Would you buy a new Model S?

[spon88]

My M3P is currently in the SC and I have a loaner S in the interim. I like it a lot and the air suspension is marvellous in comparison to the rather harsh ride of the M3P. The internal space is also very nice and with the recent updates, even better.

My M3P is over 3 years old now and I'm considering updating before the 4 year warranty expires. The "basic" S would be fine and even that matches the M3P acceleration - the Plaid is insane but possibly a bit OTT.

What surprised me was the cost - £95k starting before you add anything. I haven't really tracked the price of the Model S but has it gone up quite a lot over the last year or so? I'm keen but £95k is a fair bit to drop on a car which, whilst beautiful, I wouldn't actually use very much as I work from home.

I guess I'm questioning the actual value and wondering if the S price has been hiked disproportionately recently? It may also be due for an external remodel at some point soon?

Does anyone here have an S on order and how does the current £95k stack up versus earlier pricing? It feels a bit "steep" and much as I like it (and so does the missus) I don't want to feel liked I've been fleeced. Cheers.

 

[Jason71]

No

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

There are a lot of improvements on the S over the 3 - the suspension is significantly better if its anything like the adaptive one from the Raven cars, the headlining is alcantara, the general ambience and quality of the materials is better. The battery is also bigger and the efficiency is said to be pretty good now so range will be futher. The new one should come with a native CCS port and will charge quicker than the old one (although there's rumours the older MS have just had a speed boost on charging).

That said, I wouldn't buy one, and I used to have a facelift MS P90DL. There was a lot to like, but I don't think the new car has come on far enough. The car first came out in 2012 and a lot of the underpinnings appear to be pretty much the same. Yes they updated the suspension for Raven, but the battery cells seems to be largely the same as those in my 2016 MS. There is more cooling, but nothing I've heard is a major step forward. If BMW took a 10 year old 7 series design, tweaked the suspension. updated the interior a bit and stuck in 6 year old engines I think most would be a little underwhelmed.

For circa 100k I also want more individualisation to the car, I want better materials, I want headlights that do more than write Tesla on the wall. I don't want a car thats still largely beta or comi8ng soon.

If I was going to spend £100k, you can get a lot of Taycan for that money, you can get a lot of Panamera e-hybrid too, I sat in the BMW i7 at the PGA golf and thats something inside. If you think Tesla is high tech you've not seen anything.

That all said, I'll probably see one when they finally arrive, and go and buy one anyway. I'm finding my Model Y lacking on refinement for my tastes. Lovely problem to have though.

 

[Dilly]

For the average person, £100K on a car is insane. However, if it were me, as good as a model S may be, I would not want to find that the same features that don’t work properly on a model half the price, also don’t work properly on on the dearer model.
Notwithstanding that all Tesla’s still lack features that are standard in most modern cars of any price point.
I simply wouldn’t buy one.

 

[spon88]

There are a lot of improvements on the S over the 3 - the suspension is significantly better if its anything like the adaptive one from the Raven cars, the headlining is alcantara, the general ambience and quality of the materials is better. The battery is also bigger and the efficiency is said to be pretty good now so range will be futher. The new one should come with a native CCS port and will charge quicker than the old one (although there's rumours the older MS have just had a speed boost on charging).

That said, I wouldn't buy one, and I used to have a facelift MS P90DL. There was a lot to like, but I don't think the new car has come on far enough. The car first came out in 2012 and a lot of the underpinnings appear to be pretty much the same. Yes they updated the suspension for Raven, but the battery cells seems to be largely the same as those in my 2016 MS. There is more cooling, but nothing I've heard is a major step forward. If BMW took a 10 year old 7 series design, tweaked the suspension. updated the interior a bit and stuck in 6 year old engines I think most would be a little underwhelmed.

For circa 100k I also want more individualisation to the car, I want better materials, I want headlights that do more than write Tesla on the wall. I don't want a car thats still largely beta or comi8ng soon.

If I was going to spend £100k, you can get a lot of Taycan for that money, you can get a lot of Panamera e-hybrid too, I sat in the BMW i7 at the PGA golf and thats something inside. If you think Tesla is high tech you've not seen anything.

That all said, I'll probably see one when they finally arrive, and go and buy one anyway. I'm finding my Model Y lacking on refinement for my tastes. Lovely problem to have though.

Thanks for your thoughts, appreciated. I'm thinking similarly that the S hasn't moved on enough, certainly the underpinnings and hence my concern that it's not a realistic price at the moment. It is a nice problem to have but I guess I'll hold off for a while until the value proposition improves. Still love the look of it though!

 

[pgkevet]

My 2018 S was £94K as an ex showroom. Granted it has sunroof and carbon interior and came with EAP. About a year later tesla dropped the price of an S and it has crept up again since then. Would I buy another? No I bought it to play with the tech, because they were uncommon and because of all the promises about self-parking, self-driving etc that haven't come to fruition or don't work properly. It's still a nice car to drive manually and with free supercharging I’m hanging onto it but deprecation costs etc it's the most expensive car I've ever owned and after getting silly acceleration out of my system I’d happily go back to a moderate sports car like the GT86 I had before, say a year old rather than new. Even if that ended up being unsaleable in 4 years I’d have lost less than the depreciation on the S. Yes it was slower off the line but just as much fun in other ways.
I had planned to trade up to the roadster but a) the on-going delays and b) the price was originally £150K. It'll be £250K by the time it gets here - stupid.

If you're going to buy an S consider one that's a year or two old and trade again before the 4yr warranty while waiting to see what rivals have to offer or fully open supercharger network to any marque.

It'd also be nice not to have to preplan journeys dog-legging around the charger network or put up with wifey huffing while we wait.

 

[dayone]

There are a lot of improvements on the S over the 3 - the suspension is significantly better if its anything like the adaptive one from the Raven cars, the headlining is alcantara, the general ambience and quality of the materials is better. The battery is also bigger and the efficiency is said to be pretty good now so range will be futher. The new one should come with a native CCS port and will charge quicker than the old one (although there's rumours the older MS have just had a speed boost on charging).

That said, I wouldn't buy one, and I used to have a facelift MS P90DL. There was a lot to like, but I don't think the new car has come on far enough. The car first came out in 2012 and a lot of the underpinnings appear to be pretty much the same. Yes they updated the suspension for Raven, but the battery cells seems to be largely the same as those in my 2016 MS. There is more cooling, but nothing I've heard is a major step forward. If BMW took a 10 year old 7 series design, tweaked the suspension. updated the interior a bit and stuck in 6 year old engines I think most would be a little underwhelmed.

For circa 100k I also want more individualisation to the car, I want better materials, I want headlights that do more than write Tesla on the wall. I don't want a car thats still largely beta or comi8ng soon.

If I was going to spend £100k, you can get a lot of Taycan for that money, you can get a lot of Panamera e-hybrid too, I sat in the BMW i7 at the PGA golf and thats something inside. If you think Tesla is high tech you've not seen anything.

That all said, I'll probably see one when they finally arrive, and go and buy one anyway. I'm finding my Model Y lacking on refinement for my tastes. Lovely problem to have though.

@spon88 Ride, space and refinement are really important to me. I've driven all of the Tesla models (apart from the Y) and I hear what you are saying about the M3P vs the S. However, they are two different animals, one is a sporty go-kart and the other is a luxury cruiser. Personally, I thought the ride of the M3P was good (but only when comparing with something equivalent and very firm riding like a BMW M3)

If you want a luxury EV that is brand new and around £100k, then I would suggest considering the competition, but not necessarily ruling out a brand new S (if that's what your heart desires) - Like @GeorgeSymonds said, the upcoming i7 is likely to be rather amazing as a luxury EV, but I think that will be over £100k before you start adding the desirable options. I think I specced one up at £120k with a few options. I was considering a brand new S (as that's the Tesla model I like the most), but I needed a new EV pretty quickly.

I know the looks are controversial, but after test driving a BMW iX40, I placed an order. The ride (even on 22inch wheels without air suspension) was superior to anything from Tesla (and better than E-tron 55/i-Pace), and the refinement was exceptional (one test I read ranked interior noise at Rolls Royce Cullinan levels) and owners are reporting that efficiency even at fast motorway speeds is surprisingly good. I was looking at a brand new Taycan as friends tell me ride and refinement are shockingly good considering how sporty it is, but again, the lead time is too long for me.

You may want to consider test driving the EQE or EQS from MB. Very efficient, packed full of tech and ride and refinement felt better than any Tesla, but the ride in the EQS I drove felt bumpier compared to an ICE S class. It still rides lovely but just not as magic carpet as an S class. Finally, there are the new luxury EVs (SUVs again!) from Volvo and Lexus coming out as well. Hope you find something that suits you!

 

[mswlogo]

The old batteries in the S/X seem to degrade a lot slower than 3/Y do. So much for newer batteries are better.

 

[PITA]

I'd like a Model S - Standard wheels

Suit me quite well.

 

[robbieduncan]

No. It’s too expensive (the Y is the most expensive car I’ve ever bought by a factor of 3 and the only new car I’ve ever bought). And it’s the wrong form factor for us with 2 kids and a dog

 

[Ferret]

The plaid gives good performance for the money but I have some concerns:

• It will be made in the US, I'd prefer China.
• Still no matrix headlights
• Better comfort and quality from competition
• The size ruins fun driving and makes parking a hassle in the UK
• Driving dynamics Vs M3P

 

[Ohmster]

The plaid gives good performance for the money but I have some concerns:

• It will be made in the US, I'd prefer China.
• Still no matrix headlights
• Better comfort and quality from competition
• The size ruins fun driving and makes parking a hassle in the UK
• Driving dynamics Vs M3P

Doubtful the S will ever be made in China. The volumes are not high enough to tie up a line for it or the X.

Palladium S has been shipping with matrix headlights since -March.

Agree on sizing. I remember the roads in Wilmslow and Alderly Edge from our time there as expats and I visit London area regularly.

As for those saying it’s the same car that came out in ‘12 (underpinnings), that’s not accurate. The new S is substantially different. I had a ‘17 and now have a ‘22 Plaid. At delivery day attended in ‘21 Elon commented on the differences.

Is it worth the money? I got mine for US20k less than current pricing (was an original Plaid+ reservation holder and waited 18 months for my car), absolutely.

Would I buy the Plaid for that much more today? Not sure. But certainly the LR.

Did not like the Taycan. EQS is too gaudy. Lucid is my grandfather’s Buick.

 

[spon88]

Thanks for all the responses, very useful and food for thought. I think at this stage I'll hang on for a while and then explore outside of the Tesla ecosystem; that said, the charging network is still a huge attraction even though my mileage is limited these days. The M3P has been enjoyable, albeit a few too many niggles, so no rush. It will be fun checking different options for sure. Thanks again.

 

[tonyj01]

I’m in this same boat with my 2016 MS90D with 78k miles.

I’m also looking at other marques and the size of MS is a winner for me with the hatchback.

Trouble is, each time I have a long journey the convenience of the SuC network is so superior, the distribution of sites, the simple aspect of reverse in, plug in, walk, makes it tough to consider alternatives. Taycan and etron have small ranges, EQE too small, EQS a bit ostentatious and they all suffer from longer overall journey times as the charging takes longer apart from a few Ionity sites.

Seems to me that the Tesla network is expanding more rapidly than Ionity.

The infrastructure must catch up!

Tony.

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

I’m in this same boat with my 2016 MS90D with 78k miles.

I’m also looking at other marques and the size of MS is a winner for me with the hatchback.

Trouble is, each time I have a long journey the convenience of the SuC network is so superior, the distribution of sites, the simple aspect of reverse in, plug in, walk, makes it tough to consider alternatives. Taycan and etron have small ranges, EQE too small, EQS a bit ostentatious and they all suffer from longer overall journey times as the charging takes longer apart from a few Ionity sites.

Seems to me that the Tesla network is expanding more rapidly than Ionity.

The infrastructure must catch up!

Tony.

The Taycan is said to have had a recent software update that is said to add about 30 extra real work miles and is retrospective. That said, you still can't beat the convenience of the supercharger network

 

[spon88]

I’m in this same boat with my 2016 MS90D with 78k miles.

I’m also looking at other marques and the size of MS is a winner for me with the hatchback.

Trouble is, each time I have a long journey the convenience of the SuC network is so superior, the distribution of sites, the simple aspect of reverse in, plug in, walk, makes it tough to consider alternatives. Taycan and etron have small ranges, EQE too small, EQS a bit ostentatious and they all suffer from longer overall journey times as the charging takes longer apart from a few Ionity sites.

Seems to me that the Tesla network is expanding more rapidly than Ionity.

The infrastructure must catch up!

Tony.

Hi Tony,

With what appears to be most of the Tesla SuC network opening up in the not too distant future, we may have a lot more scope. I'm holding off for another 12 months or so to see what happens. It means the car warranty will have expired but so be it. With access to the SuC, other marques will be much more attractive and possibly more so than Tesla!

 

[Peteski]

Not for £95k. Would need to be an all-new model at this point to tempt me. Having said that I do quite like the MS and I think the styling and design is holding up remarkably well for a decade old design. It shows how far ahead of the curve they were in 2012. For everyday use I prefer the M3/Y platform. It's just easier to live with around town and more fun on winding country roads. I really wouldn't want to be paying an extra £35k for a larger motorway cruiser. I enjoyed our MX, but it was just a bit too big and cumbersome for a daily driver.

Having driven down to the South of France in the summer I'm not ready to move out of the Tesla SuC eco-system any time soon either! They may well be opening it up to other EVs, but it's too much of a gamble at the moment. I saw some epic charging fails during that journey - notably a Polestar attempting to re-charge at the Calais SuC. Once he gave up trying to connect to a Tesla SuC, he was left with a single mangy looking slow public charger with a plastic bag over the top and the cable connector sat in a puddle of water, lol.

 

[Durzel]

If money were no object I'd have one, just for the fact it's the fastest thing around at the price point. That only really satisfies 5% of the time you're driving it though.

Others have covered it conclusively but I would reiterate that the things that don't work too good on the 3/Y also won't work too well on the S either, the only difference is you'll be paying 2x the cost for one. Having had experience of that stuff I would not be willing to accept paying ~£100k for those shortcomings.

 

[jmcdono362]

I’m in this same boat with my 2016 MS90D with 78k miles.

I’m also looking at other marques and the size of MS is a winner for me with the hatchback.

Trouble is, each time I have a long journey the convenience of the SuC network is so superior, the distribution of sites, the simple aspect of reverse in, plug in, walk, makes it tough to consider alternatives. Taycan and etron have small ranges, EQE too small, EQS a bit ostentatious and they all suffer from longer overall journey times as the charging takes longer apart from a few Ionity sites.

Seems to me that the Tesla network is expanding more rapidly than Ionity.

The infrastructure must catch up!

Tony.

I'm still loving my pre-facelift 2015 P90DL with only 44k miles. I think 2015-2017 were the best years for the S in terms of maximum features for the money. We still get the free SC and sunroof that opens. AP1 is perfection on the freeway, where you really need it the most during long boring journeys.

I just had my first major service done in 7 years. Still on original brake pads as the tech said they still have plenty of life left. They did address a creaking suspension though (rubber bushings were dried up and cracking) and the infamous door handle that doesn't present itself. Service cost me $2,000.

Other than that, I've replaced all 4 tires once for all seasons as the summer rated tires were terrible in winter.

Since I've owned the Tesla, I've saved about $10,000 in petrol over its lifetime, so to me that's money that can be used towards the occasional big service visits.

 

[Rooster6655]

The Model S is probably reasonably priced as far as the car and current climate goes, if the question is whether a £100k car is worth it for an average person then that's another matter, I would keep the current car and put the money in a savings account rn.