My junkie daily driver is finally starting to bite the dust at the 300,000 mile mark. I've already made it clear to the car that it isn't getting any more money spent on it. I'm driving it until the wheels fall off and calling her done.

I've always scrimped and saved, which has enabled me to buy most of my properties with cash. I rarely buy "luxury" items, but after seeing the Tesla Model 3, I'm really thinking of pulling the trigger. $62k for an AWD dual motor that can get 353 miles on a single charge with a top speed of 145 mph. . .And it can (mostly) drive itself. Not to mention the lack of normal maintenance regular vehicles require. My Truck is on Transmission #3 and this car doesn't even have one to worry about! The "maintenance" consists of checking the brake fluid every 2 years. I can handle that.

Also when gas goes back up to $4 with the current admin, it'll pay dividends. I know it isn't exactly a sound financial move, but you can't take it with you, right?

One of the posters on here (Where are you JKJ?) had mentioned a while back how a friend of his had a Tesla and he really liked it.

That said, They have recently been in the news about several recalls for the self driving crashes. The cars were not recognizing parked cars.

Do a little research on the web for recalls and customer reviews.

Two of my son's friend, both in RE, have Teslas. LOVE them and would buy them again in a heartbeat.

See if you can rent one for a weekend. I'm an enabler when it comes to cars. ;) You have worked hard, indulge yourself. If you can pay cash I say go for it. If not, the Subaru Outback is nice. ;) I would cut whatever range they report in half though.

I took a jr college class back in the 90's on electric vehicles and learned the basics of the early systems. I like the concept of electric cars, and I REALLY like the direct all wheel drive, which is supposed to function even better than traditional lockers in 4WD.

We looked at the Rav4 and Lexus hybrids last year but an issue for us is battery life with the desert heat cooking them. The distances we drive between places could be problematic for all electric. Plus we have a roughly 4,000 ft elevation gain to get over the passes out of our valley that would probably suck the juice. For an "around town" car in a urban area I think it would be great. One of our neighbors has a Prius and it's a little creepy when he goes gliding past without a sound. LOL

My other issue along with the heat, is in the winter it's not unusual for it to be a balmy 50 degrees in the valley and have 6 inches of snow on the pass. I've seen 18" as low as 3,500 ft. Up in the high country (over 6,000 ft) 18" is not unusual and the only thing moving is lifted trucks, jeeps, 4-Runners and Tacomas. Having a big 4wd truck has saved us a couple of times when the interstate has been shut down and we've had to blast through the median in a foot or two of snow to turn around.

Life's short and you can't take it with you, so enjoy. :D

Nope.

@ 6x6 and Richard. My Corvette laughs at your 57 Chevy! What a boat. I banged my head and nearly knocked myself out on the wing window frame of my Dad's when I was a kid. LOL

How many sheets of sheetrock will that thing haul?

If you want it....can afford it....buy it!

Lots to enjoy with Tesla but before you get too excited, there is shortage of some models these days. If that happens consider one of the websites that has people looking to find someone to transfer their lease to.

Another advantage of that is that the Tesla technology is impressive and continues to advance. What comes out on market two years from now might have you even more excited about Tesla, and I don't say that about any other vehicle.

Oh, I forgot to mention, just because I think Tesla is enjoyable to drive, don't think I've got any problem with fossil fuels.

Keep fracking, keep drilling, and keep building pipelines.

Many neighbors drive Teslas, including the one next to us who recently bought a Tesla SUV.

I've talked to two tow truck drivers over the past few years who told me that Teslas are the top cars that break down. Nevertheless, the brand is extremely popular and is branching out with different models. I heard that the best month to buy a new car is in October.

October is not the best month to buy a new car. The person that said told you October was good had to be talking about a used car since there are a lot of cars traded in during October. Supply would be higher then when it comes to used cars.

Prices seem to be at their highest when the new car models come out and many people do look to buy a car at that time and also in the spring. Since demand is highest during those times, I would not expect to have much leverage then although I'm not sure whether there is any time when the Tesla buyer would have much leverage.

My opinion is I would wait until more top car companies start to make them.

Teslas are not reliable enough for me.

How's the torque on the electric cars ... can you put a 2" hitch on the thing?

Of course if this is just a "fun" car .... never mind.

I was asking a friend about how the AC affected his range. He said AC wasn't bad but running the heater would cut the range in half.

Jason,

Not sure but I believe the way Tesla is built is that the model already includes almost all features and that depending on what you pay for, they turn those features on so you have access to them. Friend who drives it says lots of fun features.

do you know how many down payments you could make on a new RE investment with that 100K?

This is why many on this site will never make it in RE-- they lose focus of the brass ring.

While evaluating, just make sure you're evaluating the product and not just caught up in the Cult of Tesla.

I found Autopilot inaccurate and untrustworthy. While on a test drive, the car tried to take a exit on the highway when it should have stayed on the highway. I also found fit and finish to be horrible, and our test model had some defects.

They're also slower to get service and more expensive to insure.

As a LL, I don't like splurging, but I do so on some of the darnest things. If it will give you pleasure and you can afford it, enjoy.

I'm just going to add this, I was at a engineering show that featured some of the new technology in batteries and it was amazing. Batteries so tough that you could shoot a 45 thru the center and it would still function also as weel,..just minus the power that hole would supply.

Then there are batteries that would charge super fast (but the company said it is considered privileged information at this time) but the company said it would run a standard car about a 1,000 per charge. Thats just some of the new batery technology featured.

Also lots of new ways to generate power, with MUCH more efficient ways to harness solar, wind, geothermal, capturing breaking energy and even bumps in roads, and compression to name some.

Personally I wouldn't invest in oil in the long run future.

Eclectic cars have already greatly surpassed the long time frame the naysayers said it would take to have them at this stage. Some fleet car companies have gotten 300,000 miles on the motors and drive train already and they don't really know how longer they can go.

Then did you see the 60 Minutes show about how close the driver less 18 wheel semis would be here? Now projected to be on the roads in the beginning of this coming year and growing fast after then.

I think the future looks bright in these technologies esp concerning how new they are.

Regardless of the nice things I might say about Tesla, I will NEVER NEVER trust driverless.

I had my test drive yesterday and man what a fun car to drive. My first words after pulling out of the lot were (two words I can’t write here). The car is just that fast.

Reading the safety data, driving with autopilot is much safer than driving without. With a background in automation, this technology doesn’t scare me at all. I’m much more scared of other drivers lack of attention on the road.

I was driving down a busy city street with multiple stop lights. When I’d come to a red light, the car would stop. If the car in front of me nudged up, my car would nudge up. When the light turned green, the car would automatically go. It was such an odd feeling. When accelerating, there’s no torque curve or time delay from gears shifting, it just GOES. After mashing on the pedal for 30 minutes, I felt like I had done a bunch of sit-ups.

I’m gonna sleep on it one more night but the car sells itself.

Yes, the acceleration is much more than expected.

But still if you haven't seen the news stories about driverless problems, i have not seen many but I do recall seeing a few. I would use autopilot but only when I am paying attention to road and ready to take over if a problem.