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Used 2021 Tesla Model 3 Consumer Reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
35 reviews

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Pros
Cons
5 out of 5 stars

Finally a people's sports small family car!

Yccy, 06/13/2021
2021 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus 4dr Sedan w/Prod. End 11/21 (electric DD)
27 of 28 people found this review helpful

0 to 60 in 3.1 second is no joke! Handling is flawless. The push and go pedal is perfect following normal traffic, handling stop signs (major pain in the you know where for all the 20+cars and trucks in my life), and sudden maneuvers. When called up on, this little car goes like a motorcycle rocket! Curves, turns, feel right at home. AC is super quick and effective. Almost everything is controlled by the fixed laptop sized central display. Not the most user friendly way of conducting business, but it's there and very usable. All the cameras around the little car make parking and everything else a bliss. Steering is super precise and just the right weight, like the push pedal, can't ask for anything better! Passing the gas cars on the road like cake walk when needed. The sensors show you the traffic lights and stop signs and real time immediate surrounding vehicles, Nice! The side and rear view mirrors are smallish, but are light sensitive and get the job done. With the cameras showing every direction on the screen, these mirrors are far less important. Audio system is fantastic, thanks to the super quiet electric motor. The road noise is prominent but very tolerable, especially for me, first electric car after many decades on the gas pedal. The seats are well designed and supportive. Back seat is surprisingly well placed and spacious. Cargo area is tight but usable. The cute little opening in the front is good for a school backpack maybe? But it's there when needed. The price is very people friendly. For my small town commute+ needs, the battery range more than enough. The only complaint I have is the deeply tinted glass roof is not movable, no sun roof, no moon roof, not from Tesla, period. The dealer said so. What a pity! Yes, with the fixed price, the dealership is a world of its own. Feel like Apple store minus the stuck up and nerdiness. Never seen anything like this. They are just nice and helpful! Wow. The only I feel uncertain is the crazy number of little batteries under my butt. How long will they really last. Last time I checked, the cell phone batteries start to fade about 6 months. Can say I am up to date with the battery technology, but battery is still battery, right? Now I am about to let go of my trusted 18 year old Camry, was thinking rav4. But the dealer just let me drove the model 3 home overnight. So I did quite a few spin in and around town. It does shake my faith with Toyota. Gosh, why Toyota can't come up with anything like this one? Too bad. I think I am going for the model 3 this time.

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
4 out of 5 stars
Comfort
5 out of 5 stars
Value
5 out of 5 stars
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5 out of 5 stars

Back to the future! Sporty and Stylish!

Juniorsdca, 04/11/2021
2021 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus 4dr Sedan w/Prod. End 11/21 (electric DD)
33 of 35 people found this review helpful

Fun fact: Electric cars consistently outsold gasoline cars at the beginning of the last century. Okay, on tho this car...I purchased my Tesla at the end of last year as a 2021. Ordering the car from Tesla was very simple and actually a pleasant experience. You go to the website, choose your options, and then place your deposit. You can also arrange for financing or just transfer funds wirelessly for your purchase. No nasty dealership or sleazy salespeople involved. It's a great experience! One important thing to note is that delivery times are kinda based each quarter on how far you live from the factory. I live in California and we get our cars at the end of the each quarter so plan accordingly. If you don't want to wait 3 months to get your car, order it in December not October 1st for example. I waited about 3 weeks to get my car delivered and like a famous singer said, the waiting is the hardest part lol! My car arrived and looked flawless when I picked it up. Everything works and probably my biggest (very minor gripe) is the paint. I noticed 2 parts of the car that the paint just seemed a bit off, like rock chips or something. I could've taken it back to Tesla to have it fixed, but I ordered a paint touch up kit and fixed the issues myself. Easy to do and took me all of about 10 minutes. I mention this because I paid extra ($2,000 to be exact) for red paint so this was unexpected; however online reviews I saw before I purchased the car warned about possible paint issues/ high cost & not great quality so if you are worried just save your money and choose the free paint color instead. I love red and I love my car color and this is really the only negative thing I've encountered with my car. Everything else about my car is perfect. it is quiet, has tons of features, and looks fantastic! The Autopilot feature is amazing and really makes long drives much less stressful and more relaxing. I love the center-mounted screen. At night, it is dark when I look straight ahead and it's much easier on my eyes than other cars I have driven with glowing instrument panels. The best way to think about this car is as that it is like a smartphone or computer that you can customize to your exact preferences. With it's low center of gravity and insane torque, the car is sporty and handles great! There are frequent wireless updates that add features and improve performance. Maintenance is easy: tires, brake pads, and windshield washer fluid. That's it! Keeping the car charged has been very easy and after the first week or so, you don't even think about running out of electricity (the way you might if you are switching from gas to electric like me). The lowest I've gotten is down to about 50 miles of charge, but you get an alert on your phone telling you to charge your car soon and the battery indicator changes from green to yellow just like a low fuel light in a gas car. The navigation system will also route you through chargers and tell you how long to charge for so it is really hard to ever run out of electricity when using this car. All in all it's been easy to switch from gas to electric and I love my car!

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
5 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
Value
4 out of 5 stars
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1 out of 5 stars

Voided Warranty

Greg, 09/21/2021
updated 09/23/2024
2021 Tesla Model 3 Long Range 4dr Sedan AWD (electric DD)
75 of 83 people found this review helpful

Tesla voided my warranty due to dust AC repair. How do you avoid dust living in Nevada? How does dust get into AC anyways they couldn't answer implied I put it there worst company I have ever dealt with.

Safety
3 out of 5 stars
Technology
2 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
3 out of 5 stars
Comfort
3 out of 5 stars
Reliability
1 out of 5 stars
Value
1 out of 5 stars
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3 out of 5 stars

Great for some, OK for all

Guy Person, 06/25/2021
2021 Tesla Model 3 Performance 4dr Sedan AWD (electric DD)
104 of 116 people found this review helpful

I've had this car for several months and I think it's a perfect car for the right kind of buyer, but it's certainly not right for those looking for the luxury car experience. I will lay out what I like about the car and what I don't, and ultimately if the cons are not something you care about then I'd say go right ahead and buy one. PROS: - Speed: The performance version is incredibly quick and for the money there's no other car on the road that will come close anywhere near legal speeds. - Technology: The car is packed to the brim with amazing tech features and entertainment options (Netflix, Hulu, Youtube, Games, etc.) that just aren't present on any other vehicle. While I didn't option the Full Self Driving, I was given it free for 4 months when I purchased the vehicle and it was pretty good (if you trust it). - Sounds System: Unbelievably good sound quality, far better than any other vehicle I've been in ever. - Savings: This one's obvious but the money you save on gas adds up and for the right person this could be huge. CONS - Road/Wind Noise: The level of sound that penetrates the cabin on any speed over 40 MPH is absolutely atrocious. If Tesla wants to remain competitive, especially in the luxury car space, they will need to improve this FAST. On the highway, even with music near full volume, I can still hear wind and road noise that makes me feel like the windows are rolled down. This also makes one of the pros of the car, speed, not as fun. It's great to have a car that can go fast but that speed isn't hidden at all. When you're going 70-80, you FEEL like you're going 70-80 and that's not as fun as it sounds. - Charging/Battery Life: I don't drive very aggressively at all and for the most part when casually driving, I keep the car in comfort mode and even then I get NOWHERE near the estimated range. Not even somewhat close. This leaves a lot of room for range anxiety when going anywhere not close to home or within a short distance to a supercharger. Now I will give credit to Tesla and their supercharger network, but unless you own a home where you can have a wall connector installed, I would not recommend making the change to electric. - Tesla Service: I won't get too deep into this one, but if you're someone that's coming from BMW, Audi, Lexus, MB, etc. Do not expect to get treated like you did with those brands. Tesla is WAY behind in the customer service department. - Phone Key/Connectivity: Before Elon gets us to Mars, he may want to work on bluetooth first. Your phone key will become disconnected for no apparent reason all the time, and the key cards are not as convenient as you might think. I much prefer a normal key fob, which if you want one of those with Tesla, you'll need to shell out $150 All in all, I think the model 3 is good car and perfect for someone who is FULLY trusting of the technology and allowing a car to drive you around. If you have any qualms about letting a car do all of the work, then I would recommend sticking to a normal vehicle. If you car more about technology than luxury, go for it! If you are in a place where it's convenient and easy to charge, and you want to be the fastest on the road (most of the time), then this a good car and I would recommend it. However, this is not the greatest car ever made, and for a lot of reasons it's not going to be worth it for a good chuck of buyers so don't feel like you're missing out on anything special.

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
3 out of 5 stars
Comfort
3 out of 5 stars
Reliability
4 out of 5 stars
Value
4 out of 5 stars
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5 out of 5 stars

Not going back.

Scott6113, 09/19/2021
2021 Tesla Model 3 Long Range 4dr Sedan AWD (electric DD)
34 of 38 people found this review helpful

2021 3 dual motor Things I heard about that aren’t true: 1. Iffy quality: I got the 2nd gen in March of 2021, 6 months ago. Good quality, even compared with the Acura I came from, let alone any other American brand. Very minor paint spot, very minor charge door scoring, rear passenger door has let water onto the sill once, a couple of warnings about side camera blocking, probably condensation that cleared itself up, that’s it. 2. Range anxiety. I’ve taken several multi-hour trips and I just top it at home to 80% charge and stop when it reaches 20%, since that’s supposed to be best for the battery pack, that gives me 200 miles of range, probably 180/3 hours real world and so a good time for a rest stop. There’s always a charger within 50 miles and in 15 minutes I have another 150 miles of range. Almost all of the chargers are situated walking distance from bathrooms and food. Really not inconvenient at all. Tesla has their competitors beat with their charger network. Until other cars have comparable range and charger access, Tesla is the only choice for other than strictly local driving. Things I don’t like: 1. Nose. Looks like an angry frog as the Top Gear people describe it. My first impression of a car without a grill was that it looks like it’s had its mouth sewed shut, like it’s suffocating, or like how people had button eyes in the movie Coraline. I don’t know how it could be improved, but other EV fronts look better, like Lucid’s. 2. Screen: Having everything on a touch screen to my right when I’m left- handed is awkward. Activating wipers and opening the glove box via touchscreen is needlessly difficult. 3. Interior is so bare it does look cheap. Came from a wood and leather luxury car I miss it. It isn’t ugly, but clearly they spent their money elsewhere. 4. Add-ons needed. I’ve added mud-flaps, body side moldings which should come with the car or at least be service-center installed options. A car this expensive shouldn’t be incomplete. I’ve also added a screen protector, trunk liner, a spare tire kit, stainless steel license plate screws and front bumper clear bra protective wrap. Things I like: 1. Smooth and quiet. No engined car can match it. 2. Quick. Few cars can match it. You have to go to a Dodge Challenger Hellcat to beat 4.2 0-60. Love to wow new passengers with that thrust. 3. Safety Sensors warn me if a car is slowing abruptly ahead, if I’m parking too close to a curb, 3 backup camera view, etc.. I have full-self-driving and I rarely engage it. I don’t think it’s ready. 4. Sound system let me put a stick in it that has every CD I’ve copied from my collection which is @800 titles. I have my whole music collection on the road with good fidelity. I can also get CNN, real-time traffic, lots more through the online service which will be $10 a month once it’s a year old. 5. Seats have proven comfortable. Glass roof leaves me plenty of room, and that has been a problem for me in other cars this size. I tried it first in a showroom, which I do recommend to make sure you’re comfortable. 6. I’ve had several updates and while nothing big, tells me they’re continuing to support it. 7. No maintenance needs at all yet. Oil changes, spark plugs, belts, engine air filters, water pumps, weekly trips to the gas station all that a thing of the past. It isn’t maintenance free, I’m told, but the frequency and hopefully expense is far less. It’s like an appliance. After a few days I just realized I’m never going back to an engined car. These are better.

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
4 out of 5 stars
Comfort
5 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
Value
4 out of 5 stars
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