21 Months Later: My Tesla Model 3 Review
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It's finally time to write my Andys Travel Blog review about my Tesla Model 3. I wanted to wait to drive it enough to write a complete, objective review. This was based on long-term ownership as well as many miles.
It is the best car I have ever owned.
Here's the longer version.
Texas's Tesla Model 3 Purchasing Experience
[Quick aside: I used to be a car salesman so I was fascinated by Tesla's buying experience. I wanted it to be as different as the usual dealership.
How did I order my Tesla Model S? In November, I had to rush to CVS Pharmacy to find a man to sell my DJI Phantom 4 Pro drone. I waited in the parking lot for him, and then decided it was time to order my Tesla. I reached for my phone and went to Tesla.com to order it.
That was it. It was very uneventful.
As a reminder, Texas is the state where everything is bigger. This includes dealership franchise laws. Despite Tesla's new GigaFactory being built outside of Austin Texas, the car dealer lobby remains very strong in the Lone Star State. This means OEMs (original equipment makers, e.g. Tesla, Chevrolet, etc.) They cannot sell vehicles directly to customers, they must be sold through a dealer. Tesla does not have any dealers and sells directly to customers.
Does this mean you need to travel out of your state to buy a Tesla? It doesn't mean that you have to go out of state to purchase a Tesla. The paperwork just takes a more complicated route. I communicated by email with a Las Vegas finance representative when it came time to pay for the Tesla. This was acceptable for Texas so I was able to pick up my Tesla at the Tesla Service Centre in Dallas once it was ready.
My only advice about the buying experience is patience. You are not ordering a Tesla custom-made for you. Instead, you are simply offering your hand for the next Tesla vehicle. It will be exciting to order the vehicle, but you'll have to wait and it may become frustrating not to receive updates. Although Tesla attempted to out-technologize the traditional car buying process, they failed to do a great job. This can sometimes make customers feel as though they don't have anyone to call with any questions. In the one month that it took to get my order shipped, I spoke with five different people. It was both impressive and frustrating. Due to the shortage of global chips, order estimates take 8-12 weeks. Be prepared for the waiting.
The Model 3 I Purchased
Tesla does not offer the same variety of options as other car manufacturers. It all boils down to the trim level, color, wheels and whether you want Full Self Driving.
The Model 3 that I ended up buying is no longer available. I don't like driving fast, so I didn't want the Performance model. I also didn't care about the larger wheels or the stick-on spoiler. It was called a Stealth Model 3 by some because it looks similar to a Long Range Model 3, but is faster than the Performance model. It was a $2000 extra-on that I thought was justified. They now offer a $2000 acceleration booster option for Standard+ and Long Range models. It gives you a little more speed but it is not as good as mine.
This is not my house. A friend of mine is an architecture student and connected me with one of her most valued customers to allow me to do a shoot.
The Delivery Experience
I drove to my local service center located just across the street from Love Field, Dallas, to collect the car. A friendly gentleman showed me the car and answered my questions. It was then mine!
Although there wasn't a lot of pomp or circumstance, I didn't care. I was thrilled to drive my new car.
Then a pandemic struck.
My vehicle was picked up December 6, 2019. My office is approximately 4 miles away from my house, so I didn't expect to drive that much.
Then COVID was born.
It was shocking to see that there were not only fewer planes on the ground, but also planes being parked in all parts of the south. It would have been extremely expensive to add flights to an already expensive project so I decided to drive. I drove from Tucson to Kansas City to Tulsa to Houston. The result was They Will Fly Again.
I was told that Zion National Park would reopen in May 2020. I was accompanied by my Tesla to tell the story.
After visiting NASA, some friends invited me to join them on a boat to see astronauts launch into space from the US. I was taken out by the Tesla to Florida.
Randomly, I thought it would be fun to do a European roadtrip, which included stops in Dublin, London and Moscow. This is one of my favourite videos, and features my Tesla prominently.
I had always wanted to climb my first 14er in Colorado. I was taken there by the Tesla.
A friend bought a Tesla and wanted me to join him for some Teslaing. We met in Zion National Park, November.
Andy, flying is your passion, so why do you drive across the country so much? This is how much I love my Tesla.
How was the maintenance and ownership experience?
It has been amazing. Because it is fully electric, there aren't any maintenance requirements as with an internal combustion engine. It doesn't need oil changes. Since I bought my Tesla, the only maintenance I have done is tire rotations and replacement. It's been extremely reliable and can go for up to 20 hours on some trips.
It is a regular car with some unique features. Normal cars will coast/roll when you remove your foot from the pedal. Tesla behaves almost like a golf cart and will use rolling resistance to charge the batteries. This can slow down your car surprisingly fast, almost as if you lightly press the brake pedal. It took some time to get used to this, but it is a benefit that my brake pads will last longer than normal cars.
Another cool feature is the ability receive software updates over the air. The software that comes with your car will be the same as the one you have in most other vehicles, although this is changing due to the precedent Tesla has set. Tesla sends frequent updates to fix bugs, adjust range estimates and add new features. It is comforting to know that my car will be very similar to a new model in terms of software even as it gets older.
What is the range?
Two answers are available to this question. If I don't drive fast, I can travel approximately 300 miles at a cost of 0% to 100%. In real-world though, I can get between 80% to 20%. It's not great to charge the battery until it is full and then drain it when it is almost empty. In real life, I travel about 180-200 miles between charges.
Speed (it takes battery power for the car to go through all the wind resistance), speed (these cars are very heavy), uphill roads (these vehicles are extremely heavy), air conditioning (similarly to how it impacts gas mileage in a regular vehicle) and the heating system in cold weather (surprisingly). Regular cars heat their interior with heat from the engine, but Teslas generate no heat due to the lack of a big, hulking engine. This means that the Tesla must generate heat which consumes battery life. I don't use the heater very often and only turn on the seat heaters during winter.
How about charging? What about charging?
Charging takes longer than refueling a car. It's true. It's not difficult to get used to. It's also cheaper, especially considering current gas prices. I don't charge at home. I live right across the street from a Supercharger station in Dallas. I can just jump over to charge whenever I need it. It costs me $5-7 and takes 30-45 minutes.
When I go on long road trips, I input my destination. The car will calculate not only where I should stop but also how long it will take. The computer calculates that the nearest charger is 150 miles away so it doesn't make sense to charge up too much. I have only been worried a few times. They were both taking the shortcut through Navajo Nation to get into Page, Arizona.
Moral of the story? While charging can take some time on road trips, it is not difficult and you quickly get used to it. You can also watch Netflix and YouTube while it charges, or take a short nap in the back of the car. It works out great.
Okay, but what about the Autopilot/Full Self Driving thing.
Basic Autopilot is standard on all Tesla cars. It will keep you in the center of the lane you are traveling in and at a safe distance to the car in front. It's very intuitive and I was able to get used to it quickly. It does not mean that I can have a nap while the car is driving. When the car is driving, you must keep your hands on it. If it doesn't detect your hands, it will ask for your hand to gently shake the steering column so that it can see you are still paying attention.
This is basic Autopilot. You also have the option of Full Self Driving, which is tantalizingly named.
FSD is available as a subscription for $250/month or a one-time $10,000 purchase. Full self driving includes basic autopilot and summon. It also allows you to move the car forward or backwards when it is in tight spots. Smart Summon will allow your car to come pick you up in certain parking lots. FSD is currently designed for highway driving, but it can also be used in cities. FSD can be used on major highways to get you from one exit to the other, as well as highway interchanges.
Is FSD really worth the effort? It will once they add more features. It was $7000 when I bought it. I'm sure I overpaid, but the features have been lifesavers on long drives. The pricing model at Tesla is quite genius. You can subscribe or buy it at the current price, and then lock it in when they increase prices.
Can I trust it? It is most of the time. I've learned to accept the situations and have become more comfortable with them over time.
You cannot sleep with the car in autopilot. The car's decisions are your responsibility.
Hence, why did you buy it?
Mike Kelley, a friend I trust, kept bugging my to rent a Model 3 and get out of the granny Cadillac-ATS I was using at the time. I rented a Model 3 from Turo, and I only got around the block before I realized I needed one. When I picked up my Model 3, I received quite a few responses. When I picked up my electric vehicle, someone approached me at a Starbucks and sincerely thanked him for it. Another person taunted me, asking if I felt like a hero for buying an electric vehicle. Others will reply with, "Down with oil!" and then be disappointed that I didn't respond immediately. Although I am now a little obsessed with SpaceX and the work it is doing to expand our exploration of space, I was not a huge fan of Elon Musk at the time I bought my Tesla.
To be honest, I did not buy Tesla to make a statement.
It was a great car to drive.
It's a great feeling to know that I am the fastest car on all roads. My Model 3 is agile and nimble enough to handle any speed or acceleration I need to make to maneuver around other cars. It is hard to beat the feeling of going from 0-60 mph in a mere 3.1 second.
I love the fact that I don't have to maintain other than my tires and check the brakes once in a while.
It is incredibly fast, but I love the way it handles. It is so safe! Because of its heavy battery, it constantly monitors the road and has a very low center of gravity. This makes it extremely safe in crash tests.
It's not perfect but it is still pretty good.
It's not perfect. My Tesla has some things that I don't like.
It was a wonderful sound to hear. It would be great if they could have one. The Model 3's road noise is quite bad. Although it could be because the engine is not making any white noise, I do notice it more in this car than in other cars. Sometimes I have to wait for an appointment if I need warranty work. Although I have not had to do anything very urgent, they manage all my service via the app. This is a big deal for me as someone who was once a service representative at a dealership. It is great that so many items can be handled by mobile service representatives. I simply park my car on the street, and they arrive and fix what needs fixing. I find the FSD add on's business model a bit odd. Full-self driving is with the car and not with the owner. Although I am excited about the Model Y, I wouldn't buy it now as I would have to spend another $10,000 for the same functionality that I already purchased with my Model 3.
To be honest, I had to really nitpick in order to find things that I didn't like.
Let's take a look at some statistics.
Ive driven my Tesla 50,200 miles in 21 months.
Wow.
Although I've done a lot more road trips, it still is a lot.
My home charger would cost me far less than the charging fees. Please don't take my charging statistics as gospel. Tesla's charging model was designed to allow people to charge their devices at home overnight when the rates are lower.
Let's do some math: Over the course of my car's life, I have paid an average $116 per month to charge it. This seems high, but let's compare it to the cost of a regular gasoline-powered car. Averaging approximately 2380 miles per month for 50,000 miles over 21 months, that's about 2380 miles. Assuming an average 20 mile/gallon, this equates roughly to 119 gallons per month. This is $267/month if we use the $2.25/gallon national average price for 2019-2020. Even though the Tesla I chose is the most expensive (not charging at home), I still save about $150 per month over the equivalent gas car. These numbers may change depending on what gas car I choose, but I find 20mpg to be fair based on my driving habits.
I have replaced one set of tires for $1000 so far and rotate the tires once every 10000 miles at my local tire shop for free. This is all I have done for maintenance. It's much more affordable than an oil change every 5000m on a regular vehicle.
I am not trying to argue that a Tesla costs less than a regular car. It's a luxury vehicle, and I have worked hard to afford one. Although it reduces my gasoline consumption, I am not aware of the environmental impact of making batteries.
The Tesla was fun to drive. It's everything I wanted, and more.
I am now at 50,000 miles and cannot wait to go on to the next 50,000!
Have any questions about Tesla? Please leave your questions in the comments section below!
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