Teslas are becoming the new Camrys.

[macarose]

This may come as a shocker, but at the wholesale dealer auctions a Tesla Model 3 can often be had for the same price as a Toyota Camry with the same year and same miles.

This morning I took a look at 2023 Tesla Model 3 Performance may be more in Avalon territory. But whenever I get a Model 3 that is a Standard or a Standard Plus, I'm finding that the prices line up incredibly well with a mid-level Camry that has the same miles, and same condition.

Earlier today I looked at a 2023 Model 3 Perforamce has 72,000 miles and FSD 3 along with a look that is frankly stunning. It's amazing how nice these Model 3's are when they're not smothered in bland color tones like black, white or gray.

The current bid is $24,100. Over $2,000 less than wholesale. The sale ends today so I doubt I'll be bidding on it without a genuine buyer. But the vehicle really struck a chord with me.

I have put my entire family (and most of my relatives) in Camrys at one point or another over the past 30 years.

It's the leader for a reason when it comes to gasoline and hybrid vehicles. But the Model 3 is frankly the best value in today's mid-sized car market if you can charge at home. I would also argue that the first gen Tesla Model S was the nicest looking vehicle of the past decade.

I'm not a Musk fan at all, but the folks that engineered those two cars did what no other Western legacy automaker could do.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Well the cheapest Camry is $29K new vs what - $39K for model 3? Not sure if I should laugh or cry.

What's the cheapest model 3 you have seen? When they get cheap enough (beater junk cheap) I'll be trying one.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Model 3 resale is off-the-charts low. I tell people buying a few year old car is a great option. Once the 2024 refresh was released, the earlier cars got even cheaper. Of course the M3P is the most fun for your money out there. Make life miserable for the Germans...

The prices around here are great because so many have been sold. Here's a '22 M3P with 30K for $23K asking:

I miss our '18 Mid Range, warts and all.

 

[dogememe]

Yep. And other EVs are even cheaper! I did a bunch of math a while back to compare a Camry hybrid (the cheapest per mile version) to a Model 3 and the numbers supported choosing the Tesla.

 

[macarose]

Well the cheapest Camry is $29K new vs what - $39K for model 3? Not sure if I should laugh or cry.

What's the cheapest model 3 you have seen? When they get cheap enough (beater junk cheap) I'll be trying one.

I see plenty that are 'cheap', and they're almost always cheap due to prior owners. Not the quality of the vehicle itself.

One unit I almost picked up this week was a 2020 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus with 98k miles. It was a buyback from only about 10,000 miles ago. So I thought it must have either been the battery or a part of the electrical system they ended up replacing.

Retail I thought that would hit between a $15k to $16k price point. I bid up to $13,300 and someone outbid me. It was nearby so the transport cost to my dealership would have been minimal.

 

[dogememe]

I see plenty that are 'cheap', and they're almost always cheap due to prior owners. Not the quality of the vehicle itself.

One unit I almost picked up this week was a 2020 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus with 98k miles. It was a buyback from only about 10,000 miles ago. So I thought it must have either been the battery or a part of the electrical system they ended up replacing.

Retail I thought that would hit between a $15k to $16k price point. I bid up to $13,300 and someone outbid me. It was nearby so the transport cost to my dealership would have been minimal.

I'm so conflicted on what to do when my lease is up in like 11 months. Lease another new Tessy? Used 2023 M3 LFP? another Equinox EV? Just drive the old Tahoe to get past the overpriced insurance? Ugh so many options!!

 

[BC1]

Those do look sharp and I would like to feel how hard they pull. I can not get the math to work for me though at $24K. I have been putting about 15K a year on my old Lincoln at 25mpg. Even if gas reached $4 that would be $2400 a year. 10 years to break even if electricity was free. Then there is what ever the tax and insurance would be.

 

[The Critic]

This is old news. Model 3's have been the Camry's of Silicon Valley for the last 5-7 years.

 

[grasscutter]

They seem to be a point A to B car. If you have unintentional consequences happen and need to add in a point C and D, you may not have enough battery charge to cover point C and D.

 

[supton]

Interesting. What is the smallest rim they can take? 45 series rubber seems dangerous.

I guess I'm behind the times, quick look indicates that these 18" tires are like $40 more per tire than something more pedestrian like 205/60R16. Not as pricey as I feared.

I didn't dig deep enough on Tirerack for winter tire combos but I don't see how to get steelies with snow tires?

 

[Brons2]

The Model 3 seems quite a bit smaller than a Camry. And lower to the ground, I just finished with a 7+ day rental on a 2026 Camry yesterday, and I recently went to lunch in my co-worker's 2025 Model 3.

I easily got 6 bags in the trunk of the Camry including one 30" suitcase without forcing anything. Can the Model 3 do the same? Not sure....

Doing some quick web searching indicates that they are both in the same EPA interior classification as a midsize. But that still could be up to a 19.9% difference as the midsize category goes from 100 to 119.9 cubic feet.

 

[JeffKeryk]

They seem to be a point A to B car. If you have unintentional consequences happen and need to add in a point C and D, you may not have enough battery charge to cover point C and D.

Supercharger network solves that problem.

 

[JeffKeryk]

I'm so conflicted on what to do when my lease is up in like 11 months. Lease another new Tessy? Used 2023 M3 LFP? another Equinox EV? Just drive the old Tahoe to get past the overpriced insurance? Ugh so many options!!

Why lease when you can get a nice 30K Model 3 for low $20K's?

 

[JeffKeryk]

The Model 3 seems quite a bit smaller than a Camry. And lower to the ground, I just finished with a 7+ day rental on a 2026 Camry yesterday, and I recently went to lunch in my co-worker's 2025 Model 3.

I easily got 6 bags in the trunk of the Camry including one 30" suitcase without forcing anything. Can the Model 3 do the same? Not sure....

Doing some quick web searching indicates that they are both in the same EPA interior classification as a midsize. But that still could be up to a 19.9% difference as the midsize category goes from 100 to 119.9 cubic feet.

Model 3 has a good sized trunk. How big is the Camry's frunk? Asking for a friend...

 

[dogememe]

Model 3 has a good sized trunk. How big is the Camry's frunk? Asking for a friend...

Legit question... have you ever used the frunk? I use it very rarely. The lack of motorized open/close ruins it. The front area of the car is often dirty with dead bugs...

 

[The_Jeff]

My electricity marginal rate is 26 cents per KWh. I can get a slight discount for time-of-day that comes with a huge surcharge for evening use which I won't do until home battery banks get a little more mainstream (eg cheap.) This crosses to gas at $3.75 a gallon. So I appreciate the flexibility of my dual-fuel Prius Prime, pitting energy sources against each other.

There's also the "danger" of an annual federal EV fee. Strictly by the numbers things aren't quite there for me and my regional electric bill.

 

[PandaBear]

The thing about EV is they are more expensive to purchase initially, save money charging vs pumping gas, but also depreciate faster than a gas car.

You CAN expect a reasonable 15-20 years in a gas car but EV depreciate significantly more than just mechanical wear and tear because 1) it is a newer tech so they evolute very fast, as soon as new design fixing old problems nobody wants an older EV anymore. 2) They are ramping up productions so the older ones were purchased with high price but newer one with all the improvement is lower priced, yet the older one will have to be cheaper than the newer one plus depreciation to be competitive, this makes buying a much higher risk than gas cars. 3) Battery depreciation and replacement cost. Hybrid has the same problem to a lesser degree but still a concern over a pure gas car.

I am seeing Model 3 being the same price as a Camry not as a better deal, but as a different choice. This is like when new Camry V6 cost more than I4 but when they are 120k miles and 15 years old people would pay a premium for a I4 Camry vs a V6 Camry (because the priority of the customers are different at this price point). Just different, not a better deal.

Same can be said between Lexus SC vs Toyota Supra when new vs old, despite being very similar engine and platform.

 

[macarose]

My electricity marginal rate is 26 cents per KWh. I can get a slight discount for time-of-day that comes with a huge surcharge for evening use which I won't do until home battery banks get a little more mainstream (eg cheap.) This crosses to gas at $3.75 a gallon. So I appreciate the flexibility of my dual-fuel Prius Prime, pitting energy sources against each other.

There's also the "danger" of an annual federal EV fee. Strictly by the numbers things aren't quite there for me and my regional electric bill.

The Long Range averages around 4 miles per kWh and the Standard/Plus versions are right around 4.3 miles per kWh.

You're looking at right around 6.5 cents cents per mile. A midsized car that averages 30 miles per gallon would be about double that assuming $3.75 per gallon.

My electric rate is 7.5 cents per kWh here in Georgia. So for me it's less than 2 cents a mile to own one of these. We do get charged an annual fee of $240. Which means if you drive 12,000 miles a year. You're looking at an extra 2 cents per mile.

There are also plenty of places you can charge for free out here. One of them is only a few miles away from me. But honestly, charging from home is a huge convenience for me. If EVs have to pay a federal tax, that would only be designed to retrieve the taxes we don't pay right now. Average miles driven would be the common denominator to determine that cost.

To me that's not a danger. Just a fair thing to do. Given that the current national average is 19 cents per kWh, that tax wouldn't substantially tip the scales at all towards owning a gas equivalent.

 

[JeffKeryk]

The thing about EV is they are more expensive to purchase initially, save money charging vs pumping gas, but also depreciate faster than a gas car.

You CAN expect a reasonable 15-20 years in a gas car but EV depreciate significantly more than just mechanical wear and tear because 1) it is a newer tech so they evolute very fast, as soon as new design fixing old problems nobody wants an older EV anymore. 2) They are ramping up productions so the older ones were purchased with high price but newer one with all the improvement is lower priced, yet the older one will have to be cheaper than the newer one plus depreciation to be competitive, this makes buying a much higher risk than gas cars. 3) Battery depreciation and replacement cost. Hybrid has the same problem to a lesser degree but still a concern over a pure gas car.

I am seeing Model 3 being the same price as a Camry not as a better deal, but as a different choice. This is like when new Camry V6 cost more than I4 but when they are 120k miles and 15 years old people would pay a premium for a I4 Camry vs a V6 Camry (because the priority of the customers are different at this price point). Just different, not a better deal.

Same can be said between Lexus SC vs Toyota Supra when new vs old, despite being very similar engine and platform.

Yup. It's called product lifecycle.
I understood I the cost (and risk) buying the '18 Model 3, as an early adopter.

 

[AZjeff]

Supercharger network solves that problem.

Of course it does when you live at Tesla ground zero. Not so much in much of the rest of the universe. For instance there are 3 Superchargers shown in my area with a population of over 200,000. Other chargers as well but you said Superchargers.