Will labor hours and parts repair costs for the 3 eventually be significantly lower?

[internalaudit]

It's too soon for owners to start complaining about this and that because details haven't been released by Tesla and so discussion about the 1) annual service cost (whether mandatory for the ESA) and 2) wear and tear parts/component replacements are not being discussed here.

This are the things I've gathered over the months:

• Service Centers being revenue neutral
• More 3's will be produced compared to the S and X, bigger bargaining power with vendors/OEM makers
• Less complexity (no instrument cluster, no complicated handles or falcon wing mechanism (to break down) and more automated robotic assembly
• Gigafactory battery production scale

Will we really see cheaper repair costs down the road for the 3 or is that just pure speculation at this point? It doesn't have to be Toyota or Honda cheap but just less costly than repair/servicing of the S or X?

 

[SageBrush]

is that just pure speculation at this point?

.

 

[siggyfreud]

It stands to reason that generally a cheaper car will be cheaper to service over the lifetime. That said, it will largely come down to what breaks and needs servicing, as I expect the motors and batteries to likely be equal in cost to an S or X, since they're likely not that different.

 

[FlyingKiwi]

It stands to reason that generally a cheaper car will be cheaper to service over the lifetime. That said, it will largely come down to what breaks and needs servicing, as I expect the motors and batteries to likely be equal in cost to an S or X, since they're likely not that different.

Not for regular servicing. Changing the oil in the transmission of a RWD S and a RWD model 3 should be pretty much the same, might be slightly more or less fluid, but labour is going to be the major cost, so unless access is a complete nightmare in the S and really easy in the three due to better design they should cost about the same IMO. Ditto for changing battery pack coolant, wheel rotation and alignment etc.

This is all based on believing the service center is not a profit centre philosophy. If you throw that out the window then all bets are off.

 

[FlatSix911]

The hourly labor cost will be the same ... the only variable will be the parts cost

 

[internalaudit]

The hourly labor cost will be the same ... the only variable will be the parts cost

I know the labor rate per hour is not going to change, it's more whether major repairs or servicing take fewer hours.

What's the point of Tesla stating the 3 will be simpler and built with more automation unless it purely means a 200% increase in reliability over the S and 500% over the X.

 

[siggyfreud]

Not for regular servicing. Changing the oil in the transmission of a RWD S and a RWD model 3 should be pretty much the same, might be slightly more or less fluid, but labour is going to be the major cost, so unless access is a complete nightmare in the S and really easy in the three due to better design they should cost about the same IMO. Ditto for changing battery pack coolant, wheel rotation and alignment etc.

This is all based on believing the service center is not a profit centre philosophy. If you throw that out the window then all bets are off.

I'm simply stating that over the life of the car it would make sense for a cheaper car to incur less costs overall. Simpler gauge setup, simpler HVAC system and likely some other simplicity enhancements in other areas to help drive down manufacturing costs, which should in some cases bring down subsequent maintenance costs as well. That said, shorter warranties may mean the owner starts picking up the tab for broken items sooner.

 

[Doug_G]

I would expect the maintenance costs to be similar. Hopefully the Model 3 will be very reliable.

 

[internalaudit]

Hopefully both the ESA and maintenance packages will be significantly cheaper, just like how BMW Canada set these prices up:
http://bmwwidget.ca/pdf/2017 BMW SIEW Pricing Matrix for Widget_as of April.pdf

 

[FlyingKiwi]

I'm simply stating that over the life of the car it would make sense for a cheaper car to incur less costs overall. Simpler gauge setup, simpler HVAC system and likely some other simplicity enhancements in other areas to help drive down manufacturing costs, which should in some cases bring down subsequent maintenance costs as well. That said, shorter warranties may mean the owner starts picking up the tab for broken items sooner.

Simpler more reliable HVAC on the model 3?.. you mean the one with the hidden electric motors to move airflow around as instructed by the touchscreen and computers instead of a bit of plastic with a lever you move by hand in the S?

All of the models have their own gimmicky feature (falcon wing doors, self presenting door handles, M3 vent system..) , and when that goes wrong expect the service costs to be high if its out of warranty.

 

[Barklikeadog]

i think it's actually kind of scary to think about.
The local Tesla dealership(whatever you want to call it) always has a lot that is constantly full of plated/personal autos waiting on the service side.
I relayed a story on the Model X forum where I was getting a rental car....just gonna copy and paste...

As we are driving back to the rental car place, she asks what kind of car I'm interested in... I jokingly say a Model 3.
response...
'Ughh, Teslas are just awful to repair'
me(playing dumb) 'I hear that it takes a long time, is that true?'
'You have no idea, we have a client with a Model X who has been without his suv for 3 months, it's just sitting on a lot waiting to be repaired'
'he was fighting with the insurance co because he only gets a covered rental for 30 days... so his wife takes him to work and he gets a rental car on weekends.'