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Build quality is fine on mine. The biggest issue, by far, is the steep rate of decline in battery capacity. I have a 2 year old Model 3 Performance, which start

by caeril 6y ago

Build quality is fine on mine. The biggest issue, by far, is the steep rate of decline in battery capacity. I have a 2 year old Model 3 Performance, which started at a 310 mile range. In only two years, my maximum range, at full charge, is down to 255 miles. It's a stepwise function, also, not linear. You might wake up one day expecting to take a road trip and discover that the BMS has decided to randomly take 5kWh of cells out of the pack. In about another year, my car will be limited to local commuting only.

api 6y ago
That's pretty awful. I hadn't researched that aspect of Tesla and now I really would have to. It makes their high driving ranges less impressive. I've also been researching the latest generation Leaf. I have a 2013 Leaf that is extremely reliable, has no build quality issues worth mentioning, and has only lost about 15% range in 7 years. Of course it lacks fast charge so the battery has not been stressed much, and it hasn't been kept in a really hot climate. Leafs have passively cooled batteries so I would avoid them somewhere that gets really hot for more than a small part of the year. The latest generation Leaf has less sticker range than the Tesla model 3 but if the Tesla degrades like that the two are a closer comparison. The Leaf is much more affordable. Also doesn't have self-drive but I don't trust Tesla's self-drive yet. Latest generation Leaf has some basic "cruise control assist" I think which is about all I'd trust with today's state of the art. I bought my 2013 Leaf used and see some 2019-2020 62kWh Leaf models used right now. Used Leaf has been a decent buy for a while.
- sliken 6y ago
  There's been a couple of studies on Tesla range over time and the numbers are pretty impressive. Leaf on the other hand has had famously poor Battery life. The warranty will replace batteries at 80% range, but they had some many warranty issues that they changed from a 5 bar battery display to a 4 bar battery display via a software update, so it's harder for people to notice. So now the display only makes it obvious if the battery/range is less than 75% of new. For the tesla numbers check out: https://electrek.co/2020/06/12/tesla-data-battery-degradation-limited-mileage-packs-equal/ https://electrek.co/2020/06/12/tesla-data-battery-degradatio... A neighbor has his leaf battery replaced 3 times, once under warranty, and twice out of his own pocket... then he bought a tesla model 3.
sliken 6y ago
I have a model 3P as well, but I thought the range changed based on your driving habits. I keep my max charge for daily use around 85%, which is 240 miles or so, so dividing by that is around 282 miles. When I got it I think the max advertised was 301 miles (June 2019). I supercharge rarely, the high rate of charge is hard on the battery. I also charge past 90% (or under 10%) rarely for the same reasons. How often do you supercharge? Charge past 90%? Keep in mind the model 3 range depends not just on which model you get (RWD, AWD, or Performance), but also by the wheel/tire package you have.

by caeril 6y ago

api 6y ago

That's pretty awful. I hadn't researched that aspect of Tesla and now I really would have to. It makes their high driving ranges less impressive. I've also been researching the latest generation Leaf. I have a 2013 Leaf that is extremely reliable, has no build quality issues worth mentioning, and has only lost about 15% range in 7 years. Of course it lacks fast charge so the battery has not been stressed much, and it hasn't been kept in a really hot climate. Leafs have passively cooled batteries so I would avoid them somewhere that gets really hot for more than a small part of the year. The latest generation Leaf has less sticker range than the Tesla model 3 but if the Tesla degrades like that the two are a closer comparison. The Leaf is much more affordable. Also doesn't have self-drive but I don't trust Tesla's self-drive yet. Latest generation Leaf has some basic "cruise control assist" I think which is about all I'd trust with today's state of the art. I bought my 2013 Leaf used and see some 2019-2020 62kWh Leaf models used right now. Used Leaf has been a decent buy for a while.

sliken 6y ago
There's been a couple of studies on Tesla range over time and the numbers are pretty impressive. Leaf on the other hand has had famously poor Battery life. The warranty will replace batteries at 80% range, but they had some many warranty issues that they changed from a 5 bar battery display to a 4 bar battery display via a software update, so it's harder for people to notice. So now the display only makes it obvious if the battery/range is less than 75% of new. For the tesla numbers check out: https://electrek.co/2020/06/12/tesla-data-battery-degradation-limited-mileage-packs-equal/ https://electrek.co/2020/06/12/tesla-data-battery-degradatio... A neighbor has his leaf battery replaced 3 times, once under warranty, and twice out of his own pocket... then he bought a tesla model 3.

sliken 6y ago

I have a model 3P as well, but I thought the range changed based on your driving habits. I keep my max charge for daily use around 85%, which is 240 miles or so, so dividing by that is around 282 miles. When I got it I think the max advertised was 301 miles (June 2019). I supercharge rarely, the high rate of charge is hard on the battery. I also charge past 90% (or under 10%) rarely for the same reasons. How often do you supercharge? Charge past 90%? Keep in mind the model 3 range depends not just on which model you get (RWD, AWD, or Performance), but also by the wheel/tire package you have.