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Tesla Model 3 Cost of Ownership Slightly Cheaper Than a Camry

loupventures.com

51–60 of 81 posts

Re: Tesla Model 3 Cost of Ownership Slightly Cheaper Than a Camry

#51
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And the cost of financing, which is highly variable based on the individuals credit worthiness.

If you’re financing a new car and worried about the cost of ownership, you should probably think about the reducing the biggest cost with a new car on finance. I.E don’t buy it using money borrowed from someone else.

That depends on the interest rate, I usually qualify for near zero rates, my last loan was something like 0.9%. When an index fund can return more than 5% in recent years it makes more sense to finance the car and leave the cash in the market. I can't think of a situation where the cost of ownership isn't considered, you should always consider what it costs to own any object. Even the ultra-rich will shy away from vehicles due to running costs, re: Bugatti tire change cost.

Re: Tesla Model 3 Cost of Ownership Slightly Cheaper Than a Camry

#53
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oil in a diff (AWD car), oil in gearbox, oil filter. Break pads and discs (EV use regen breaking so the wear difference is significant). In 5 years you may need to replace clutch etc. No sure if EV needs any coolant replacements.

How would you drive in order to renew a clutch after 5 years? Usually a clutch lasts well beyond 10 years. Costs for break pads and and discs are also very low, unless you have ceramic break.

Driving a lot, say 80k a year. Driving on Uber or tracking.

Re: Tesla Model 3 Cost of Ownership Slightly Cheaper Than a Camry

#54
post #2

Seems to be predicated upon a number of questionable assumptions-- including that - a Model 3 is cheaper to insure than a Camry (thus far, the opposite is true-- and it seems optimistic to attain for a car that costs so much more, has higher performance, and higher repair costs) - the Model 3 will be cheaper to maintain by a massive factor (we'll see; there is maintenance avoided by having an electric car but also Te…

You just put in writing what I've been thinking whenever I come across these articles.

One thing I would expand on is the resale value for Tesla. The EV technology is changing so rapidly that there may be groundbreaking changes or improvements in the 3-5 year span that would render a TM3's resale price useless. It's much more unlikely that the same will happen for a Camry, the threshold of innovation for gas-powered cars have been pushed much more closer to its limits than EVs.

Re: Tesla Model 3 Cost of Ownership Slightly Cheaper Than a Camry

#55
post #2

Seems to be predicated upon a number of questionable assumptions-- including that - a Model 3 is cheaper to insure than a Camry (thus far, the opposite is true-- and it seems optimistic to attain for a car that costs so much more, has higher performance, and higher repair costs) - the Model 3 will be cheaper to maintain by a massive factor (we'll see; there is maintenance avoided by having an electric car but also Te…

They also appear to budget $0 for a home charging station, which means either you're doing all your charging at Tesla chargers, are lucky enough to have a charger at work that is regularly available, or charging at home via a very slow 1-2kW outlet.

Re: Tesla Model 3 Cost of Ownership Slightly Cheaper Than a Camry

#56
The Gas/Electricity cost comparison are off.

CA electric rates average 15.34c/KwH Tesla gets 27 KwH per 100 miles which comes out to 4.14$ per 100 miles for the Tesla A Camry at 50mpg uses 2 gallons costing 7$ per 100 miles.

So, on a per elec/gas basic the comparison should be: 2250 vs 3804

And, if you live in the bay area, then your electric rates can easily be 18, or 19c/KwH nearly putting the TM3 on par with the camry.

Also, as other pointed out: in the long term, the camry will cost much much less on maintenance than a TM3. if those TM3 door handles go out, that's 1500$ each just for that.

a year or two ago KBHD said nearly every Youtuber who's ever reviewed a Tesla (with the exception of 2), has at some point had their Tesla's up on a flatbed truck.

I don't know if they've improved the reliability since then but I think Tesla still has a lot to prove in this category, especially considering how expensive they are to repair.

Re: Tesla Model 3 Cost of Ownership Slightly Cheaper Than a Camry

#57
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Strangely, I found that insurance on cars over ten years old gets really expensive, to the point where the car is effectively uninsurable. I don't know why - but it was surprising, coming from a place where I insured a '95 Mazda for about $35 a month

There's no point in paying for comprehensive insurance on a car that old. You only need liability.

The values I quoted are for third party insurance (akin to liability in the US)

Re: Tesla Model 3 Cost of Ownership Slightly Cheaper Than a Camry

#58
post #45

Possibly dumb questions: 1. How long would the batteries last on the Tesla? 2. Do they need to be serviced more often if you live in colder climates? 3. Wouldn't battery health affect resale value??

Batteries are damaged by heat, not cold. It's just that the damage is revealed in cold weather.

Thanks, TIL.

So given all this, how long do the original batteries last in California heart?

Re: Tesla Model 3 Cost of Ownership Slightly Cheaper Than a Camry

#59
post #55
post #2

Seems to be predicated upon a number of questionable assumptions-- including that - a Model 3 is cheaper to insure than a Camry (thus far, the opposite is true-- and it seems optimistic to attain for a car that costs so much more, has higher performance, and higher repair costs) - the Model 3 will be cheaper to maintain by a massive factor (we'll see; there is maintenance avoided by having an electric car but also Te…

They also appear to budget $0 for a home charging station, which means either you're doing all your charging at Tesla chargers, are lucky enough to have a charger at work that is regularly available, or charging at home via a very slow 1-2kW outlet.

I charge my other manufacturer electric vehicle from a standard outlet every night over 12 hours or so it's sitting there because I drive it less than the charge needed every day, much like the vast majority of people would.

Re: Tesla Model 3 Cost of Ownership Slightly Cheaper Than a Camry

#60

The resale value for the Camry is bogus. I paid about $10k for a less nice Camry as the one mentioned in the article that was 7 years old with 130K kms. For a 5 year old LE with low kms I’d expect $13-17k resale.

There's a huge spread between trade-in value and prices on a dealership lot. It's completely reasonable to expect to get $8-10k in trade-in for a five year old Camry, and totally reasonable to expect to pay $15k to buy that same car from the dealership.
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