Thoughts on buying Used M3 LR RWD vs. New SR+?

[DwightKSchrute]

This car is primarily for road trips. We frequently go on trips over 200 miles, but stick mainly to FL. Plenty of superchargers where we go. For the kinds of trips we take, I've used ABRP to plan theoretical routes and having the LR (at least in theory) would save on average 20 min per round trip.

I do have an ICE but don't want to use it.

FL so zero incentives unfortunately.

Thanks for the ideas, this gives me lots to think about.

Dk

For what it's worth, we took a trip from New Jersey up to Boston and New Hampshire last weekend, and had no issues - there were several chargers on the way and no wait.
A little different experience than a gas station, but perfectly acceptable. I just followed the route guidance on the nav screen.
Also autopilot makes long trips (and traffic) much easier.

 

[medphys3]

Does the LR RWD have Autopilot or Enhanced Autopilot? That could be a deciding factor too.

 

[d0nkn0tts]

Does the LR RWD have Autopilot or Enhanced Autopilot? That could be a deciding factor too.

FSD is a must have for me on any model.

 

[TMThree]

I think he is talking about a LR RWD which Tesla has forgotten about performance wise

They didn't. The LR RWD has the same power output on the rear axle as the performance.

 

[TMThree]

Only one model 3 is underestimated in range.

 

[StellarRat]

Well, the LR RWD 18" aeros has the longest range by far. The sound system is awesome and the EAP (if you have it) is great. I've owned one since 7/2018. No complaints or problems. Plenty of power for anything close to normal driving. I think with the performance updates it's like 4.9 or 4.8 0-60 which is more than sufficient for any normal driving.

 

[ljbad4life]

Also keep in mind Tesla decontented the Model 3 that isn't the lr awd at this point. You lose things like auto dimming mirrors, rear heated seats and according to the tesla website fog lamps are gone too. I can attest to the LR RWD getting far better range than Tesla advertised and it's 0-60 is on par with the sr+ (thanks to the tweaks to power output in subsequent software updates). I've taken my lr rwd on a 2,000 mile road trip and have actually skipped superchargers because I had more than enough power to get to the next supercharger. If this is a road trip car, the go for the LR RWD (unless you live somewhere it snows a lot)

 

[d0nkn0tts]

Hope this isn't too old a thread to resurrect.
The LR RWD I had my eye on disappeared before I could take action. Then, yesterday it reappeared! I confess I was looking for it or something similar multiple times per day.
This time I took the leap and ordered!

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. It was very informative and helped me really think it through and feel confident about the decision.

Now to cancel the SR+ order!

Dk

 

[ALSETJC]

Good move , I think you made the right choice. Little bit more speed , more range and intangibles like rear heated seats , sound system and fog lights will serve you well. Oh and you probably have homelink for the garage door.

 

[cdswm3]

Hope this isn't too old a thread to resurrect.
The LR RWD I had my eye on disappeared before I could take action. Then, yesterday it reappeared! I confess I was looking for it or something similar multiple times per day.
This time I took the leap and ordered!

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. It was very informative and helped me really think it through and feel confident about the decision.

Now to cancel the SR+ order!

Dk

If the LR has the gen 1 seats I would test them out first. The improvement to the back seats was major. Good luck.

 

[Candleflame]

If the LR has the gen 1 seats I would test them out first. The improvement to the back seats was major. Good luck.

for people who seldom have passengers in the back gen 1 seats are superior. More spacious for short distances for back passengers and you can fold the rear seats much flatter.
Front gen 1 seats are afaik also a bit better for taller/bigger people.

 

[cdswm3]

for people who seldom have passengers in the back gen 1 seats are superior. More spacious for short distances for back passengers and you can fold the rear seats much flatter.
Front gen 1 seats are afaik also a bit better for taller/bigger people.

Good if you like sitting on a board. with your knees in you chin. Gen 2 are far superior.

 

[AmokTime]

I always tell people, “Don’t make your car-buying decision based on that once-per-year use case.” My wife wanted to buy a small SUV to replace a sub-compact a few years ago in case she found a piece of furniture she wanted at a used furniture store. I convinced her that for that once per year event we can either pay for delivery, borrow a relative’s pickup or SUV, or we can rent a truck. Comes out way cheaper than paying all that extra money for purchase and extra fuel usage over time.

Unless you have a really long commute or travel long distances frequently, the range difference between LR and SR/SR+ is not as significant as your range anxiety might make it seem. The important difference between the SR+ and SR for most folks is the AWD, which could be important in snowy road conditions. The extra $10k (at the time we bought our 2019 M3SR+) for AWD, 70 miles of range we’d almost never use, and some extra speakers just didn’t make sense for us. I certainly don’t care about the difference between the 0-60 times. The extra $10k we didn’t spend went into buying a second SR+ so we are gasoline-free. We live in a semi-rural part of the Philly Metro area. My commute is 32 miles round-trip. Our longest regular travel is 120 miles round-trip (which we can easily manage without a charging stop even in the depths of our Mid-Atlantic winters) and our longest day-trip (during summer, perhaps 3 or 4 times per year) is 200 miles round-trip plus driving around town at our destination (10 or 15 minutes at a supercharger buys us some safety margin for the return trip). I’m really glad I didn’t spend the extra money on the LRAWD.

 

[cdswm3]

I always tell people, “Don’t make your car-buying decision based on that once-per-year use case.” My wife wanted to buy a small SUV to replace a sub-compact a few years ago in case she found a piece of furniture she wanted at a used furniture store. I convinced her that for that once per year event we can either pay for delivery, borrow a relative’s pickup or SUV, or we can rent a truck. Comes out way cheaper than paying all that extra money for purchase and extra fuel usage over time.

Unless you have a really long commute or travel long distances frequently, the range difference between LR and SR/SR+ is not as significant as your range anxiety might make it seem. The important difference between the SR+ and SR for most folks is the AWD, which could be important in snowy road conditions. The extra $10k (at the time we bought our 2019 M3SR+) for AWD, 70 miles of range we’d almost never use, and some extra speakers just didn’t make sense for us. I certainly don’t care about the difference between the 0-60 times. The extra $10k we didn’t spend went into buying a second SR+ so we are gasoline-free. We live in a semi-rural part of the Philly Metro area. My commute is 32 miles round-trip. Our longest regular travel is 120 miles round-trip (which we can easily manage without a charging stop even in the depths of our Mid-Atlantic winters) and our longest day-trip (during summer, perhaps 3 or 4 times per year) is 200 miles round-trip plus driving around town at our destination (10 or 15 minutes at a supercharger buys us some safety margin for the return trip). I’m really glad I didn’t spend the extra money on the LRAWD.

Even an AWD on all season tires is not as good as a RWD with snow tires. Tires make a far bigger difference than AWD at a much lower cost.

 

[Zorak03]

I get the impression that the Sr+ has serious battery issues and Tesla refuses to do anything about it so I’d avoid it like the plague. There are countless threads of people complaining about only charging to 210-220 miles after only a few thousand miles. Tesla simply tells them everything is within specs and refers to the 70% warranty.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Downgrade to the SR and rejoice in having the best value Tesla ever with everything you need, and none of the extra that aren't really that worth it.

 

[AmokTime]

I get the impression that the Sr+ has serious battery issues and Tesla refuses to do anything about it so I’d avoid it like the plague. There are countless threads of people complaining about only charging to 210-220 miles after only a few thousand miles. Tesla simply tells them everything is within specs and refers to the 70% warranty.

I think calling the threads “countless” is a bit of an exaggeration. There does seem to be misunderstanding among a very-small-but-vocal minority of new owners about what the battery “guessometer” really means when you have it in “miles” mode. A much better practice is to keep the battery gauge in “%” mode and use the power graph display to gauge your range. Range is all about Wh/mi. The guessometer can drift in miles at full charge under the influence of different charging practices and operating efficiencies and it appears these complaints are often instances of the guessometer reporting incorrectly, rather than true battery degradation. There are ways to “reset” this, like discharging down below 20% and then charging to 90%. In general, I think the SR/SR+ batteries are fine - certainly as fine as the LR ones, just smaller.

 

[Zorak03]

I think calling the threads “countless” is a bit of an exaggeration. There does seem to be misunderstanding among a very-small-but-vocal minority of new owners about what the battery “guessometer” really means when you have it in “miles” mode. A much better practice is to keep the battery gauge in “%” mode and use the power graph display to gauge your range. Range is all about Wh/mi. The guessometer can drift in miles at full charge under the influence of different charging practices and operating efficiencies and it appears these complaints are often instances of the guessometer reporting incorrectly, rather than true battery degradation. There are ways to “reset” this, like discharging down below 20% and then charging to 90%. In general, I think the SR/SR+ batteries are fine - certainly as fine as the LR ones, just smaller.

there’s a lot of confusion here as to if the guessometer can drift. Two Tesla techs said the stated range is not effected by driving habits/charging habits but by the actual capacity of the battery. In some cases the BMS can be off and recalibrating it can help but most of the people complaining have tried recalibrating multiple times. Also the suggestion to set it to % and forget about it doesn’t really help when you are using significantly more % than before for the same trips.

 

[ALSETJC]

The OP has indicated he is primarily using it for road trips, so it seals the LR decision. Not much else to discuss as he indicated what his needs were. Everything else is negligible. FSD, will give him 3.0, enjoy the car !

 

[AmokTime]

there’s a lot of confusion here as to if the guessometer can drift. Two Tesla techs said the stated range is not effected by driving habits/charging habits but by the actual capacity of the battery. In some cases the BMS can be off and recalibrating it can help but most of the people complaining have tried recalibrating multiple times. Also the suggestion to set it to % and forget about it doesn’t really help when you are using significantly more % than before for the same trips.

I didn’t suggest that you “forget about it” - I suggested leaving it in % and watching the power graph’s projected range instead. I can tell you for certain that the guessometer can drift. Mine did. I was seeing my “range” at 90% SoC drop by as much as 6 miles during the first year. Then I ran it down to 20% and recharged to 90% and got my “missing” miles back. If you are using more % for the same trip, then you should definitely be watching your Wh/mi because either your driving habits have changed (frequent, fast driving, heavy acceleration, use of heat/AC), the driving conditions have changed (temperature, tire pressure, for example), or you have an issue that should be addressed by Tesla.

What is your average Wh/mi now versus when you took delivery?