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Choose my Tesla: Comparing True Cost of Ownership
- Thread starter rDunivin
- Start date
I usually keep cars for around 10 years, so at current mileage that would put me around about 200K miles.
Doesn't matter what I'm driving at that point, but I'm expecting the fact that its a Tesla will mean its value is dramatically better than any other BEV with 200K miles on it.
Its all guesswork anyway, but I would guess that as the Model 3 costs less and is newer tech/battery etc that it would be worth more than an old Model S.
I know its not a popular thought, but Model S&X have served their purpose, their future will be similar to BMW 7 series etc where they will get more fancy stuff than Model 3/Y but will depreciate more due to higher initial cost.
Doesn't matter what I'm driving at that point, but I'm expecting the fact that its a Tesla will mean its value is dramatically better than any other BEV with 200K miles on it.
Its all guesswork anyway, but I would guess that as the Model 3 costs less and is newer tech/battery etc that it would be worth more than an old Model S.
I know its not a popular thought, but Model S&X have served their purpose, their future will be similar to BMW 7 series etc where they will get more fancy stuff than Model 3/Y but will depreciate more due to higher initial cost.
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In theory the FSD in the late 2016 model S is upgradable to HW3 and beyond. Might involve more but hey that’s why you paid for it and why you can still add it to those AP 2.0 cars. I know this is much debated and something I was reading a lot on earlier.
I was trying to find a resolution comparison, only one I found said they were the same but they sure don’t look it. Of course 2 larger screens in S vs one smaller one in 3. That said could see them going to a horizontal on the S. Maybe it will be bigger and maybe there will be 2 but maybe the sky falls too haha.
Hopefully the 3 does last longer. I think it’s steel in the 3 vs aluminum on the S but I’d imagine it shouldn’t rust too much even in New England in the first 10 years.
I don’t think a long range S is worth $30k more than a stealth performance model 3. Not for me at least. Wouldn’t buy one new.
Used, with free charging, where I know some people are pointing out that it’ll be rarer and hold better. Where free (but ultimately slower and a shorter range) charging might be more valuable to someone shopping for a $35k car in 6 years then to someone shopping a $50k car now.
Ultimately it is, to your point, all a guessing game.
But right now it’s a toss up between the two cars for me with them costing roughly the same to me at least in purchase price - so trying to make the most educated guess at it!
It's hard to get specs on the S vs 3 screens. Both are 1920x1200 but the 3 is smaller so a smaller screen with the same resolution should appear sharper. Aside from that I believe the 3 is brighter. The Model S looks like the original non-retina iPad while the Model 3 looks as sharp as the retina iPad models.
Atari2600
Active Member
My 12.9" iPad Pro has a 2732 x 2048 display and I have to say it looks sharper than the Model 3 display. The Model 3 is not bad though.
I’ve got the same iPad.
Also a higher resolution on smaller screen so that helps too.
Well wouldn't the S also depreciate like a rock then or are you saying it already has so won't be so bad?
correct it should flatten out. You could part it out at a certain point.
I had the same dilemma and went with the 3 for the newer tech etc. (even refused a CPO S delivery due to AP/FSD issues.) I do miss the air suspension and will it get it with the Y, hopefully.
Well I don't plan on having it long enough that I am parting it out haha
Hopeful on the FSD and hopeful on the recent tweet about the $2k upgrade to MCU 2 but we know Elon tweets...
Yeah I wouldn't believe those tweets. They're more focused on future versions. It's even hard to go 2.5->3.0.
I do miss the luxury/softer ride though... I would recommend doing an overnight test drive on both S and 3 before you decide. Here in AZ that's not a problem if you ask nicely
If you actually have a Telsa owned and maintained supercharger at your work and plan on using that exclusively and driving 15k miles per year the free supercharging has a much higher value than for 99% of us
Is it good for the battery to only supercharge?
Not really sure but might make me nervous ; as long as you flip it in 5 years ; 75k miles it shouldn’t affect you
In MA you pay yearly Excise Tax based on model year with a drastic sliding scale
Owning a 2016 vs a 2020 will save you thousands over the course of 5 years in Excise Tax
for these 2 reasons I changed my vote
Is it good for the battery to only supercharge?
Not really sure but might make me nervous ; as long as you flip it in 5 years ; 75k miles it shouldn’t affect you
In MA you pay yearly Excise Tax based on model year with a drastic sliding scale
Owning a 2016 vs a 2020 will save you thousands over the course of 5 years in Excise Tax
for these 2 reasons I changed my vote
I asked the dedham MA store about an overnight 3 and they said that since I had already test driven a 3 twice that they wouldn't be able to offer an overnight test drive. Heck when I went in to test drive the 3 for the second time they gave me a hard time about wanting a second test drive even though I made an appointment and called ahead both times. Sorry I didn't make my mind up on how to spend $50k in the first 10 min test drive I did. But I digress...
I do indeed have the real deal Tesla owned and maintained superchargers right at work - was quite happy when those got installed for sure!
As I understand it, and I'm open to someone saying otherwise, as long as you are supercharging to 80%-85% then it won't hurt it. It is if you were to supercharge to 100% that would not be the best idea.
For true cost of ownership cost comparison reasons I said about 5 years. Which means at 15k miles a year the S would be getting done with its battery warranty about to turn 9 and have about 130k miles. The 3 would have 60k miles and be 5 years old. I don't know about depreciation or maintenance (you know the 2 biggest costs haha) but if I kept longer than 5 years I think the free charging S would be saving me more each year over the 3. Though in 5 years I should be able to home charge and electric rates might even be cheaper. Not sure if I would change it out in 5 years for something new, but if we believe Elon the cars will be driving us at that point anyways!
Had no idea about the sliding excise in MA. VERY good to know. I need to look into MA excise tax now for sure!
Hahahah NOOOOOO. I don't expect to sell either car for near what I pay. Both are going to cost something to own - I know that.
If you mean where I made the comment about the free charging, well I just mean that in theory lowers the cost of ownership when comparing the depreciation of a S with it vs a 3 without it. How this compares to the amount each depreciate well that's part of the guessing game.
If you mean about how Elon claims the self driving car future where they will be our own self driving taxis making us money - maybe one day, but I don't see that in 5 years...
I do indeed have the real deal Tesla owned and maintained superchargers right at work - was quite happy when those got installed for sure!
As I understand it, and I'm open to someone saying otherwise, as long as you are supercharging to 80%-85% then it won't hurt it. It is if you were to supercharge to 100% that would not be the best idea.
For true cost of ownership cost comparison reasons I said about 5 years. Which means at 15k miles a year the S would be getting done with its battery warranty about to turn 9 and have about 130k miles. The 3 would have 60k miles and be 5 years old. I don't know about depreciation or maintenance (you know the 2 biggest costs haha) but if I kept longer than 5 years I think the free charging S would be saving me more each year over the 3. Though in 5 years I should be able to home charge and electric rates might even be cheaper. Not sure if I would change it out in 5 years for something new, but if we believe Elon the cars will be driving us at that point anyways!
Had no idea about the sliding excise in MA. VERY good to know. I need to look into MA excise tax now for sure!
So I wasnt aware of the sliding excise tax in my state prior to mreynolds767's post. Not sure the exact cost that MA will use for the manufacturer value of the car but I presumed $50k for the stealth and $75k for the S75D.
That meant that the 3 would cost about $1.6k more in excise tax over the 5 year stretch.
kay well today is the day, well tomorrow is when I buy so I decide today.
This is a follow up post to one I created yesterday and got some much appreciated feedback from the community here. I really do appreciate it and will also monitor those.
I wanted to update some numbers, streamline the post to have all the numbers in one place, and add in some of the thoughts I now have.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Ultimately I am looking for the lowest cost of ownership on my new Tesla. My current car is likely to be totaled so finding it's replacement.
What has already been decided:
I like the X's door gimmicks, but these have found to be out of budget.
I want FSD, mostly bc I want to be able to get the upgrades down the road.
I think I will be happy either with an S or stealth 3 for everyday use. Enjoyed both test drives.
I currently won't have the ability to add a home charger, but there are genuine superchargers right at work that are usually not in use.
I will be driving about 15k miles a year.
I will want AWD as living in New England
I used Teslanomics cost of charge calculator and found that at $.23 kWh 15k miles a year on a 3 costs $1,284
What are the options:
Car: Dec 2016 Facelited Model S 75D, 55k miles, FSD, premium package, no cold weather upgraded stereo or air suspension
Cost of car: $50k (Will need to add $2k for MCU 2.0 update claimed)
Cost of fuel: $0
Cost of insurance: $2,500 per year currently.
Excise tax over 5 years: $1,150
Warranty: 1.5 years or 20k miles left on extended service plan, 5 years unlimited miles left on battery.
Cost of car over 5 year private party auto loan at 5.89%, including excise tax, fuel, insurance, and upgraded MCU: $77,600
Car: 2018 Model 3 Stealth Performance, 35k miles, FSD
Cost of car: $50k
Cost of fuel: $1,284 per year currently
Cost of insurance: $1,500 per year currently.
Excise tax over 5 years: $1,190
Warranty: 2 years or 15k miles left on original warranty, 6 years or 85k miles left on battery.
Cost of car over 5 year private party auto loan at 5.89%, including excise tax, fuel, insurance: $79,000
Car: 2020 Model 3 Stealth Performance, 0 miles, FSD
Cost of car: $57k
Cost of fuel: $1,284 per year currently
Cost of insurance: $2,100 per year currently.
Excise tax over 5 years: $4,300
Warranty: 4 yr or 50k miles new car warranty, 8 year or 120k mile battery warranty.
Cost of car over 5 year private party auto loan at 3.5%, including excise tax, fuel, insurance: $89,400
Okay so that was a lot. If you made it here, thank you. I value your opinion highly!
This is a follow up post to one I created yesterday and got some much appreciated feedback from the community here. I really do appreciate it and will also monitor those.
I wanted to update some numbers, streamline the post to have all the numbers in one place, and add in some of the thoughts I now have.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Ultimately I am looking for the lowest cost of ownership on my new Tesla. My current car is likely to be totaled so finding it's replacement.
What has already been decided:
I like the X's door gimmicks, but these have found to be out of budget.
I want FSD, mostly bc I want to be able to get the upgrades down the road.
I think I will be happy either with an S or stealth 3 for everyday use. Enjoyed both test drives.
I currently won't have the ability to add a home charger, but there are genuine superchargers right at work that are usually not in use.
I will be driving about 15k miles a year.
I will want AWD as living in New England
I used Teslanomics cost of charge calculator and found that at $.23 kWh 15k miles a year on a 3 costs $1,284
What are the options:
Car: Dec 2016 Facelited Model S 75D, 55k miles, FSD, premium package, no cold weather upgraded stereo or air suspension
Cost of car: $50k (Will need to add $2k for MCU 2.0 update claimed)
Cost of fuel: $0
Cost of insurance: $2,500 per year currently.
Excise tax over 5 years: $1,150
Warranty: 1.5 years or 20k miles left on extended service plan, 5 years unlimited miles left on battery.
Cost of car over 5 year private party auto loan at 5.89%, including excise tax, fuel, insurance, and upgraded MCU: $77,600
Car: 2018 Model 3 Stealth Performance, 35k miles, FSD
Cost of car: $50k
Cost of fuel: $1,284 per year currently
Cost of insurance: $1,500 per year currently.
Excise tax over 5 years: $1,190
Warranty: 2 years or 15k miles left on original warranty, 6 years or 85k miles left on battery.
Cost of car over 5 year private party auto loan at 5.89%, including excise tax, fuel, insurance: $79,000
Car: 2020 Model 3 Stealth Performance, 0 miles, FSD
Cost of car: $57k
Cost of fuel: $1,284 per year currently
Cost of insurance: $2,100 per year currently.
Excise tax over 5 years: $4,300
Warranty: 4 yr or 50k miles new car warranty, 8 year or 120k mile battery warranty.
Cost of car over 5 year private party auto loan at 3.5%, including excise tax, fuel, insurance: $89,400
Okay so that was a lot. If you made it here, thank you. I value your opinion highly!
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