What you're saying may be an important detail for car enthusiasts but that's mostly irrelevant given the context. From the business side of things what matters is that the Model 3 outsells all of its competitors at its price point.

If anything, the fact that a car that uses cheap plastic is outselling the car that doesn't use the cheap plastic at the same price is phenomenal.

So tell us what one should drive instead of a model 3?

What you can buy instead is 99% based on personal preference, I cancelled the model 3 and got a BMW because I liked the few I had before. But my co-founder would never drive a BMW. He returned his second model S and got an Audi EV instead. Which is not a car I would pick.

My point is that a model 3 isn't really a luxury car, it's an entry model and has the build quality and options that go with that.

So I don't get this. You bash the Model 3 for build quality but you support BMW which is notorious for having horrible reliability.

I'd pick the car with just okay paint and maybe some not-so-perfect gaps over a car that I know is going to cost me thousands in maintenance.

According to ADAC (in german) BMW is pretty good in terms of reliability. https://www.adac.de/rund-ums-fahrzeug/unfall-schaden-panne/a... They do mention battery issues with the BMW 5 series prior to 2010.

OP could be in Europe. German premium cars are a lot cheaper to maintain there (still more than a Toyota though), and somehow seem to have less issues than the US.

In Europe indeed, no idea why American BMWs are so much worse. There is also a huge amount of complaining online about the dealers, that could be part of the problem.

Had a similar feeling driving a rental VW Passat in the US, it felt like they make a special US version. Most notable difference was a very very lazy feeling gearbox.

Funny you mention Passat. I owned one for a few years and it was pretty solid, was surprised esp. hearing all the negative towards VW reliability. But then I rented one in Florida that felt like it was about to rattle itself apart.

And just so I don't sound like a Tesla fanboy or anything, I got a Model S high mileage loaner that also felt like it was about to break apart at any second.

I guess Americans just can't make cars! I hear the Chinese made Model 3's are really solid

Yes I had the same comparison having also rented several VWs in Europe and feeling like it's an entirely different car in the US.

Not sure whether a US market BMW is produced locally. If they are that would explain a lot in terms of US customers complaining about reliability and thinking a model 3 is like a German luxury car while to European customers it feels like a cheap American car. The frame of reference isn't the same.

Edit: So a quick Google shows a US BMW 3 series is produced in Mexico. And apparently has to use at least 50% locally made parts according to Mexican law.

Great to learn today that the model 3 is not a premium car. My whole life has been a lie. How do I refine my tastes to appreciate premium cars like the bmw like you? I never had a mentor who could teach me the finer aspects of premium taste.

I do think the model 3 is a premium car, and I don't understand how you can say the opposite with a strong confidence. But some other cars are better on some aspects, and worse on some aspects.

It's not very important but when you close a door or the trunk on the model 3, it doesn't sound premium. It has this cheap metallic sound. When driving, the sound proofing is not the best either compared to similar priced EVs. About the interior materials, I am not a fan of the fake leather and I prefer the real leather you can find in most premium vehicles but I know it depends a lot on tastes and many like that it's not dead animals skin. The top of the trunk has no cover and someone at Tesla had fun with the hot glue gun on the car I rented, but I heard that the Porsche Taycan has no cover either.

At the same time the model 3 has a great entertainment system, drives super well, and I love the interior design. I would like to replace my old "premium" BMW i3 with a "premium" Model 3.

Skoda's have pretty good build quality nowadays.