2020 MYLR. I'm at a crossroads.

denovoincipere | 2026-03-03 00:24 | 9 views

Hey all, I'm trying to decide what to do with my 2020 model y long range. It has 160,000 km on it. By and large it's been a pretty good car for me, however in the last 12 months I have spent $6,600 keeping it on the road. A tail light leaked and needed replacement, I did a bunch of front end suspension, I just did a wheel bearing, and now it's making another squeaky sound just a week after my last repair, and apparently it needs a brake service. I bought this car hoping it would last a really long time. I'm really disappointed in how much it's costing me to keep it running properly. The decision I am making is whether or not I keep the car and hope that this string of things failing on it ends soon and I can enjoy some lower cost operations for a while. Should I decide to sell or trade in the car, my next decision is what to buy. That's what brought me here. Are newer model y's more reliable? If I were to buy a 2024+ model y long range all-wheel drive to replace this one, yes it would be newer and have fewer kilometers on it, but are they actually built any better than they were when this vehicle was manufactured? Or is it exactly the same quality wise? Should I decide to leave Tesla, which I really don't want to do, I would be debating a 2026 Toyota bz, or ditching EVS all together. Not sure what other options might exist in the Canadian market that aren't annoying to own, or equally poorly built. I don't want to compromise too much. I thought about leasing something for 24 to 36 months to allow time for the rivian r2 to become commercially available in Canada, but my worry is that I'll be replacing one jalopy car with another as rivian is not known for exceptional build quality either. Toyota might be boring, but I would expect that it's better built than this car. So disappointing. Can anyone shed any light as to whether or not newer model teslas are in fact better built?

Comments (6)

Unfair_Tonight_9797 2026-03-03 00:50

You have almost 100k miles on it. Wheel bearing and suspension work usually falls into the normal wear and tear of a vehicle, particularly if you have crappy roads.

Mr-Zappy 2026-03-03 00:51

They’re supposedly built better now. At least, that’s what everyone replies with when I point out issues with my 2021. We didn’t know the 2021s had build issues for a few years and we won’t really know if the 2026s have build issues for a while. My philosophy is to avoid the manufacturer of my current vehicle if that vehicle is having more (and more expensive) issues than I think it should. (And my Tesla has had more issues before it was 4 years old than my Prius has had in over 15 years.) Otherwise I feel like I’m just rewarding their initial shoddy product, even if their products are better now. I’m more willing to gamble with some other manufacturer who hasn’t recently sold me a shoddy product they aren’t standing by. That said, I want an R2 also but I don’t expect it to necessarily be less expensive to maintain than a Tesla. If you go with a Toyota EV, make sure you don’t get a used one that fast charges really slowly. I’d also consider new Hyundai/Kia 800V vehicles because despite their ICCU issues, they’re covering them even past the regular warranty and I’m confident they’ll get it all sorted eventually.

denovoincipere 2026-03-03 01:05

Well, I have owned a dozen vehicles before this one and never had anywhere near this number of issues before, which is what makes this frustrating.

Unfair_Tonight_9797 2026-03-03 01:33

Sorry.. it sucks. I have a 2024 build and no real issues, knock on wood

ParfaitPositive810 2026-03-03 04:27

I had my 2018 model 3 for a long time. Loved it! My husband got the 2024 model y AWD. I liked it but only drove it myself as needed. I traded in my 2018 for a 2025 model 3 RWD. It was a great improvement but I wanted to take advantage of the .99% APR and being able to transfer my FSD for the 3rd time. Didn't even test drive it and picked it up last week. I looooove my 2026 Juniper AWD! It's so much better than the 2024 model y.

AnDaLe47 2026-03-03 13:42

To be fair, OP probably didn't in 2022 either....

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