Used Tesla Model 3: What Each Year Costs and What to Check

A used Tesla Model 3 listed for an average of $25,611 on CarGurus on October 13, 2026, with the 2022 model year at $25,428 and the 2023 at $27,999. A new 2026 Model 3 has a starting sticker price of $38,630, by Kelley Blue Book’s figure. By this site’s calculation that is a gap of about $13,200 for a 2022 and about $10,600 for a 2023, and it is the case for buying used.

The market is mixed. CarGurus’ all-years Model 3 average is 3.81% lower than it was 90 days ago, while its 2023 and 2024 model years are up over the same 90 days. Recurrent, which tracks used electric vehicles (EVs) of every brand, wrote on September 30, 2026: “For shoppers, prices have stopped rising.”

The short answer

LFP stands for lithium iron phosphate, a battery chemistry. Whichever row you are in, check the car in front of you: the used Tesla buying guide covers what transfers with it and what to look at on the screen.

What a used Model 3 costs, by model year

These are CarGurus’ average listing prices, read on October 13, 2026. They are listing prices, CarGurus does not break them out by version, and it notes that its historical data “excludes any additional dealer fees as of May 3, 2026.”

Four things to read off it:

• The steps between years are small until 2024. From 2018 to 2023, each newer model year adds between about $850 and $2,600. The jump to the 2024 car is about $8,400.
• Year over year, the all-years row moves more than any single year. It is up 8.65%, and no model year is up more than 7.81%. An average can move because the mix of cars for sale changed, so the row for the year you want is the better guide.
• A 2022 lists for about a third less than a new car’s sticker. $25,428 is $13,202 below $38,630, which is 34% less. That is this site’s comparison, and it sets an average across every version against the cheapest new one. Kelley Blue Book also says its Fair Purchase Pricing “currently suggests paying $1,130 to $2,230 less than MSRP,” the sticker price.
• A used 2024 saves little. At $36,376 it lists $2,254 below the new car’s starting sticker.

CarGurus prints more than one average on the same page: its headline says prices “dropped 0.8% over the past 30 days” to $25,818, and its table gives $25,611. This page uses the table.

Are used Model 3 prices rising or falling?

It depends on the year and on how far back you look. On CarGurus’ numbers, 2018 through 2022 cars are down over the last 90 days, by between 0.24% and 2.92%, and 2023 and 2024 cars are up, by 1.33% and 0.69%. Over a full year, every model year in the table from 2019 on is up, and a 2022 is up 3.17%.

The wider used-EV market rose and then steadied. Recurrent’s fourth-quarter report, dated September 30, 2026, says used EV prices “rose 5% from January to June,” that retail prices are “8% higher than a year ago, though steady over the last few months,” and that “Overall market averages hide a wide spread by model.”

Recurrent gives two reasons used EV sales recovered after the tax credit ended. The first: “Gas prices are a big part of the story. This week, the national average is $4.46 a gallon”. The second is supply: EVs leased in 2023 “are now coming back at the three-year mark.” Elsewhere the report notes that “More than half of used EVs listed in September were priced under $30,000.” The federal tax credit for used EVs is no longer part of the picture. The IRS says it “is not available for vehicles acquired after Sept. 30, 2025.”

What happens next is not settled in that report. It says dealers “have seen wholesale values ease slightly in the last couple of months,” and that wholesale “tends to lead retail, so that could be the front edge of a pullback, especially if gas prices fall.” It also quotes a dealer who disagrees: “I truly do believe we’re in a period of stabilization.”

For a buyer, the report offers two readings: prices that hold where they are, or a pullback if gasoline gets cheaper. Recurrent itself forecasts neither, so there is little to gain from rushing. The used EV prices analysis covers how the market got here in the first half of 2026.

Which Model 3 battery has aged best?

In one study, the LFP pack. Electrek reported in July 2026 on an analysis by Carla, a Swedish used-EV retailer, of “9,954 battery tests conducted in Sweden between 2022 and 2026” across many models. Among Model 3s that had driven more than 62,000 miles, the average battery health by pack was:

Electrek’s summary: “That’s a five-point gap between the best and worst versions of the same car.” It calls the LFP car “the cheaper LFP version” and adds that LFP “tolerates a full 100% charge far better than nickel-based cells”.

Read it with four limits in mind:

• It is one retailer’s data from Sweden. The article gives no count of cars for each pack.
• It is an average. It does not tell you the health of any one car.
• A smaller battery is not automatically the LFP one. The lowest score in the table belongs to the smaller Panasonic pack. The charge limit guide explains which cars have LFP and how to confirm it on the screen.
• Battery health is not the same as range. Tesla’s warranty says “range estimates are an imperfect measure of Battery capacity”. The battery degradation calculator estimates range for a given year, mileage and pack.

The battery warranty and a used car

Tesla’s current New Vehicle Limited Warranty for North America, effective September 1, 2026, covers the battery and drive unit for 8 years, with the mileage limit set by the version: “Model 3 and Model Y Standard or Standard Range Plus - 8 years or 100,000 miles” and “Model 3 and Model Y Long Range or Performance - 8 years or 120,000 miles,” each “with minimum 70% retention of Battery capacity* over the warranty period.” That is the edition for cars sold now, and it does not say what applied to a Model 3 sold in earlier years. Ask Tesla what remains on the car you are considering.

Four things matter to a second owner:

• It transfers. The warranty “is transferable at no cost to any person(s) who subsequently and lawfully assume(s) ownership of the vehicle after the first retail purchaser within the described limitations of this New Vehicle Limited Warranty.”
• The clock starts at first delivery. The warranty “begins on the first day a new vehicle is delivered by Tesla.” If the same 8-year term applied when the car was sold, a 2018 delivery runs out in 2026.
• A branded title can end it. Tesla may void the warranty on “Vehicles that do not have clean title,” among other cases.
• The basic warranty is shorter. It runs “4 years or 50,000 miles,” so on the current terms a 2021 or older car is past it on age, and a 2022 is at or near the limit depending on its delivery date.

The Tesla battery warranty guide has the full terms.

The computer: why the model year matters for FSD

A software update does not change a Tesla’s driver-assistance computer. Only a hardware swap does, and Tesla has done those for some cars.

• Built before about April 12, 2019: an older computer from the factory. Electrek reported from Tesla’s April 2019 Autonomy Day that the new one was “in all new Model 3 vehicles earlier this month (starting around April 12th),” and that Tesla would offer retrofits to owners who had bought FSD. So an early car may or may not have been upgraded.
• From then through the 2023 model year, in North America: Hardware 3 (HW3). Not a Tesla App’s summary: “if you have a 2017-2023 Model 3, you’ll have Hardware 3,” with the caveat above for the earliest cars.
• The restyled car: Hardware 4 (HW4). “The updated 2024 Model 3 has HW4”. That car went on sale in North America in January 2024; Electrek wrote that it had been introduced the previous summer and distributed in Europe, Asia and the Pacific, so go by the restyle, not the year on the listing.

It matters because of what Tesla said on its first-quarter 2026 earnings call. Not a Tesla App reported on April 24, 2026 that Tesla admitted “for the first time that Hardware 3 (HW3) will not be capable of Unsupervised Full Self-Driving.” The same report says HW3 cars “will still receive FSD updates,” and that Tesla said it will eventually offer a hardware upgrade to “owners who previously purchased the Full Self-Driving package,” with no date or price from Tesla. The HW3 owner’s guide covers what that means, including what is not known about a used car whose earlier owner bought FSD.

If you will never pay for FSD, the computer is a small part of the decision. If FSD is part of why you want a Tesla, look at the restyled car: the April report says “many of the HW4 FSD features will migrate to HW3 vehicles,” which is not all of them. Confirm the computer on the car’s screen with the HW3 or HW4 checker. For what a used car does without a subscription, see the Autopilot vs FSD guide.

Build quality on early cars

A widely reported critique of the Model 3 is a 2018 teardown by the engineering firm Munro & Associates. It praised the electronics and battery and criticized the body, and the body criticism quoted here was about weight and cost: “The strategy for the body is about as bad as could be,” Sandy Munro said, and “It’s heavy and much more expensive than even the carbon-fiber BMW i3.”

Two things keep that in proportion. Tesla replied that “The primary car evaluated by Munro was built in 2017.” And CleanTechnica noted in the same April 2018 article that when Munro looked at a second car, “the panel gaps it complained about earlier appear to have gotten better.”

This site’s suggestion is modest: on any used Model 3, and above all an early one, look at how the body panels line up, and judge the car in front of you, not the model’s reputation.

State rebates, now that the federal credit is gone

The federal credit paid up to $4,000 on a used EV with a sale price of $25,000 or less, and it ended for cars acquired after September 30, 2025. What is left is state money. Two programs set their price caps above the price of a typical used Model 3.

Colorado. The Vehicle Exchange Colorado (VXC) program pays “up to $6,000 towards a used BEV or PHEV with an MSRP or purchase price of $50,000 or less.” BEV means battery electric vehicle and PHEV means plug-in hybrid. It is for “income-qualified Coloradans” who “recycle and replace their old or high-emitting vehicles,” bought from “an authorized automobile dealer,” and “Only one VXC rebate is allowed per tax household.” The state’s page sends you to the VXC website for more information, including where to apply.

Massachusetts. MOR-EV Used is “A $3,500 rebate for the purchase of eligible used light-duty battery electric vehicles (BEV) and fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) with a Final Purchase Price of $40,000 or less.” You qualify through an approved assistance program or by income: below “$150,000 for married filing jointly or a surviving spouse,” “$112,500 for heads of households” or “$75,000 for all other filers.” The conditions that catch used-Tesla shoppers:

• The car “must be a model year at least 2 years earlier than the calendar year when it was purchased or leased and not have received a MOR-EV rebate within the past 36 months.”
• It must be bought “at a licensed dealership; private sales do not qualify.”
• MOR-EV+ adds $1,500 for people in an approved assistance program.
• A trade-in adds $1,000 only for a combustion car that is “at least 12 years old based on the model year at the time of trade-in” and meets the program’s other conditions, including two years of Massachusetts registration, and that fund is “first come, first served.”

Both program pages were read on October 13, 2026. Read the full rules on the state’s own page before you count on either rebate.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Tesla battery warranty transferable?

Yes, within the warranty’s limits. Tesla’s current warranty “is transferable at no cost to any person(s) who subsequently and lawfully assume(s) ownership of the vehicle after the first retail purchaser.” A car without a clean title can lose it.

Does a used Model 3 have Autopilot?

It depends on the car. The Autopilot vs FSD guide explains what older cars appear to keep and which screen shows it.

How much battery capacity has a used Model 3 lost?

In the Carla data, Model 3s past 62,000 miles averaged between 88.2% and 93.3% battery health, depending on the pack. That is an average from Swedish cars, and battery health is not the same as range, so check the car you are buying.

Is a 2023 Model 3 HW3 or HW4?

HW3 in North America. HW4 came with the restyled car, which reached North America in January 2024.

Is a used Model 3 good value?

For a 2021 to 2023 car, the numbers say yes: it lists for about $10,600 to $15,500 below a new car’s starting sticker, and the battery warranty moves with the car if the title is clean. A 2018 or 2019 costs less and may have little or no battery warranty left. A used 2024 costs nearly as much as a new one. Decide which of those you are shopping for, then buy on the car in front of you.

Sources (13)

• cargurus.com Tesla Model 3 Price Trends
• recurrentauto.com Recurrent: Used Electric Car Prices and Market Report, Q4 2026
• kbb.com Kelley Blue Book: 2026 Tesla Model 3
• electrek.co Electrek (Jul 15, 2026): Tesla's LFP battery holds its charge better, study says
• digitalassets.tesla.com Tesla New Vehicle Limited Warranty, North America (PDF)
• electrek.co Electrek (Apr 22, 2019): Tesla unveils its new Full Self-Driving computer in detail
• electrek.co Electrek (Jan 9, 2024): Tesla launches Model 3 Highland refresh in North America
• notateslaapp.com Not a Tesla App (Aug 8, 2024): How to Check If Your Tesla Has Hardware 3 or Hardware 4 (AI4)
• notateslaapp.com Not a Tesla App (Apr 24, 2026): Tesla Announces HW3 Upgrade Plan, Trade-In Discount, No Unsupervised FSD for HW3
• cleantechnica.com Munro Tesla Model 3 Teardown Report Provokes Tesla
• irs.gov Used Clean Vehicle Credit
• evco.colorado.gov Vehicle Exchange Colorado (VXC) Program
• mor-ev.org Frequently Asked Questions