Thinking to purchase a high mileage model 3

[Npate2]

Hi everyone,

In the market for a new (to me) car! Have been keeping an eye on teslas as I know that is what I want my next car to be. I was originally looking to spend around 34k for one but I have found one that I am debating on due to its pricing.

I have found a late 2018 build model 3 with 175,000 miles. It is much higher than I would like especially since it is out of warranty, but it does have seem to be running good. It is a LR and battery is rated at about 265 miles per full charge.

My questions are:

-Do we have any other members here with high mileage model 3s that would like to share their experience with me?

-Is there something I should look out for?

-I know what Tesla claims their cars last 500k miles plus but couldn’t find any real examples of a model 3 with this high mileage for battery/motor?

I typically wouldn’t consider this but since the price is right around 20,000 I am considering it since it is almost half what I wanted to spend.

Thank you in advance?

 

[jjrandorin]

I wouldnt buy it, but thats because:

1. Battery warranty ended at 120k miles
2. A late 2018 Model 3 would have had to be driven more than 40k miles a year, every year (with 2 of those being pandemic years when people drove much less) in order to have that kind of mileage.

That doesnt fit my risk profile, especially since you could by a brand new one for close to your original budget, if you include the tax credit. If the budget was 20k I wouldnt get a 20k Tesla.

 

[Npate2]

Yes I have envisioned purchasing a 2017/2018 model s for my budget of 34k. Have found some recent clean examples but they are still moving quick due to the price range. I have steadily watched them decrease in value though in the last 4 months and expect more to come in future months.

As for the model 3, I agree with the warranty aspect. The mileage is very high for how “new” the car is but I wanted to seek thoughts from other owners with high mileage model 3s. I only ask because if owners are seeing no issues getting to 300k miles with original battery/drive unit then it would be good enough for me to bite the bullet. I think this would be a 5 year car for me (if it lasts more then much better!)

 

[jjrandorin]

Yes I have envisioned purchasing a 2017/2018 model s for my budget of 34k. Have found some recent clean examples but they are still moving quick due to the price range. I have steadily watched them decrease in value though in the last 4 months and expect more to come in future months.

As for the model 3, I agree with the warranty aspect. The mileage is very high for how “new” the car is but I wanted to seek thoughts from other owners with high mileage model 3s. I only ask because if owners are seeing no issues getting to 300k miles with original battery/drive unit then it would be good enough for me to bite the bullet. I think this would be a 5 year car for me (if it lasts more then much better!)

The one you are looking at is the highest mileage one mentioned I have seen here since I have been visiting this site in late november of 2018, basically daily.

You are not going to find very many (if any) "300k mile" examples for a vehicle that didnt start shipping to customers in any sort of volume since 2018. Model S and X examples are not relevant, as its a different battery chemistry for older model S and X.

 

[Npate2]

Yes I would think there are not many examples of a car like this. I have seen a handful for sale within the last year with similar mileage. I agree with the model s and x as before 2016.5 the batteries degraded more quickly and do not seem as well built as the current ones. Will have to think this over and see if I can find more info but thank you for the input!

 

[Regaj]

Another aspect of high-mileage cars is that their percentage of DC Fast Charging vs. Level 2 AC charging is likely to be quite high. That's hard on a battery.

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

This sounds like a perfectly fine car to me. Batteries tend to degrade very quickly in the first year or two, and then stabilize to a slow degradation after that. Whether or not this car has had a lot of stressful fast charging doesn't matter much, all that matters is that it's showing 265 miles of range which is not too bad. And note that batteries don't just fail at some mileage threshold the way fossil engines/transmissions do - most likely the battery will last another decade or more whilst continuing this slow decline in capacity. The motors are not particularly sensitive to mileage either.

That said, it'd certainly be wise to run a battery test prior to purchase. It's not easy, but it's easy. Just get the battery low, enable service mode, connect to a charger, start the test, and come back the next day for results. Search YouTube.

But you should disregard everything I just said and buy new instead. The used prices are still outrageously overinflated and the new prices are better than ever. Even with extra loan interest and insurance premiums, the 5-year total cost of ownership of a new 3 will likely be significantly less than the cost of this old one once resale value and repairs are factored in. This shouldn't be the case and normally isn't, but today's market is not normal.

 

[gaswalla]

I have a 3 with 150k (2018) and an S with 320k..
I wouldn't hesitate to buy that 3 with 175k miles if the price is right. The bright side of a car with 175k miles: most battery degradation has taken place (as noted earlier), the original control arms and possibly PCS likely have been replaced (would be impressive if the ones from 2018 lasted 175k miles). Downside: to get that sort of mileage MAY have required a lot of supercharging which can accelerate battery degradation (but it looks fine based on stated range). [On my car with 150k miles, I have done zero supercharging (bc it's not free like my other cars) and full charge is 295 miles]
Go into service mode and run a basic diagnostics to be comfortable with the purchase.

 

[Npate2]

All great things to hear! Was able to get the seller to sell to me for around 16k plus title tax etc. sounds unheard of to me but ended up not really going with it. I recently saw a local dealer put a 2020 M3P for 32k with 43k miles. Seems like pricing will still be adjusting for some time. I wouldn’t say this isn’t a good price, but if I can spend 5k-ish more for a better car with lower miles in the future I think that would be better. It’s good to hear that these M3s are holding up pretty good up to these higher mileages. Wish there was more data on all this but that’s why I appreciate this site!

 

[cwerdna]

This sounds like a perfectly fine car to me. Batteries tend to degrade very quickly in the first year or two, and then stabilize to a slow degradation after that. Whether or not this car has had a lot of stressful fast charging doesn't matter much, all that matters is that it's showing 265 miles of range which is not too bad. And note that batteries don't just fail at some mileage threshold the way fossil engines/transmissions do - most likely the battery will last another decade or more whilst continuing this slow decline in capacity. The motors are not particularly sensitive to mileage either.

While agree with your first portions about degradation, unfortunately we've had plenty of cases documented here on TMC of S and X packs failing both within and out of warranty. Ditto for drive units. Here are 3 folks who have gone thru 6+ drive units on their S:

6th drive unit replacement and more

Sorry to hear this Dave, I know exactly how you feel! My car must have been produced around the same time as yours,(similar VIN) and my experiences match so closely.

teslamotorsclub.com

Drive Unit Replacement Poll

No, My second DU has the milling noise & its getting louder, I have been asking for a replacement but I have been denied, I guess I am supposed to be annoyed everytime I drive the car until someone at Tesla finally approves a swap...I need to wait until I am outside of acceptable specs (whatever...

teslamotorsclub.com

Drive Unit Replacement Poll

No, My second DU has the milling noise & its getting louder, I have been asking for a replacement but I have been denied, I guess I am supposed to be annoyed everytime I drive the car until someone at Tesla finally approves a swap...I need to wait until I am outside of acceptable specs (whatever...

teslamotorsclub.com

I can point you to folks with the 3 who had a failed drive unit or pack. I have at least a dozen in my bookmarks of the former + a bunch of the latter and I'm not even looking for them nor active here much.

Many of the Model 3 failed DU bookmarks I posted at Tesla 3: Second drive unit failure in under a year.

Here's a 3 pack failed out of warranty: Failed Model 3 HV Battery - Out of Warranty - DIY.

I would pass unless one is willing to budget for pack and DU replacement(s) + other major repairs. Just get a new or newer one or some other cheaper BEV.

 

[android04]

I have a 3 with 150k (2018) and an S with 320k..
I wouldn't hesitate to buy that 3 with 175k miles if the price is right. The bright side of a car with 175k miles: most battery degradation has taken place (as noted earlier), the original control arms and possibly PCS likely have been replaced (would be impressive if the ones from 2018 lasted 175k miles). Downside: to get that sort of mileage MAY have required a lot of supercharging which can accelerate battery degradation (but it looks fine based on stated range). [On my car with 150k miles, I have done zero supercharging (bc it's not free like my other cars) and full charge is 295 miles]
Go into service mode and run a basic diagnostics to be comfortable with the purchase.

I agree that I would not hesitate to buy that 2018 Model 3 for 20k (even better at 16k like the OP said he talked the seller down to). I would just make sure that the body isn't too rusty. My early 2018 Model 3 LR has 100,680 miles on it and am currently driving over 30,000 miles per year so they will go up faster. I have no major complaints or concerns with it.

The nice thing about the used Tesla being lower cost is that one could possibly buy it outright with no high-interest loan. Especially if it will be used as a commuter vehicle and you have a backup vehicle you can use. Even better if you are someone that knows how to and likes working on cars, and can replace any components that break yourself.

 

[CrimsonSky]

Hi everyone,

In the market for a new (to me) car! Have been keeping an eye on teslas as I know that is what I want my next car to be. I was originally looking to spend around 34k for one but I have found one that I am debating on due to its pricing.

I have found a late 2018 build model 3 with 175,000 miles. It is much higher than I would like especially since it is out of warranty, but it does have seem to be running good. It is a LR and battery is rated at about 265 miles per full charge.

My questions are:

-Do we have any other members here with high mileage model 3s that would like to share their experience with me?

-Is there something I should look out for?

-I know what Tesla claims their cars last 500k miles plus but couldn’t find any real examples of a model 3 with this high mileage for battery/motor?

I typically wouldn’t consider this but since the price is right around 20,000 I am considering it since it is almost half what I wanted to spend.

Thank you in advance?

If you are still looking, I am planning on selling my 2018 M3 LR RWD with FSD in the next few days. My price is $37,500. Open for negotiation. Mileage is 83,000

 

[Npate2]

If you are still looking, I am planning on selling my 2018 M3 LR RWD with FSD in the next few days. My price is $37,500. Open for negotiation. Mileage is 83,000

Thank you for letting me know but I am not really in the market now for another new car. Also I only would be purchasing AWD cars but GLWS!

 

[Nickb]

I wouldnt buy it, but thats because:

1. Battery warranty ended at 120k miles
2. A late 2018 Model 3 would have had to be driven more than 40k miles a year, every year (with 2 of those being pandemic years when people drove much less) in order to have that kind of mileage.

That doesnt fit my risk profile, especially since you could by a brand new one for close to your original budget, if you include the tax credit. If the budget was 20k I wouldnt get a 20k Tesla.

Yes, with the tax credit I say go for a new one and you know it’ll be covered in warranty for the first couple years. You won’t have to worry about it… and with the California rebate and the federal tax rebate you could probably get a brand new one for close to 30,000 out-of-pocket. (I’m just guessing here I haven’t priced them and I don’t own a m3…on my 3rd Mx….I’m thinking about getting a model S …..I say Go for a new M3…

 

[Npate2]

Yes, with the tax credit I say go for a new one and you know it’ll be covered in warranty for the first couple years. You won’t have to worry about it… and with the California rebate and the federal tax rebate you could probably get a brand new one for close to 30,000 out-of-pocket. (I’m just guessing here I haven’t priced them and I don’t own a m3…on my 3rd Mx….I’m thinking about getting a model S …..I say Go for a new M3…

I agree I would likely spend the extra money and just buy new with the tax credit for the M3. I am sticking to my original search criteria and have been on the look out for a MS but not in a rush to purchase. Thank you though for the advice everyone!