By Ayush Arya
The Tesla Model 3 is a fun car to own, but what is the ownership experience of this impressive all-electric mid-size sedan?
The Tesla Model 3 is a decent pick if you are shopping for an all-electric luxury sedan. It has sports car-like performance and a unique interior loaded with all sorts of latest in-car tech. The 3 has held its ground rather well, even with rival brands coming up with brilliant products such as the Ioniq 6, i4, and the Polestar 2. With an impressive range across its line-up backed by Tesla's incredible Supercharger network, the Model 3 has stayed on top of the pecking order since it debuted in 2017.
There are a lot of reasons to invest your money in a Model 3 instead of its electrified rivals. But does it make sense to buy one as an alternative to a similarly priced ICE car? Does it offer a cost advantage over a gas-powered vehicle over 3 years or 100,000 miles? Two Model 3 owners, Ed Fessler and Oliur, have recently shared videos on their respective YouTube channels documenting their experiences with this mid-size Tesla sedan.
There is a lot of essential data about ownership costs and experience that both these gentlemen put across in their videos. Knowing it could be crucial if you plan to buy yourself a Model 3. Let's take a closer look!
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Tesla Model 3's Ownership Costs Will Surprise You
Being an electric car, the Tesla Model 3 has an inherent advantage over an ICE car. Less moving parts means fewer things that could go wrong over time. It has no engine that'll need regular oil changes, so less money is spent on routine maintenance. These two factors bring down the 3's ownership costs big time over a gas-powered vehicle. According to CarEdge, you'd only have to spend $3,587 in maintenance and repairs in the first ten years of owning this mid-size Tesla. That's $8,347 less than the industry average of what it costs to service a similar luxury sedan.
What's even more incredible is that there is only an 8.64 percent chance that your Model 3 will require a significant repair in this period. That's an impressive 30.92 percent better than vehicles that fall in the same segment.
Mr. Fessler's and Oliur's ownership experience with their respective Model 3s back this data. The former owns a 2018 model. In the four and a half years of his ownership, he has clocked 100,000 miles on it. The only money he has spent on maintaining his vehicle involved buying a new set of tires at 66,000 miles and getting a new cabin air filter. He did have a few minor issues creep up on his 3, like condensation in the taillights, a glitch with the rear camera, and a faulty lumbar support pump. But they were all replaced under warranty.
Mr. Fessler has solar panels installed at home, so he doesn't pay for home charging. While on the go, he prefers juicing up his Tesla through free public chargers at places such as coffee shops. When such chargers aren't available, and he has to charge up using a Supercharger, the costs come out to be $1 for every 44 miles.
Over in the UK, Oliur has had a similar experience with his Model 3. In the three years / 25,000-mile ownership of his 2019 model, the only money he has spent on maintenance involved replacing tires. So far, he has had no issues come up on his vehicle. Oliur doesn't have solar at his home like Mr. Fessler, so charging up his Model 3 costs him £7 (approx $8.64).
Tesla Model 3 Battery Degrades Up To 7.3% In 3 Years
Tesla offers the Model 3 in three grades: Standard Range, Long Range, and Performance. The base Standard Range gets a 60 kWh battery pack and rear-wheel drive configuration. The Long Range and Performance models have a dual-motor all-wheel drive setup and an 82 kWh battery pack (75 kWh until 2020). These are Lithium-Ion battery packs, which Tesla covers under an eight-year or 150,000-mile warranty. In 2019, Elon Musk claimed in a Tweet that a Model 3's battery module should last between 300,000 to 500,000 miles.
But electric car batteries degrade over time. And though the above numbers might seem pretty insane, we must factor in how much battery capacity these packs will retain after the end of this period. If the drop is huge, and you are getting very low range on a single charge, replacing the whole battery pack would be the only option. In Model 3's case, that would cost between $13,000 to $16,000.
In the four and a half years of ownership and driving his Model 3 for over 100,000 miles, Fessler reports an eight percent battery degradation. In the video, he shares that when his car was new, it showed 309 miles on a full charge. Now that has dropped to 290 miles. As he points out, it's not a huge difference, and we agree. In Oliur's case, his Model 3 Performance's battery pack's capacity has decreased by 7.2 percent in the three years, which again isn't a considerable decrease.
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The Pros And Cons Of Owning A Tesla Model 3
Owning a Model 3 is a unique experience. Mr. Fessler and Oliur both point out a bunch of things that they like about this EV. But they also mention a few things that they didn't like. And as you'll see in their videos, none of the demerits of this car is a deal breaker. It depends more on the user's preference and their personal use case scenario.
For instance, Mr. Fessler prefers that all the controls for the vehicle are accessible through the central 15.4-inch touchscreen. He likes having the button-free layout of the dashboard and would pick it any day in favor of any modern car that still uses buttons and knobs. Many people would agree with this. But like Oliur, there would be plenty out there who would rather have a few physical buttons and not want to access everything through the central screen. That's why we see a few modern electric cars, such as the ID.4, continuing to offer this traditional setup.
The electric powertrain of the Model 3 offers instantaneous acceleration, which can never get boring. This is for sure one of the biggest positives of having this EV. The Standard Range RWD models sprint from 0 to 60 MPH in 5.8 seconds. Long Range Dual Motor versions bring this time down to 4.2 seconds. The Performance models can catapult from a standstill to 60 MPH in an exceptionally quick 3.1 seconds. The only negative about this crazy acceleration is that you'll use your tires quickly if you do these sprints more often, an experience that's been true for Mr. Fessler and Oliur.
There are several other pros to owning a Model 3 sedan. The Enhanced Autopilot, which costs $6,000, is an excellent feature for cruising on the highway. It also offers a bunch of other tech, such as smart summon, auto lane change, and Auto Park. The battery packs in the Model 3 are placed on its floor, which translates into better handling. As Oliur mentions, it is no Porsche 911, but the Model 3 still drives pretty well. He also notes that the one-pedal driving feature also comes in very handy and helps increase the life of the brakes!
Source: Ed Fessler / Oliur - YouTube / Car Edge
