Key considerations
- Available for £30,000
- 3-phase AC induction electric motor, all-wheel drive (Long Range & Perf)
- Fine mix of performance and range
- Don’t expect European standards of build or material quality
- Low running costs (although electricity isn’t cheap anymore)
- They say the battery pack will last for a long time
Remember when Tesla Model 3 madness was gripping the UK? Tesla’s Californian production line had started in mid-2017 but it would be the best part of two more years from there before right-hand drive Model 3s began to be delivered to UK customers.
You could say that Britain wasn’t exactly high up on Elon Musk’s to-do list, which wasn’t that surprising. The Model 3 had been generating the sort of levels of excitement and mystique normally associated with upcoming new iPhones well before 2017. In terms of range and performance, it was perceived as the first seriously buyable full EV. Folk were clamouring to buy them. It seemed like a safe buy, too, because Tesla had already established its car manufacturing credibility with the 2009 Roadster, 2012 Model S saloon and 2015 Model X SUV, and backed that up with an equally credible high-speed Supercharger charging network.
All these earlier Teslas had wowed road testers and owners, but price-wise most of them were well beyond the reach of ‘ordinary’ motorists. The Model 3 would change all that. It offered the four/five-seat capacity of a 3 Series BMW or Audi A4, a strong bodyshell for good passenger safety, and sports car performance, all with zero emissions. Well, sort of: excuse us if we don’t get into electricity production arguments here. Buyers found it easy to look past all that, half a million of them banging in $1,000 deposits from the opening of the order book in March 2016, 115,000 of them in the first 24 hours.
There were difficulties. A tent had to be built outside the main plant in Fremont to try and ramp up the output and early cars were criticised by US consumer organisations for long stopping distances in emergency braking tests. This was put right by an algorithm update but build quality issues continued to arise. We’ll get into a few of those later. By 2018 the Model 3 had become the world’s top-selling plug-in EV, a feat it repeated in 2019 and 2020, when it overtook the Nissan Leaf as the best-selling plug-in electric car ever.
Three variants were available on the UK market, the single-motor 54kWh battery rear-wheel drive Standard Range Plus (which eventually became known simply as the Model 3), and two all-wheel-drive twin-motor 75kWh battery options, the Long Range and the Performance version which sacrificed some range in favour of granny-frightening acceleration – 0-62mph in 3.2sec and on to 162mph. Model 3 ranges were 254 miles (Standard), 348 (LR) and 329 (Performance). After the 2021 model year improvements when the Performance model’s battery packs went up to 82kWh those numbers went up to 267, 360 and 352. There again we’ve also seen ‘official’ Model 3 ranges of 305, 374 and 340. Whatever the reality might be, you get the general idea, which was very practicable ranges for business as well as private owners. People who needed to travel further than the local chip shop and back, a range limitation displayed by many other early EVs.
The base Model 3 came with power-adjustable and heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, Bluetooth connectivity, climate control, faux-leather upholstery and the iconic 15-inch central screen through which just about all the car’s functions were controlled. There was a facelift in 2021 but Tesla improvements tended to be of an ongoing and fluid nature, a stream of firmware and software updates being an integral part of the proposition. This did lead some to venture the opinion that Tesla customers were being used as development engineers. Less cynical types looked at this refreshment process in a more positive way, appreciating that their cars were being brought up to something approaching new-car spec on a regular basis. It was the kind of futureproofing to which owners of more conventional vehicles could never aspire.
As of Nov 2022, we hear that a revamped Model 3 (project ‘Highland’) is in the pipeline to help the car to compete in a more crowded marketplace. The likely arrival date for this car, which is rumoured to be simpler and cheaper to produce, is the third quarter of 2023. Right now though you can buy any one of the thousand or so secondhand Model 3s that are on sale in the UK at any given moment. Used 3s outnumber the second most popular Tesla (the Model S) by nearly four to one in this country so there’s plenty of choice.
At the end of this year, the oldest UK-based 3s were still only three years old and prices started from under £30,000 – £7,000 less than they had been at the end of 2021. The mileages on these bottom-price cars won’t be low, however. Many will be at around 100k, some will be more.
Does mileage matter, though, when the number of wearing drivetrain parts is so small? From that point of view, maybe not, but for more cautious motorists one worry is potentially replaced by another, namely the issue of battery longevity. There’s not much point saving on annual mechanical maintenance costs if you’re going to be faced with a whopping battery replacement bill at some point in the future, right? Is Model 3 ownership all about deferring costs? Where are the danger points for secondhand buyers?
SPECIFICATION | TESLA MODEL 3 (2019-on, UK)
Engine: twin electric motors
Transmission: single-speed automatic, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 434
Torque (lb ft): 364
0-62mph (secs): 4.7
Top speed (mph): 145
Weight (kg): 1,847
Battery: 75kWh/360v
Range: 348-374 miles
Wheels (in): 8.5 x 18
Tyres: 235/45
On sale: 2019 - on
Price new: £49,990 (2019)
Price now: from £30,000
(Figures for Long Range model)
Note for reference: car weight and power data are hard to pin down with absolute certainty. For consistency, we use the same source for all our guides. We hope the data we use is right more often than it’s wrong. Our advice is to treat it as relative rather than definitive.
POWERTRAIN
To deal with that last point, anyone basing their knowledge of batteries on the sometimes not-so-gradual degradation of their old mobile phones over time, or on the low-range performance of early Nissan Leafs, should perhaps reassess that when it comes to Tesla battery units. The whole picture of EV battery life remains cloudy in these early stages of the genre’s existence, but Tesla owner experience indicates that only 5 per cent of battery capacity is lost in the first 50,000 miles and that the rate of capacity loss actually reduces beyond that point.
Tesla’s own research (admittedly based on Model S and X cars rather than the 3 specifically, but it gives you an idea) claims that you’ll still have 90 per cent of capacity available to you after 200,000 miles. A little while back Tesla said they’d designed a battery that could, in the right conditions, last for a century or four million miles. The company has been moving to new, more energy-dense designs which have a smaller number of cells within the battery, but as of late 2022 those new power units were restricted to Texas-built Model Ys. Some rear-drive (single-motor) Model 3s in the UK will have less energy-dense nickel/cobalt-free batteries.
Those of you swithering about Tesla purchase will want to be reassured by the warranty situation. Establishing the exact nature of the Model 3’s regular warranty isn’t straightforward because they’ve quite obviously spent a lot of legal time and money on wordings, but as we understand it the base package was 4 years or 50,000 miles with an 8 year/100,000-mile warranty for the battery pack which promised to replace or refurbish one that failed to retain at least 70 per cent of its original capacity over that time. We think it might be 8 years/120,000 miles for the LR and Performance twin-motor versions. If you’re worried about it – bearing in mind that installing a new battery pack might cost £15,000 – an extended Battery and Drive Unit Limited Warranty has been available from Tesla since 2020. When looking at cars to buy you can check the recharge rate by connecting it to a Supercharger, so hopefully there will be one of those on any test drive route you find yourself on.
There are tricks to maximise battery performance. Those in the know suggest that Tesla batteries don’t enjoy being up at 100 per cent of charge or down to zero, and that in order to keep battery stress levels low you should limit the charge to 80 per cent for normal driving. It’s also said that keeping your visits to Superchargers to a minimum (consistent with practical travel needs of course) is a good idea as the rate at which they stuff the power into batteries can speed up degradation.
One long-term test Model 3 in the US suffered a major failure of its rear inverter unit 5,000 miles and three months into their ownership. Higher mileage 3s can develop charging issues as a result of looseness in the port, a bit like how your mobile phone charger gets wobbly over time. Charging port door malfunction warnings could pop up when water got in there either through rain or a car wash. Supercharger charging cords were quite short, requiring you to get very close to the charging station. On servicing, the car tells you if and when it needs it, but Tesla says it’s a good idea to have a look at the cabin air filter and the brake fluid every two years. There’s a mobile technician service in the UK and, as you’d expect, plenty of internet comms coming your way from the factory for updates and the like.
CHASSIS
The 3’s suspension – coil springs, passive damping, double wishbone front and multi-link rear – followed modern sporting design standards. Of the three variants, the Performance model felt like it has the most comfortable ride despite having 20-inch Uberturbine wheels (which were very easy to kerb) and ‘sports’ suspension. The Standard model could be a little disconcerting to drive at high speed. The LR provided perhaps the best mix of comfort, grip and body stability. One-inch lowering springs have become a fairly common upgrade.
In Model 3s built after April 2021 the operating system used for the Forward Collision Warning and Automated Emergency Braking features changed from radar-based to a new camera-based Tesla Vision system. This change resulted in some instances of ‘phantom braking’ when in Autopilot mode.
You need to make sure that the brakes of any Model 3 you’re looking at are engaging correctly in Park and releasing correctly in Drive. Test that a few times. Setting the regenerative braking system to max meant that you hardly needed to touch the brakes in everyday motoring. The corollary of that was low brake wear, a good thing in one way, but on any EV you do need to be aware of the possibility of seizure of moving parts in the brake system (like the calipers) simply through underuse.
Creaking from higher-mileage Model 3 front ends over bumps is commonly caused by too-tight joints in the upper control arms. Tyres seemed to wear down after 20,000 miles, or fewer if the camber went out of whack causing uneven wear patterns.
BODYWORK
Unlike the almost-all aluminium Model S, the 3’s body was mainly steel, with aluminium used for the bonnet, boot, doors and roof. One of the comments most commonly aimed at American-made cars over the years has been the relatively low standard of body panel fit and finish. You’d think that Tesla’s newness on the auto scene would have put things right on that score but there has been no shortage of reports of misaligned door and boot panels on the Model 3, and of large panel gaps. If you’re used to Audi levels of build quality you might find these big gaps difficult to accept. They also make it harder to discern the effects of an accident but it’s a case of like it or lump it.
Loose body parts and poor paint have also been commonly complained about. Paint protection film for the front of the car and maybe also the sill areas is a very good idea not just to save if from stone chips but also because it attracts insects like nobody’s business and they’re a lot easier to scrape off with PPF in place. Ceramic coatings are often mentioned as a great saviour, but you should look carefully into what you’re getting for your money there.
The sunroof, where fitted, might become sticky in use or completely non-functioning if it hadn’t been operated much in its life. Both it and the double-glazed windows have been known to crack for no obvious reason, but Tesla has been pretty good about sorting these under warranty. Condensation in the headlight and taillight units has been an issue for some Model 3s. The black trim piece that runs from the A-pillar to the door mirror can start to come away from the door. Same goes for the thin ‘Model 3’ sticker whatsit that sits atop the trim piece on the sill kickplate.
The fibrous composite aero panels on the underside of the Model 3 don’t have a great reputation for longevity, tearing quite easily. The metal used for the 3’s battery case (which is exposed between the fibre panels) is of a thinner gauge than that used for other Teslas and is therefore more easily damaged. Some owners have had trouble with their doors locking. Opening all the doors and the boot lid (which was power operated from the end of 2020, and which shouldn’t make any untoward noises in use) and then closing them would often resolve that. Match the badging up to the actual spec of the car to make sure you’re not being hoodwinked.
INTERIOR
Inside a Tesla it’s all about the screen. The 15-inch one in the Model 3 is slightly smaller than those of its bigger brothers and sits horizontally rather than vertically. It is a lovely thing but there’s no getting away from it and that can be a distraction when you’re driving. So can some of the small icons that you have to prod. Thankfully the screen reacts well. A prod normally results in instant action, although hitting the timeline bars on the screen to cue up a favourite bit of your song or whatever could be very difficult owing to their minuscule depth.
On longer journeys some owners found themselves having to reset the screen more than once. Software updates have gradually reduced this problem but in some cases there have been critical shutdowns that have disabled the vehicle. Deep restarts would sometimes clear these issues and allow the car to boot up, but this sort of episode could be scary. Dead pixels and a dulling of the display are not unknown. Nor are malfunctioning comfort features. If you’re coming from a normal car you might long for some more, well, stuff to look at on the dash. It can seem a little bare in there. If you like minimalism, you’ll love it.
Creaks, groans and rattles that you never noticed in your old internal combustion car might bug you as a first-time Model 3 owner. The likelihood is that your old car had all these cabin noises and more, but you couldn’t hear them as they were drowned out by all the other mechanical racket the car was making. You do have to shift your expectations when you’re in an EV. The 3’s frameless doors weren’t ideal for the suppression of wind noise and window regulators could go out of adjustment. Head and legroom in the back were not that different to a 3 Series BMW, so not massively spacious, but you did have extra under-bonnet storage to supplement the space in the regular boot, adding up to a total of 542 litres, 60 more than that of a BMW 3 Series.
Dealers will refer to non-cloth Model 3 seats as ‘leather’ but in fact it’s always been a polyurethane-based leather-free material on this model. Some say this is superior to leather, others that it’s not as durable or as resistant to marking and bubbling as leather. From autumn 2019 the 3s went fully vegan when the last bit of real moo (on the steering wheel) was replaced by the synthetic stuff. Elsewhere valve failure in the heating system’s heat pump has been a Model 3 thing. This has led to climate control failure and poor windscreen defrosting. A new heat pump was specced at the end of 2020. Water could get into the 3’s cabin so you should feel under the carpets for damp.
PH VERDICT
They said it would never happen, that EVs were too cold/soulless/whatever but as of June 2022 there were nearly 480,000 electric vehicles on British roads and no sign of the honeymoon ending yet. Just about every manufacturer has at least one EV on its books now, but Tesla will still very likely be the name most often mentioned in Family Fortunes in answer to the question ‘name an EV firm’. That’s a tribute to them. Tesla cars aren’t perfect, but can anyone name one that is? There is undoubtedly quite a bit of personal antipathy felt by some towards the company’s high-profile founder, which makes some want to watch the cars fail, but objectively we have to give Tesla massive credit for delivering functional, useable and devilishly fast EVs to the market in what is in manufacturing terms a remarkably short time. And they’ve made a lot of them too. The Model 3 passed the million mark in summer 2021.
Typically, the cars we cover in these buying guides tend to suffer from teething troubles that are gradually sorted out. The newer the car, the better it (generally) becomes. That’s been true with Model 3s but there has also been some chat about recent reductions in either quality or quality control. Seven recalls have been issued on the 3 in the United States in 2022 alone. For its part Tesla says that it has improved its build processes by 40 per cent since the beginning of the Model 3’s life. Go onto any Tesla forum and you’ll find complaints - but that’s true for just about any car forum.
New Model 3 prices might seem quite high until you realise that you’re getting a special sort of vehicle that gives you 5-star crash protection rating, almost non-existent servicing costs and a zero tax bill – until 2025, at least. Maybe the next-gen car will address more of the fit and finish issues, but if you can put up with those and believe that electricity prices will stop rising sometime soon then you might well consider £30k for a used Tesla to be a bit of a bargain.
The most affordable Model 3 on PH Classifieds at the time of writing was this 2019 Performance with 74,000 miles at £29,995. Indeed, this was claimed to be the cheapest Model 3 in the UK, but if we’re being picky that would be the 87,000-mile Standard we saw elsewhere for £105 less. At the other end of the spectrum, you’ll be needing the best part of £60k for a ’22 483hp Performance specimen like this black 6,000-miler. At the £45k mark halfway between these high and low points you’ll find a whole heap of Performance and Long Range cars from all three years (2019-22) typically in the 12,000-25,000-mile range. Here’s a Long Ranger from 2021 with 15,000 miles at exactly £45k. The same money will get you a 6,000-mile Standard car like this one.
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