Yup, I am quite grateful for every Tesla I see on the road because that means they are one step closer to the Model 3 becoming a reality.
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Yup, I am quite grateful for every Tesla I see on the road because that means they are one step closer to the Model 3 becoming a reality.
Well he just actually released the 2nd production car his company has ever made... so that might have a little more priority than a car for which a prototype hasnt even been revealed. Given that Elon is prone to... Stretch the truth... ANYTHING he says about the 3 at this point should be taken with a huge grain of salt.
Get used to it, it will be a long journey. Personally, while I am hoping the prototype reveal will be in March, Tesla time could easily be a month or two after that.
Patience is a virtue when Elon is involved.
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McHoffa
CyberOwners
Every article I read about an electric car, like the new Volt, the comments are full of people talking about the Model 3 and their plans to buy one. I, for one, plan on putting money on a reservation as soon as possible, even if it means staying up until 3am. It might be like the lines at an Apple Store for the new iPhone. I don't want 2017 (or 2018) getting here and production being limited for the first two years and a backlog of 3 years worth of orders in front of me to fill.
Also hoping they make a high performance akin to the P90D for ~$50 (or less if possible)
Oh, if only I had the means to just buy an S instead...
Also hoping they make a high performance akin to the P90D for ~$50 (or less if possible)
Oh, if only I had the means to just buy an S instead...
Big-T
Member
It tells us the Y is getting falcon wing doors. There's no way the 3 will get falcon wing.
Have you thought about waiting for an S to hit the $40k range? I'm thinking by the time the 3 gets here we could get an S for about the same?
That's going to be a while unless you want a used one. Elon has said in interviews they need to use less exotic materials in the Model 3 because the S makes heavy use of aluminum which is more expensive and harder to work with, the Model S is also a much bigger car which requires more material to make it. Unless they start making Model Ss with steel and shrink it, it will remain more expensive than the Model 3. Though it's expected the Gigafactory will reduce the cost of the batteries by 30-50%. If Tesla passes on those savings to the consumer, the Model S could have a starting price for the 70 at around $55K.
MassModel3
Member
I got my S used through Tesla with only 10K miles on it, 16 months old, for $53K. That was a year ago. I took my wife in to test drive one so we knew what to expect when the 3 came out, but we were hooked immediately. We told our Tesla rep to call is he gets a CPO in the 50's, and ten days later he did just that.
A few months later the market was flooded with high end S and P 85's when the D came out and we saw that very nicely loaded 85's were going in the $60's and $70's. Now that the X has releases, there will no doubt be another huge influx of used Tesla's to choose from.
My point is that when the 3 comes out, you will be able to get a used Model S for about the same price as a nicely equipped new Model 3. The 3 will have newer and better bells and whistles than a 2 or 3 year old S (duh!), but the S is still an amazing car, and depending on your needs (or wants), you might just be able to land yourself in an S.
I might trade my S for a 3 -- I don't know. But the wife definitely gets a 3. Without falcon wing doors!
Exactly what I think I want to do! Could you tell me more about the Tesla rep? Does he get info on used Teslas before they hit the CPO section on the Tesla website? If I could score one in the 40s, that would be great.
MassModel3
Member
We test drove at a mall store here in Massachusetts. The Tesla "adviser" who gave us the test drive said that inventories are based on region. Every Tesla store gets a list of every Tesla available in their market. For him it was a list of every Tesla in New England that was available. A woman in Connecticut traded in her 60 so she could upgrade. I got an email from my Tesla guy that this car was just made available for $56K and if we want it we could reserve it with a credit card for $2,500 (supposed to be non-refundable). I called immediately and reserved it. He called me several hours later and asked if I still wanted the car because several other Tesla reps were calling him asking if I still wanted it since they had other potential buyers (I guess they'd give me my deposit back if I didn't want it anymore). By the time the paperwork was signed two weeks later it was down to $53K (BONUS!).
All that was before Tesla launched the CPO program, but it still came with full warranties. Talk to your local Tesla adviser. Maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Why did the price go down? There are some reasonable prices ones on eBay. Would you go that route?
MassModel3
Member
It's my understanding that if you do a private sale, all warranties transfer. That means you still get the 8-year battery warranty and 4-year bumper-to-bumper, so there's no real reason not to go that route if you find a deal there.
No idea why they took another $3K off and I chose not to ask. (BTW, sticker was $80K.) However, any other car company would have stuck to the higher amount. The fact that Tesla didn't proves that Tesla is an honest company.
Two weeks ago they replaced both key fobs for free because they failed testing (per this post: "The fee for program the key is $175 ( 1 hour labor). The key fob is $350."), and they've swapped my snow tires to summer tires for free since they were replacing all my TPS sensors anyway. No other car company would have done those things for free.
I hope this level of unparalleled service continues once the market is flooded with Model 3's.
dgpcolorado
high altitude member
The new Model 3 would also come with a longer warranty than a used S. Considering the repair issues and cost with the S, that's something to consider carefully.
MassModel3
Member
Excellent point!
The S vehicle comes warranted for 4 years or 50K miles, whichever comes first.
The S battery comes warranted for 8 years or 125K miles on a 60, and 8 years unlimited miles on an 85.
In my case, I have to decide in 19 months if I want to pay $4K to extend my warranty another 4 years (average of $83 a month). The more I think about it, it seems that cost should be based on the cost of the vehicle. A fully loaded S sells for $140K, mine sold for $80K . Obviously the more expensive vehicle has more that could go wrong with it, but the extended warranty is the same. Hmmm....
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dgpcolorado
high altitude member
WRT extended warranties, I seem to recall some discussion about a rather high deductible per issue (each door handle, window, etc.) And some discussion about the extended warranty requiring all routine, but rather expensive, service visits to have been made prior to the new warranty taking effect. Left me wondering if it is really worth the money. But with no independent service options, an out-of-warranty Model S could get very expensive.
With the Model 3, my inclination is to lease and see how it goes for the first few years. The poor reliability record of the Model S has me worried and I'll be 300+ miles from the nearest service center.
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