Why did you purchase a Model 3 and what were your other options?

[DdotRoq]

Many of us were able to preorder the Model 3 on 3/31 in the US and recently, the configurators have opened up for Europe.

What vehicle were you considering before you ordered the Model 3?

I think this will also help those that are on the fence of purchasing a Model 3 to better decide.

Personally, it was a Model 3 or a BMW M2. My wife, on the other hand, test drove nearly 10 vehicles (Alfa Romeo, MINI, BMW, etc.) before placing her order for a Model 3 recently.

Let's hear yours!

 

[Xevex]

Test drove Bolt, Leaf, Ioniq and then the Model 3. The choice was obvious, assuming the budget was enough for any of them.

 

[Garlan Garner]

I compared the Model 3 to nothing.

It's what I wanted.

 

[Lifeinabox]

Another Tesla - P85D.

 

[Dorkiedoode]

I got a model 3 cause of the 10k. Plus I didn’t want to drop 70k for a Macan S.

 

[Sandiegodoug]

After owning a model x for awhile, the choice was obvious, no other ev would do.

 

[whatthe2]

Nothing. In fact, I reserved my Model 3 in Dec. 2016 (I guess I was living under a rock when it was announced), three months after buying a new 2017 Ford Explorer Sport. Once I found the 3, I didn't care how much I lost on my Explorer (didn't end up being too bad), and knew the 3 was for me. No regrets here, I love the car.

 

[silentcorp]

Test drove a few BMW's and even a Porsche. I wanted a fast car that was a good daily driver. All the Model 3 reviews started dropping when I was shopping around, figured it was worth the wait and I couldn't be happier with my choice.

 

[boriszima]

I was looking into fully decked Honda Accord or Toyota Camry at $35K each as they were most reliable and I wanted all the toys. Deep down inside me wanted Tesla as my bro has P85D. After saving more money, I was able to put reservation down and here I am. As many said before, spend way more than I wanted for a car. But love it.

 

[MarkinArch]

Model 3 was always at the top of the list but if there was a major delay I was considering:
Tesla Model S 75D
Alfa Romeo Giulia
Audi S5 Sportback
Porche Macan S

 

[gambit48]

I was gonna keep driving my 10 year old Lexus until the wheels fell off. I really wasn't in the market for a new car until this came along. As the delays came and went, I wasn't bothered cuz until it finally released, I was gonna keep driving the same car anyways. Another year or two wouldn't have made a difference to me, and I was a first day line waiter.

 

[JohnSnowNW]

We did an early lease return on our LEAF, as was the plan since 3/31/16.

Nothing else considered, because anything else was a compromise in some way.

 

[rpreuss]

My first "EV" was a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. Then 2 1/2 years ago I traded it in on a leased Ford Fusion Energi. With only 20 miles on a good warm day, it whet my appetite for a full EV. But I was worried about giving up my "Backup" ICE. Serious range anxiety.

I was first interested in the BOLT, since it was close to the 300 mile range. Then the Audi E-Tron was announced. Besides being a real high end EV, it's estimated USA range kept dropping as they got closer to announcing it. And my wife said way too much money for a vehicle we could not even take on long trips. The Hyundai Kona and Kia Nero looked great on range and cost. But there was still only the promise of a good charging network yet to come.

Then, I spent over an hour in my friends Model 3. We didn't even drive it. I just wanted to see if my wife could handle the screen interface. The range and the tremendous Supercharger network and hundreds of You Tube videos and articles sold it. I plan on getting a LR AWD. But I don't want to get it too early (Lease on the fusion ends June 30) but certainly not too late. I need to figure out how soon I need to order to get a delivery by May or June. The Tesla web site says if I order now, the delivery estimate is still January. I don't know how that may change in the next few months.

So, I have traded range anxiety with delivery anxiety.

 

[sodakar]

Other contenders were PHEV's like the Honda Clarity Plug-In, Toyota Prius Plug-In, and Chevy Volt, since the battery would cover my short, daily commute, yet they could all manage the 300+ mile road trips without the awkward stops for charging. (Yes, Supercharging is great, but it is absolutely taking longer to get from point A to B compared to a car with an ICE)

Unfortunately, as I get older, I suffer from driver fatigue on long trips, and none of the PHEV's had anything comparable to EAP, so I felt I had to go with the safest option, which ended up being the Model 3. The S and X would've been fine, too, but they are both a bit longer for my garage.

If Tesla offered the Model Y first, I would've bought a Model Y, since I'd want something a bit smaller than the 3.
If a PHEV had something comparable to EAP, I would've bought a PHEV, and only use the ICE 2-3 times a year.

All that being said, I have no regrets about putting in a reservation on launch day.

 

[RayK]

Voted "other" basically because I did no other comparison shopping. I'm ignoring a test drive I had of a Model S back in April 2017. Could not see spending that much but in the end it cost me about $61K out the door for the 3.

Once I had rented a 3 in Jan. 2018 for a couple of days I was sold. Realistically, if that test drive went south and I ended up not liking the 3, I probably would have gone back to the BMW well and found something.

 

[StellarRat]

I wanted an upgrade to my Leaf to something that had way more range since I was retiring and planning to some exploring. Looking at it that way the only real choice was a Tesla of some kind and the only one I could afford was the Model 3. When online reservations opened I was one of the first ones to reserve one. I basically was going on blind faith that Tesla would delivery a good product based on the Model S's high customer satisfaction. The car did/has FAR exceeded my expectations.

 

[ℬête Noire]

Another Tesla - P85D.

This. Surprised it wasn't on the list. We test drove one. Considered it. It was fine, my wife probably more-so than me, but it just didn't excite enough to pull the trigger. Not sure it counts as a straight up comparable, though?

I did buy a Bolt but that was as "also", as a utility commuter. If at the end of 2017 I'd had had some semblance of confidence of being able to purchase a 2nd, $35K Tesla within 2018 there would have been some considerations between those two. But again it's stretch to refer to those as "comparable".

But that didn't strike me as in the cards, even way back then when Musk was talking about a more optimistic timeline.

 

[Knightshade]

I'd been driving a 2008 Lexus IS350.

I looked at and/or test drove a bunch of comparable cars before the model 3 preorder from Audi, Lexus, Infiniti, even Genesis, VW and Ford, etc... Pretty much every sport sedan in the ~40ishk to ~60ishk range....None of them were really significantly better than my paid-for Lexus that was dead reliable and probably had another 150k miles before it needed anything but tires and 12v batteries replaced (hell, the newer version of the IS from Lexus was worse because they added a bunch of weight while keeping the same motor).

The model 3 was though. So I bought it.

 

[RFernatt]

Nothing. Already had a Leaf and knew my next car would be a Tesla. Wish it were the Model Y in a few ways, but there was nothing else comparable.

 

[sweetrugger]

I was coming from an Audi S4 manual...quick, fun to drive, fit two car seats in the back, and driving a manual was fantastic. My wife had leased a leaf because of her commute and we recently turned it in. I wanted something with a little more space but wasn't going to find that with a stick shift. I test drove a S6, and despite the power, I didn't think it was that quick. The M3 blew it away in every sense. More or less same dimensions as my S4, but generally more room, and just more fun to drive.