Top 5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Buying A Tesla Model 3

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If you are new to Model 3 ownership or maybe toying with the idea of buying an Electric Cars, this video will cover the top 5 things I think you should know before you get one, or just after delivery!

I've been fortunate enough to own the Model 3 for over a year and a half, so I've picked up some tips and tricks I would have done differently if I was to do it all over again.

Whilst some of these hopefully will disappear as EV ownership becomes more the majority rather than the minority, early-ish adopters might benefit from avoiding some of the small mistakes I made in the early days, and trying to work out the finances of the Model 3.

Fingers crossed lots of current Model 3 or EV owners can give their top advice in the comments as well!

THE POLLUTION ARGUMENT: Check out this video on if EVs are greener

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On this channel we look at what is living with a Tesla Model 3 in the UK is really like? Does the hype live up to expectation, or should you stick with a combustion engine. My mission to to let you know. I took the plunge and went all electric with a Tesla Model 3.

Why a Model 3 you ask? Hopefully my videos with explain this over time. Have I any regrets about buying my Tesla...a few. So stay tuned for all the latest software updates, new features and developments of my Tesla Model 3.

#Tesla #Model3 #Electriccar

[JD-env]

1) Teslas and a lot of other EVs are cheaper to run but are too expensive to purchase for most people right now, especially if you’re outside the U.S (this is normal for new tech). However there will be a crossover point in the next few years where they’re as affordable if not cheaper than a traditional ICE car.
2) The range offered by most EVs at the moment is absolutely fine for city dwellers that don’t need to travel far on a regular basis. ICE cars still win hands down for longer distances at the moment.
3) There is some logic to arguments against how quiet EVs are and how that makes them dangerous to pedestrians. Yes, you can say pedestrians need to be more aware, but that will never be the case. Artificial noises should be used below certain speeds in busy or tight pedestrian/residential areas – loud enough for people to hear but not so loud it takes away the advantage of having quieter streets.
4) Right now Teslas are a status car in the UK, there is no disputing it. That will probably change.
5) Autonomous driving is a no-brainer for motorway style driving, but it will be slow to catch on and work well enough for any other roads, particularly in the UK.
6) More manufacturers should follow suit with Tesla with regards to the use of multiple in built vehicle cameras as it’s a no brainer from an insurance and investigation perspective.
7) There is some ignorance going on across all levels with regards to EV battery longevity. Manufacturers are going to need to start factoring that in to warranty for their vehicles as people will start to notice issues over the next few years.
8) Charging infrastructure in the UK is not great, but it will get better. It needs to otherwise there will be chaos at charging stations as not everyone has the luxury of off road parking.
9) Repair shops (garages for UK people!) will have to start adapting quickly to be able to fix/maintain EVs by training staff, otherwise they will become obsolete.
10) EVs are not complicated, in fact they’re simpler. There will be EV nay-sayers just like with anything new but they will adapt and forget about it eventually.
11) Excluding battery issues, maintenance is cheaper, tyres, brake pads etc (think about the sheer amount of engine oil that has to be disposed of every day at the moment). Theoretically with such low maintenance costs and parts EVs might ever only really need their battery packs changing so you could end up using and owning one for a VERY long time.
12) They don’t take as long to charge as some people think (and most people stop regularly when travelling) but they’re still slower at topping up compared to ICE vehicles which is only really an issue if you’re in a rush which you can never plan for.
13) Renewable energy must be adopted quicker so the electric used to charge EVs comes from sustainable sources (there is some logic to people who say they still get charged by electric from fossil fuel power plants)
14) No one really has any interest in top speed anymore for road cards (nor should they ever have!), it’s all about acceleration which EVs are generally better at.
15) Like any technology, it will get better.

[jameshallam]

Just got my Tesla 3 and couldn’t agree more, should never have hesitated, bloody love it

[JoeRader]

I've had the Model 3 LR AWD for over two years, love it. Over that time I've learned for home charging, just set it to 90% and charge it every day. That will help the battery pack stay calibrated and thus maintain your battery range. Set the battery meter to the top daily driving notch, right before the trip section. It may not say 90% in the app at that top notch because of the battery being cold if its cold where the car sits. In the app and perhaps in the car the line will snap to that notch when you get close to it, just leave it there. I only change the charge level if I'm travelling and hopping from supercharger to supercharger. If I need to stay at a hotel, I go back to leaving it at the top daily notch. I rarely charge it to the tippy top, 100% or top of the trip section, but it is good once in a while to aid in that battery calibration. If you charge to 100%, use the departure time setting so you are using the car soon after hitting 100% to be less hard on the battery. Keeping the battery between 20-80% is a decent way to go, but I think it's totally fine to be in the 10-90% range too. I think it's actually just as hard or harder on the car battery being closer to the bottom of the charge, so I do tend to keep it above 15%. Remember that you can use that tippy top of the battery or get pretty close to the very bottom of the battery if you are travelling and not leaving the car in those states for long periods of time, like hours and hours or longer.

[simonreeves]

The part I agree with is doing this sooner. I went for a BMW i3 in 2019. I remember the anxiety between order and delivery. If you can charge at home, and your average daily drive is within the range of the EV you want, then dive in. The cost of ownership alone is worth it. Yes, range is less in the cold months, but cut the cabin temperature down to 18 deg C and use the seat heater and air con (to avoid misting up) and its fine. The pre-heating is awesome in the winter, always makes me smile when I watch my neighbours scrape their ice cars, I just get in mine and drive off with a warm interior and clear glass, as I engaged pre-heating whilst eating my breakfast. Low running costs, next to no maintenance, no smelly emissions to feel guilty about, smooth quiet driving, instant torque when you need it. Wish I'd done it sooner!

[fluffypanda]

I rented a model 3 to see what the hype was about and I was absolutely blown away. I will for sure be buying one when I make my next new car purchase.

[cheesy]

Always go with longer range. The value of the car is the range, and batteries decline over time. I bought an S in 2013: it has 86k miles and I have loved it. But the original 200 miles range is now maybe 160 in good conditions, less in winter. I am selling it, and it will be a great luxury car for someone who only drives locally. But I am thrilled to have my new AWD long range (350) 3! Expecting 10 more years of great, low cost transportation, and then good resale as I take advantage of the ever-improving technology.

[TuddecBMW]

Okay so here goes, after one week and around 700 miles in my 2021 Model 3 SR+:
- The real range has nothing to do with the one the car indicates if you drive on freeways or outside of cities in general. For instance, driving a mile on the freeway at 150-ish (around 90/95 mph) will result in the car's projected range dropping by 2 miles. It's approximatively a factor of 2, so keep that in mind if you do a lot of driving at higher speeds.
- Superchargers are awesome. They are very easy to use and reliable, which can't be said about the rest of the charging network. I have yet to try Ionity but most of the non-Tesla chargers seem a bit confusing and I don't understand why you can't just put your credit card in like at the pump. Instead, to operate the charging points, you need a stupid app or charging card.
- Use A Better Route Planner. It gives you a more realistic range estimate (you can input your real consumption) and offers more charging possibilities.
- You're gonna want a wall charger. Just using the mains, it takes about 15 hours at my home to charge the battery from 20% to 80%. If you're coming from a longer trip in the evening and have another one planned the next morning, that can be an issue. Wall chargers cost about 2, 000€ to install and will reduce that to about 5-6 hours I believe. That's slow enough to preserve battery life but quick enough for convenience.
- My average consumption so far since owning the car has been of around 185 Wh/km (around 298 Wh/mi) doing mostly freeways. That means that the real range from 100% to 0% is around 270 km (168 mi).

Hope this helps

[christophergentile]

Love my Tesla model Y; the model 3's big brother. I live in California and have my Y plugged into to my solar roof panels. Sadly, my gas guzzling Mercedes 450 SL sits in the garage unused. I have to agree with you, my biggest regret is not switching to an EV earlier.

[johnallison]

The most comprehensive study I have seen on moving from internal combustion to electrical power, if I buy another car it will certainly be an EV. Many thanks.

[ritz]

I bought an EV in October last year, yes a Leaf which many are critical towards. Myself, I'm loving it. I have driven cars in 40 years now and my evaluation so far is as follows:
Incentives like we have in Norway makes an EV a great alternative to petrol/diesel (No VAT, none or reduced toll-road taxes, reduced general yearly car tax)
The possibility to charge at home. Fresh 100% battery in the morning
Range on one charge is good enough for most people, though rapid charge is available almost everywhere and is heavily expanding
As the batteries get better and ranges increases the need for rapid charge will decrease
Compared to petrol/diesel, the car is quicker, need far less service and is hands down a better choice for everyday use.
Would I buy it if I didn't have the incentives? Probably not. Convenience and cost does matter.
Why Tesla wasn't an alternative for me? Because of cost vs applicability. If you past your 50s and 60s, believe me, you want to sit into a car, not down in the car.
If someone thinks a Leaf is boring, remember there is 214 brake horsepower there to just catapult you past the cars in front of you.... if you

[cjm]

I served my BEV early adopter time in 2 Nissan Leafs over 8 years.

In September 20 I took the plunge with a new SR+ and it's been outstanding. That is all.

[DavidJao]

The range is the range. Good practice does not require you to never go above 80 or never go below 20%. Good practice simply demands that you avoid spending significant time above 80 or below 20. If you're on a road trip, it's no problem at all to go up to 100 or down to 0 as long as you are driving and charging right away. The range is the range.

For daily driving, it is true that you should keep between 80 and 20. But this is plenty of range for daily driving.

[gap]

My wife just changed her petrol Smart ForTwo for the latest Smart Forfour EQ. Range is tiny but it's a city car that only gets used for local runs so no issue for us. (That 8.4 miles average journey is familiar!) It is a better car in every way that the Petrol version and costs less. It's really well equipped too. She is now getting fed up with me as I want to use it all the time! I will definitely get an EV to replace my BMW 540i when the time comes and it's good to see so many more EVs coming to the market

[jimkobbe]

Just ordered a Model 3, partly because of this video. As an electrical engineer, I had a number of doubts about the actual vs advertized specs regarding charging, range, HVAC, etc. This video confirmed most of them and gave me an approximation of the real-world results, which are not as bad as I had imagined. Thanks. Well done!

[robmccaw]

We’ve had a 28kw Ioniq for 2 years. You can leave it unused for weeks and it still has the same percentage of charge despite periodically auto topping up the 12v battery.

[Pete-wkpf]

I went from Macan Turbo to Model 3P September 2019 and have never looked back. Agree that range is substantially reduced in the cold. I generally set climate on about 30 minutes before departure to pre heat the batteries and think this helps a little. Performance is mind blowingly quick to the extent that you rarely have anything to prove. No concerns over servicing costs (unlike the Porsche!) and as you mainly use one pedal driving, can’t think brakes would need too much maintenance either. Whilst build quality is not to German standard, reports of Tesla issues in this respect are in my case, greatly exaggerated. I use the Octopus EV tariff and keep batteries topped up overnight at minimal cost. For me, this car is a no brainer and I can’t see myself ever going back to an ICE car.

[chiefpat]

Wow finally a truly informational video with a non cringe affect. Thank you for your time kind sir.

[sonicdaemon]

I managed to get a Model 3 though my work running a salary sacrifice scheme. I have to admit that I too wish I had done it earlier. I absolutely love the car, from the drive experience right through to the nice little touches such as being able to watch Netflix if you have to wait in the car while charging or the kids are at training etc.

English Country Thing - I would highly recommend it

[valorietilley]

My Tesla is the best thing I ever did for myself and this planet. I love it & my life is better for having it. Thank you Nikola Tesla & Elon Musk! I kept asking Honda if they had an EV yet (my car of choice), gave up and refused to buy a hybrid - no looking back: no stops for gas, no gas vehicle repairs & maintenance, and the best driving vehicle I've ever owned in my life!

[TeslaHo]

Owned my LR Y about 5 months now and couldn't be more happy with it. I'm finding that the most common point holding back my friends from getting a EV is the long charge times vs filling up gas. I usually follow up with the question "Lets pretend that charging on a road trip is a HUGE inconvenience which I disagree with... How often do you usually go 250+miles road trips a month precovid?" Majority of these friends say they only go maybe 1 - 2 road trips a month meaning 90%+ of the time, the car is used for regular commuting and errands. In that case, majority of the charging will be done at home meaning it takes 10 seconds to to plug in vs 5-15 minutes of fill up time. Of course, there will be people that go on frequent road trips but those are more special case.