Guess A Tesla isn't in the cards for me, this time around

We have a 16 year old 5 series BMW station wagon. 540iT that is nearing replacement time. As an EE the S is very intriguing to me and would be a perfect functional replacement for the wagon, our larger car (I do not like/want an SUV). I have been lurking on the boards for a year educating myself as to pros/cons. But with a car that costs more than our first house, and 2X more than I ever spent on a car before, it's a hard sell to the Significant Other. Probably the largest obstacle is while I am am willing to have an early adopter experience, the SO, not so much. For whatever would occur, and we know there will be plenty, I would be frequently be reminded of the cost. Be it a fit/finish issue, 12V battery issue, high cost of body repairs (if something should happen), having to travel a little further or spend a little extra time to use a supercharger, etc.

I looked at other BEVs, but with our common trips to visit family being 100, 200 or 320 miles in a day, NO other BEV today is viable. So looks like this time around the BMW will be replace with another ICE BMW (3 Series GT is high on the list). I am hoping for when when we look to replace our smaller car in a few years (currently a BMW 335D) the Tesla model 3 will be ready. More affordable, more mainstream. So Tesla, don't slip the release date of the 3, I do not have that many more driving years left to buy one!

Wow, I was just expressing my current status and was not expecting all these great responses, within 30 minutes no less. We've both test drove the S, and we both were amazed. But then BMWs are not a piece of junk either. I know there is some savings on inventory cars, but not enough to make that kind of difference. Don't think you will find an 85kw model for $65K. I've looked at the used market and maybe all the sellers are on something, but after factoring in the $7500 rebate that I would get on a new one, not much to be saved for getting a used model, without the updated features, that probably needs tires as well.

Price aside, there is still the early adopter experience. Out of driving 2 BMWs for well over a decade, we've only been towed once (trans failure in our wagon). I'm the one who is intrigued by technology and am looking forward to the entire experience, the SO, not so much.

Unfortunately the whole TCO math does not work out in my favor. Our 335D averages 30+ MPG, with over 40 on the highway. I do a lot of my own maintenance and our current cars (except for that trans failure) have been inexpensive to maintain. I knew early on the additional purchase cost of a Tesla would never be covered by reduced maintenance (we're still not sure on this one) and reduced energy cost. Looking at a modern efficient car, even a $4/gal your spending $16K per 100K miles on fuel. And home charging electricity is not free. Takes 200K+ miles in energy savings to cover the additional purchase price of the Tesla.

For WW73, I know where all the superchargers are in my area, that's not an issue (would charge at home anyway), it's the trips where they are not always on the path we would normally have taken.

For MartinAustin, nearly $70K for a car with 40K miles is still a lot of $$. Considering after the $7500 rebate the one I would option would end up costing about $86K, wouldn't you spend that extra $18K for one with 0 miles, new features, new battery and new tires?

While I never considered AWD important (don't have it now) the past 2 winters in NJ has me thinking!!

SwedishAdvocate said:

I assume you use proper winter tires and not the ‘all-weather’ ones.

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Yes I do!! But only on one car, the other stays in the garage during bad weather. There were many winters I did not even have to put them on. But not lately....

Responding to update: I have a very young grandchild, and I know a baby seat would work nicely in the back of the S. In regards to the save the earth arguments, I'm all for it! But (putting up force field now) I work for a major oil company :scared:

ChadS said:

Consumer Report's predicted reliability of the 3-series is lower than that of the Model S. (No, CR ratings are not perfect; and of course predicting anything is fraught with danger. But they are way better than anything else out there. Scanning forums gets you nothing as car forums have disproportionate numbers of problem posts). I don't think a BMW will be any less likely to have problems, although I agree you may be less likely to get blamed for the problem if it's with a BMW instead of a Tesla.

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We've had 3 model 3's in the family so for. All have been very reliable with minimal issue outside of warranty. My son has my original 3 (E46 328i) with 200K miles. Engine has never been touched, doesn't burn a drop of oil, still has the original clutch! But I have been told the newer engines, especially with turbocharging do not hold up this way anymore.

I know an S will be very reliable. But when something does happen (including being stupid and not managing your charge level) the result often ends up on a flatbed, not to mention the raking over the coals by the SO, regardless of how much she enjoys driving it. As I said I'm all in for the BEV, early adopter experience, having to stop off the path for charging, but not the SO, at least at the cost of admission. Thus the dilemma.

I do question the TCO spreadsheets, in many cases they seem to favor the originator 'wanting' it to work. Unless you are currently driving an absolute pig that gets like 8 MPG, it's just not there in any reasonable amount of time. I do realize the TCO is somewhat location sensitive. NJ has the second lowest gas tax in the nation, but relatively high electric costs. There are also maintenance costs, it's not zero. No one discusses what happens if/when a battery is needed out of warranty. My take is when that time comes, they should have come dramatically down in price.

chriSharek - Yes, we can always take the ICE for longer trips. But if we end up doing that all the time, what's the point of the BEV? Hey I'm looking for that angle to "sell" the idea to my SO that I have not already thought of. I am astounded at how far Tesla has come in less than 10 years, but remember all the ICE competition has had a century or more to work on their vehicles.