faster on top of already being fast, so assume the boost upgrade for the Model 3 will too). We switch off driving each others car occasionally so I get to enjoy the best of both worlds but am very happy with my Model 3. Please post after you get yours. Cool to see you've been a TMC member since 2012.