Tesla 3 - Build quality?
Discussion
All this stuff about build quality
Pfffft
My model Y rwd is only about 4 grand more than a ford Kuga 2l diesel. So don't be surprised you are only getting ford quality. If you were paying £70k Merc eqb or BMW ix3 Money and got ford build quality, I would be upset.
But I am paying £25k less, so no complaints.
Pfffft
My model Y rwd is only about 4 grand more than a ford Kuga 2l diesel. So don't be surprised you are only getting ford quality. If you were paying £70k Merc eqb or BMW ix3 Money and got ford build quality, I would be upset.
But I am paying £25k less, so no complaints.
Nicks90 said:
All this stuff about build quality
Pfffft
My model Y rwd is only about 4 grand more than a ford Kuga 2l diesel. So don't be surprised you are only getting ford quality. If you were paying £70k Merc eqb or BMW ix3 Money and got ford build quality, I would be upset.
But I am paying £25k less, so no complaints.
In FairnessPfffft
My model Y rwd is only about 4 grand more than a ford Kuga 2l diesel. So don't be surprised you are only getting ford quality. If you were paying £70k Merc eqb or BMW ix3 Money and got ford build quality, I would be upset.
But I am paying £25k less, so no complaints.
40k will get you a pretty well top of the range Ford Kuga St-line PHEV (better than diesel)
My wife has one!
Rarely uses petrol as the 40 mile range covers her requirement. Quiet, comfortable, panoramic sunroof!
Great quality & better than Y in some respects.
I’ll buy Tesla though, as hers will go further with no hassle on the rare occasion it’s required, pretty good combo.
We have a 2020 Freemont built 3 SR+ . build quality is pretty good... but not amazing.
Couple of uneven panel gaps, don't make the mistake of looking in the door/boot openings - as they're not sprayed with body colour paint uniformly.
C-pillar trim fell off in the 1st week.
Boot hydraulic struts replaced. To be fair that may or may not have been helped by me ramming the boot to the gunnels, it's less forgiving than my 5-series when you err, 'pack' the overfilled boot by just slamming the boot harder.
1 Headlight that stopped working intermittently at 10k miles and flashed at everyone, then magically fixed itself, been fine since
Just had a new main computer at 22k miles due to frequent screen/software hangs which rapidly got worse (car still drivable, but took 5-10mins for screen and nav to reboot itself) - has been fine since. but again, another day in the workshop with no courtesy car (wife couldn't even blag Uber credits this time).
All fixed under warranty - but getting it arranged was a bit of a ball-ache as it seems they can't do even reasonably minor things with the mobile service so had to go to the workshop (and only managed to get a courtesy car once. They state upfront now - no courtesy car provided)
All in we're 25k miles in and still like it, even with those grumbles. Have done several London-->Cornwall and Loch Ness round trips
BMW it is not. but it's the only EV you can reliably charge every time in the Tesla network - other public chargers, not so much.
Purchased it with FSD. that was a waste, although auto-steer and cruise are great. it was a choice between LR and FSD for us, LR would have been a better choice! realistic motorway range (mostly NSL) before top-up is required is maybe 150 miles max (and in-reality who wants to arrive with zero-miles left in the battery!) so small, more frequent top-ups works for us.
Ours is pre-LFP battery so try to keep between 20-80% where possible (although being selfish, it's a lease-car... do I really care? there is so much telemetry I'm sure big-brother is watching for end of lease sting).
All said- we're planing to order a MY LR when lease is up
Couple of uneven panel gaps, don't make the mistake of looking in the door/boot openings - as they're not sprayed with body colour paint uniformly.
C-pillar trim fell off in the 1st week.
Boot hydraulic struts replaced. To be fair that may or may not have been helped by me ramming the boot to the gunnels, it's less forgiving than my 5-series when you err, 'pack' the overfilled boot by just slamming the boot harder.
1 Headlight that stopped working intermittently at 10k miles and flashed at everyone, then magically fixed itself, been fine since
Just had a new main computer at 22k miles due to frequent screen/software hangs which rapidly got worse (car still drivable, but took 5-10mins for screen and nav to reboot itself) - has been fine since. but again, another day in the workshop with no courtesy car (wife couldn't even blag Uber credits this time).
All fixed under warranty - but getting it arranged was a bit of a ball-ache as it seems they can't do even reasonably minor things with the mobile service so had to go to the workshop (and only managed to get a courtesy car once. They state upfront now - no courtesy car provided)
All in we're 25k miles in and still like it, even with those grumbles. Have done several London-->Cornwall and Loch Ness round trips
BMW it is not. but it's the only EV you can reliably charge every time in the Tesla network - other public chargers, not so much.
Purchased it with FSD. that was a waste, although auto-steer and cruise are great. it was a choice between LR and FSD for us, LR would have been a better choice! realistic motorway range (mostly NSL) before top-up is required is maybe 150 miles max (and in-reality who wants to arrive with zero-miles left in the battery!) so small, more frequent top-ups works for us.
Ours is pre-LFP battery so try to keep between 20-80% where possible (although being selfish, it's a lease-car... do I really care? there is so much telemetry I'm sure big-brother is watching for end of lease sting).
All said- we're planing to order a MY LR when lease is up
Edited by SaTTaN on Thursday 14th September 17:38
Edited by SaTTaN on Thursday 14th September 17:50
Bought a 2020 M3 from Tesla, didn’t even get to leave the delivery centre before the first issue - whilst a tow pack was configured, they’d forgotten to install the electrics and the dash had a red warning light somebody hadn’t noticed
It wasn’t a great car and changed it for a MY 18 months ago, not long after they came out. So far.. new drivers seat required and now it needs a new front motor. It’s also had a new roof as they can catch stone chips, autoglass said they’d done lots of them, not a build quality issue, more a design issue
Meanwhile our BMW is 4 years old and one small piece of B pillar trim has been replaced under warranty at 3 years old because it unclipped itself when I bashed it with my shoulder
It wasn’t a great car and changed it for a MY 18 months ago, not long after they came out. So far.. new drivers seat required and now it needs a new front motor. It’s also had a new roof as they can catch stone chips, autoglass said they’d done lots of them, not a build quality issue, more a design issue
Meanwhile our BMW is 4 years old and one small piece of B pillar trim has been replaced under warranty at 3 years old because it unclipped itself when I bashed it with my shoulder
Edited by Gone fishing on Saturday 16th September 14:27
I bought a 2021 M3LR, been the most reliable car I’ve owned, needed a new tail light fitted on the drive, and a new rear glass which cracked, done under warranty at the local service centre. I go from the north east to Brighton 3 - 4 times a year, 1 stop for a quick charge at the super charger it tells me to use each way. SC network is the USP that helped my voice.
It’s needed less warranty work than my Porsche, 4 BMWs, Mercedes and AM Vantage. No regrets at all.
It’s needed less warranty work than my Porsche, 4 BMWs, Mercedes and AM Vantage. No regrets at all.
2024 TUV report is out. The Model 3 placed dead last for reliability of 2-3 y/o cars.
https://car-recalls.eu/tuv-report-2024/
https://car-recalls.eu/tuv-report-2024/
Is that from some sort of camouflage tree, like fool the termites or something? Real wood that approximates fake wood so closely they leave it alone lest they have to suffer indigestion from eating plastics? I assumed it was a photo of wood, like how they make laminate flooring!
Edited by wyson on Friday 24th November 16:17
Not a model 3 owner (I have a MYLR) but my dad has a M3LR for 3 years. No major build quality issues, only issue was glass whistled but that was fixed.
In terms of range anxiety I just did a 781km drive in my model y in 8hr 38min with traffic and charging. That’s only 30mins slower than I did the same journey in my last diesel, but it was far less stressful and just much more enjoyable. There’s nothing to worry about in terms of range anxiety whatsoever. It’s literally not even something I consider in a Tesla as the car does it all for you.
My friend has a M3LR that he got in 2020 in their business as a reps car they just sold it with 75k miles on it. Very minor mechanical issues other than it had a set of brake pads and discs. 30k miles between tires as most miles were motorway. His salesman saved £400 a month on BIK compared to a 320d.
Here’s what he wrote:
“Our white model 3 is now 3 years old so we are replacing it. It was £46,000 list price but as we could deduct it from our pretax profit it cost us £36,800 - we sold for £25,000 so it’s cost us £11,800 for 3 years or £3,933 per year - it’s done 75,000 miles and during that time it has saved us roughly £3,000 per year in diesel or £9,000 in 3 years on fuel!
If you compare that to when we sold our 3 year old BMW 3 with 75k miles we got £16,000 but it cost £40,000 new. So £8,000 per year and at 20p/mile for diesel = £5,000 per year fuel so total cost per annum = £13,000 compared to £1,500 electricity + £4,000 depreciation or £5,500 per annum for a Tesla - it’s literally 1/2 price!”
He also has a MYLR like me and does 25000miles a year in his all over the uk and Europe. I drive mine in and around Europe in all weathers. Even down to minus 18 in Slovenia last year.
As someone who has had Tesla’s in the family and friends group for 4 years and my own for 18 months, I can honestly say there is no reason I’d ever swap back to ICE. The only reason anyone argues against them is that they’ve never driven one and have no experience with them. They’re excellent cars.
In terms of range anxiety I just did a 781km drive in my model y in 8hr 38min with traffic and charging. That’s only 30mins slower than I did the same journey in my last diesel, but it was far less stressful and just much more enjoyable. There’s nothing to worry about in terms of range anxiety whatsoever. It’s literally not even something I consider in a Tesla as the car does it all for you.
My friend has a M3LR that he got in 2020 in their business as a reps car they just sold it with 75k miles on it. Very minor mechanical issues other than it had a set of brake pads and discs. 30k miles between tires as most miles were motorway. His salesman saved £400 a month on BIK compared to a 320d.
Here’s what he wrote:
“Our white model 3 is now 3 years old so we are replacing it. It was £46,000 list price but as we could deduct it from our pretax profit it cost us £36,800 - we sold for £25,000 so it’s cost us £11,800 for 3 years or £3,933 per year - it’s done 75,000 miles and during that time it has saved us roughly £3,000 per year in diesel or £9,000 in 3 years on fuel!
If you compare that to when we sold our 3 year old BMW 3 with 75k miles we got £16,000 but it cost £40,000 new. So £8,000 per year and at 20p/mile for diesel = £5,000 per year fuel so total cost per annum = £13,000 compared to £1,500 electricity + £4,000 depreciation or £5,500 per annum for a Tesla - it’s literally 1/2 price!”
He also has a MYLR like me and does 25000miles a year in his all over the uk and Europe. I drive mine in and around Europe in all weathers. Even down to minus 18 in Slovenia last year.
As someone who has had Tesla’s in the family and friends group for 4 years and my own for 18 months, I can honestly say there is no reason I’d ever swap back to ICE. The only reason anyone argues against them is that they’ve never driven one and have no experience with them. They’re excellent cars.
Edited by jonathan_roberts on Friday 24th November 16:27
My Model Y is 18 months old and about 18k miles and so far
- Roof glass removed and refitted
- New driver seat
- New front motor control unit (£1500 if I was paying)
Not to mention a handful of squeaks and a stone that keeps returning to one of the wheels (common issue with stones getting behind the stone guard shield thing) and paint that chips so easily.
There will be people who have no problems, there will be people who have lots of problems, I can only say what happened to me and I don't think the above is particularly good. They're not minor issues.
- Roof glass removed and refitted
- New driver seat
- New front motor control unit (£1500 if I was paying)
Not to mention a handful of squeaks and a stone that keeps returning to one of the wheels (common issue with stones getting behind the stone guard shield thing) and paint that chips so easily.
There will be people who have no problems, there will be people who have lots of problems, I can only say what happened to me and I don't think the above is particularly good. They're not minor issues.
jonathan_roberts said:
Not a model 3 owner (I have a MYLR) but my dad has a M3LR for 3 years. No major build quality issues, only issue was glass whistled but that was fixed.
In terms of range anxiety I just did a 781km drive in my model y in 8hr 38min with traffic and charging. That’s only 30mins slower than I did the same journey in my last diesel, but it was far less stressful and just much more enjoyable. There’s nothing to worry about in terms of range anxiety whatsoever. It’s literally not even something I consider in a Tesla as the car does it all for you.
My friend has a M3LR that he got in 2020 in their business as a reps car they just sold it with 75k miles on it. Very minor mechanical issues other than it had a set of brake pads and discs. 30k miles between tires as most miles were motorway. His salesman saved £400 a month on BIK compared to a 320d.
Here’s what he wrote:
“Our white model 3 is now 3 years old so we are replacing it. It was £46,000 list price but as we could deduct it from our pretax profit it cost us £36,800 - we sold for £25,000 so it’s cost us £11,800 for 3 years or £3,933 per year - it’s done 75,000 miles and during that time it has saved us roughly £3,000 per year in diesel or £9,000 in 3 years on fuel!
If you compare that to when we sold our 3 year old BMW 3 with 75k miles we got £16,000 but it cost £40,000 new. So £8,000 per year and at 20p/mile for diesel = £5,000 per year fuel so total cost per annum = £13,000 compared to £1,500 electricity + £4,000 depreciation or £5,500 per annum for a Tesla - it’s literally 1/2 price!”
He also has a MYLR like me and does 25000miles a year in his all over the uk and Europe. I drive mine in and around Europe in all weathers. Even down to minus 18 in Slovenia last year.
As someone who has had Tesla’s in the family and friends group for 4 years and my own for 18 months, I can honestly say there is no reason I’d ever swap back to ICE. The only reason anyone argues against them is that they’ve never driven one and have no experience with them. They’re excellent cars.
I’ve now done 25k miles in my MYLR in the last 14 months and I agree, it’s been a great experience, would never go back to ICE. Zero problems at all with the car. Not one squeak or rattle. £680 is the total electricity cost for the year, including supercharging. In terms of range anxiety I just did a 781km drive in my model y in 8hr 38min with traffic and charging. That’s only 30mins slower than I did the same journey in my last diesel, but it was far less stressful and just much more enjoyable. There’s nothing to worry about in terms of range anxiety whatsoever. It’s literally not even something I consider in a Tesla as the car does it all for you.
My friend has a M3LR that he got in 2020 in their business as a reps car they just sold it with 75k miles on it. Very minor mechanical issues other than it had a set of brake pads and discs. 30k miles between tires as most miles were motorway. His salesman saved £400 a month on BIK compared to a 320d.
Here’s what he wrote:
“Our white model 3 is now 3 years old so we are replacing it. It was £46,000 list price but as we could deduct it from our pretax profit it cost us £36,800 - we sold for £25,000 so it’s cost us £11,800 for 3 years or £3,933 per year - it’s done 75,000 miles and during that time it has saved us roughly £3,000 per year in diesel or £9,000 in 3 years on fuel!
If you compare that to when we sold our 3 year old BMW 3 with 75k miles we got £16,000 but it cost £40,000 new. So £8,000 per year and at 20p/mile for diesel = £5,000 per year fuel so total cost per annum = £13,000 compared to £1,500 electricity + £4,000 depreciation or £5,500 per annum for a Tesla - it’s literally 1/2 price!”
He also has a MYLR like me and does 25000miles a year in his all over the uk and Europe. I drive mine in and around Europe in all weathers. Even down to minus 18 in Slovenia last year.
As someone who has had Tesla’s in the family and friends group for 4 years and my own for 18 months, I can honestly say there is no reason I’d ever swap back to ICE. The only reason anyone argues against them is that they’ve never driven one and have no experience with them. They’re excellent cars.
Edited by jonathan_roberts on Friday 24th November 16:27
It’s a shame others have bad experience with reliability, I guess quality control is, or was, the issue?
Drove to France for our annual ski trip in February, 600 miles each way, and as you experienced it took the same time as my previous ICE car including charging. Total cost was £92 for supercharging for the round trip and that was when electricity prices were high in France so it may even be cheaper next year!
Was cold this morning, heated the car up from the mobile app before I set off whilst it was in the garage. Difficult to do that with an ICE car without dying of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Running a EV and getting EV savings isn’t a Tesla thing, it’s an EV thing.
Mileage costs on one of the agile overnight of peak rates can mean fuel is down at 2-3p a mile. Petrol is 10x that.
But depreciation is now eye watering. Of you bought a 2022 M3 LR last year, this is what the depreciation looks like this year.. 17k.. some will say Tesla have made price cuts, some will say new model coming out.. but even so.. virtually 1500 every month!!
Mileage costs on one of the agile overnight of peak rates can mean fuel is down at 2-3p a mile. Petrol is 10x that.
But depreciation is now eye watering. Of you bought a 2022 M3 LR last year, this is what the depreciation looks like this year.. 17k.. some will say Tesla have made price cuts, some will say new model coming out.. but even so.. virtually 1500 every month!!
Merry said:
And hasn't it always been thus with any new car, particularly in this segment.
Buy a 2nd hand one if you don't fancy that amount of depreciation.
No it hasn’t, not historically, but is now Buy a 2nd hand one if you don't fancy that amount of depreciation.
I was commenting on a post where super low depreciation was mentioned, and until mid 2022 that was the case, I even sold my model 3 back to Tesla for more than I paid for it a year earlier when I bought my MY in early 2022. Since then, starting late summer of 2022 depreciation has gone crazy. Casual readers could see those posts and think low depreciation is a thing because it once was, but those days appear over.
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