Hatched a Tesla

[PV1]

Well, Hello there.

[jray3]

Sooper! Vital Stats on your M3? A friend recently bought an LiFePO4 M3 out of inventory in Seattle. First confirmation I'd heard of Chinese batteries going into US production...

[PV1]

I've known the previous owner for a few years now. He's taken extremely good care of the car, the only mark on it is curb rash on the right rear wheel from someone else he let drive.

It's a 2018 with 12,500 miles, and has the Enhanced Autopilot, which includes Navigate on Autopilot and Smart Summon (basically all the features of the current Full Self Driving package minus the FSD computer and ability to react to stop signs and stop lights). It also has free premium connectivity, which is satellite maps and music streaming (new cars either have to pay Tesla $10/month or hotspot from a phone).

Midnight Silver Metallic, Aero Wheels with the covers removed, Black interior, and all five seats are heated. Long range AWD version with 310 mile range (non-performance but still smokes the Bolt), and has the charge port upgrade to support 250 kW Supercharging.

Cost just a hair under a new base Model 3 LR. To build this car new (MSM, Full Self-driving) would be over $60,000. I don't have the power trunklid or the refreshed center console, but the car does come with a 3-year history of little service. Fun fact, this specific car is also the first Model 3 I've ever driven 3 years ago.

[JoeS]

Fun fact, this specific car is also the first Model 3 I've ever driven 3 years ago.

Love at first drive! Congratulations! Truly effortless long-distance cruiser.

[PV1]

Thanks. When I got the call that he was selling it, I initially passed, but the more research I did on the market and more the Bolt battery saga drags out, it became an offer almost too good to pass up.

Supposedly, we have new battery packs coming starting this month from GM/LG. If that all pans out, the Bolt would then have a new pack, 30 miles more range than original, and a fresh battery warranty. If GM ends up buying them all back, I already have a long range replacement car before another 100,000+ car shoppers hit the market all at once. If things go south financially, the 3 will hold its value, especially with the price bump from Tesla on new models. I figure I can't really lose.

Looking forward to the first road trip in it this weekend, and still working on a clever name.

[beespeckled]

Lovely ride!

[PV1]

Still thinking about a name for the car. I have it narrowed down to:

1. Eagle 5
From Spaceballs, which Tesla draws influence from (Ludicrous Speed, Plaid) https://spaceballs.fandom.com/wiki/Eagle_5

2. Delta Flyer
From Star Trek: Voyager https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Delta_Flyer_type

3. Dark Helmet
From Spaceballs, the main antagonist https://spaceballs.fandom.com/wiki/Dark_Helmet

[ed5000]

Congrats PV1! One of my coworkers has almost the same Model 3, also a 2018 with FSD and same color except for the interior which is white. Not sure about the summons - I'll have to ask.

He did order himself a new Model S in a pearl white about a year ago which he should have gotten last month but it's taking a while so he might back out and eat the $100 deposit. I think it would be cool if he gets it. He said he would have two Teslas to drive around for a while.

[PV1]

Thanks. We took a drive yesterday, and met two twin Model 3 at the Superchargers, so it's a good thing I didn't get it to stand out. The white interior would be a must in hot climates (the side windows have no infrared filtering, so the black seats get hot fast).

It's not clear if non-FSD 2021's have basic Summon (forward/backward remote control) or not, but you need Enhanced Autopilot or FSD to have Smart Summon (able to drive a short distance to a set target). Navigate on Autopilot tends to be overzealous on lane changes, wanting the left lane at each interchange in my area. I don't drive fast enough for that. So, I'm glad that this car only has EAP, as I do use auto lane change a lot (put on a turn signal and the car handles changing lanes).

What a gamechanger the Superchargers are. We charged twice on an all-day trip, spending 20 minutes at each charger to go from 50% to 90%. The trip was 500 miles total on less than $20. This would've required at least 2-hours of charging with the Bolt.

Did your coworker originally order the refreshed S with the yoke steering? I saw one at the service center a couple weeks back, and the interior looks to be a serious upgrade.

[JoeS]

...What a gamechanger the Superchargers are. We charged twice on an all-day trip, spending 20 minutes at each charger to go from 50% to 90%. The trip was 500 miles total on less than $20. This would've required at least 2-hours of charging with the Bolt...

With time, you'll get the hang of minimizing time loss when charging on long trips. Some tricks -

1. Attempt to never ever wait for the car to charge - something else should always be a priority. Hey, on long trips even a walk in the park is beneficial.
2. When the car is stopped, it is always plugged in (even J1772). That applies to every bathroom/coffee break, as even ten minutes of charging at a SC helps.
3. Keep the SoC low in order to maximize the charging kW. The only time I charge above 70%-80% is if I'm spending time eating or have a really long hop to the next SC. When at a Supercharger and plotting my next SC destination, I plan on leaving as soon as the destination SoC shows 15%-20%, Waiting longer is a waste of time.
4. Even though the Tesla has seven different Range Remaining numbers (count them!), there is only one metric you can rely on: the "SoC at Destination" when the destination is entered into your Nav. It's incredibly accurate and the trip green line provides continuous feedback on how one is performing relative to the prediction. To me this offers true long distance peace-of-mind. Its algorithm contains altitude, temperature (inside and outside), speed (I'm told, crowdsourced over the route), battery capacity, and I was told (but cannot confirm) windspeed/direction along the route. I would hope that they've been continuously improving this algorithm. Unlike the i-MiEV, it does NOT take the driver's driving characteristics into account - this provides a consistent frame of reference and, if needed, a bit of hypermiling can easily bring the SoC endpoint up.