You all have about talked me out of a Tesla altogether...

[Msjulie]

Our 2018 Model 3 feels pretty much the same as the day we got it, no squeaks, rattles or what not and still puts a grin on my face on every drive. Still no CarPlay so there's that but...

2 family members recently got a Model Y, too big for me but both think it's perfect for the job; newer quieter glass, tons of room, etc

All so far have been as reliable as any other car, perhaps more so? Maintenance of course has been stupid cheap (bleeding the brakes and rotating tires are something we do ourselves).

Tires are expensive I suppose but no more so than those of all the big SUVs around which are common today.

My problems with Tesla aren't actually the car ... it's management though that does seem to be improving as the company 'grows up'

 

[Konicom04]

My problems with Tesla aren't actually the car ... it's management though that does seem to be improving as the company 'grows up'

because as someone once stated - they're all a bunch of nerds

 

[one2many]

OK now the most important part, the BMW navi is Flintstones issue.
My partners iPhone is bigger i think and whoever made the button on
the console, spin, push, spin push. No in the same class with the
tesla navi. I have most likely written more code than all of BMW.
Flamethrower back in the holster.

 

[JayPaul]

it was the "final stage resistor" - part of the HVAC system that sits just behind the center console. The early models all failed and some failed violently.
I was lucky to be sitting at a red light when the fire started.

Ah. So to add to what you said, there are also know up in flames issues from the Auto Headlight switch on the e46's. I wouldn't doubt that at least one e46 when up in flames from the taillight issue.

 

[Ev_Rider]

My M3 is best car I have ever had. Warranty repair for wiper fluid reservoir leak and nothing else in 3 years. I can't imagine having or driving anything else. So fantastic on road trips with the supercharger network too. Good luck in your decision.

 

[one2many]

When I sold my last BMW and got a leaf, I said what an
improvement in the Navi. Tesla blows them all away.

 

[Darmie]

Ryan has some excellent content about his M3P ownership. I remember years ago before our first 2017 Model S, Podcast were the best way to determine the ins and outs of a Tesla. If you have some time, start with his early episodes to get an idea of his thoughts.

‎Ride the Lightning: Tesla Motors Unofficial Podcast on Apple Podcasts

‎Leisure · 2023

podcasts.apple.com

If you have some more time, check out Plug Your Ride – Tesla Podcast . Again, if you start from the first few episodes, you will learn more than many owners know now. He's not a bias as Ryan so it's a good mix of content.

 

[pipp]

I think the only thing I’d say is I’d not buy a Tesla for FSD. Sounds like this is a primary motivator for you, and that’s setting yourself up for disappointment.

Yes, I love my M3 but wouldn’t have bought it if the package had to include FSD. My experience with every piece of Tesla software I have ever encountered is that their guiding philosophy is to get a piece of software working in the most basic sense and then they move on and get some other piece of software working in the most basic sense. Tesla puts out updates to fix stuff and the updates often break something else, so 2 days later they put out another update. Periodically I get forward collision warnings that are senseless, and i can’t help but wonder, if I had been using FSD, if perhaps the FSD would have slammed the brakes in that situation setting me up to be rear-ended. It will take a lot of time without any reported problems or accidents before I trust FSD.

 

[RayK]

it was the "final stage resistor" - part of the HVAC system that sits just behind the center console. The early models all failed and some failed violently.
I was lucky to be sitting at a red light when the fire started.

Yeah, I had that failure in my 2000 E46. Fan was stuck blowing at one speed. Fortunately no thermal (fire) problems.

 

[brkaus]

I went from an E46 325i to my TM3. I'm still on BMW forums. Auto headlight switch?

I also had the other issue that BMW refused to recall, the tail light wiring harness. I did the fix myself of running a thicker ground wire to the light board...

I sold my e46 and got my TM3, I traded in my B7 A4 and sold my truck for my TMY. I have had several MB, 1 BMW, and 1 Audi, I am happier than ever with my Teslas...

Ha ha. You’re bringing back memories.

Headlight switch with the vin coded into it. And I had to redo something with a back taillight. And the from right speaker went out. Needed a new head unit for $2k. I skipped that fix.

 

[KenC]

Again, thanks for all the responses. Truly does help with the decision and over all some great points and advice. Perhaps I could have gone into more detail as to what I was looking for exactly in a car but all-in-all you all did a great job covering for what I was looking for. It's disappointing to hear about the FSD not being maybe as good as I was under the impression (there are some videos out there that essentially make it look like a 90% solution). That being said BMW's systems (which I am familiar with and have used (2022 BMW X5) isn't much to write home about and presumably, even with all it's flaws, Tesla is still light years ahead of that.

I do travel but my rule of thumb is that I fly anything over 4 hours. So I don't project to many EV/range issues.

I would like almost all of these posts but apparently I"m too new to do so. Thanks again for those that took the time to respond!

As far as FSD goes, there's lots of confusion. There's the FSD which owners can buy which is technically a beta, and then there's the FSDb that is under current development, and was in limited release until recently. They use totally different approaches and algorithms. A comment for one cannot be applied for the other. So be wary of comments where you don't know to which version they are referring to.

I would go to the FSD forum and read the threads there, and watch some of the youtube videos of people testing the FSDb. I used it for a month recently, and found it quite remarkable compared to the EAP I normally use. I do think it's close to a public release but not quite there yet. Edge cases take time to resolve, and so much depends upon the pace of development. FSDb thru roundabouts was lousy last month when I tested, but supposedly, the latest version make them much better. Solve that, speed up the decision-making a fraction, and keep working on edge cases and who knows, maybe there'll be an official public release by years-end.

 

[JayPaul]

Ha ha. You’re bringing back memories.

Headlight switch with the vin coded into it. And I had to redo something with a back taillight. And the from right speaker went out. Needed a new head unit for $2k. I skipped that fix.

Yup, if you changed the headlight switch without BMW coding you would get the tamper dot on the cluster.

The taillight issue was the ground/harness would melt and cause the taillight out warning. The ground was undersized, BMW just replaced the harness under TSB, which would eventually result in the same thing. The fix was to cut the ground (brown wire) out of the harness and run a larger ground to the taillight bracket.

And this was probably the most popular and most beloved BMW 3 series chassis...

People have brand loyalty to all these manufacturers, but in the end, they all have some significant issues, and dance around doing the repairs/redesigns (if they don't get called out and forced into a recall).

Tesla at least continues to try to improve their software. The fact that even early models still have premium connectivity is impressive...

My 2015 Ram truck had 3G cellular service, once 3G service shut down, they wanted you to buy a 4G dongle that ran from the ODBII port (and hardly worked) to be able to continue to use mobile features.

 

[brkaus]

My 2015 Ram truck had 3G cellular service, once 3G service shut down, they wanted you to buy a 4G dongle that ran from the ODBII port (and hardly worked) to be able to continue to use mobile features.

Which is better than my 2016 leaf... It has no option now that 3G is dead.

 

[Sambub]

Thanks for letting us know. I assume you’ve been perusing the i4 forums as well… So those owners aren’t having problems of their own, aside from figuring what charger works during road trip?

 

[WyoDude]

Hi everyone,
I was going to purchase a M3P in a year or so (waiting for Project Highland at a minimum) so I found this forum to learn and be around a bunch of other Tesla enthusiasts. After reading the posts I'm now leaning towards a 2024 BMW 5 series.

I was/am most excited about FSD. I don't think anyone else comes close to Tesla in this regard. But after reading what feels like a constant stream of threads regarding issues with Tesla vehicles in general I'm concerned that this not worth the hassle. Everything from battery degradation, paint issues, fit and finish issues (I mean there's check lists on things to go over when you receive the car because of all the issues), problems getting service, issues with random errors, etc. I'm wondering I should just purchase 5 series.

I know that people tend to complain on forums versus the people who are happy not generally posting and I'm hoping that's what this is.

Honestly, I would have thought asking on this forum would have been like asking on MacRumors if I should be an iPhone of some android version but judging by the posts, maybe not?

Any unbiased thoughts / comments would be appreciated... am I just reading too much into all the negative posts and these are a small percentage relative to the actual number of vehicles sold? Or am I going to be constantly dealing with minor issues from the car?

I would highly recommend choosing a different brand. Good luck!

 

[Sambub]

I assume the OP is talking about the electric 5 series about to come out. Like the Xi, I’m sure it will be a great car, so I would encourage anyone to check it out.

But, the BMW will it’s own problems, especially since it is brand new. I was looking at buying a Xi for awhile and owners were complaining about software problems, breakdowns, etc. just like in every car forum.

One of the reasons I got a Tesla was the charging network. Maybe BMW will switch over to Tesla, like others.

The starting price of the BMW is around $70k I read.

 

[Carnut12]

We have a 2022 Model YP and 2023 Model S LR, I love driving both cars, mine is the Model S. That said the fit/finish on mine isn’t close to the same level as my kids Honda Accord, as much as I love the car I’m not sure I’d buy again. Service as a whole is also awful in my experience and when you have issues having no one to call is extremely frustrating, the App only for service is absolutely terrible.

 

[one2many]

The starting price of the BMW is around $70k I read.

Unless you want lug nuts as well,
the car they claim that will compete with Tesla starts at 120K without lug nuts.

Service as a whole is also awful in my experience and when you have issues having no one to call is extremely frustrating, the App only for service is absolutely terrible.

They really need to improve in this area.

German auto makers really have gone so long outsourcing componets,
that they do not understand the customer, software and design anymore.
I think many are using the alexa interface.

 

[DayTrippin]

One of the issues I have with BMW is in general, their recent EVs have just been modified ICE cars with an EV powertrain. That really compromises a lot of things. This tends to make them heavier than they need to be. Extra mass is the enemy of a lot of things (acceleration, efficiency, etc.)

Another issue I've had is I have always had things break on them not long out of warranty that were expensive to repair. On my X5 the AC broke. In Florida with a black car, there was no way I was going to do without it. It cost 5k to fix the first time. About 10k miles later, it died again. I fixed it and dumped it. My general rule of thumb is to dump German cars once the warranty is up.

So while my Plaid isn't perfect, the build quality is good enough. I've stopped obsessing over panel gaps as mine are pretty good. Since I did the track pack brake upgrade it really has improved a lot of things about the car that were issues for me. I am not ever going to want massaging seats or some of the other features that car companies are offering to coddle me with. How well the overall drivetrain, seamless charging experience and generally how well the tech works helps me enjoy the car every day.

 

[one2many]

BMW is Bedrock motor werk.
Ver is my button, spin, push
VW driver is Alexa, how do I drive
the Merc guy is where the heck are the buttons.
never mind