My Model Y is two years old, no problems.
Combined mileage between the two vehicles is just shy of 150K.
The fit and finish of my older Model 3 has always just felt a bit better than the Y. I had to fix a weird creaking emanating from the rear hatch of the Y - a loose panel.
My Model 3 is the vehicle I have owned for the longest time and used continually. I haven't even had a desire to look for a new vehicle, which is way outside of my usual car purchasing behavior. (I have owned - and spent way, way too many hours myself on maintenance and repairing ICE vehicles.)
The priority should be no travel > walking > biking > transit > car
The quality of materials is debatable since, for example, Tesla exclusively uses synthetic material and no leather. But as you point out, the durability of these materials seems very good. Even with routine leather care, my previous vehicle with a leather interior showed more significant signs of wear at the same point in its life.
- I've gone through three 12v batteries in four years.
- I've lost 40% of main battery pack capacity in four years (the first chunk of lost range was within a month of purchase).
- The rear camera randomly loses signal while trying to back up.
- Wifi Radios are incompatible with Ubiquiti Nano HD radios.
- Software updates are a fun game of "ok, what won't work after this one?" or "Which critical UI functions did they move to a completely different place this time?"
- Autopilot has tried to kill me several times: usually with random hard braking for no reason, but once with a completely incorrect and sudden lane divergence.
- Most recently: the climate control system stopped working entirely a month ago. If I try to turn it on, the car has an electrical fault and I can't drive. So, I get to sweat profusely while waiting for a timeframe I can afford to be without the vehicle for the week+ it will be at the service center.I see this complaint a lot, but I've never understood how serious it is. Is it purely an aesthetic thing or does it actually effect the the longevity or road worthiness of the car in any way?
I have not observed any panel misalignment on my Model 3.
* Tesla fit and finish has improved but IMHO isn't yet quite on par with, say, MB and BMW -- e.g., panels and seals don't seem to be as perfectly aligned, and some gaps seem as if they're just a little wider than in those other two brands. However, I much prefer Tesla's interior -- modern, simple, uncluttered. Every other vehicle interior now feels cluttered and last-century to me.
* Tesla reliability has been amazing for me. No regular check-ups or oil changes required! And once the novelty wears off, the vehicles just keep working, and they don't seem to age as much. Our other Tesla is two years old now and its interior still feels brand new. It seems Tesla has chosen materials for the interior that feel "artificial" and "light" but somehow last and last and last without showing any wear and tear.