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It’s the 5-year anniversary of buying my Tesla Model 3 SR+. (Wow, time flies!) So, how is the lowest priced Tesla Model 3 doing after 5 years? What do I still love and like about it? What not so much? Can it go another 5 years? I’m diving into these and other issues below.
To start with, I’m just going to say that not a lot has changed with the car in those 5 years. A few things have needed fixed or replaced, and I’ll cover those below along with their costs. I’ll also briefly discuss charging experiences and costs, but I was in a unique position for most of those 5 years with free Supercharging and there’s not a lot to generalize from that. Then there’s wear and tear, in particular with the Model 3’s white vegan leather seats, something I imagine many people are curious about. Along the same lines, there’s the matter of battery degradation — or how much my car’s driving range on a full charge has changed over time.
There’s also the “Full Self Driving” (FSD) ownership experience, how the prevalence of Teslas and community responses to them have changed in the past five years, and what over-the-air software updates have provided over those five years.
Hopefully this article is useful to people who are thinking about buying a new Tesla Model 3, a used Tesla, or some other electric vehicle. However, if there is anything extra you’d like information on, feel free to ask down in the comments! Also, I know many of our readers also have had Tesla vehicles for several years, so feel free to add in anything you think I’m missing.
Overall Satisfaction
Overall, we’re super happy with our car. We are a 4-person family (two young daughters) and this is our only car. It has handled almost everything we’ve needed in those five years. There are just a few times when I’ve needed something extra large and bulky transported and had to use someone’s SUV or truck. But as far as normal use — including lugging the family’s tennis gear, soccer gear, and beach gear around town — the Model 3 has been all that we’ve needed.
For long-distance trips around Florida, Supercharging has been very easy and convenient. I bought the lowest-range Tesla Model 3 because I didn’t see any need for extra range, so didn’t see a point in spending thousands of dollars more for more batteries, and I’m very happy with that decision. I don’t think a longer-range model would have offered me much more at all, and I still wouldn’t pay more for something I don’t think I need.
One of the things I wasn’t sure about on purchase was whether to get the white seats. I decided to do so, and I’d recommend it every time, especially for people living in hot climates. It’s much cooler and nicer in a place like Florida, in my humble opinion. Though, it’s not made out of completely magical material, and I’ll get to that below.
The car drives wonderfully. I don’t think there’s another car on the market I’d prefer for driving. Though, I haven’t tried the Hyundai IONIQ 6 yet, and the much more expensive Porsche Taycan is surely a joy toy. The two big downsides with the driving experience of an older Model 3 like mine is that it doesn’t have good sound insulation and the suspension makes you feel every little bump in the road — it can feel like you’re riding over bricks when you’re riding over small bumps. The road noise is extreme when you’re on the interstate. This is the one downside of the vehicle that I would genuinely tell people they should make sure they’re okay with before buying one. That said, the new Model 3 is far, far, far better on this and it’s not an issue at all. In fact, the quietness and superb suspension of the new Model 3 are now selling points of the car.
I still love the minimalist interior of the Model 3, the infotainment options, and the seats, all of which I think are unparalleled in the US market. (It seems some Chinese models might now beat Tesla on some of these points, but, of course, those are not available in the US and I can’t confirm that from here.)
Quick note: You can get $1,000 off of a new Tesla using a Tesla owner’s referral code. If you’re in need of such a code, you’re free to use mine: https://ts.la/zachary63404
Maintenance & Repairs
I reported in December that my maintenance costs had risen to $3199.59 after getting my third set of tires. The total hasn’t changed since then. I haven’t had any extra costs for maintenance or repairs this year. I did have one thing I brought the car into service for, an odd error regarding the front passenger seat’s safety restraint system, but that was covered under warranty and thus had a cost of $0. As a result, across 61 months, $3199.59 translates into just $52.45 per month. (Oh, yeah, I’m writing a 5-year review, but it’s now 5 years and 1 month.)
Wear & Tear
There’s been very little wear & tear on the car. There’s really not much to note. The biggest issue was surely the material on the steering wheel starting to bubble a couple of years ago. Tesla replaced the steering wheel for me, though, and it’s been fine since then. However, under the video I published on YouTube about this, I’ve noticed a regular stream of comments from other Model 3 (and I think Model Y) owners who have had the same problem appear and have had to pay for the steering wheel replacements. I do worry about the problem re-occurring on the new steering wheel in time. We’ll see. One potentially noteworthy point, though, is that I used to have to park the car during the day in the hot Florida sun, whereas I now have it parked in our garage most of the time. Also, there was some suspicion from Tesla service staff that hand sanitizer may have led to the problem. I didn’t use hand sanitizer too much, but there was the COVID period when I did a bit, before I started suspecting it was causing problems for my skin and stopped using it. Again, we’ll see if the problem resurfaces (no pun intended) with the new steering wheel.
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Otherwise, there are some areas of the white seating where there’s a little cloth, and that has gotten discolored. It’s not a big deal, but it is noticeable. I noticed a few years ago that Tesla stopped including that cloth section — it’s all faux leather now — so it’s certainly not a concern for buyers of new vehicles.
More recently, I’m noticing some areas of the seating where the material is not as white or as smooth as it once was. Time and use have their effect. However, I think the seats are holding up very well and are still remarkably smooth, attractive, and white. I am actually very curious to see how the seats will evolve in the next five years.
To be honest, I think the seats look notably nicer and whiter in real life than in these pictures, but this is what my camera captured.
There’s a little area in the cupholder in the driver’s door where the leather-like material is coming unsealed/loose. That spot has gotten heavy use over the past 5 years, so it’s not too surprising, but now I’m conscious of it (trying to avoid making it worse) and constantly noticing it. Here’s a picture:
Okay, it’s really small. But it’s the most notable wear and tear I’m currently working with. I may try sticking a little glue there to attach it fully again. Or maybe I’ll just see if it gets worse.
Battery Degradation
Our car dropped from about 230 miles of range on a full charge to about 200 miles of range on a full charge within about a year, and it has held steady at that level since then. That’s generally what’s expected. Batteries have an initial hit in capacity fairly quickly, and then they hold quite steady for years or even more than a decade before typically having one more big drop. I’m really not worried about battery degradation. These batteries should last with plenty of range until the rest of the car is done and ready for the recycler.
Tesla Full Self Driving (FSD)
I’ve been extensively documenting Tesla’s progress with “Full Self Driving” over the past few years. You can read all about it here and watch videos on YouTube here. The short story is that after years of little or even “backwards” progress, the driver-assist features have gotten much, much better with version 12. However, when I bought the car, Elon Musk had implied that the level its at now is where it was going to be in late 2019, and he had certainly forecasted we’d have robotaxi-capable technology by now. FSD is still not ready for deployment in self-driving robotaxis. However, it’s at the stage where you can actually imagine that. But no one knows how long it will take until enough edge cases are solved for and it’s truly at a level where robotaxi capability can be turned on. In some regards, that still seems far, far away, and I do still worry about a “see-saw problem” whereby improvements in some areas lead to problems in other areas. We’ll see.
Tesla in the Community
When we got our Tesla Model 3, kids would go nuts when we went through the pickup line at school. They were so excited to see a Tesla, even with a handful of them at the school already. As time has gone on, there are Tesla Model 3s and Model Ys all over they place. I like to say they are like the Toyota Corolla or Toyota Camry of this area now. The kids at school don’t seem to care about our Model 3 at all now. Though … there’s now a Cybertruck at the school, and I’m sure the kids are going wild about that.
In general, with so many Tesla vehicles on the roads, it seems to be easier for “mainstream buyers” to trust the technology, learn about the appeal, and go electric. There are also many non-Teslas on the roads all around us now. In short, EVs are becoming normal. They still don’t account for the majority of cars, but they are finally normal.
Over-the-Air Software Updates over Time
I got a little spoiled by over-the-air software updates I got soon after buying the Model 3. We got Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, and some cool video games. We got an efficiency boost that extended our max range. (Again, though, the original range is more than enough for me, so I can’t say I really noticed the improvement, practically speaking.) There were also some new Easter eggs added for some fun. Though, in recent years, not much has been added. I don’t really see notable improvements. The UI of the touchscreen changes from time to time, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. After those first big updates, I did hope for more consistent big improvements, and Elon Musk once said around that time that we should be getting an update every month or so, but I’m not sure what I’d ask for aside from some minor improvements or new features. Overall, the over-the-air updates we get are sometimes nice, but seldom ground breaking.
Would I Buy the Tesla Model 3 Again?
Absolutely! Though, if I was buying a new car right now, I would prefer a Tesla Model Y, Kia EV6, or Hyundai IONIQ 5. I’m also very drawn to the Ford Mustang Mach-E externally, but I prefer the internal design and feel of those other three models more.
At this point, I think choice of an electric car comes down much more to one’s personal aesthetic preferences than it used to. There are many options with plenty of range and features at an appropriate price, and almost all automakers have also committed to making their EVs compatible with Tesla’s Superchargers.
You can currently get $1,000 off of a new Tesla using a Tesla owner’s referral code. If you need one, here’s mine: https://ts.la/zachary63404
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