is there someway for the LA county fire dept to pay for your gas and car?

 

I was going to argue a downside of having to stop along the way to charge, but I bet you want to take a break once or twice anyway, and you barely need a topping up to make the 390 mile trip, if you get the big battery. Your route has a ton of superchargers.

I’m on track to put on about 40k mi/yr on ours, and I’m finding the autopilot to be a game changer. There is so much less fatigue. We like to nit pick here, but the model 3 does (at least) 2 things astonishingly well: 1) keep position in lane, and 2) not drive into things. Just these things alone offload so much of the menial tasks of driving long distance. That’s a big check in the plus side for improving the quality of your life.

Reliability? Anybody up to telling the future? Chatter is that components are robust. We have simplicity on our side. Attention to detail is a wild card though. I’d imagine you have good opportunity to get service while you’re in LA though, and you have the benefit of prolonged duty periods.

Get it! (What did you expect? We’re biased here . )

 

I love my model 3 and wouldn't trade it for anything else but in your case consider a used model S with "FREE SUPERCHARGING" instead of a model 3. With that kind of commute, most of your charging will be at superchargers and rates are subject to increase. Without free supercharging, you should look at current rates in Utah, Nevada and California and calculate how much you will be spending, I think you will find that a used Model S will be more economical for you.

 

I love my model 3 and wouldn't trade it for anything else but in your case consider a used model S with "FREE SUPERCHARGING" instead of a model 3.

I don't know if this is the right argument. If he charges to full at home before leaving, then he only needs to supercharge for ~100 miles to complete the trip to work. It sounds like the LAFD may already have 3 EVSEs installed (reference). If he can use one of those to fill up again, then again he'd only have to supercharge for part of the trip back home. Given all of that, I don't think the price premium of a Model S is worth it just to get free supercharging.

 

1. What's the cars longevity? It hasn't been out long enough that I've seen any higher mileage ones so I have no idea what type of out of warranty work I'll end up needing. I could possibly run out of factory warranty the first year of ownership.

better than an ICE car. there are very few moving parts to wear out.

2. Is it truly cheaper than my ICE cars that I've been driving per mile? Right now I'm driving a 2016 Toyota Corolla with 120k miles that gets about 34mpg's. I typically do 4 round trips to work per month at a cost of $300 for fuel. 3200 miles per month average driving distance.

Yes, absolutely. take your 3200 miles x 300Wh/mile for 960,000 watts (or 960kW) multiply that by your electricity rate (for me it is $.08 so would be $76.80.). Even using $.30/kW that is an average California Supercharger rate, you are at $228 for the month.

The safety features of autopilot are intriguing. I realize it's not autonomous but there is definitely some safety aspects that make the car worth considering doing this many miles. My biggest concern is how much it will cost me when it's out of warranty.

The help TACC and autosteer add to a freeway drive, especially a long one, is amazing and 100% worth the cost.

 

They give me a decent paycheck but they don’t pay for it. I’d rely on super chargers. I have a friend who owns a 2015 Model S and he claims they come with an 8 year bumper to bumper unlimited mileage warranty so until 2023 and free super chargers for life. Is this true? Might be a better option although the range is not near as good as the 3. But I’ll have to use a super charger somewhere between work and home anyway so may be a better option. Then I don’t have to worry about batteries and drive motors etc for a few years.

 

They give me a decent paycheck but they don't pay for it. I'd rely on super chargers. I have a friend who owns a 2015 Model S and he claims they come with an 8 year bumper to bumper unlimited mileage warranty so until 2023 and free super chargers for life. Is this true? Might be a better option although the range is not near as good as the 3. But I'll have to use a super charger somewhere between work and home anyway so may be a better option. Then I don't have to worry about batteries and drive motors etc for a few years.

warranty varies by model. for the 3, go to this page and scroll down to the "specs" section and flip thru the different models
https://www.tesla.com/model3

for the Long Range & Performance:
Vehicle
4 year 50,000 miles
Battery & Drive Unit
8 year 120,000 miles

while the Standard & Standard +:
Vehicle
4 year 50,000 miles
Battery & Drive Unit
8 year 100,000 miles

The S models:
4 years, basic vehicle
8 years, battery & powertrain

 

I think you would find the LR RWD a great replacement. Assuming 250Wh/mile which is what we get at highway speeds of 65 or so, I calculated supercharger fees of $208 for a month. If you can charge at home and in LA for free or lower rates you could chop something like 15% off that. Your maintenance costs would be much lower. Look at the recommended service intervals for the few needed services. Your tire costs might be higher as its a heavier car with bigger tires. As to long term reliability there are no data at this point, but the motors have been touted as designed/tested for one million miles. So you would reduce your routine maintenance costs which you have not given.

As far as autopilot. You will love it on that kind of drive. It just makes long distance cruising much less tiring because you are not having to constantly keep the car in the lane and avoid hitting other traffic. It is amazing how much less tiring driving is when all you are doing is monitoring the job the car is doing. And I'm sure there is no comparison between the crash safety of a Corolla and a Model 3.

 

You will be the prime candidate for FSD.

The longevity of the Model 3? Right now it's about 1.5 years, only because that is how long the Model 3 has been produced. There are Model S and X that have been around for a long time with a lot of miles (>500,000) on them. The Model 3 was built to beat this. The Tesla Semi, which is built for really long distances is using a lot of parts and concepts from the Model 3, so they are definitely building them to last a really long time.

Superchargers are different prices in different locations. Looking at the Tesla trip map, you'll be stopping for about 50 minutes at a Supercharger, which should be less than $15. This would assume that you charge at home and at the fire house, these both could possibly be 120V plugs. And the stops would add about an hour to your commute.

In your case, I think that the reliability of an EV and ICE would put the EV on the best side. With electronics, most failures tend to happen early in life. With mechanical items, they happed as the parts wear down. Electric motors are one of those things that really can go for many years without issues.
It then comes down to the battery. So far, no one has seen that much degradation on the batteries. (Some of the 5+ year old batteries had issues, but not recent ones) And the battery should be able to replaced, at which time it's like a new car.

 

Actually , the supercharging time will get shorter with the increase max Kw (from 120 to 147) on V2 superchargers and if they install a V3 supercharger Max Kw 250Kw along the route you will travel. If you get a home EV charger - $500 for Tesla Charger (on a spare 50 amp breaker) plus electrician installation costs, if not DYI.

One of the Youtuber channel, TechForum, has already put 40k miles on his model 3 in a year and I don’t think he has had any maintenance performed except tire rotation and switch between winter/summer tires. He uses the car for business around his area.

Recently, Tesla recommended , for Model 3, to rotate tires every 10-12k miles, A/C service every 6 years ,and brake fluid test/replacement plus cabin filter replacement every 2 years. Brake pads probably will not need replacement for a while (more than ICE cars) because of regenerative braking. That’s about it for regular maintenance.

 

for Model 3, to rotate tires every 10-12k miles,

really? got a link? Michelin recommends rotating the 18 inch tires used on the Model 3 every 10,000 km and I've done that. Max has 32k miles, and if you can charge at work and home, it's the perfect car for what you need to do. Ah, and the joys of TACC in LA traffic are worth their weight in gold.

 

Even if the fire department doesn’t have a charger today, you might be able to agree to pay for the charger if they would install it. Could charge while at work as well. I think your gas and maintenance savings would easily allow you to install the charging infrastructure at both locations.

 

Well super bummed as this is not going to be a reality for me for a year or two. We just sold our home because the market is high where we live and I’m thinking we are going to see a correction in the next year or two. We just signed a year lease to rent a house and The house I live in the power panel is on the complete opposite side of the house away from the garage. I figured if the panel was on the outside of the garage it would we easy to run a 50amp service inside the garage but jo way I’ll get permission to pull power all the way around the house. Plus I’m sure it would be very expansive. So I’ll just have to wait until we decide when and where to build our house in a year or two. Bummer. The thought of commuting in a Tesla are super appealing to me. But it’s going to have to wait.

 

Well super bummed as this is not going to be a reality for me for a year or two. We just sold our home because the market is high where we live and I'm thinking we are going to see a correction in the next year or two. We just signed a year lease to rent a house and The house I live in the power panel is on the complete opposite side of the house away from the garage. I figured if the panel was on the outside of the garage it would we easy to run a 50amp service inside the garage but jo way I'll get permission to pull power all the way around the house. Plus I'm sure it would be very expansive. So I'll just have to wait until we decide when and where to build our house in a year or two. Bummer. The thought of commuting in a Tesla are super appealing to me. But it's going to have to wait.

there are many that charge from a standard 110v outlet. getting a 50A 220v is nice to have, but not mandatory.

 

If there a dryer outlet in the garage, you can jimmy something if you’re careful.

 

There is also the solution of combining two 110 legs, as long as they are from different phases. https://www.quick220.com/-A220-20D.html

Talked about in this thread as well - https://teslaownersonline.com/threads/120v-at-20amp-charming-model-3.7071/post-109315

 

Ha! And I thought my suggestion was dicey! Sure, it can work, but...

Fortunately, as a fireman, he never sees the results of sketchy home wiring schemes 🤣

 

Thanks everyone. I’m definitely not giving up on this but need to figure out how best to make it work. The laundry is upstairs and nowhere near the garage. I’m not sure I want to play around with wiring up 2 120v outlets on a rental house either and charging via a 110 outlet probably won’t work just because ther are times when I get home and will turn around ad head back to work in less than 24hrs. Don’t think even at 24hrs you’ll get a full charge via 110 outlet would ya?

 

I'm not sure I want to play around with wiring up 2 120v outlets on a rental house either

There's a product available that handles this automatically and safely. You plug it into two outlets, and it confirms that they're on different legs before supplying 240v at the output.

https://www.quick220.com/220_catalog/voltage-converters.html

 

Also I was looking up my local Superchargers to see how close I am to one here in St. George, UT and on the website it show the price as “Free”. Is this possible that they don’t charge for a Supercharger?

 

Also I was looking up my local Superchargers to see how close I am to one here in St. George, UT and on the website it show the price as "Free".

What "website" were you looking at?

Plugshare shows the parking lot itself to be free, but that doesn't mean that charging is free.
https://www.plugshare.com/location/53632

 

Just to add that in the above screen grabs @MelindaV has graciously provided, the two rates in the Nevada example are for:
- below 60kW ($0.14/min)
- above 60kW ($0.27/min)

 

I haven’t bothered to watch the hater Youtube vid you speak of. Nor should you believe the Kool-Aid folks here saying that you can charge to 100% as often as you like because some commercial owners are deploying the 100% SOC strategy and the fact that the thermal management system on the 3 is superior over the S/X (which it actually is) yadda yadda........ In fact, Teslaloop has already proven that the quickest way to shorten your battery life by 50% is to supercharge your pack to 100% often. JB's BMS and battery chem is no doubt the best overall balance between battery cycle life, manufacturing cost, C rate, performance (as it relates to how quickly you can pull electrons from the pack for ludicrous acceleration) however, it can’t fix stupid.

Good-luck !

 

 

You will find the LR RWD 3 with AP and FSD super comfortable for your commute. There are, I believe, lots of us who expect these cars to be very long-lived and there are S's that have reached the sort of mileage that you are talking about. As far as dual motor vs RWD, both LR, its up to your taste and dollar. 4wd is useful if you need to deal with a fair amount of snow. Otherwise the RWD is a fast car that handles beautifully in everyday driving.

 

4wd is useful if you need to deal with a fair amount of snow.

My obligatory response :

Worried About Snow? Don't Dismiss Getting Rear Wheel Drive!

 

I think this is where you just need a good spreadsheet (I love spreadsheets) or a good yellow tablet would work well too. Estimate the cost to add a charging solution at each end. You don't require WC's at $500 a piece, you could get away with a 14-50 plug and just carry your UMC with you. It comes included with the car or you could purchase a second one to leave at each charging location, $300. Either way estimate what it would cost to install your charging infrastructure. If you have that at each end, you only need one stop each direction at a SC for 30 minutes to easily make the trip.

Then compare the cost of the LR RWD car. For good savings, even look at used ones. There are people selling their first car wanting to trade up to the AWD, or Performance. The RWD is more than you need and tons of power and fun, at the best economy of the line. It might save you $10 to $15K going used. Then look at the safety you'll have, the best rating the government has ever given, and the enjoyment of driving a kick ass car with a great stereo for the journey. If the 3 follows the S, one car should last you til retirement. It'll be one of the highest milage 3's, it'll be great feed back for Tesla and you'll have had some of the best several hundred thousand miles you can have. You'll have a higher bill for tires, but never another oil change, stop for gasoline nor the other typical car breakdown's you could encounter.

In the end you have to be comfortable with it, but you've come to the forum with thousands of us that drive this car, most of us truly love or at least really like this car and we've found ways to make it work for us when we didn't think it would. So don't expect us to just say - thanks for looking at the 3, happy life. Nope we are going to help you find a way to get in a 3 yourself.

 

Well snow has never been an issue for the 10+ years I’ve been driving. I’ll be super happy with the RWD M3 I have no doubt.

 

It depends on your cost for electricity.

At my cost of $0.25 per kWh it’s close to the same cost to run as a 32 mpg car in winter with AWD assume gas is around $2.19 a gallon.

With RWD it’s probably 40 mpg in Winter and in summer it will be about 60 mpg (to me this is a min of what you need for it to be cost effective).

But my understanding is CA electricity rates are even higher ($32 kWh). But gas might be respectively higher too.

 

It depends on your cost for electricity.

At my cost of $0.25 per kWh it's close to the same cost to run as a 32 mpg car in winter with AWD assume gas is around $2.19 a gallon.

With RWD it's probably 40 mpg in Winter and in summer it will be about 60 mpg (to me this is a min of what you need for it to be cost effective).

I can't figure out why you're paying $0.25/kWh! Highway robbery. I would be getting solar panels ASAP! The national average is only $0.12/kWh.
And gas at $2.19/gallon? That was last month, LOL! Most stations around here are advertising over $3.00/gal. for regular and it's been going up each week significantly. Most cars with the performance of a LR RWD Model 3 are going to require premium so not really an apples to apples comparison.

Also, when you compare the Winter "cost to run", you have to realize a "32 MPG car in winter" doesn't exist in AWD because just as your numbers include every possible loss or inefficiency for the EV, gas cars don't get their EPA ratings either in such conditions. Why do you not include oil and filter replacements in your cost to run numbers? And the OP, with his nearly 400 mile commute, is going to have MUCH better winter Wh/mile figures than your misleading ones from a usage pattern of short drives and much less favorable climate.

The bottom line, in the OP's situation, is a LR RWD Model 3 is going to offer HUGE operational savings over anything comparable in gas. And, perhaps more importantly, will allow the commute to be accomplished with much less fatigue upon arrival. There will also be less scheduling of periodic maintenance which is always welcome for someone commuting such a long distance because those oil change intervals come up f-a-s-t!.

 

This isn’t too far from my use case mileage-wise. I commute 120 miles a day , 5 days a week driving from the Inland Empire to Santa Monica and back. From what bits of data I have gathered here and there, the LR RWD is perfect for this, so that’s what I ordered. I’m planning to take delivery in a about a week and then be fairly active with updates on how it’s holding up. Hopefully that data is helpful to other folks with high mileage commutes.