Potential 2018 Tesla Model 3 Performance purchase

[92saturnsl2]

When I bought my 2021 Model 3 new I loved all the gadgets and the instant torque.

6 weeks later I had that thing gone. The fad wore off quick. And I wasn’t too thrilled with the fit and finish or comfort of the car either.

The comfort and materials quality of my Genesis isn’t even comparable to the Model 3. It blows it out of the water. The power is equal too. Though I’m not recommending this for a cheap commuter, just that there’s other things out there.

Sounds as though you have a lot more disposable income for vehicles than I do. Make no mistake the Model 3 is not a luxury car nor does it pretend to be. I saw some used/older model S on the lot and that seems to be where Tesla pretends to be luxury.

It will be a giant upgrade from the '96 Maxima I've been commuting with.

I don't think the "fad" of charging in my garage can really wear off.

 

[dishdude]

My biggest concern would be the battery, 7 years is really getting up there for the lifespan of an EV battery.

 

[Nick1994]

Sounds as though you have a lot more disposable income for vehicles than I do. Make no mistake the Model 3 is not a luxury car nor does it pretend to be. I saw some used/older model S on the lot and that seems to be where Tesla pretends to be luxury.

It will be a giant upgrade from the '96 Maxima I've been commuting with.

I don't think the "fad" of charging in my garage can really wear off.

Nah, not a lot of disposable income.

I was in the right place at the right time. I paid $41k for the car (mostly financed) and at the time these were in short supply and super high demand. I sold it to CarMax for $48k.

My Genesis was $27k, which is new Corolla money.

But honestly a Corolla IMO would have a better fit and finish, materials, and comfort than my Model 3.

 

[dogememe]

First EV I ever drove was a Model 3 Performance. Rented it for about a week. Amazing car and I think it was, and still is, the best value out there for something fast yet that delivers a good cost per mile.

I love my Prologue, but my next car will probably be a Tesla.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Buying a used EV feels like buying a used power tool battery. Or a several years used cellphone.

I mean I guess you could?

All I can tell you is, whoever got our '18 Mid Range got a great car.
Tesla batteries seem to last 300K to 500K miles.
Here's a recent article. There are many more.

 

[RhondaHonda]

I measured my tread depth at 28,500 miles on the OEM 21” Michelins.

6/32” remaining up front
5/32” remaining in the rear

They are wearing surprisingly evenly for a wide tire that I can’t rotate. I think these had 9/32” new so I’ll probably get to 40,000 or so before I replace. Not bad at all.

 

[Trav]

Buying a used EV feels like buying a used power tool battery. Or a several years used cellphone.

I mean I guess you could?

That is one of the best comparisons I have heard and makes 100% sense. No, I would not even consider a used power tool battery and if people are honest they would not either.

 

[92saturnsl2]

That is one of the best comparisons I have heard and makes 100% sense. No, I would not even consider a used power tool battery and if people are honest they would not either.

I disagree with this.

We're not talking about power tool batteries. That's a cheap consumer commodity that cost the mfg <$10 to make with a few 18650 cells. Now each brand has an enhanced "PRO-XP," ad nauseam version which has 21700 cells thrown in (thank Tesla for that). They don't care if some idiot leaves them on the shelf fully charged at all times and has to come back 1-2 years due to cell degradation for a new $50-70 purchase. There's zero logic to the charging, just the basic Li-Ion strategy which has always been CC until it reaches a threshold, and then CV for the remainder which tops the cell off to 4.2V (depending on chemistry) as current goes to zero. That's idiotic and drives sales/consumerism.

Tesla can't do that and would not be around if they screwed this up. They needed to produce a car that could prove to people that it can go the duration. That's not hard to do even with Li-Ion batteries by having a heavy reserve margin built in (extra cells) such that the SOC never reaches 0 or 100%, even if the software tells you that. It's sort of like solid state drives, some portion of the flash is reserved and not available to the end user.

 

[RooflessVW]

I disagree with this.

We're not talking about power tool batteries. That's a cheap consumer commodity that cost the mfg <$10 to make with a few 18650 cells. Now each brand has an enhanced "PRO-XP," ad nauseam version which has 21700 cells thrown in (thank Tesla for that). They don't care if some idiot leaves them on the shelf fully charged at all times and has to come back 1-2 years due to cell degradation for a new $50-70 purchase. There's zero logic to the charging, just the basic Li-Ion strategy which has always been CC until it reaches a threshold, and then CV for the remainder which tops the cell off to 4.2V (depending on chemistry) as current goes to zero. That's idiotic and drives sales/consumerism.

Tesla can't do that and would not be around if they screwed this up. They needed to produce a car that could prove to people that it can go the duration. That's not hard to do even with Li-Ion batteries by having a heavy reserve margin built in (extra cells) such that the SOC never reaches 0 or 100%, even if the software tells you that. It's sort of like solid state drives, some portion of the flash is reserved and not available to the end user.

So how was your used Tesla used? Charged slowly, from 20-80 only? Ran low? Kept topped up? Supercharger only?

Don’t sit here and act like Tesla batteries don’t go bad.

 

[DuckRyder]

Honest question:

Do they have any kind of battery health in the software?

 

[92saturnsl2]

So how was your used Tesla used? Charged slowly, from 20-80 only? Ran low? Kept topped up? Supercharger only?

Don’t sit here and act like Tesla batteries don’t go bad.

Do you know all the variables when you buy an IC powered car, especially one performance oriented? 7 year old car, usually well onto the second-third owner. The way they build IC engines these days, their complexity and often using plastic and cheap components, can you be sure said engine wasn't overheated, run low on oil, et al? Few people care about maintenance. Can it go 200K+ without a major expense like engine/trans? A previous post of mine was asking about used Subaru WRX and half the posts were negative (problems galore).

I'm very new to electric vehicles, which is why I'm asking questions. You sound like the type that has all the answers about EVs without having real experience with one, please correct me if I'm wrong.

Honest question:

Do they have any kind of battery health in the software?

No, Tesla expects you to equate that using math-- what the display shows for available mileage at 100% SOC versus what it's advertised at new. Not a complicated math problem. There's a battery recalculate feature buried in the service menu which does a standard charge -> deep discharge -> charge which I suppose helps recalculate available mileage when it's charged to 100%. I need to look into that more.

The car I'm seriously looking at showed it would have 280 miles of range when charged to 100%.

Appreciate all the input from everyone.

 

[sds911]

Talk me into it or out of it, your choice, but please explain why and refrain from political commentary. I'm considering this purchase purely out of a "what does a vehicle need to do for me" perspective; politics and tree hugging simply aren't a factor here.

Test drove one with 65K at a local dealer. Still picking my jaw up off the floor. Between giggles and moments of terror, the wife threatened to leave the car at one point and walk home if I stomped on the accelerator pedal one more time. One of the those things where the novelty will fade. Performance aside, I'm a practical person (and in my 40's, so not looking to kill myself in one of these) and very curious about these things:

Mechanical bits and parts: suspension, brakes, pumps (whatever ones exist), is this a non-starter for a DIY type person? I have a big learning curve ahead as it pertains to the electric drivetrain, but since I have a shop w/ lift I'd like to do the rest of the maintenance and repairs myself if possible.

Reliability in general with an electric drivetrain. Are these vehicles known for issues-- motor problems, cooling system, etc?

This will be a commuter car only, 70 miles round trip (for me) and a run around town car for the wife when I'm not working. Zero range anxiety and I'd installed a dedicated 50A 240V circuit when I built my shop for a future electric vehicle. I'll likely have a 3-4 year loan on it, so ideally battery health won't be an issue. I know Li-ion batteries and how to take care of them (limit charge to 80%, no deep discharge) so hoping this can be a 200K+ mile vehicle.

Previously we were considering a used WRX for small car, but I can't do that when this electric car is about the same price.

The 65K mile example we test drove was $20K. It was rough enough around the edges (curb rash on wheels, dirty interior, some minor panel gap issues) that we kept looking. Found one at a specialty car dealer w/ 75K for $22.5K but it's in better condition in every way possible. One owner local car, I simply couldn't find a defect anywhere inside or out. Checked insurance, it's on the higher side for a small car like this, but not as high as I was lead to believe doing research on Reddit and such.

Please chime in with your thoughts / experiences!

I never liked the Teslas especially the interior. The 3 isn’t bad looking like some of the other models that simply aren’t great looking in my opinion. And that was b4 the latest controversies with Musk. Panels falling off cyber trucks, questionable self driving behaviors, and I did see owners a while back complaining of no parts for months on end to repair. Haven’t kept up with that news. But, nope would never buy a Tesla. Range anxiety, cold weather battery performance (probably any ev). Too many other options from hybrid, to other ev manufacturers (bmw, Toyota/Lexus, Lucid, Ford etc.). I would rather have a camry or lexus sedan, bmw 3 or x3, or another porsche if $$ were not a factor. I like the WRX specs/fun factor, but not the look of the sedan. Factor in the vandalism risk to cars, chargers and dealers - potential insurance costs and just not interested.

 

[RooflessVW]

Do you know all the variables when you buy an IC powered car, especially one performance oriented? 7 year old car, usually well onto the second-third owner. The way they build IC engines these days, their complexity and often using plastic and cheap components, can you be sure said engine wasn't overheated, run low on oil, et al? Few people care about maintenance. Can it go 200K+ without a major expense like engine/trans? A previous post of mine was asking about used Subaru WRX and half the posts were negative (problems galore).

I'm very new to electric vehicles, which is why I'm asking questions. You sound like the type that has all the answers about EVs without having real experience with one, please correct me if I'm wrong.

It's apples to oranges. You can physically inspect an IC engine and transmission.

Not only that, but you are GUARANTEED to experience battery degredation. Plenty of 7 year ICE cars on the road.

Not many 7 year old batteries still in service.

I'm EV ambivalent. I never claimed to have all the answers

 

[92saturnsl2]

It's apples to oranges. You can physically inspect an IC engine and transmission.

For leaks perhaps? I have a lift and if people paid me to put their used IC vehicle up for inspection, I still can't tell them what's going on inside the timing cover, which is where a lot of the complexity and failures happen (often design flaws). Nor can I tell them what kind of wear is inside the engine / trans / PTU / without disassembling things. I can make an educated guess is all, aside from using my scan tool which is no different than the wizardry you associate with electric vehicles.

Not only that, but you are GUARANTEED to experience battery degredation. Plenty of 7 year ICE cars on the road.

Not many 7 year old batteries still in service.

I'm EV ambivalent. I never claimed to have all the answers

I used to be a ICE fan but I've been exposed enough to the newer, horribly complex stuff that just don't hold up like they used to and often cost thousands to repair.

I don't have the answers either, but I'll feel comfortable chiming in to help others after I've had actual experience with a used EV. Battery degredation is a guarantee, you're correct. But insofar as taking a vehicle out of service, there's rust, careless owners, accidents, lack of maintenance, the myriad of other causes that often send IC powered vehicles to the scrapyard before 200K.

 

[terry274]

Have you asked your questions on the Tesla forums?

Model 3

Tesla

My wife as a Model 3 long range, she loves it. It is a 2025 and we have owned it for five months, so no long term information.
I have a 2025 Model Y and it is great as well. I drove her car so much, she said get your own. Again, short term owner only.

 

[Kurtatron]

We're liking our Model S Plaid, after having it only a short time. We did a road trip in it, and it's comfortable. We could charge it at home, but so far have only used Tesla Superchargers. We'll see how things go as the time and miles pass.

Plaid! Amazing car! Fastest production car! *drool*

 

[andrew_j]

In MA/NH you can buy 2023 models with 8k-30k for $25k ish. I would very hesitant to buy a 2018 with 65k for $20k…

I have 100 miles commute with free charging available however my “beater” $4.5k Acura RDX is working out better then expected.

 

[andrew_j]

Plaid! Amazing car! Fastest production car! *drool*

Not fastest by any stretch. It’s in top 10 of 0-60 times for cars. Used to be quickest however been a few years.

 

[djb]

Not fastest by any stretch. It’s in top 10 of 0-60 times for cars. Used to be quickest however been a few years.

Most of the cars on the top-10 lists can only loosely be called production cars. There are plenty of top 10 lists that echo sales brochure numbers of models where only hand built prototypes exist. Even Koenigsegg, which is actually delivering cars, won't reach the homologation standard of 100 units.

You can actually buy a Plaid without having a brand relationship that spans years and many previous high-margin vehicles purchases.

More to the point, most Teslas will go 0-60 in under 5 seconds. That was the supercar standard not too long ago.

 

[92saturnsl2]

Went ahead and pulled the trigger. This particular one seems very well cared for. The dealer was unconventional, it was a specialty car dealer with an indoor climate controlled showroom. He had everything from unusual $200K+ exotics, classics & hotrods, down to unique affordable vehicles such as this one. No high pressure sales, no sitting in front of a finance manager peddling add-ons, just bring a bank check or cash and drive away. In KY, Teslas are becoming more common, but still quite rare, so I feel lucky to have found this locally without traveling a great distance.

I can see why some might get range anxiety. I was shocked to see that it ate up 24% of battery just getting it home (and after test drive). Fully charged it says it will have 259 miles of range. Crunching the numbers that equates to 16% battery degradation or 84% "health". I will be happy if it lasts 5-6 years for my commute, even happier if it goes longer than that. Car drives perfect, very pleased with it.

Sad to find it out has an aftermarket Jaguar / Landrover charger that's only capable of 10A when plugged into a 115V outlet. I need to get the Tesla mobile connector rig and an appropriate 240V adapter ASAP.