I am sure there will be many other posts like this as we share our experience with this very cool car. So here's my experience, takeaways, the good, and ugly about my Model 3 ownership after 5 years.
Here is a photo of Kuzco, my 2018 Long Range RWD 3 on delivery day (June 5 2018), in Mississauga Ontario:
Overview/ Initial Impressions:
I placed a pre-order a few days after the keynote and was attracted by the 35KUSD price tag (lol). As the years went by, the configurator went online and I immediately specced the car as white with the aero wheels. After hearing reports of the poor paint match between the metal and non-metal surfaces with the white paint, I had a change of heart and swapped to the lovely MSM colour and 19inch stiletto's which I adore to this day. I also had no idea the premium white was going to become free so that worked out for the best...
I bought this car after owning a White 2011 BMW 328i xDrive (AWD). My first impressions were that the steering felt wickedly precise and pointed the car with the precision of a razor blade in the direction I wanted to go, but equally, there was a lack of connection and feedback. The hydraulic steering of the 3 series would jostle the wheel over potholes and bumps and that was missing here. The suspension felt perfect for me. I know a lot of people complain here about the unnecessary harshness but I personally love feeling the texture and cracks on the road. It's certainly not enjoyable going over poorly maintained roads but it always reminds me to slow down and be more gentle with the car. For comparison we have a 2020 Y on 19s with a thicker sidewall and it just feels boring with all the dampening (great for the majority of drivers though). The torque was intoxicating and alluring and I think for the first year, I didn't go a single day without sending the car. One of things I noticed immediately, was the weight of the car. You can definitely feel it when you hit the brakes hard (compared to a similar ICE vehicle).
The technology packed in the car for 2018 and even today, is bleeding edge (minus the aging Intel MCU). There wasn't a single manufacturer at the time that had the level of intuitive UI design, responsiveness, and computing power. Over the course of ownership I've enjoyed seeing copious new features such as sentry mode, streaming services, app drawers, and the customizable home bars and so many more! It seriously blows my mind that we just got another update to keep track of tire servicing (super handy for rotations!).
In the first year of owning the vehicle, I put down about 47,000km (30k mi) and now after 5 years, I'm at around 110,000km (68k mi). Most of my driving has been L2 charging but I have spent time doing a few fun trips across the continent as I lived in the West Coast of Canada and now Toronto for a few years. Life-time map below:
Maintenance:
Apart from keeping up with air filters, wipers, brake cleanings, and a brake fluid flush there really isn't much I've done. I had to replace my all seasons after about 4 years (I use winter tires as well). I'm still on my original control arms!!
One of the not so lucky aspects has been the amount of windshield replacements. I am now on my third windshield. I wouldn't say the windshield is fragile or anything. Both the impacts were fairly close to the edge of my glass, which is just bad luck but I have come across a few other posts stating a high number of windshield replacements. In my opinion I think this is just increased risk of debris from a car that sits very low and possibly the angle of the windshield.
Issues:
Tesla service, when the Model 3 had just come out was quite luxurious and personal, however, with the fleet of 3s and Ys ballooning, the service has become very by-the-book. I remember having a lot of small things fixed under goodwill. Additionally, the service experience can largely vary based on where you are. My experience for service in Victoria BC was far inferior to the service I received in Ontario. I had an issue of my touchscreen delaminating (appeared like a screen protector bubble but was actually under the display). The service tech. blamed my screen protector for it. I am engineer and the closest reason I can think of is maybe the screen protector acted as an extra layer of insulation or maybe it restricted the ability for the glass to slightly expand and contract with the heat in the cabin on hot days.... No explanation was provided to me though... I explained to them that it made little to no sense. Another tech even stated he has a screen protector on his car! So not sure what that was all about. Nonetheless, they replaced it under "good-will" but I'm very much of the opinion that it's just a defect.
Starting in March 2022, for about 7 months, I had an issue of my car constantly waking up and sleeping (for about 5mins) until it woke up again. You could hear the contractors engaging every 15 mins which was scary considering it happened for 7 months! I've logged this issue in detail along with the screen delamination ( Multiple issues with my 2018 Model 3 ), ultimately I moved back to Toronto and Tesla Mississauga were extremely professional and replaced the car computer for free, honouring the issue past the 4 year warranty. They even upgraded me from HW2.5 to 3.0 for free (I don't have FSD, only EAP) and I would be iMessaging my tech on a daily basis.
Paint and Build:
I consider myself one of the luckier owners. My VIN is 29k. I've had zero issues with panel gaps, improper installations, and the paint has lasted really well! For 4 years the car sat outside in an open lot and now it sits on my driveway and a garage at work.
Here's my car today:
Conclusion:
The car feels brand spanking new to this day. My daily commute is 120km (75mi) and Kuzco shows no signs of slowing down. I am happy as can be and plan to keep Kuzco for another 5 years. I am torn on my next purchase as I love the RWD architecture with the more punchy motor of the Long Range vice Standard Range. I would love to get an S but the nimbleness isn't there. Maybe a Performance 3? If you got this far, thanks for the read
Here is a photo of Kuzco, my 2018 Long Range RWD 3 on delivery day (June 5 2018), in Mississauga Ontario:
Overview/ Initial Impressions:
I placed a pre-order a few days after the keynote and was attracted by the 35KUSD price tag (lol). As the years went by, the configurator went online and I immediately specced the car as white with the aero wheels. After hearing reports of the poor paint match between the metal and non-metal surfaces with the white paint, I had a change of heart and swapped to the lovely MSM colour and 19inch stiletto's which I adore to this day. I also had no idea the premium white was going to become free so that worked out for the best...
I bought this car after owning a White 2011 BMW 328i xDrive (AWD). My first impressions were that the steering felt wickedly precise and pointed the car with the precision of a razor blade in the direction I wanted to go, but equally, there was a lack of connection and feedback. The hydraulic steering of the 3 series would jostle the wheel over potholes and bumps and that was missing here. The suspension felt perfect for me. I know a lot of people complain here about the unnecessary harshness but I personally love feeling the texture and cracks on the road. It's certainly not enjoyable going over poorly maintained roads but it always reminds me to slow down and be more gentle with the car. For comparison we have a 2020 Y on 19s with a thicker sidewall and it just feels boring with all the dampening (great for the majority of drivers though). The torque was intoxicating and alluring and I think for the first year, I didn't go a single day without sending the car. One of things I noticed immediately, was the weight of the car. You can definitely feel it when you hit the brakes hard (compared to a similar ICE vehicle).
The technology packed in the car for 2018 and even today, is bleeding edge (minus the aging Intel MCU). There wasn't a single manufacturer at the time that had the level of intuitive UI design, responsiveness, and computing power. Over the course of ownership I've enjoyed seeing copious new features such as sentry mode, streaming services, app drawers, and the customizable home bars and so many more! It seriously blows my mind that we just got another update to keep track of tire servicing (super handy for rotations!).
In the first year of owning the vehicle, I put down about 47,000km (30k mi) and now after 5 years, I'm at around 110,000km (68k mi). Most of my driving has been L2 charging but I have spent time doing a few fun trips across the continent as I lived in the West Coast of Canada and now Toronto for a few years. Life-time map below:
Maintenance:
Apart from keeping up with air filters, wipers, brake cleanings, and a brake fluid flush there really isn't much I've done. I had to replace my all seasons after about 4 years (I use winter tires as well). I'm still on my original control arms!!
One of the not so lucky aspects has been the amount of windshield replacements. I am now on my third windshield. I wouldn't say the windshield is fragile or anything. Both the impacts were fairly close to the edge of my glass, which is just bad luck but I have come across a few other posts stating a high number of windshield replacements. In my opinion I think this is just increased risk of debris from a car that sits very low and possibly the angle of the windshield.
Issues:
Tesla service, when the Model 3 had just come out was quite luxurious and personal, however, with the fleet of 3s and Ys ballooning, the service has become very by-the-book. I remember having a lot of small things fixed under goodwill. Additionally, the service experience can largely vary based on where you are. My experience for service in Victoria BC was far inferior to the service I received in Ontario. I had an issue of my touchscreen delaminating (appeared like a screen protector bubble but was actually under the display). The service tech. blamed my screen protector for it. I am engineer and the closest reason I can think of is maybe the screen protector acted as an extra layer of insulation or maybe it restricted the ability for the glass to slightly expand and contract with the heat in the cabin on hot days.... No explanation was provided to me though... I explained to them that it made little to no sense. Another tech even stated he has a screen protector on his car! So not sure what that was all about. Nonetheless, they replaced it under "good-will" but I'm very much of the opinion that it's just a defect.
Starting in March 2022, for about 7 months, I had an issue of my car constantly waking up and sleeping (for about 5mins) until it woke up again. You could hear the contractors engaging every 15 mins which was scary considering it happened for 7 months! I've logged this issue in detail along with the screen delamination ( Multiple issues with my 2018 Model 3 ), ultimately I moved back to Toronto and Tesla Mississauga were extremely professional and replaced the car computer for free, honouring the issue past the 4 year warranty. They even upgraded me from HW2.5 to 3.0 for free (I don't have FSD, only EAP) and I would be iMessaging my tech on a daily basis.
Paint and Build:
I consider myself one of the luckier owners. My VIN is 29k. I've had zero issues with panel gaps, improper installations, and the paint has lasted really well! For 4 years the car sat outside in an open lot and now it sits on my driveway and a garage at work.
Here's my car today:
Conclusion:
The car feels brand spanking new to this day. My daily commute is 120km (75mi) and Kuzco shows no signs of slowing down. I am happy as can be and plan to keep Kuzco for another 5 years. I am torn on my next purchase as I love the RWD architecture with the more punchy motor of the Long Range vice Standard Range. I would love to get an S but the nimbleness isn't there. Maybe a Performance 3? If you got this far, thanks for the read
