Took delivery of my 2015 Model S 85 on November 2, 2018. Process started October 22 when I first requested for a picture of a car on the Tesla CPO/Used Website.
After 1 month and about 1k miles on the car, I am really happy with her! I have been averaging a healthy 298 wh/mile and surviving on trickle charging as I wait for my NEMA14-50. This has been more than enough for most days. I used a supercharger a few times for longer weekend trips.
Some advice for those looking at CPOs/Used.
1. I followed the advice of others here in this form - go for the biggest battery you can afford. Miles do not matter*
*miles do not matter for performance/reliability compared to a ICE car. It matters for warranty purposes. When I bought mine, anything less than 50k miles had a 4yr/50k mile warranty. Anything above 50k miles will have a 2 yr/UP TO 100k mile warranty.
2. Email communication is key. This for me was the best part of the process. All communication was via email (and as such had a "paper" trail). Expect email response within 24-48 hours. Now that your SA may not be a M-F 9-5 type person. Mine was Sunday-Thursday (off Friday and Saturday).
3. You CAN transfer your deposit. This was the best decision I made. I initially placed my deposit for a S70 with 78k miles. Found my 85 with only 20,980 miles for only 3k more! Requested picture and had it transferred.
4. Make sure you give your Finance Advisor (if financing from Tesla) all the correct documents. We had a hiccup wherein my wife's maiden name was in her driver's license but was no longer her legal (married name). Spent an extra 48 hours on this to get the loan reapproved by the bank. Also, if the rate is high, ask your Finance advisor to check a different bank. Mine did and got a lower rate.
5.Do NOT be afraid if minor dings and scratches. As others have noted, Tesla now sells "used" vs. a reconditioned "CPO."
The reason I got my S85 with low mileage for 42k is because it has some minor dings. This is totally buyer dependent, but in my opinion, if it is cosmetic and does not affect the performance of the car, get the car with the bigger battery / better features.
In my case, the car had 2 major dings:
Thought about it long and hard, but decided to purchase anyway. 1 month in, I was able to minimize the effects of the above with a little TLC and help from the official Tesla paint repair kit.
At the end of the day, my biggest advice is find the car with the biggest battery and best features you can afford. Cosmetic damages can be fixed. For example, I new facelift bumper for the pre-facelift S is about 3k. A paint kit from Tesla is $50.
Hope this helps everyone. Good luck!
After 1 month and about 1k miles on the car, I am really happy with her! I have been averaging a healthy 298 wh/mile and surviving on trickle charging as I wait for my NEMA14-50. This has been more than enough for most days. I used a supercharger a few times for longer weekend trips.
Some advice for those looking at CPOs/Used.
1. I followed the advice of others here in this form - go for the biggest battery you can afford. Miles do not matter*
*miles do not matter for performance/reliability compared to a ICE car. It matters for warranty purposes. When I bought mine, anything less than 50k miles had a 4yr/50k mile warranty. Anything above 50k miles will have a 2 yr/UP TO 100k mile warranty.
2. Email communication is key. This for me was the best part of the process. All communication was via email (and as such had a "paper" trail). Expect email response within 24-48 hours. Now that your SA may not be a M-F 9-5 type person. Mine was Sunday-Thursday (off Friday and Saturday).
3. You CAN transfer your deposit. This was the best decision I made. I initially placed my deposit for a S70 with 78k miles. Found my 85 with only 20,980 miles for only 3k more! Requested picture and had it transferred.
4. Make sure you give your Finance Advisor (if financing from Tesla) all the correct documents. We had a hiccup wherein my wife's maiden name was in her driver's license but was no longer her legal (married name). Spent an extra 48 hours on this to get the loan reapproved by the bank. Also, if the rate is high, ask your Finance advisor to check a different bank. Mine did and got a lower rate.
5.Do NOT be afraid if minor dings and scratches. As others have noted, Tesla now sells "used" vs. a reconditioned "CPO."
The reason I got my S85 with low mileage for 42k is because it has some minor dings. This is totally buyer dependent, but in my opinion, if it is cosmetic and does not affect the performance of the car, get the car with the bigger battery / better features.
In my case, the car had 2 major dings:
Thought about it long and hard, but decided to purchase anyway. 1 month in, I was able to minimize the effects of the above with a little TLC and help from the official Tesla paint repair kit.
At the end of the day, my biggest advice is find the car with the biggest battery and best features you can afford. Cosmetic damages can be fixed. For example, I new facelift bumper for the pre-facelift S is about 3k. A paint kit from Tesla is $50.
Hope this helps everyone. Good luck!
