Photo by Jesper Berggreen

1st Generation Tesla Model 3 Still Keeping It Together At 100,000 Miles

March 11, 2024March 11, 20249 months ago Jesper Berggreen 0 Comments

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Despite many others having already done this, I feel somewhat obligated to report on the first 100,000 miles driven in my Tesla Model 3 LR RWD, since this is the very first configuration Tesla sent off the production line in July 2017. In fact, this has made me realize that I need to go find a set of those original 19″ rims to replace my 18″, because it’s a born classic with that look from the very first SN1 vehicle! It also means I have to keep it forever…. Well, let’s see when it caves and has to be shelved. I suspect that will happen many, many years and miles into the future.

My specimen is a black 2019 Long Range with rear-wheel drive. It has a (current) real-world range of just over 250 miles (400 km), which was speculated to be the initial real-world range of the Model 3 long before production. It has declined some 10% since new, but that’s still enough to never make me worry about range. Also, the number of Supercharger stations that have popped up all over Denmark — and Europe — makes any concerns about range a non-issue. By the way, the opening up of Superchargers to non-Tesla vehicles has not been a problem for me on the occasional road trip. And I have also been on a road trip in a Citröen eC4, only using Tesla Superchargers, and that has been no hassle whatsoever.

Total Cost Of Ownership

I documented a lot of details when I reached 100,000 km (62,000 miles), so this time around I will just update the main points:

Price in June 2019 including full self driving (FSD): $67,290 (DKK 463,000).

Current average resale value according to various local used car sites: $29,000 (DKK 200,000)
Depreciation: $38,290 (263,000 DKK) = $0.383 per mile (DKK 1.64 per km)
Total spent on service: $4,840 (DKK 33,312) (Note: A third of this has been replacing several suspension parts due to squeaking noises, some were under warranty, some were not. The rest is 2 windshield replacements, 8 tires, wipers, cabin filters, and wiper fluid, and some noise dampening work — nothing else.)
Total spent on electricity: $2,953 (DKK 20,327) (Note: Due to kind referrals early on I got more than 10,000 miles of free Supercharging. However, 93% of charging is at home.)
Total spent on insurance: $5,140 (DKK 35,380)
Total spent on taxes: $429 (DKK 2,950)
Total spent on premium connectivity: $349 (DKK 2,400)
Running cost total of: $13,711 (DKK 94,369) = $0.137 per mile (DKK 0.590 per km)

Total cost of ownership (TCO) so far: $0.52 per mile (DKK 2.23 per km).

So, despite pretty significant depreciation, due to price cuts over the years and new cars getting better and better, making used cars less and less attractive, this is still a very low TCO. If FSD becomes a reality before this car reaches end of life, the story changes completely, but that’s a pie in the sky for now (although, I obviously would not have bought FSD had I not believed in it, which I still do).

Comfort

Does the car feel like new? No, it feels better than new, but that’s only because I had it noise dampened within the first year, which made the sound comfort in the cabin so much better. I’m very happy I made this decision early on. Everything in terms of the mechanics shows no signs of wear (except replacing those suspension parts due to irritating — but not unsafe — squeaking noises), meaning the car still feels new to drive. And remember, this is the rear-wheel drive with the big battery, which gives it more power than the standard range, thus delivering a solid 0–60 mph time of 5 seconds. Nothing crazy, but adds to the fun factor.

Unknowns

There are a couple of unknowns that are worth mentioning. Rust is one. I hear stories about Teslas starting to rust, both older Model 3 and newer Model Y vehicles. I had my car checked a couple of times, and I have nothing out of the ordinary in terms of corrosion, despite the fact that the car sits outside all year round and is exposed to a lot of salt roughly half of the year. This winter has been very challenging, and it made me realize that if you cannot stay at home when it’s snowing heavily, all-season tires are not good enough. I will start using summer and winter tires.

Brakes is another unknown that you have to think about when driving in the type of climate we have here in Denmark. The first couple of years, I drove with maximum regenerative braking (one-pedal driving) to get good range, but I noticed that this made the brake discs rust so much it would make them uneven. I switched to low regen and started to apply my brakes harder occasionally, especially in winter. This has made the discs cleaner and more even again. At 4 years, it passed inspection, but only just, and I was told the discs probably would not pass next time — we shall see. I have also found that if I work the brakes hard a couple of miles before parking, so that the discs have some heat built up, the parking brake pads are less prone to stick, which previously would feel really uncomfortable starting out in the morning with a loud clonking sound as if the pads had been glued to the discs.

Range

Range can be seen three-fold: First, there’s the official WLTP range, which is 600 km (373 miles) for this model. Second, there is the range estimate always shown on screen in the car and in the app. Third, there is the actual range achieved. At new, the car suggested a range of 516 km (321 miles) was possible. Now, it shows 462 km (287 miles). So, that’s down 10.6%. The actual consumption has been very consistent, with a year-round average of 176 Wh/km (283 Wh/mile), or put another way, 5.68 km/kWh (3.53 miles/kWh). Assuming 75 kWh of usable battery capacity, this amounts to an average range of 426 km (265 miles) on a full charge. Adjusting for a possible loss of 10.6% battery capacity, which gives an approximated current usable battery capacity of 67 kWh, the actual range that I would trust a full charge would deliver would be 381 km (237 miles). When people ask me what’s the range of an EV, any EV, I always answer: Forget WLTP and calculate battery capacity × 5 km (3.1 miles). That’s real life for you.

Photo by Jesper Berggreen. Tesla Model 3 LR RWD 2019 vs. 2024 after 100,000 miles (321 miles vs. 287 miles) is a 10.6% decline.

Colin

I still enjoy every single ride in this car. It’s wicked fast, easy to use, and has razor sharp handling. The interior holds up well. There is no visual wear and tear and nothing has come loose anywhere. Comfort is okay for me, but I am well aware it’s nowhere near its competitors, let alone its successor. Yet, as a daily driver, this 1st generation of the Model 3 has proven itself way beyond what I would have expected. (I have read the stories of others having lots of problems, so maybe I’m just lucky?) However, I dare not try out the new Model 3. I am so scared I will abandon “Colin” on the spot. Besides, what would I call a new car? “Colin” is the perfect name … and it stays with this car! Goofy, I know….