2019/2020 Model3 Long Range - Buying advice please
Discussion
Hi Everyone!
We’re currently looking at Model3 Long Range models - 2019 or 2020 registered examples that have seen some price movement following the recent Tesla price drops. Looking on A/T, you can pick up a M3 LR with 30-50k miles on it for sub £30k, which to me seems on paper like pretty good value for the package you get.
We’re stepping out of a diesel so the hope was for savings on RFL, fuel and not having to skirt around clear air zones which are seemingly popping up in more and more cities. We are fortunate to have a driveway at home, so would have a home charger installed (assume the Tesla one for £500+ sparky fees is the way to go?), to limit public charging at higher kWh rates.
I’d really value your knowledge and expertise on the cars, especially from those who have owned similar aged M3’s - I’m aware that this age of car doesn’t have the heat pump, so looking at recent press articles to get an idea on real world range isn’t accurate as newer cars will be more efficient. I’d like to cap spending at £30k for the car, so wouldn’t be able to stretch to a 2021 China built heat pump M3 with the current market.
From current or previous owners, what range should we expect from a 2019/20 M3 LR? - appreciate it’ll be less when cold or lots of motorways. I’ve read about some issues with leaking passenger footwells (sounds like being back in a Landy!!),so check under the mats for signs of water ingress, also check underneath for damage to the fabric style undertray, any other gotcha’s or potential issues people can think I should check for?
Any advice and guidance would be really appreciated, I know they are far from perfect cars (what is), but my hopes were it could give us a viable day/day runaround that reduces costs, especially over short runs where the diesel is getting painful (averages 30 mpg on short + long runs) with the occasional weekend run to see friends, that doesn’t cost 170p/litre to fill up and mean you have to pay clear air charge tolls all over the shop.
Thank you in advance!
We’re currently looking at Model3 Long Range models - 2019 or 2020 registered examples that have seen some price movement following the recent Tesla price drops. Looking on A/T, you can pick up a M3 LR with 30-50k miles on it for sub £30k, which to me seems on paper like pretty good value for the package you get.
We’re stepping out of a diesel so the hope was for savings on RFL, fuel and not having to skirt around clear air zones which are seemingly popping up in more and more cities. We are fortunate to have a driveway at home, so would have a home charger installed (assume the Tesla one for £500+ sparky fees is the way to go?), to limit public charging at higher kWh rates.
I’d really value your knowledge and expertise on the cars, especially from those who have owned similar aged M3’s - I’m aware that this age of car doesn’t have the heat pump, so looking at recent press articles to get an idea on real world range isn’t accurate as newer cars will be more efficient. I’d like to cap spending at £30k for the car, so wouldn’t be able to stretch to a 2021 China built heat pump M3 with the current market.
From current or previous owners, what range should we expect from a 2019/20 M3 LR? - appreciate it’ll be less when cold or lots of motorways. I’ve read about some issues with leaking passenger footwells (sounds like being back in a Landy!!),so check under the mats for signs of water ingress, also check underneath for damage to the fabric style undertray, any other gotcha’s or potential issues people can think I should check for?
Any advice and guidance would be really appreciated, I know they are far from perfect cars (what is), but my hopes were it could give us a viable day/day runaround that reduces costs, especially over short runs where the diesel is getting painful (averages 30 mpg on short + long runs) with the occasional weekend run to see friends, that doesn’t cost 170p/litre to fill up and mean you have to pay clear air charge tolls all over the shop.
Thank you in advance!
I can live with 200 - that extra range in sub optimal conditions was the main driver behind the LR vs the Standard Plus, interesting about the battery heat - I had Kk idea that was the reason why! Have you found your new car with the heat pump has had a big increase in range? Or more or the point, how do you find the overall car vs your 2018 example / leagues ahead or more an incremental improvement?
Thanks!
Thanks!
Zcd1 said:
The 2022 has more range, likely due to both the heat pump and a slightly larger battery. It also appears to be slightly more efficient (maybe 3%) based on lifetime WH/Mile.
I'd call the improvements "incremental but noticeable":
- it's definitely quieter (double-glazed glass plus apparently more sound-deadening material)
- Center console much nicer, both in design and in materials
- The now-standard Inductive phone charger in the console is great (though I'd added an aftermarket one to the 2018)
- USB-C ports are nice
- much better location for the data port for the (now included) flash drive for storing dash-cam and Sentry clips. It's now located in the glovebox rather than buried deep and all but invisible in the front of the center console.
Maybe more importantly, the OTA updates add so many features and improvements that it's impossible to list them all, and EVERY Model 3 receives those updates, so even buying something second hand doesn't mean you miss out on the latest features.
It's a great car, full stop.
Hope this helps - good luck with your search.
Really appreciate your help and input, thank you!I'd call the improvements "incremental but noticeable":
- it's definitely quieter (double-glazed glass plus apparently more sound-deadening material)
- Center console much nicer, both in design and in materials
- The now-standard Inductive phone charger in the console is great (though I'd added an aftermarket one to the 2018)
- USB-C ports are nice
- much better location for the data port for the (now included) flash drive for storing dash-cam and Sentry clips. It's now located in the glovebox rather than buried deep and all but invisible in the front of the center console.
Maybe more importantly, the OTA updates add so many features and improvements that it's impossible to list them all, and EVERY Model 3 receives those updates, so even buying something second hand doesn't mean you miss out on the latest features.
It's a great car, full stop.
Hope this helps - good luck with your search.
LHRFlightman said:
I'm 2 weeks into a 2021 Model 3 SR+. I'm getting 220 miles of range in mixed driving. Cabin seat to auto at 20C. Heated seat in auto, heated steering wheel on auto.
Thank you! I’ve read a few articles and posts about the new RWD model - it looks like extremely good value and for many, I doubt worth the upgrade to the current LR. Sadly out of my budget being so new I imagine and I’d rather own than lease as it keep my monthly outgoings down. NDA said:
I have an early '21 LR and use it for a regular 160 mile (all motorway) quick driving commute with no charging at my destination.
In cold temperatures I get to London from an 80% charge at home down to 48/50%, I've not really noted the warm weather results, but they will obviously be higher. I can obviously get home with no issues and in cold weather it's down to around 20% when I return.
Thank you NDA! Does your M3 have the heat pump? Also have you ever charged to 100% for a longer journey and if so do you have an idea on what the ‘max range’ would be? (Such as with a few % left, not coasting into the supercharger as she runs out!!).In cold temperatures I get to London from an 80% charge at home down to 48/50%, I've not really noted the warm weather results, but they will obviously be higher. I can obviously get home with no issues and in cold weather it's down to around 20% when I return.
Friends have a Q4 etron that I think get around 230-250 miles on a warm day/full battery, sub 200 when not ideal conditions which has been problematic for them a few times when not near public chargers and the awful state of the non-Tesla charge network. For me I see the ability to do say a 200 ish mile round trip without charging en-route as the goal - say a run to the coast and, like a petrol or diesel on a full tank, know I don’t have to re-route to a supercharger or queue at one if it’s a peak time like a bank holiday. Just like a manufacturer MPG figure, I don’t pay too much attention to manufacturer quoted range numbers, so thank you for your experience with real-world range, appreciate it.
LHRFlightman said:
My car is 2nd hand. £10k less than new, 5k miles. They are out there.
I’m sure, for this one though, I’d like to stick to £30k otherwise I end up in a place where the cost to change out weights the ROI over time - you watch though, I’ll get into some proper man maths soon and convince myself if I don’t buy a brand new performance edition I’ll actually be losing money - that thought process usually happens!!NDA said:
Mine has the heat pump. I have never charged it to 100%, I think 90% is the furthest I've gone. There's no real need for a full charge, even on a long journey.... it's always at 80% every morning and on a long journey there'll be a supercharger en route somewhere. You tend to take short charges on a trip to be honest - 20 - 60% maybe, to get you to where you're going or to the next charger. EV's don't really like rapid charging and this model year doesn't like being at 100%.
It's a very different regime to a petrol car - which you drive to empty and then fill to 100%. You don't do that with an EV - it's always full every morning, and that covers 99% of all driving you'd normally do. Superchargers when it doesn't.
You probably would want a moments planning if you were going to, for example, Cornwall on a Bank Holiday - particularly if there was no charging at your destination. But it is the work of minutes and a supercharger is rarely off the main routes.
I think a full charge is maybe 320 miles ish - not totally sure.
Feel free to PM me if you have a load of questions that you think might sound daft! I'm more than happy to answer.
Thank you! I’m sure I’ll think of lots of daft questions so really appreciate your help. As always when looking at cars, you always wish you had a few more £ to put in, I’d much prefer to be able to go for a facelift car with the heat pump (have to say the heated steering wheel sounds great too, but that’s a first world problem), but I just can’t with the current residuals. Hopefully the LR non-heat pump version doesn’t take too much of a pounding when it’s cold.It's a very different regime to a petrol car - which you drive to empty and then fill to 100%. You don't do that with an EV - it's always full every morning, and that covers 99% of all driving you'd normally do. Superchargers when it doesn't.
You probably would want a moments planning if you were going to, for example, Cornwall on a Bank Holiday - particularly if there was no charging at your destination. But it is the work of minutes and a supercharger is rarely off the main routes.
I think a full charge is maybe 320 miles ish - not totally sure.
Feel free to PM me if you have a load of questions that you think might sound daft! I'm more than happy to answer.
giveitfish said:
I have a 2020 non-heat pump M3 LR, 44k miles - so exactly the same as you're looking for. Mine is a company car, I was given it 2 years ago when it already had done 17k miles in 6 months.
It's a great car to use daily. We regularly go between Leeds and Winchester (225 miles) and have even taken it up to the Isle of Lewis on holiday.
Pros:
Spacious inside, lots of boot space including the front
Properly quick
Handles well for a family car
Comfortable seats (well I find it comfortable)
All the electric advantages - smooth quiet drivetrain, instant torque, one-pedal driving, pre-heating in winter, excellent app
Superchargers (although they're getting busy now)
Cons:
Bit more motorway tyre noise than you'd hope for
Cheap feeling seat material and poor panel fit
Some updates are buggy, has had to be fully rebooted (not just a soft reset) a couple of times to get nav and cruise working again
The disk brakes are not up to hard fast driving, but the car is great at if you back off a bit and use one-pedal driving instead which uses regen to brake.
The lack of physical buttons can be a pain sometimes
Phone pairing can be hit and miss
Occasional water leaks into the boot, I've had to take out the liner and dry it a couple of times
I usually charge to 80%, but will go to 100% for a long trip. I don't make any allowances for it being electric, don't turn off heating etc and just drive it normally. I'm happy to do 200+ mile motorway trips in one shot starting at 100% charge, but to do that you need to keep cruise to 70 or a little less. It'll go further on A-roads or city driving.
I've never done the 225 miles to Winchester without a quick charge on the way, but that's because we like a coffee stop and grabbing a few kw while you're parked makes sense. I think it would do it one shot it I really wanted to.
Thank you so much! That’s really useful with you having a non heat pump car, I was looking last night and I might be able to stretch to a standard range (LFP battery) 2021 car, but not the Long Range, they seem to be at circa £40k and I can’t find 33% more than I was wanting to spend that easily and don’t have much appetite for risk in this financial climate.It's a great car to use daily. We regularly go between Leeds and Winchester (225 miles) and have even taken it up to the Isle of Lewis on holiday.
Pros:
Spacious inside, lots of boot space including the front
Properly quick
Handles well for a family car
Comfortable seats (well I find it comfortable)
All the electric advantages - smooth quiet drivetrain, instant torque, one-pedal driving, pre-heating in winter, excellent app
Superchargers (although they're getting busy now)
Cons:
Bit more motorway tyre noise than you'd hope for
Cheap feeling seat material and poor panel fit
Some updates are buggy, has had to be fully rebooted (not just a soft reset) a couple of times to get nav and cruise working again
The disk brakes are not up to hard fast driving, but the car is great at if you back off a bit and use one-pedal driving instead which uses regen to brake.
The lack of physical buttons can be a pain sometimes
Phone pairing can be hit and miss
Occasional water leaks into the boot, I've had to take out the liner and dry it a couple of times
I usually charge to 80%, but will go to 100% for a long trip. I don't make any allowances for it being electric, don't turn off heating etc and just drive it normally. I'm happy to do 200+ mile motorway trips in one shot starting at 100% charge, but to do that you need to keep cruise to 70 or a little less. It'll go further on A-roads or city driving.
I've never done the 225 miles to Winchester without a quick charge on the way, but that's because we like a coffee stop and grabbing a few kw while you're parked makes sense. I think it would do it one shot it I really wanted to.
What’s your sense for the max range on an average British day (10 degrees and rain lol), normal driving, heating on (I’m like you, I’d just treat it like any other car), 100% charge as a one-off, appreciate you can’t do that every day without knackering the battery. Normal driving style using re-gen as much as practical - I’ve gotten out of the habit of ‘enthusiastic’ driving these days as it makes my current MPG plummet!!
Thanks,
Dan
lizardbrain said:
. I’d listen out for any rattles from speakers, steering squeeks. Bearing noises’ Check all the glass for chips. ( there is lots). Check for warnings whilst driving eg regen, sos, blocked cameras.
Obviously if you can get a car with a small warranty period remaining you can likely get Tesla to examine and issues.
I agree with all the negative mentioned especially motorway noise. But I’m keeping mine past warranty as it still feels very fresh still. Can’t say the same for old model s I’ve tried which did feel more aged.
Thank you that’s really useful! A friend had a 2017 Model S and it was definitely looking a little tired, still drove very well mind you. Do you know if there’s any way of seeing some idea of battery health? Aka to see if a car has lived on superchargers and so might have higher battery deg, or has been continually charged to 100% and run right down? Obviously if you can get a car with a small warranty period remaining you can likely get Tesla to examine and issues.
I agree with all the negative mentioned especially motorway noise. But I’m keeping mine past warranty as it still feels very fresh still. Can’t say the same for old model s I’ve tried which did feel more aged.
Thank you all for the help, it’s invaluable! My old car is now sold and collected. We’re away for a few days then will start looking at some M3 examples and probably a Tesla test drive when we get back. I drive a Model Y about a year ago, albeit briefly and really liked it (out of budget as I don’t want finance right now, hence looking at the M3). Be interesting to have a go in a M3. Thank you all for the advice and help you’ve given so far, really appreciate it!
Hi everyone!
I wanted to post a quick update on this after all the generous help I was offered by the forum. Late last week, I collected our new (new to us that is, ‘19 plate), Model 3 Long Range!
I bought through Tesla directly as the additional year’s warranty seemed good value, also I got a really good price (or at least I’d like to think) from having an Autotrader saved search and seeing examples come and go, also from looking at examples appear and promptly disappear on tesla.com as they were reserved.
She’s covered 46.8k miles so far and imho is in great condition, not being able to see the car before putting a deposit down was an odd one - but I was happy with the price assuming it didn’t appear as though it had experienced a tough life so far and upon getting to Tesla Winchester last Thursday, I was pleased when they pointed out which one was mine (no plates on them in the showroom).
Enhanced Autopilot is on there too, as with seemingly most examples from Tesla direct - almost as if they put it on them all to differentiate - not sure if that’s the case though.
Ideally I’d have preferred a 2021 heat pump model for said heat pump, also for the power tailgate and heated steering wheel (although that’s not on all facelift cars, as early ones were still Freemont). However with the price this one came up for, I’m happy with the value prop, also the faceliftt 21 onward cars were a good chunk more financially and with the economy in the place it is right now, I’d rather not take that on. In a more economically stable world, I’d have just gone for a Model Y and financed the difference, but this was pretty much a straight swap from my old car, so happy I’m not in for any additional monthlies.
We’ve had our Tesla Wall Connector fitted, moved to Intelligent Octopus (it was a busy few days!!), also I ordered a few more Key Cards and have activated them, so we always have a spare in a safe place in the house just in case the others get lost etc - wow how great paying £30 for 2x keys and coding them yourself!!!
The 50 or so miles back from Winchester was very interesting - learning about Autosteer and Navigate on Autopilot - very cool!!
So… EV ownership here we go… I’m still in that overly obsessive new period where I’m over analysing everything and praying I haven’t bought a bad one - give me a few weeks and I’ll calm down :-).
I wanted to post a quick update on this after all the generous help I was offered by the forum. Late last week, I collected our new (new to us that is, ‘19 plate), Model 3 Long Range!
I bought through Tesla directly as the additional year’s warranty seemed good value, also I got a really good price (or at least I’d like to think) from having an Autotrader saved search and seeing examples come and go, also from looking at examples appear and promptly disappear on tesla.com as they were reserved.
She’s covered 46.8k miles so far and imho is in great condition, not being able to see the car before putting a deposit down was an odd one - but I was happy with the price assuming it didn’t appear as though it had experienced a tough life so far and upon getting to Tesla Winchester last Thursday, I was pleased when they pointed out which one was mine (no plates on them in the showroom).
Enhanced Autopilot is on there too, as with seemingly most examples from Tesla direct - almost as if they put it on them all to differentiate - not sure if that’s the case though.
Ideally I’d have preferred a 2021 heat pump model for said heat pump, also for the power tailgate and heated steering wheel (although that’s not on all facelift cars, as early ones were still Freemont). However with the price this one came up for, I’m happy with the value prop, also the faceliftt 21 onward cars were a good chunk more financially and with the economy in the place it is right now, I’d rather not take that on. In a more economically stable world, I’d have just gone for a Model Y and financed the difference, but this was pretty much a straight swap from my old car, so happy I’m not in for any additional monthlies.
We’ve had our Tesla Wall Connector fitted, moved to Intelligent Octopus (it was a busy few days!!), also I ordered a few more Key Cards and have activated them, so we always have a spare in a safe place in the house just in case the others get lost etc - wow how great paying £30 for 2x keys and coding them yourself!!!
The 50 or so miles back from Winchester was very interesting - learning about Autosteer and Navigate on Autopilot - very cool!!
So… EV ownership here we go… I’m still in that overly obsessive new period where I’m over analysing everything and praying I haven’t bought a bad one - give me a few weeks and I’ll calm down :-).
Edited by mwahahaha1234 on Monday 27th March 13:56
Edited by mwahahaha1234 on Monday 27th March 13:56
Zcd1 said:
Congratulations and enjoy!
LMK (let us know) if you have any questions.
One unsolicited piece of advice: Change the %/miles of range remaining to %, and never look back. As you gain experience with the car, you'll understand the reason for the suggestion...
Thank you! Yup agree that looking at % is a lot better than range, our overnight IO charging is going really well, so nice to see at 90% full battery in the morning too. LMK (let us know) if you have any questions.
One unsolicited piece of advice: Change the %/miles of range remaining to %, and never look back. As you gain experience with the car, you'll understand the reason for the suggestion...
NDA said:
mwahahaha1234 said:
Hi everyone!
I ordered a few more Key Cards and have activated them, so we always have a spare in a safe place in the house just in case the others get lost etc - wow how great paying £30 for 2x keys and coding them yourself!!!
Congrats on the car - I'm sure you'll enjoy it. They're very easy cars to own and drive.I ordered a few more Key Cards and have activated them, so we always have a spare in a safe place in the house just in case the others get lost etc - wow how great paying £30 for 2x keys and coding them yourself!!!
Will you not use your phone as the key? I have 2 key cards, but have never used them.
One thing to add, the Tessie app is my new obsession. - it’s amazing. I keep looking at the savings with 10p per kWh IO rates vs 28mpg and £1.65 odd per l of diesel - just incredible.
Appreciate I need to add some onto the electricity costs to balance out the more expensive daytime rate vs the price cap, but we’re still way up on diesel.
Appreciate I need to add some onto the electricity costs to balance out the more expensive daytime rate vs the price cap, but we’re still way up on diesel.
gmaz said:
I'm also thinking of getting a Model 3 LR. Does anyone have the performance upgrade option and how much did it affect your insurance premium?
I don’t have the upgrade at the moment and have to say, it’s blisteringly quick as-is. I doubt anyone would be left wanting more in terms of acceleration from the stock LR fwiw. AsyouWere said:
Is it now not really viable then if no home charger?
Just checked our octopus tariff its around 36p which if my maths is correct would be around £26 to charge the Tesla... Still not a substantial saving over a 300bhp diesel.
10p per kWh currently on Intelligent Octopus off-peak. The in peak rates would rise to 44p per kWh I believe but with the sums I’ve done were comfortably much better off than we were with using our diesel as the daily driver. Everyone’s circumstances/ journeys and distances you need to cover are different though. We do lots of short journeys so a diesel can’t stretch its legs for example. Just checked our octopus tariff its around 36p which if my maths is correct would be around £26 to charge the Tesla... Still not a substantial saving over a 300bhp diesel.
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