SageBrush
REJECT Fascism
Not going to happen.
My consolation is that when I buy my next car, the tables have turned.
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So you don't have a 2021 "refresh"...who cares, really?
- Thread starter Gsxr150
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- 2021 refresh
My consolation is that when I buy my next car, the tables have turned.
Everyone in this thread....
fight me
I care about the latest m3 update
fight me
I care about the latest m3 update
Ha..me as well! I'm also smart enough to see a couple of parts changed in a vehicle, vs "refreshed". People calling this is "refreshed 2021" are drowning in their own KoolAid.
I don't think the updates are something to shout hallelujah about, just to make that clear.
However, based on Autotrader:
"A refresh is one step above these usual updates. The term describes a car’s conventional yearly updates plus some small exterior changes, such as a revised front or rear bumper, new lights or new wheel designs. In other words, a refresh is the smallest possible change made to a car in addition to the normal year-to-year revisions."
Conventional updates:
New WLTP rating
New acceleration specs
Heat pump
Small exterior changes:
New headlights (for some)
New wheel designs
Lift gate (although this may be considered conventional updates)
So refresh seems to hit the mark, at least according to that definition.
Autotrader - page unavailable
Not going to happen.
My consolation is that when I buy my next car, the tables have turned.
I still love my 2018. I mean.... check out all the zeros in the VIN! Genuine production hell edition.
Well it is definitely a refreshed version. Whether or not anyone is drowning in KoolAid depends on how much they value the changes in the refresh, which are actually fairly significant by Tesla standards. Most are purely cosmetic tweaks e.g. black exterior trim, wheel designs. But some also functional e.g. power tailgate, heat pump, increased range, revised lights. Centre console is both a cosmetic and functional change. Overall it's a pretty minor refresh, but certainly noteworthy.
For those who missed out on the refresh, one consolation is that build quality appears to have taken a nose dive with the 2021 cars. Panel fit issues in particular seem to be a feature of the refresh!
JaeTheDev
Active Member
I think you are literally the only one without quality issues on the 2021. Enjoy!
Photos or it didn't happen, lol
JaeTheDev
Active Member
HAHA! More like, “people come to TMC to bitch about everything” and the happy ones usually stay away enjoying their vehicle. I’m an internet marketer with a few decades of experience. Rule of thumb. People are more likely to take the time to leave a bad review online than to take the time to leave a good one.
Not the greatest pics to show off a car, as I delivered in a snow storm, but I went over the vehicle for about 30 min. Inside and out. Not one thing, which is odd, as I had a few things wrong with my prior 2020 SR+. Note, the last pic. Someone at my office parking like a #$%& so I parked behind them.
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Just test drove a 2021 LR AWD today
Other than the Boombox (Ice cream truck sound blaring around people is absolutely hilarious) it felt literally the same as my 2019 (Besides being an AWD)
Specifically listened and I did not notice that it was any quieter than my SR+ on city streets nor freeway. Wind noise/road noise sounded no different to my ears. There was even some rattling coming from the rear, sounded like some plastic piece rattling. My car doesn't have that
Honestly didn't feel any more refined than my car already does, which is great for "old" cars
Basically, driving it did not make me think that my car was inferior build quality compared to a brand new 2021.
So all I need now is that Boombox retrofit and I'm set until 4680's!
Other than the Boombox (Ice cream truck sound blaring around people is absolutely hilarious) it felt literally the same as my 2019 (Besides being an AWD)
Specifically listened and I did not notice that it was any quieter than my SR+ on city streets nor freeway. Wind noise/road noise sounded no different to my ears. There was even some rattling coming from the rear, sounded like some plastic piece rattling. My car doesn't have that
Honestly didn't feel any more refined than my car already does, which is great for "old" cars
Basically, driving it did not make me think that my car was inferior build quality compared to a brand new 2021.
So all I need now is that Boombox retrofit and I'm set until 4680's!
Yeah, noise is subjective AF so that doesn't surprise me.
My early 2019 TM3 wasn't particularly noisy, but they had to replace the roof. After that it got pretty bad, especially in tunnels.
My 2020 was OK. Hard to have a conversation with anyone in the rear, and had to raise our voices when going above ~80km/h.
My 2021 TM3P is fantastic. We don't have to raise our voices at all, and when my fiancé sits in the back with our daughter we can easily have a conversation.
But I don't know if that's because the 2021 is better or if I just got poorly built cars in 2019 and 2020.
I tried hard to find issues with mine but it too was flawless and I didn’t hear anyone else picking up have any issues. Not sure if you want photos of everywhere that any panels meet up for proof but maybe you could just trust me...it’s not just within Tesla’s spec, it was within mine.
I think you were just lucky. I'm not new to Tesla and I've seen dozens of examples at our local SC over the last few years. What annoys me about the 2021 M3s is that earlier M3 build quality seemed to be quite good from cars I've previously looked at. But of the UK cars delivered in the last few weeks, a lot of them have had very poor panel fits. It's certainly not just isolated examples like mine. Every fault I found on mine was already more than well documented across this forum. Some people have checked lines of cars waiting for delivery and found the same faults on nearly all of them. It was a similar story with my MX. Passenger door alignment was poor and I looked at maybe 10 other cars around the SC and also while at the Supercharger and again they nearly all had exactly the same issue in varying degrees.
Now I'm not particularly fussy on panel fits and I love my Teslas overall, but when people say my Tesla panel fits are perfect it's usually the exception to the rule rather than the norm. Although it did look quite promising with Model 3 quality at one point, where even motoring hacks were complimenting the build quality.
Bottom line is that my 3 year old MX actually has slightly better build quality than my 2021 Model 3, which is not the sort of progress I was hoping for from Tesla. At this point I would look elsewhere if I thought there was anything better overall, which fortunately for Tesla, I don't believe there is.
They even made this recent thread a sticky:-
Master thread: Delivery issues (panel gaps, delivery delays / issues / problems etc)
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Actually photos would be good. Especially around the front door panel fits, rear lights and tailgate.
I just traded in a 2020 M3 for a 2021. Here’s why in order of importance:
In short, the refresh alone doesn’t seem like enough of a reason to upgrade if you’re happy with your current M3, but it’s was a nice cherry on top and definitely nudged me over the fence.
- My 2020 was an SR with just over 210 miles of range, so the 2021 was an even bigger range boost for me.
- I wanted to upgrade to white interior
- Heat pump
- Power trunk
- Center console refresh
In short, the refresh alone doesn’t seem like enough of a reason to upgrade if you’re happy with your current M3, but it’s was a nice cherry on top and definitely nudged me over the fence.
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Brother...agreed...major difference between enjoying the updates and changes on each model year, and being a weirdo talking as if the 2021 is an actual redesign, or refreshed design of the model 3. They swapped a few new parts for 2021...cool...but it's the same car as the 2017 minus a few part modifications through the years. We won't see a real refreshed (or better yet redesigned) Model 3 for a couple years.
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Yep, you bought the same car you already had but found enough value in the few changes for 2021...but you also realize it's the same car with a couple changes.
Just like when I buy a new Samsung Note every year. They bring little incremental changes that I find value in so I buy new each year.
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