M3 vs Tesla S - My dilemma

[gds52]

If she likes driving BMWs then take her for tesla test drive....pull some hard corners and shake her left n right .
Then go for M3 test drive and do same....if she loves cars she will realize.
Tech thing will fade in couple of weeks....

[JamesGames]

Your car or your girl's car? These two cars share no similarities to me besides the fact they are cars with 4 wheels. YMMV.. this is also an M forum so you know where my bias stands. If you love driving you'd pass on the Tesla and hop into an M3 no question..

[Oliver Queen]

If it was my decision to go with the M3 or the Tesla, I would pick the M3 hands down, I feel it makes a great car for car enthusiasts. The M3 has some technology as well, useful ones in fact and quite easy to use. I never did research on the Tesla but it looks like technology is the main selling point, unless that thing automatically drives me from point A to Point B, I don't think the technology could be that intriguing to make me buy a Tesla instead of the beast M3. Heck, even if it did do that, I would still pick the M3 lol. You have a different situation, you're wife wants the Tesla, unless she's willing to compromise this is a hard position to be in. Maybe you should just have a honest conversation with her and tell her what you really feel and then hear her out.

[RobbyMack]

M3 is a sports car that can double as a family hauler. The tesla is a family hauler that does an impersonation of a sports car off the line. It's pretty much a bland sedan after that.

[Warranty P]

Originally Posted by CRtoE92

I really dont get people who makes decision based on what their wife/gf thinks for the car that they are gonna drive....

Same here, my wife has exactly zero input when I'm car shopping. This goes for her or my car.

[dom_cmh]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

OP, you haven't been married that long huh? Because this is easy for marriage veterans ...

(1.) Tend the garden and build that marriage savings account
Her birthday or your anniversary coming up? Perfect! Secretly get the Tesla and a giant bow. Make sure you figure out her color, etc. Have it waiting for her somewhere/sometime special. Say, "Honey I know we were talking about an M3 for me, but I know how much you wanted a Tesla ... Happy anniversary/birthday!"

(2.) Plant the seeds
for the next 6 - 9 months spend a LOT of time detailing the X3, talk about it, maybe buy a cheap mod or two. If you see an M3/4 with her say, "whoa check it out! awesome!" Secondly, start talking about a european vacation. See where this is going? Ideally at some point she says, 'boy you really wanted that M3 didn't you?"

(3.) Harvest time
Create a nice 2 week stretch of good will: do extra stuff around the house, buy her flowers for no reason, etc. Then harvest: "Boy that Tesla is pretty great - e-cars are definitely the future ... but we might not ever have the chance to get a 6 cylinder M car again so I was thinking ... for our anniversary let's do European Delivery! we could blah blah blah"

Victory. The goal isn't to just to get the M3, it's to get it and make her feel awesome about it. This might seem manipulative but anybody that's been married more than 10 years knows that's all a good marriage is: mutually accepted manipulation.

You were going to wait anyway. Adapt to your particular circumstances.

This is awesome!

Btw OP. You are asking this question on a BMW M forum. Not sure that's a fair way to get answers on the choice.

Obviously you should get the M3!

[Golfster]

One of my staff has a new X. I ride in this car a couple of times per week. Although the tech is impressive, the fit and finish detail isn't there and he's experienced a few issues already. I don't think Tesla is quite ready to support the sold base of cars on the road yet. One of his keys hasn't functioned since delivery and he is still waiting for a replacement. There answer in the meantime is "you can use your phone."

I like the concept and Tesla will provoke innovation from other manufacturers, but I wouldn't personally buy one yet based on his experience thus far.

[s0ul]

This is simple. Would you rather be smoked by an M3 or Smoke a Tesla? (and no, I'm not talking about drag racing)

[spooky7]

Thanks everyone for the the advice.
We went to the dealership here today. We looked at the m3 again today...I'm sold. My wife liked it too. She said I should get it.
Now I have to decide on options, colors etc. The only wrinkle is the competition edition possibility. Love the wheels that are only available with its package. Loved the full leather too. Not crazy that the wheels are 20", assuming it'll ride rougher. It's gonna be a daily driver, so I might just go with the 19". Thoughts on the 20" ride quality?-Also have to wait for the 2017 to come out as it's the end of the 2016 production allocation

[dalto]

Originally Posted by Warranty P

Same here, my wife has exactly zero input when I'm car shopping. This goes for her or my car.

I think my wife would be pretty unhappy with me if I just came home with a new car for her without finding out what she wanted first.

But yeah, I pick my own cars out too.

[M4 LF]

The only reason for me to pick the Tesla over an M car is safety. It's nice to pack close to 5k pounds when you're going to collide with another car. Having said that packing that much weight is going to take a lot of fun out of driving. But if your wife is going to do most of the driving in that car then it's a moot point.

As for performance it's not that much different especially when 90% of the time I don't drive like a crazy man. I've sat in my buddy's S. Other than the large screen everything else is as plain as an Accord albeit ergonomic is not as good.

For $100k I would look at an S class.

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by M4 LF

The only reason for me to pick the Tesla over an M car is safety. It's nice to pack close to 5k pounds when you're going to collide with another car.

The cars are in two very different size classes.
Model S compete with 7-series (and outsells it and all other 7-series competitors by a wide margin as of 2015).
You know what M3 is.

Very few people would be confused as to whether they need a 3-series or a 7-series. The answer is usually obvious.

Originally Posted by M4 LF

As for performance it's not that much different especially when 90% of the time I don't drive like a crazy man.

That's not really true.

P50D will blow the doors off M3. As off most other cars, short of McLaren P1 and 918.
0-60 in 3.1 seconds ... yeah, baby!

It wont be able to keep up that performance on track for long, but then again, fewer than 5% of the M3s will see the track as well. And fewer than 0.1% of the 7-series ever will.

Originally Posted by M4 LF

For $100k I would look at an S class.

That would put you into an increasingly uncool minority group:


a

[Agamemnon]

Instead of a Tesla, how about the new Mercedes AA class as advertised in last week's Saturday Night Live!

[M4 LF]

Originally Posted by afadeev

The cars are in two very different size classes.
Model S compete with 7-series (and outsells it and all other 7-series competitors by a wide margin as of 2015).
You know what M3 is.

Very few people would be confused as to whether they need a 3-series or a 7-series. The answer is usually obvious.



That's not really true.

P50D will blow the doors off M3. As off most other cars, short of McLaren P1 and 918.
0-60 in 3.1 seconds ... yeah, baby!

It wont be able to keep up that performance on track for long, but then again, fewer than 5% of the M3s will the track as well. And fewer than 0.1% of the 7-series ever will.



That would put you into an increasingly uncool minority group:


a

Lots of good info here thanks lol

I was driving my car with the windows down today. I have to say I love the sound of the exhausts when you're driving aggressively. All that crackles and burbles really turns me on . I know the Tesla will blow my doors out of the water. But I don't know how I'll feel about the lack of sound. I mean that's like doing a really hot girl, in the dark with your hands tied behind your back. I'm sure it's good but man aren't you missing a lot!?

[Ackthphtt]

My kids no longer fit in my 1M and my wife's Passat is getting old, so I've cross shopped Model S and M3. Also Audi A4, C class, Volvo V60 T6.

Model S was nice, spaceship fast but everyone goes on about the tech and it really isn't that impressive anymore. Looking at the new Audi A4 for my wife and the cabin, tech and dash are way better in the A4 than the Model S. Apart from the big touch screen (hate it while driving, iDrive so much easier to use on the move) the A4 has better finsih, ambience, lighting, HUD, safety tech than the Model S and in Australia about half the price of a 90D and 1/3rd the price of P90D!

The M3 is another league of tactility, sound, finish, FUN!!! Wheel spin, MDM, tail out, crackles - my dealer leant me an M3 for a day plus have done a few BMW track days. No way a Model S is going to oversteer up a freeway on ramp or make you laugh like an idiot downshifting and flooring it!

If my wife said she wanted a Model S that would be fine, but I think the new Audi is better for what they are (refined, safe, luxurious, comfortably quick).

For me, M3 all the way, Tanzanite M3 Comp Pack deposit paid and delivery July 2016!!

BTW while a P90D has a 0-62 time of 3.0 seconds it is crazy expensive, $250,000 in Australia. 90D much more realistic at $180,000 but 0-62 time is 4.0 secs, ie same as M3/4 comp pack which is $155,000 here, so M3 is cheaper, more luxurious and more fun than similar spec Model S. If you go crazy and get a P90D for 3.0 sec 0-62 you are looking at serious Panamera, Maserati, Bentley Continental, M5 type dollars, so not really equivalent, and they are much nicer cars to be in than a Model S!

[tremendo]

I was driving my E46 M3 convertible and wanted a new car 2 years ago. I test drove the Tesla Model S P85. I was blown away with the response, acceleration, etc, as well as the high-reck aspect. But inside, it felt kinda cheap to me, not near as nice as a European sedan. I brought a buddy for another test drive. He bought a P85 loaded up, and now has a P90D & a new Model X insane mode, as he loves them. So I've had a chance to drive them hard, and it is a fun drive, but different. False sense of safety in auto-drive mode, it is not ready for public roads. In general though, very quiet, incognito, so much that it is a little dangerous in residential areas.

2 years ago I ended up buying and Audi Sedan, which I felt was so much better of a feel inside. I'm still in a Tesla often, sometimes driving, and it may be the future. But 2 months ago I wanted a new car, looked again at everything again and I traded in my Audi for a new M4 Convertible. So much funner to drive and better feel inside the cockpit for me.

[bimmerj]

Originally Posted by spooky7

I'm a BMW guy, been looking to purchase an M3, but waiting for the new model year to come out. A buddy of mine just got the Tesla model S. The technology is amazing, the dash superb. My wife who is in the tech industry is raving to get one. She drives an x3 msport which is 2 years old. Although the m3 is awesome, I keep coming back myself to how advanced the Tesla is. I know they're different cars, but how to convince my wife that we should get the m3 and not the Tesla?

Get a Tesla and call it a day. Having said that, why is the M3 superior? If you can convince us, you can convince your wife. I admit, I did not read the thread.

[catchm3ifyoucann]

Originally Posted by pikkagtr

Go do some pulls to 80 in the Tesla , then do it again , then do it a 3rd time....oh wait you can't
'Nuff said

Tesla P90D (D = AWD) with ludicrous mode -- 0 to 60 = 2.8 seconds
Tesla P90 without ludicrous mode -- 0 to 60 = 3.1 seconds

I've driven them and driven them hard they can do many pulls and keep up with the big boys can't say the same about the m3...

Please understand that driving your car hard decreases its MPG so this same effect applies to electric vehicles. Its not rocket science.

Can the Tesla run around the 'Ring? No. Its not designed to do that. Can a P90D with L mode smoke your m3 and make you look like a fool? Yes. Then the owner can happily go back into Autopilot mode

[georgere]

Get tesla if you are into the tech. Even the next generation of 3 series will not match tesla in this department.
However if practicality is critical to you, tesla sux in this department, and I refer to how quickly or rather slow you can recharge it. I live in the area where we have a couple of their stations and it is a pity to see tesla owners sitting and baking in the sun or freezing in the snow while waiting to "gas up". Unlike California we do not have any privileges for EV cars so I really see model S to be very impractical in our situation, not mention we pay twice for electricity in CT than other states.

[zer0cool]

I drove the M3 and Tesla non-P last year before buying mine. It was no contest. Both my wife and I were underwhelmed coming off the M3. This is a BMW board, so people are going to be very pro M3. However I am no fanboy, and the Model S > M3 in all ways I care about. In everyday driving performance, Model S > M3. This was the immediate thing I felt (I drove the Model S about an hour after M3, both on empty roads with few cars, allowing very fast acceleration and certain curves and on-ramps). The Model S just felt faster, both straight on on mild curve say on an on ramp. The acceleration is immediate. With M3, you gota first click a button to set transmission to the most aggressive to have a chance to match Model S (and it actually doesn't... don't look at 0-60 but 5-60 without LC, since that's what you ll actually feel in real life driving). Model S also has 0 traction issues on the road unlike M3. M3 is annoyingly loud (especially the fake sound that just fills the cabin even if you just give a little gas), and I don't like that.

These are just driving dynamics matters, and somehow M3 didn't match Model S. On all other matters, Model S > M3 by far margins (e.g. tech, not even close to the same level).

Basically after back to back tests, it was no contest. I ordered my Model S. People have different tastes; if after similar back to back tests you like M3 instead, then get that.

Another consideration is that Model S is considerably more expensive... Even a 70D with the usual options (pano roof, premium, autopilot, leather seats), monthly payment will likely be over 1400 assuming 60 month loan with very low APR. The lease will be well over 1000 dollars on the car and you need to pay like close to 7k down. You can probably lease a new M3 in the mid 700s to 800 (with fairly usual options, DCT) with 0 down. I am not really sure these two cars are in the same price range.

[nicknaz]

Op, I'd get a 70d for commuting. Past that and the cost gets to where many really interesting gas sports cars can be puchased.

This time around i passed on tesla since i didnt want to pay to be a beta tester. I do have a model 3 deposit in and hopefully things are more baked by then

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by M4 LF

I was driving my car with the windows down today. I have to say I love the sound of the exhausts when you're driving aggressively. All that crackles and burbles really turns me on . I know the Tesla will blow my doors out of the water. But I don't know how I'll feel about the lack of sound. I mean that's like doing a really hot girl, in the dark with your hands tied behind your back. I'm sure it's good but man aren't you missing a lot!?

Sound definitely adds to the experience, but how important are the sounds she makes when she is in bed with you?

I would trade the sounds for the speed of getting there....

Wait, are we talking about cars?