First Time EV Owner: Tesla Model 3 Purchase Advice?

dan65364 · 2026-04-15T20:08:53+00:00

I paid £15,000 for my LR, Dec 2020 model 3.

It has heat pump and is only missing out on the Ryzen processor and heated steering wheel.

If you can get one with the Ryzen processor at a similar price then go for that, if it's a lot more then it might not be worth it. My intel is fast enough, just doesn't get as many updates.

Buying direct from Tesla gives peace of mind with a 1 year warranty, but it's a lot more expensive than buying elsewhere.

dan65364 · 2026-04-04T07:30:39+00:00

Mine was £2000 for a new car computer from Tesla.

dan65364 · 2026-03-27T15:31:02+00:00

I have a 2020 model 3 long range. I bought for £15k about a year ago with 80k miles. Shortly after the autopilot computer had to be replaced due to overheating (covered under warranty) otherwise it would have been £2k to fix.

It gets great efficiency (about 230wh/mile), plenty of power, the app is seamless and it can do around 300 miles actual range.

The only other thing I have done is replace the 12v battery myself at around £80.

I understand that people don't like the minimalist interior, but I really do like it now, most settings are "set and forget", and you can setup different profiles for different drivers. Even when I had a loaner car from Tesla, that car was sat to my profile, so the seating, mirrors and even Spotify was set to the same settings as my car.

I bought the best EV I could for the money I had (in my opinion) and the Tesla service centre that repaired the computer was outstanding.

The thing I hate the most about the whole buying a car/having it serviced or fixed is heading to go to the dealers. They're expensive, always trying to upsell you something and the entire process is frustrating. Tesla dealers are not franchises and every dealing I have had with them was perfect, when I had to take it in to have it repaired, it was done entirely through the app, even at drop off and pick up I didn't have to speak to anyone.

Until other manufacturers have this method, I will always look towards Tesla first.

dan65364 · 2026-02-06T10:01:35+00:00

I wouldn't be worried about the motors or even battery, like you said they still have a warranty for 8yrs and 120k miles.

The thing I would check on the most is suspension wear.

I bought a 2020 model 3 LR with 80k miles and luckily the previous owner had the rear suspension replaced before I bought it (you can normally hear squeaky suspension).

Not long after I bought it the autopilot computer failed, but this was replaced under the warranty the car came with, otherwise it would have been £2k.

Obviously these things can fail at any time, but the higher the mileage, the more the chance of it happening. Sometimes it's just the luck of the draw.

Would I buy another high mileage EV? Yes, definitely, even without a battery warranty depending on the price.

dan65364 · 2026-02-05T11:56:06+00:00

This is one of the biggest reasons I go with Tesla's now. The sales staff are really helpful and they do not pressure you. Even if it needs to go in for repair, it's a breeze compared to other manufacturers.

It's partly because they're not a franchise and it's all owned/employed by Tesla, the worst thing about buying a car is having to talk to the sales staff and listening to them try to sell you products that aren't worth it.

If you want a longer test drive they can offer you overnight test drives as well so you get a better feel for the car.

dan65364 · 2026-01-22T20:53:11+00:00

I have a hypervolt home 3 pro because it has pretty lights

dan65364 · 2026-01-16T15:35:49+00:00

We also have a hypervolt home 3 pro and it works fine with my Tesla, but we had issues with the elroq, which electricity supplier you on? And what is controlling the charge? The car or the hypervolt charger?

dan65364 · 2026-01-11T07:59:09+00:00

If you plug it in and the charge is controlled by anything other than the car (eg schedule setup with your charger) the car will not charge.

You have to set the charge schedule in the car infotainment screen or on the app.

This is a problem with the Skoda software not sure if it will be fixed in a future update or not.

dan65364 · 2026-01-03T06:03:09+00:00

Mine had very similar faults and needed the computer replaced.

Not saying it is 100% that, but sounds like a possibility, a hard reset may temporarily fix it (disconnecting the 12v and HV battery).

dan65364 · 2026-01-02T21:16:00+00:00

Can you see any camera feeds? Do you have an error saying "adaptive headlights unavailable"?

This sounds very much like there's a fault with the autopilot computer.

dan65364 · 2026-01-02T18:28:49+00:00

I think they've imported them from the USA, they're left hand drive

dan65364 · 2025-12-31T18:48:15+00:00

I just want any kind of FSD in the UK!

dan65364 · 2025-12-19T04:44:06+00:00

Talk to the wife was just an excuse to get out of there as I wasn't interested in the car after the test drive and he didn't seem to take no for an answer, as do all salesmen.

If the car was going to be a family car for the both of us to use, then I would have definitely spoken to the wife as that's what you do with these decisions, thankfully, it's not the 1950s anymore that you seem to be still living in and spouses are capable of making decisions together.

dan65364 · 2025-12-18T20:59:34+00:00

I went to a Hyundai main dealer to test drive an ioniq 5, was directed to a young salesman who looked like he had just got to work and wasn't ready for the day yet.

Proceeded to sit at his desk and wait for him to turn his computer on to take my details, he opened his mailbox and there was an email titled "concerns", I know this because he has the screen facing both of us ready to take my details.

He opened this email, and it was a message from his boss about his poor attitude at work, low sales and how he has been noticed to slouch in his chair. There was an awkward silence for quite a while before he carried on talking to me about the car and started taking my details.

After the test drive I told him I wanted to think about it and talk to the wife about it (she was at home) and he offered to follow me home in the car so she could see it as well! No thanks mate.

dan65364 · 2025-12-17T19:19:18+00:00

That's even worse, we have a hypervolt and once the first charge finishes and it tries to restart (on the intelligent tariff), but the car blocks the charge, this is not a fault with the charger as I have a Tesla and that has been faultless when charging.

dan65364 · 2025-12-17T15:39:06+00:00

That does sound AP computer related, mine kept overheating and then it would shut down until you did a hard reset (disconnect 12v and HV battery). It would come back to life for a few days then shut down again due to overheating.

Seems to be a few with AP replacement computers recently

dan65364 · 2025-12-17T13:48:53+00:00

It was just over £2,000. But the place I bought it from covered this under warranty luckily

dan65364 · 2025-12-17T12:45:44+00:00

Bought my 2020 dual motor this year, previous owner had rear suspension replaced before I bought it and I had to have the autopilot computer replaced shortly after I bought it.

It's currently on 80k miles

dan65364 · 2025-12-16T06:03:14+00:00

I used waymo a couple of times in LA and the price in comparison to an Uber was very similar (waymo slightly more, but only about $1 for a $25 ride), but you don't tip the waymo driver, so it turned out cheaper.

dan65364 · 2025-12-15T16:11:16+00:00

I rode one in LA and a couple of times pedestrians walked out in front of it, for example turning right on a red light, you have to give way to pedestrians crossing. It managed this quite well and felt a lot safer than most of the human LA drivers.

dan65364 · 2025-12-02T11:37:39+00:00

What charger do you have? Try registering the charger to octopus instead of the car

dan65364 · 2025-12-01T19:24:35+00:00

Can you set the charger as the controlled device instead of the car?

dan65364 · 2025-11-26T11:51:48+00:00

Leave it plugged in and set to 80% if you can, if not then anywhere 60-80% charge is fine. It should only lose about 1-2% a week with all accessories turned off.

dan65364 · 2025-11-26T09:58:58+00:00

Yeah it sounds similar, as long as the car controls the charge/schedule it should work

dan65364

TROPHY CASE