OP: Any updates as you approach the one year mark?
Any major dislikes? Any issues with the car?
Lastly: Tesla says to charge it up to 90% each day. Why do you charge it to 80% only?
Sorry just saw your message. I will answer your question and post a brief update on the model 3 experience so far. The car is 13 months and almost 30,000kms old
Quality of seats and Interior (materials): Opinion not changed on that. The quality of interior material is high. It is not luxurious though. A week ago my buddy bought a 2021 Sonata sport which is almost 40K. It had the aluminum switch gear, screen etc. While it was good the overall quality of the Tesla was higher. Should be as it costs 15K more. Its definitely better than your Camry/Accord/Sonata/fusion/Mustang quality but not as luxurious as your BMW/Lexus/Audi interiors
Exterior paint: The paint quality of the Sonata was much better. While the paint is fine right now (I get the petro canada 90 day car wash all winter) i could see the difference in the paint quality and there could possibly be issues in the future.
Road Noise: Still a complain, especially given that the sound system is bad. I am disliking the sound more and more everyday. Telsa has 6 speakers installed in the car that they did not wire. I am a chicken and am not opening the trims and wiring them. I have heard that the sound system becomes awesome once these are wired up. Maybe i will get the guts one day or will find someone who has done it and can bribe them with a few beers to help me out.
Handling and performance: I am appreciating this more and more. I think it is better than the BMW. The Sonata was so floaty in sport mode (maybe it dosent tighten the suspension and just changes the xmission shifts)
Autopilot and other features: Getting better and better everyday through software updates. Its better than when i first got the car. Among other things the camera now recognizes the speed limit through the posted signs (instead of what's programmed in the NAV) and adjusts the speed automatically. Lots of improvements e.g. Autolock when i walk away, warn through app if door is left open for X number of minutes, close windows if left open for X minutes etc. etc. (too many to list here).
Full Self Driving: Didn't pay for it. Wish I had the money.
Efficiency: will discuss later below in cost to town.
Battery degradation: Has probably happened. Now i don't charge the car to more than 50% and in the summer the efficiency is usually more than 100% unless you drive 130kmph plus. I will know for sure and post when i start commuting to work. 2021)
I think i have answered your questions on likes and dislikes.
Charging percentages: you dont have to charge to 90% daily. You charge to how much you need for your commute plus a little bit of buffer. I charge to 50% now and can probably get away with 40%. Yes Telsa says anywhere from 90%-10% is ok. They don't have a problem on low end, you can even go to 5. They only recommend not going lower as they don't want to get you stranded. Personally when i commuted (pre COVID), I charged to 70 in spring/summer/fall and 80 in winter. I wan to get home with around 30% remaining. my commute was 150km roundtrip plus groceries, swimming lessons etc. i always charge to 100% when i go on roadtrips and its ok to do it occasionally.
General advice on Telsa forum is to let it run down more rather than charge it higher. so if you had a choice between 80-30 and 90-40 they prefer you go 80-30. I just want to keep a 30% buffer. Anything 80 or less is good. They warranty on the batteries is good so i would not worry much about the batteries itself.
Running costs: So in 13 months, i have driven 29,900kms and consumed 4360kwh. I charge at off peak rates, however even considering mid peak rates (0.144kwh) the total cost of fuel is $627.
If I were to compare it to the BMW my fuel cost would be $3200. So that's a saving of around $2500 in a year. Plus i saved on 2 oil changes. so probably around 3K (maybe a little less)
Other expenses: Winter tires+Rims, wireless charging pads, interior LED light upgrades. These are required but not maintenance costs
Warranty or other issues: Zero so far. Tesla recommends checking brake fluids, changing wipers and cabin filter every 2 years, rotating tires (which i do when i swap winter/summer tires) and AC service every 6 years. There is nothing else in scheduled maintenance list.
Thats why i disagree with the CR article because as time goes on i will be spending less on routine maintenance, brakes, belts, other fluids, Carbon buildup in non Toyota/Lexus engines and TCO will improve even more.
If there was no covid my cost savings (gas/hydro) would have been even more, plus its probably more as i considered mid peak rates.
Assuming i keep the car for 7 years, at 3K a year, i am looking at 21K savings. The car cost me 57K after taxes and incentives. 57k-21k= 36K incl taxes. Over 10 years its 27K after taxes. It is hard to get something with the features and performance of the model 3 in that price range.(31K , 24K before taxes). specially the performance as equal performance cars will use more gas (283hp, 330lb/ft of torque at 0rpm). Similar speced BMW starts at 52K plus taxes (granted it has AWD), The IS300 is 44K+ taxes(again awd but similar specs). The cost of the car has gone down by 2K since i got it, so if you buy now, you get more range and save even more money.
To conclude: I am happy with my purchase and would happily trade up to a performance model 3 (instant torque is very addictive) if i had the money. Unless you make frequent road trips, i would highly recommend you at least consider an EV as an option.
