[UK] ‘Highland’ order discussion

[Jason71]

I wonder what the Highland car will bring that the Model 3 lacks? It seems to me, based on leaks, that it’s an evolutionary upgrade rather than a completely new car. It’ll get a FSD hardware upgrade for sure, and some styling tweaks, but I suspect in most other ways it’ll not move the Model 3 on a lot. I suspect it’ll still suffer from the excessive road noise of the old car, and its slightly-too-firm ride - the key things I like the least about the car. And of course, there’s the likelihood that it’ll lose the stalks; I think that could be a deal breaker for many.

The biggest change will be to the underlying structure to make it more efficient to build and cheaper I think. If you compare the tear downs of the M3 to the MY, from a production engineering point of view they are leagues apart. Tesla will want to bring lessons learned from the last 6 years to the production of the M3. MiC cars may already be better than the Fremont M3 but not on par with the MY. This mainly benefits Tesla and will be largely invisible to consumers though long term it could provide scope for further price reductions.

 

[Zilla91]

And of course, there’s the likelihood that it’ll lose the stalks; I think that could be a deal breaker for many.

I think if you're happy to buy a new car without parking sensors then I suspect losing stalks will be no big deal.

As for new features, wasn't there talk of an instrument binnacle being added?

 

[qwickshot]

I wonder what the Highland car will bring that the Model 3 lacks? It seems to me, based on leaks, that it’s an evolutionary upgrade rather than a completely new car. It’ll get a FSD hardware upgrade for sure, and some styling tweaks, but I suspect in most other ways it’ll not move the Model 3 on a lot. I suspect it’ll still suffer from the excessive road noise of the old car, and its slightly-too-firm ride - the key things I like the least about the car. And of course, there’s the likelihood that it’ll lose the stalks; I think that could be a deal breaker for many.

Allegedly, 6kwh more battery, so 10-12% more range.

 

[Jason71]

Allegedly, 6kwh more battery, so 10-12% more range.

is that just for the SR?
The stories I have seen relate to the LFP in the RWD going from 60 to 66kwh
I have not seen anything about the LR or P. Not saying it won't happen just not seen anything about it. The SR will be getting awfully close in capacity to the others though. If they don't also increase the range on the LR the lighter more efficient RWD SR that can be routinely charged to 100% will have nearly as much real world range as the AWD LR I would think.
The UK AWD LR currently sits at a WLTP range of 374 miles based on 19" wheels it seems (389 estimated with 18" aeros). Getting that up to 400miles WLTP would make for a good headline....

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

On bigger batteries - I'm not convinced. The new MS had a slightly smaller range than the old one, they'll also want to keep the MS the flagship and not let range of the M3 get to to close. 6kwh extra on the 79-82kwh battery currently in use (depending where you) are feels like a big jump - it would comfotably push the rated mileage over 400, probably to 420 miles, which is beyond the 405 miles the MS LR has. I also think they won't make it much faster for similar reasons.

I also get the feeling the MS and MX are being bought by die hard Tesla fans who are not buying their first Tesla, they'll put up with the steering wheel buttons etc, I do wonder how many new to the brand owners took the punge? A lot of M3 owners however will be new to the brand and I think thats a risky strategy to mae the cabin feel even more alien to drivers who get 30 min test drive to decide whether to buy, The yoke was marmite and they introduced a regular steering wheel to compensate, thats not going to be an option with the stalk if they take those away.

So if you can afford to wait, I would. The new car is either going to be great in which case get one, or possibly it's not much different in which case you'll still be able to get one of the old shape cars as I recon we'll get a short window where the old will be available while the news of the new one breaks.

I've been thinking about timing too.. Tesla release model years now in about Nov. I wouldn't be surprised if they're looking to do the same to gve a sales boost to the end of year, if not in numbers, they won't be discounted so margins will be better.

 

[T-Lo]

Same predicament as you but have decided to go for it at 0% as it's a no-brainer, heres my thinking.

I was going to buy a Model Y cash, but the 0% APR just changes everything for me. I didn't need the Model Y but just thought I'd go for the bigger model anyway.

Model 3SR price = £40,470
48 month PCP, £0 deposit, £524 per month, £15,128 optional payment in 4 years.

Put 40,470 in easy access savings at 4.5% (or tie it up in 4-year fixed and don't withdraw)
Draw out monthly £524
At the end of the 48 months I'll have earned £5615 in interest, so will have £20,933 left to pay off the remaining amount of £15,128 (assumption interest rates stay the same which is highly unlikely, at which point would throw it into something like a 3 year fixed ISA)

I see 0% finance as another £5k off the on-the-road price of the car, brand new Model 3 for £35k!


For my situation, it just isn't worth the wait, even if it's only 6 months from now. Maybe a facelift, slightly better range etc but financially I don't want a highland that badly. It's still going to be a perfectly good electric vehicle with all the added software benefits of a Tesla and at a seriously good deal.

A look on autotrader today puts a 40,000 mile Model 3 SR at 4 years old at £24k. Granted they will drop with the new model and potential model 2 by then but I don't see a 4 year old Model 3SR being worth £15k when it comes time to decide whether to pay off the balloon payment, so would expect some equity there too.

If the financials weren't a driver here and I was say looking at a M3P then I'd be waiting. But there probably won't be a cheaper way to get into a brand new Model 3 for a while. I should also add I almost bought a new model Y at the start of the year and then put it off and off and off due to HW3/HW4 upgrades to the point it never happened. Looking back now I wish I just bought the damn thing as advised on here by quite a few people, there will always be something on the horizon with Tesla....

 

[kpanda17]

It’s the same argument of buying the previous gen iPhone in the usa when the new one is coming out
nothing wrong with the prev gen
personal preference: buy previous, save money and time
buy newest, pay more and wait
up to you

I would wait

 

[pgkevet]

Cheaper to build often means harder to repair = higher insurance costs...

 

[spooksman]

Same predicament as you but have decided to go for it at 0% as it's a no-brainer, heres my thinking.

I was going to buy a Model Y cash, but the 0% APR just changes everything for me. I didn't need the Model Y but just thought I'd go for the bigger model anyway.

Model 3SR price = £40,470
48 month PCP, £0 deposit, £524 per month, £15,128 optional payment in 4 years.

Put 40,470 in easy access savings at 4.5% (or tie it up in 4-year fixed and don't withdraw)
Draw out monthly £524
At the end of the 48 months I'll have earned £5615 in interest, so will have £20,933 left to pay off the remaining amount of £15,128 (assumption interest rates stay the same which is highly unlikely, at which point would throw it into something like a 3 year fixed ISA)

I see 0% finance as another £5k off the on-the-road price of the car, brand new Model 3 for £35k!


For my situation, it just isn't worth the wait, even if it's only 6 months from now. Maybe a facelift, slightly better range etc but financially I don't want a highland that badly. It's still going to be a perfectly good electric vehicle with all the added software benefits of a Tesla and at a seriously good deal.

A look on autotrader today puts a 40,000 mile Model 3 SR at 4 years old at £24k. Granted they will drop with the new model and potential model 2 by then but I don't see a 4 year old Model 3SR being worth £15k when it comes time to decide whether to pay off the balloon payment, so would expect some equity there too.

If the financials weren't a driver here and I was say looking at a M3P then I'd be waiting. But there probably won't be a cheaper way to get into a brand new Model 3 for a while. I should also add I almost bought a new model Y at the start of the year and then put it off and off and off due to HW3/HW4 upgrades to the point it never happened. Looking back now I wish I just bought the damn thing as advised on here by quite a few people, there will always be something on the horizon with Tesla....

Exactly my thinking - other upsides I have added are using a referral code (£500 off new car and 7500 point for my existing car).

 

[T-Lo]

Exactly my thinking - other upsides I have added are using a referral code (£500 off new car and 7500 point for my existing car).

Oooh I didn't know about the £500, do I need to ask a Tesla owner to give me a code? I have one who bought second hand and one who bought new recently

 

[WannabeOwner]

do I need to ask a Tesla owner to give me a code?

Yes, and you must use it at the point of ordering, often VERY hard to get it added later.

Find a mate who has one, and get them to buy you a (or several!) pints. Or you can ask here, and then spend weeks deleting replies from your inbox

 

[spooksman]

Yes, and you must use it at the point of ordering, often VERY hard to get it added later.

Find a mate who has one, and get them to buy you a (or several!) pints. Or you can ask here, and then spend weeks deleting replies from your inbox

Normally I'd be all 'choose me', but my lease car goes back in May and I'm going to have trouble using the supercharging miles I'll be exchanging for - there will be loads of offers on here!

And I don't have the new car yet, so can't use that!

 

[T-Lo]

Awesome, I have a family friend who has one, if he wants the credits will use him, I've had an inbox message already and will use them Excited to order tonight!

 

[AndyFov]

Same predicament as you but have decided to go for it at 0% as it's a no-brainer, heres my thinking.

I was going to buy a Model Y cash, but the 0% APR just changes everything for me. I didn't need the Model Y but just thought I'd go for the bigger model anyway.

Model 3SR price = £40,470
48 month PCP, £0 deposit, £524 per month, £15,128 optional payment in 4 years.

Put 40,470 in easy access savings at 4.5% (or tie it up in 4-year fixed and don't withdraw)

Funnily enough I hadn't put quite so much thought into the numbers, but I'd been thinking along similar lines.

You can get 5.85% interest on a 4yr bond. The money earned would be taxable, but as a business owner a decent chunk of the money car had depreciated by should be tax deductable too.

I'd been leaning towards just buying one outright and being done with it, but there's real value in tha 0% finance, especially now interest rates are high.

 

[AndyFov]

Have I got this right? It seems to good to be true...

Option 1: You buy a New M3 for £40470 its cost is that, £40470.


Option 2: Wife and I each put £20k in a 4yr fixed rate ISA at 5.5%.

We buy a new M3, £1200 down on PCP, paying £499 per month for 48 months.

Come 2027 we cash out the ISA, which matures at £49552, yielding a tax free growth of £9552. We'll need another £5576 to make up the option to buy at £15128.

Total cost of taking the 0% route:
Downpayment = £1200
48x£499 monthly = £23952
Interest earned + £5576 to buy outright = £5576

Total cost = £30728

You'd have to be mad to buy a M3 with cash, right now right?

- Further thoughts.... Right, I'm imagining it's now 2027. I have spent just £30728, but inflation has eroded the value of the £40k I invested. Still, I have a 4yr old M3, and it's still worth, what? £20k. And a portion of its depreciation has been offset against income tax re its business use.

Somebody needs to talk me out of this before I bite the bullet.

 

[WllXM]

Have I got this right? It seems to good to be true...

Option 1: You buy a New M3 for £40470 its cost is that, £40470.


Option 2: Wife and I each put £20k in a 4yr fixed rate ISA at 5.5%.

We buy a new M3, £1200 down on PCP, paying £499 per month for 48 months.

Come 2027 we cash out the ISA, which matures at £49552, yielding a tax free growth of £9552. We'll need another £5576 to make up the option to buy at £15128.

Total cost of taking the 0% route:
Downpayment = £1200
48x£499 monthly = £23952
Interest earned + £5576 to buy outright = £5576

Total cost = £30728

You'd have to be mad to buy a M3 with cash, right now right?

- Further thoughts.... Right, I'm imagining it's now 2027. I have spent just £30728, but inflation has eroded the value of the £40k I invested. Still, I have a 4yr old M3, and it's still worth, what? £20k. And a portion of its depreciation has been offset against income tax re its business use.

Somebody needs to talk me out of this before I bite the bullet.

Yes, the current 0% financing from Elon on M3 if you have the cash at hand would be equivalent is an additional £10k discount on the vehicle NPV.
Gesture for selling you a car that some will call 'obsolete' or 'legacy' in a few months time comes Highland.
It's fine if you're happy with the current, USS-less model and you like what you have. Some don't care, and are happy with their cars until they ran it to the ground, other will feel the need to change it just like when a new iPhone comes out...

Not sure it will be worth 20k in 4 years time though... but you're free not to exercise the £15k option to buy in 4 years time depending on the state of the market then..

In short, you're getting a brand new 3 for £30k, people paid nearly £50 for that a couple years ago.
Astonishing deal as long as you are not the type of people who can't sleep when they don't have the newest released toy anymore.

 

[T-Lo]

That's what I've ended up at yes. I've used some of my ISA allowance already so didn't want to complicate the calculations with a combination of some taxable and some not. Sticking the full amount into the 2x ISA gave me the following figures :

• Downpayment = £0 (no point paying a deposit when you can earn interest on it)
• £40k into 5.5% 4 year fixed ISA (United Trust currently)
• 48 x £524 leaving a balance of £15,128 (£25,152 paid in total)
• £40k ISA will now be at £52,628 at this point, earning £12,628 over the 4 years with compound interest,.
• Find £2500 to clear off the finance.

This way, your now 4 year old 40k mile Model 3 SR will have only cost you £27,652 out of your own pocket.

If the car is worth less than £15k come 48 months hand it back, if its worth more then bonus money.

 

[kelvin 660]

And if your coming from an ICE car add in another £2.5K /year saving in petrol, servicing and car tax and it really starts to look like a good option!

 

[AndyFov]

Astonishing deal as long as you are not the type of people who can't sleep when they don't have the newest released toy anymore.

I'm sat here having recently sold a 2016 Leaf. A USS-less M3 will be a big step up from anything I'm used to.

Ordinarily I'd buy second hand, as I like to think the pain of heavy depreciation is for other people, but in this instance the numbers really do seem to be leaning in my favour.

 

[WannabeOwner]

Option 2: Wife and I each put £20k in a 4yr fixed rate ISA at 5.5%.

We buy a new M3, £1200 down on PCP, paying £499 per month for 48 months.

So you've spent £40,000 (in an ISA) AND are also paying £499 a month?

You get the £40,000 back at the end of course ... but that ongoing £499 opportunity-cost, on top of tying up the money, would bother me.

Unless I'm missing the bleeding-obvious of course ...