Used 2018 Tesla Model 3 Consumer Reviews
Used Model 3 for sale
Best vehicle I’ve ever owned
Jesse Diller, 04/01/2019
updated 10/04/2021
2018 Tesla Model 3 Long Range 4dr Sedan (electric DD)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
2021 update: Still hands down the best vehicle we’ve ever owned. The power, handling, quietness and overall driving experience are amazing. It’s our daily driver. Supercharger network for roadtrips is great. Original Review: We purchased a mid-range model 3 in 2018 and it is hands down the best vehicle I’ve ever owned, or even driven for that matter. Powerful, smooth and quiet. It has terrific power and as it is electric/gearless there is absolutely zero lag - ever - when you press the accelerator. You sort of have to drive one to experience it. It puts a smile on my face every time I drive it. Being able to charge in the garage at night is amazing. I love leaving the house with the equivalent of a full tank of gas every day. I’ve supercharged on road trips many times now and it honestly couldn’t be any easier. I’ve never loved a car this much. We are planning to trade in our 4Runner for a second Tesla this summer.
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Tesla model 3 world leader
Jim Stack, 03/27/2019
2018 Tesla Model 3 Long Range 4dr Sedan (electric DD)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
We have had a Tesla model 3 since March of 2018. Some complain about the quality. Ours was perfect from day one. I think that was because we picked it up at the factory in California, so no transport damage or chips and scraps. The first month we had it my wife's 3 relatives came to visit. We drove from Chandler to Tucson and visited both Saguaro desert preserves and back. They were from Seattle so we had the Air Cond on 68F. We went over 350 miles on 1 charge ,mostly at highway 75 MPH speeds with no problem. At a Super Charger it recharged in less than 1 hour while we got something to eat. The only thing I don't like about our model 3 is the Sunroof that gets HOT and doesn't open. I have covered it with the Tesla solar screen insert but I still will cover the outside with a wrap to match the car and keep the Sun's heat out in our Chandler-Phoenix area. I would also like the rear to be a full hatch back with a larger opening. Other than that the car exceeds all my expectations.
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6 Year's - Battery Range only gets worse
Ted, 01/19/2019
updated 08/19/2024
2018 Tesla Model 3 Long Range 4dr Sedan AWD (electric DD)
15 of 20 people found this review helpful
I am coming up on 6 years of owning my 2018 Model 3 Long-Range AWD. Overall, I still enjoy the car as its great for commuting to work and avoiding paying at least $180 a month on gas. It has 35K as it wasn’t driven much from 2020 to 2023 due to working from home during the Pandemic. My wife drove it the mostly during this time running errands as she didn’t like having to wait in long gas lines at Costco and pay for premium gas for her Acura MDX. I took my car back in late 2023 as had to head back into the office, so my wife ended up getting a Model Y as she didn't want to go back to driving her MDX and waiting in gas lines. Range – still Negative; this is the biggest negative for ownership. I now only get 208 miles of battery range at 80% charge as of August 2024. That comes out to max range of 260ish compared to 310, a 16% decline. That does not mean I actually get 208 miles of actual travel distance as I travel 160 miles a week (40 miles round trip, 4 days a week). I need to charge Sunday night and again on Wednesday night for an hour or two to travel that 160 miles a week. So I need at least 60 miles of battery range to cover 40 miles of distance during the summer. I live in the Phoenix metro area, so the summers the AC has to work harder and I have seen my range drop from around 220 miles charged at 80% in Jan/Feb 2024 to the current 208 miles. Yes, driving speed also plays into range and I average 65-85 mph during the commute, but most of the times its under 70 due to traffic on the freeway. I do not have Cabin Protection and Sentry Mode on while the car sits for 8 hours in the sun at work, which the inside cabin temperature can get over 150 during the summer, but I turn the cabin on about 5min before I head out. So yes, the battery will lose its max effectiveness time regardless of the miles put on the car as like anything with a battery. (Side note, my wife’s 2023 Model Y eats range quicker than my Model 3 as she has Sentry Mode and Cabin Protection and her primary use is to run errands. Turning off Sentry Mode significantly helps save battery, but for the distance she covers, she is likely getting worse battery consumption than I am as she needs to charge multiple times a week. She also doesn’t like going below 100 miles of battery range, where I have no problem getting down to 10%) Reliability – Positive; this is one that I am quite surprised on as I have had little problems with the Model 3. I did get a Power Reduction Warning in Dec 2023 and turned out I need my coolant topped of and the 12v battery needed to be replaced (2 time, so these last max 3yrs in AZ). Car was out of warranty, but only cost $150 and Tesla did this via mobile service (they came to me). Technology – Mixed; overall like that I get OTA updates and have received over 100 updates in the 6 years of ownership. Most are minor fixes, but why the mix feelings is that Tesla is always changing the layout of the display. While none are horrible, I have to re-learn a new screen layout about every 1-2 years. It’s the same concept of getting an iOS update on an Apple Device. Sometimes the updates improve Auto Pilot, but other times I question did they make it worse. Example, the other day my driving lights turned on during the afternoon (4pm) and thought that was weird, so I manually turned them off. Doing that turned off Auto Steer, which I happened to be using during my commute home. I thought this was dangerous as I was in the middle of a curve and the car just disabled Auto Steer. Mind you, I haven’t used Auto Steer much in the last 6 months, but Tesla made an update somewhere along the way that for Auto Steer to work the headlights need to be set to “Auto”. But headlights should not be coming on at 4pm on a sunny day in August. Auto Pilot is still the best out there compared to any other manufacture and using it daily on my commute and have full confidence it will keep the distance from me and the car in front of me. The concern you have is getting re-ended if your car quickly makes a sudden stop, especially for the normal commuter that rides the bumper of others. Cost to Charge – how does $30 a month sound to charge 2 Tesla’s!! The Model Y and Model 3 get charge 1.5 times a week depending on use. We charge during non-peak hours to get the cheaper electric rates here in Phx. I haven’t taken the Model 3 on any road trips since 2020 when my 12v battery died without warning while at the Grand Canyon (during COVID). Now my wife’s Model Y we have taken to Cali and supercharging was much easier than I was expecting and I was very skeptical that it would be two frequent and have to wait. Total cost was $72 to supercharge from for a week while traveling to LA from Phx and back. Maintenance cost – Biggest cost has been tires as you will burn through them if you don’t rotate them every 5k miles, learned that the hard way as had to replace at 24k. Finding a shop that can do an alignment is also tricky as most will not want to touch a Tesla or will charge you more than they should, call around. Since owning the car, I have spent $1,776 and $1,120 was on 4 new tires. My post about range at 3 years of ownership (note that Tesla now recommends you charge at 80% vs 90%): Range - that has decrease by 11% and is the biggest complaint I have and why I have dropped a star. Tesla keeps telling me by battery is fine, but I charge per their recommendations to only 90% and generally charge once it gets to 20%. For a car that is mostly driven in town/committee, not a big deal, but the one time I took it from Phoenix to Grand Canyon, it barely had enough range to get me to Flagstaff (172 miles). Yes, that trip had mountains, but I tried to maintain 75 miles an hour and still was rolling into our stop at 6% battery from a 100% charge. I believe what Tesla claims on range is overstated and ask any owner and this is their complaint.
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Going on 6 years. Best owner experience ever.
Alan Storch, 08/07/2018
updated 08/10/2023
2018 Tesla Model 3 Long Range 4dr Sedan (electric DD)
6 of 7 people found this review helpful
My thoughts before owning a Tesla M3 was always the range and the availability of charging on the road. All of that was for naught. I live in South east Florida and there are Super Chargers all around me. The car I purchased has extended range of 310 miles. It has lost some of that 3 years later. Range now is 280. and use the regenerative braking). Every night the car goes in the garage and gets plugged in. Every morning it is fully charged to go 310 miles. My average daily trip is 50-75 miles. My ICE car is almost never filled and has considerably less range. Elon Musk has started the future of automobile travel. Luxury performance at a comparable price with 1/6th the fuel cost and with safety galore. The car is amazingly quiet. Driving is a joy. Passing speed is amazing.
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Look at Cost to Own, not the Sticker.
Anonymous, 10/21/2018
2018 Tesla Model 3 Performance 4dr Sedan AWD (electric DD)
8 of 10 people found this review helpful
I still have another ICE Vehicle, after having this for just a few weeks I can't wait to get rid of the other ICE vehicle. This thing handles the road like I've never experienced. I own the performance model, but I typically keep it in chill mode so as to avoid learning poor driving habits and tickets. I'm getting approx 340 miles range in warmer months. When I feel like playing I put in sport mode. Make sure you warn passengers and don't play right after lunch. Incentives are going away. I got free supercharging (which I DO use) and full tax credits. That plus spending so little on fuel the total price to own comes down a lot. You also have to factor in safety. How do you put a price on possibly avoiding an accident that could hurt a loved one. Don't let the center screen scare you. It's very well designed. Lot's of in experienced people don't know all the shortcuts on the steering wheel and the user interface thinking ahead of you. It's not distracting at all. It's also huge so you can see things easily. No filling up with fossil fuel, No oil changes, rarely any brakes, no real tune up. My only complaint is it could be better on tire noise, it's not bad, but could be better.
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