this post was submitted on 14 Mar 2025
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Your heart's in the right place but this is bad advice.
Teslas are still wickedly expensive to repair and there's only the dealership who can do those repairs.
And the parts break way too often, even parts that shouldn't break ever, like the door handles that only Tesla can replace. The cost of that can apparently be over $1k. For a door handle.
It'd be a money pit after the warranty period runs out. You're still going to be better off with a run of the mill beater car
Until Tesla allows other shops to do repairs, those swastikars will never be economical even if you ignore the Nazi part
Your point about buying used being better for the environment also applies to older gas powered cars too, which will be easier and cheaper to repair
That's illegal AF in the EU, or at least Germany. They already got into very hot water for trying to price independent repairs out by making their diagnostic software ludicrously expensive.
It's actually illegal in some US states, too. Right to repair at the federal level is still being fought, iirc. There was a lot of progress being made around 2023, but got stalled. Hopefully the current oligarchy administration doesn't end up butchering that movement, but I'm not very optimistic.
Must be nice not having business owners literally hanging out in the executive office all the time.
Oh they certainly do but the SME lobby tends to have more influence. Repair shops are businesses, too.
And it's not always a good thing, e.g. when it comes to the Supply Chain Act the fat cat lobby was way more sane than the SME one: Nestle doesn't mind monitoring its supply chain for human rights abuses it's quite vertically integrated and the practice is a great defence against lawsuits and also getting fucked over / internal corruption while the SMEs are fearing bureaucracy and costs. It's not like slave farm owners would share their ill-gotten profits with Nestle, they pocket the difference to standard market prices.
Obligatory fuck elon before I write the rest of the comment.
I have had a Tesla for 4 years now and as a car they are quite good (newer models got worse).
Super cheap to run, no oil, no filters other than cabin air, no yearly dealership maintenance to keep the warranty. And you charge it at home, super cheap and convenient. (yeah, same applies for any other electric car).
Repair costs (had a few fender benders) are comparable to my old BMW, maybe a bit lower. A door handle never broke on mine, but I just looked and found one on ebay for 15 EUR in case it breaks in the future. Can't say it's unreasonable. There's simply less mechanical things to go wrong with the car, and over time the 3rd party shops can do almost everything, for a similar price to any other car. And if/when the battery ages (8 years warranty), you can still use it at home.
Fun to drive, too, and quite efficient, more than most electric cars.
Nowadays I would never buy one new, and even used it somewhat does rise the price of other Teslas, but I'm not planning to sell mine, I would lose quite a lot of money to end up with a similar car. I am in the market for a second car and it's definitely going to be electric, but no chance for a Tesla.
I can understand why your next one will be electric as pretty much all the benefits you describe are benefits of an EV not a Tesla.
I drive an old beater of a leaf and have the same list
There’s a lot of hyperbole out there about quality and repair costs. I know people want to devalue the brand any way they can, I don’t fault that. But, my first-release Model 3 was a really great car. I’m really going to miss it.
As I was walking away after selling it, I couldn’t help but say “it’s not your fault, buddy. You didn’t deserve this and I will always have a place in my heart for you. You were merely a victim of evil beyond our control. Good night, sweet prince.”
I've owned a Tesla and I'd say your wrong about pretty much everything here.
The whole point of buying an EV is that it stops polluting after it's been manufactured (ignoring tires) and specifically that you stop polluting your local environment, making it out like used gas powered cars are just as good as used EVs is disingenuous at best.
Everything on them can be fixed by a regular mechanic, and Tesla isn't stopping it (at least not in Europe). People are getting 3rd party special shops to fix HV batteries and motors on old model S without any issues. Brakes, suspension, steering, LV electrical (windows, lights, handles etc.), AC can be fixed by anyone without issues. And aside from body parts and a few specialty components (their "octovalve" comes to mind), it's mostly standard auto components that can be bought from 3rd party manufacturers without giving Tesla any money.
Edit: a model 3/Y door handle is around $100, of course still expensive but also far below your $1000 example, and on par with an original handle for my old ass Peugeot 308.
Where are you getting that from? There are plenty of 3rd party shops that can and do service Teslas. They even made their repair manuals public and sell the OEM components online.
That's a door handle on a $100k+ car.
Part of the win is electric vs gas too though. Use the electric until it's gone and toasted then get a beater.
But if you do you'll be able to experience the Passenger Kebab Mode™ firat hand when the battery ignites!