Should you buy a second-hand Tesla Model 3? This is my experience of living with one
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I’m living with a certified pre-owned Tesla – here’s my latest update on driving the second hand EV. The Tesla Model 3 and Model Y have consistently ranked among the best-selling cars in the UK for years. That means there are plenty of used Teslas available on the market with prices starting at around £14,000, and countless potential buyers wondering whether a pre-owned Tesla Model 3 would be a wise purchase.
![[Our certified pre-owned Tesla Model 3 arrived in pristine condition]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/11/25/05/IMG_4333-2.jpg)
To find out whether a used Tesla is worth spending money on, I decided to see what it’s like to live with a second-hand model. How quickly has a car like this aged? How has the build quality stood up? What’s the technology like to live with? And crucially, what has time and mileage done to the battery and range of the car?.
![[Tesla Summon will bring your car to you in a car park]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/02/15/IMG_9705.jpg)
For our tests, I’m running a car from Tesla’s official used car scheme – Tesla Certified Pre-Owned – to answer all of these questions and more. I’ll be updating my used Tesla review as I get more hands-on experience with the car, so check back in to see how the second-hand EV performs under real-world conditions.
![[Software updates have given me a Tesla Apple Watch app that means my watch is now my Tesla car key]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/02/15/IMG_5229.jpg)
There are times when it’s hard to believe that I’m driving a three year-old, secondhand car. But, thanks to the latest software over the air updates that my Tesla Model 3 has received, it’s now more advanced than many new cars I’ve driven recently – and this is the first generation of Model 3, not the latest one.
![[Tesla’s enhanced autopilot takes the strain out of longer journeys, but you have to keep your hands on the wheel]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/19/17/IMG_5139.jpg)
In fact, when I was demonstrating the tech the car has to some friends over on New Year’s Eve (which included the car giving a light show to the tune of Auld Lang Syne) their guess was that the car cost upwards of £60,000 - and they’d just taken delivery of a brand new Peugeot 3008. Of course, my Certified Pre-Owned (used in Tesla-speak) Model 3 cost less than half that at £28,400. Yet thanks to the latest software updates, it has the same tech as a brand new Model 3.
![[Enhanced autopilot will keep a Tesla in lane and a set distance from the car in front]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/19/17/IMG_5135.jpg)
