Running a Tesla Model 3 as company car - my costs
Discussion
This is what my model 3 long range has cost over the last 4,144 miles in 2 months:
Benefit in Kind: £35
Home charging: £161
Supercharging: £0
(charging has been about 90% home and free supercharging for 1,000 miles)
Total cost £196, or 4.7p per mile
Add back in 15p per mile expenses at work (i know this should be taxed as a BIK but let's ignore that for now) saves £221 for nearly 1,500 business miles.
So overall cost is a profit of £25.
Even if I had to pay for the supercharging, it would only add £72, making the cost per mile a little over 1p.
I think I'm saving £400 a month or so over the BMW 530e I had before. My only regret is I didn't get the Performance, but never mind.
Benefit in Kind: £35
Home charging: £161
Supercharging: £0
(charging has been about 90% home and free supercharging for 1,000 miles)
Total cost £196, or 4.7p per mile
Add back in 15p per mile expenses at work (i know this should be taxed as a BIK but let's ignore that for now) saves £221 for nearly 1,500 business miles.
So overall cost is a profit of £25.
Even if I had to pay for the supercharging, it would only add £72, making the cost per mile a little over 1p.
I think I'm saving £400 a month or so over the BMW 530e I had before. My only regret is I didn't get the Performance, but never mind.
SWoll said:
clarkey said:
My only regret is I didn't get the Performance, but never mind.
I wouldn't worry, the Performance model doesn't offer that much more go, range drops quite a bit and the ride is considerably worse. Certainly not worth the significant current difference in cost IME.Greg_D said:
i've got the performance and if i had my time again would probably go for the LR with the performance bump. would have saved thousands.
When we got ours (mid/late 2019) prices were almost identical. The difference today is £10k for a cash purchase or £300+ a month on a 3 year lease, so you'd be paying the entire cost difference + interest over the term which is laughable. Almost treated like a load of optional extras..100% not worth it and no surprise they've become a rare sight on UK roads compared to the LR.
Back in 2019 I described our Model 3 Performance deal at £799 a month including 12k miles, maintenance, insurance, tyres, public charging and a 1 month commitment as an absolute bargain. Certain posters told me I was being ridiculous.
2 years later and we've just handed it back after 18k miles. Here's what a replacement would cost today just for a lease with a 2 year commitment.
Quite how it costs £250 a month more than a £63.5k BMW i4 M50 is beyond me?
2 years later and we've just handed it back after 18k miles. Here's what a replacement would cost today just for a lease with a 2 year commitment.
Quite how it costs £250 a month more than a £63.5k BMW i4 M50 is beyond me?
Edited by SWoll on Wednesday 1st December 15:33
SWoll said:
2 years later and we've just handed it back after 18k miles. Here's what a replacement would cost today just for a lease with a 2 year commitment.
I don't get this especially as Tesla has 2 year old 20k mile M3P's for 6k more than they cost new?With very low depreciation you would think the lease would be very cheap
you can get a carrera s pdk for 1050 a month ...
Edited by Dave Hedgehog on Wednesday 1st December 15:43
Dave Hedgehog said:
MOBB said:
^ this, £10k jump is ridiculous for what you get. LR with the performance bump, maybe some aftermarket wheels etc is the sensible route IMO
i would pay to downgrade the P's 20s to 19s or 18s for a better ride and pothole handling I wonder how much the bigger wheels and tyres, brakes, stiffer suspension and rear spoiler cost over the LR? If they were on an options list I'd guess no more than £3-4k and substantially less than that for Tesla to add them?
The Polestar 2 performance pack is £5k and has some very trick Ohlins adjustable dampers included.
Dave Hedgehog said:
I don't get this especially as Tesla has 2 year old 20k mile M3P's for 6k more than they cost new?
With very low depreciation you would think the lease would be very cheap
you can get a carrera s pdk for 1050 a month ...
Are they expecting values to plummet due to over supply and the Model Y introduction? Or just taking the piss due to so many cars being company leases with the BIK saving hiding the true cost?With very low depreciation you would think the lease would be very cheap
you can get a carrera s pdk for 1050 a month ...
Edited by Dave Hedgehog on Wednesday 1st December 15:43
Either way, 50% of the vehicle list price over 2 years and 24k miles is staggering.
It's not like you can even blame the lease companies, Tesla's own pricing for PCH is nuts.
shortest deal is 3 years but that's £35k over 3 years, or almost 60%.
But then you look at Polestar and for a full spec P2 costing £57k they're asking £38k over 3 years or almost 70%.
BMW have got this sector wrapped up based on the above? £100-150 a month cheaper despite a higher list price?
'Edited by SWoll on Wednesday 1st December 16:56
RobDickinson said:
Nah given the pricing and subsidies in NZ and the LFP pack /range I'd probably get a sr+
In the UK I'd say the £7k uplift from the SR+ to the LR is justified by AWD, range, charging speed and performance. Funny as I remember back in 2019 questioning why anyone ordered an LR when it was only £2-3k cheaper then the Performance. How times change. 
SWoll said:
Back in 2019 I described our Model 3 Performance deal at £799 a month including 12k miles, maintenance, insurance, tyres, public charging and a 1 month commitment as an absolute bargain. Certain posters told me I was being ridiculous.
Paying £19k to rent a car over 2 years is only affordable to those who have a very large disposable income. If you have the money to spend £799/month on a rental you can afford to buy one up front, which in the case of the Model 3 with its crazy almost negligible depreciation would have been the a much cheaper way to own/run the car.At 4 years you will have paid £38k for renting something with absolutely zero ownership/equity. You can clear afford it, which is fine, but plenty of people cannot.
Its also a world away from the OP is doing, essentially turning a profit for driving the car.
SWoll said:
Back in 2019 I described our Model 3 Performance deal at £799 a month including 12k miles, maintenance, insurance, tyres, public charging and a 1 month commitment as an absolute bargain. Certain posters told me I was being ridiculous.
2 years later and we've just handed it back after 18k miles. Here's what a replacement would cost today just for a lease with a 2 year commitment.
That’s crazy. My works green car scheme is a 1+23 including insurance, maintenance and tyres and would be £1105 gross plus BIK. Cost to me would be ~£450pcm which explains why our car park is full of them. It seems that’s the only way of leasing one now and the green car scheme companies must be making a killing. I’m guessing they’re reasonable on a PCP now too?2 years later and we've just handed it back after 18k miles. Here's what a replacement would cost today just for a lease with a 2 year commitment.
The Taycan is the exact same price weirdly.
SWoll said:
In the UK I'd say the £7k uplift from the SR+ to the LR is justified by AWD, range, charging speed and performance. Funny as I remember back in 2019 questioning why anyone ordered an LR when it was only £2-3k cheaper then the Performance. How times change.
Right now a sr+ would cost me $60kA long range $83K
A perf $96k (whick is what I paid for mine)
Tho sr+ has dropped to 6.1s to 100km
RobDickinson said:
SWoll said:
In the UK I'd say the £7k uplift from the SR+ to the LR is justified by AWD, range, charging speed and performance. Funny as I remember back in 2019 questioning why anyone ordered an LR when it was only £2-3k cheaper then the Performance. How times change.
Right now a sr+ would cost me $60kA long range $83K
A perf $96k (whick is what I paid for mine)
Tho sr+ has dropped to 6.1s to 100km
£42,900 SR+
£49,900 LR
£59,900 Performance
As you say your SR+ has considerably more subsidy than ours + the cost of the Performance has gone up substantially since launch in the UK, although not enough to justify the crazy increase in lease costs.
gangzoom said:
SWoll said:
Back in 2019 I described our Model 3 Performance deal at £799 a month including 12k miles, maintenance, insurance, tyres, public charging and a 1 month commitment as an absolute bargain. Certain posters told me I was being ridiculous.
Paying £19k to rent a car over 2 years is only affordable to those who have a very large disposable income. If you have the money to spend £799/month on a rental you can afford to buy one up front, which in the case of the Model 3 with its crazy almost negligible depreciation would have been the a much cheaper way to own/run the car.At 4 years you will have paid £38k for renting something with absolutely zero ownership/equity. You can clear afford it, which is fine, but plenty of people cannot.
Its also a world away from the OP is doing, essentially turning a profit for driving the car.
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