4Yr Extended Warranty?

[CurrieG]

I have 78K Kms on my 2016 Model X, how does the club feel about purchasing the Extended 4 Yr / 80K Kms? Is it worth the investment? Current cost is $7K+, CDN,with taxes!

I would really appreciate your thoughts as I will probably have to decide by the end of June. Seems very expensive...

Anyone know how much it costs to repair / replace a FWD? No issue yet! (Fingers Crossed)

Thanks!

 

[Tam]

...Is it worth the investment?...

It is a strange question because not all of us are fortunes tellers to tell whether your car will need repairs for the rest of your ownership.

Your investment is well paid off if your repairs will exceed your premium.

If you will claim zero repairs then you would lose all your premium for repairs that never will happen during the extended warranty term.

 

[DoctorVenkman]

It is a strange question because not all of us are fortunes tellers to tell whether your car will need repairs for the rest of your ownership.

Your investment is well paid off if your repairs will exceed your premium.

If you will claim zero repairs then you would lose all your premium for repairs that never will happen during the extended warranty term.

Of course no one can answer the question about a specific vehicle. Some have no issues for a decade and some have tons of issues up front. But that's not the question being asked.

It IS possible to look at the average cost of repairs over a specific time frame to see if a warranty is worthwhile. For example, if the average cost of repairs is $5,000 and the warranty costs $7,000, you're better off saving your money if you can afford a potential large payment down the road. Likewise if the average cost of repairs is $10,000 and the warranty is $7,000 you'd be better off to buy it.

Most of the time car manufacturers have very good data on the average cost of repairs so they price their warranty a little bit higher in order to make some money off of it. However in Tesla's case, there are relatively few vehicles over 4 years, and there have been so many production changes, that they probably don't have good data on what it will cost to repair from 4-8 years. It's possible they've mispriced their warranty and you get a good deal out of it.

 

[Tam]

...It IS possible to look at the average cost of repairs over a specific time frame to see if a warranty is worthwhile

As in Casino gambling, lottery, insurance (including healthcare, dental...), and, I suspect also, ESA (extended warranty)... the house always wins in the end as a whole.

On the average, if you pay to play in those games, the odds of recuperating your investments are heavily against you.

So why do people still participate in them?

Some may not understand. If they see lottery winners on newspapers, they might think they can win too!

Some do understand, but they feel there's value in losing their investment. They may lose in Casino but they feel the entertainment is worth the cost.

Others don't get cancer, house fire but they still are happy in losing their investment because they feel that's the cost for the peace of mind.

I myself bought all ESA that's been offered to me for 2012 Model S, 2017 Model X, (and still waiting for the offer for 2018 Model 3).

My 2017 Model X and 2018 Model 3 have been troubled free.

However, My 2012 Model S had 3 services in its old age and covered by ESA.

1) Mobile Connector Unit: Pre-emptivly replaced due to signs of overheat at the connection points. Notice that ESA now excludes this coverage= $500.

2) 17" display and its computer= $4,000 (The screen alone without computer is cheaper).

3) Cabin heater (for human, not battery pack) = $4,500

So, in my case, my investment paid off very well. But even if my car didn't need repairs, I am still glad to pay for ESA for the peace of mind: Pay once in advance and to guarantee to limit my loss in future.

Thus, it's up to how you want to manage the unknown future risks.

 

[CurrieG]

Thanks for your thoughts... Good to hear the repairs you encountered and their cost. It appears the ESA was definitely a good investment for you.

 

[NHK X]

Also depends how much you drive. I’m at 43k miles in a year and half, and anticipate more driving in the next couple years. I’m near the end of coverage at 50k miles, I’m not going to get extended coverage simply because I will likely blow through coverage in less than a year a half. For us it’s 50k miles or 4 years, whichever comes first, if I remember correctly. If you are a low mileage driver, might be more worth it.

 

[Mke111]

I would suggest the extended warranty; as a peace of mind. Typically, most luxury cars need repairs in that period. Whether or not you will recoup or exceed your investment in the extended warranty is unknown but I would encourage it. I don't keep any luxury car out of extended warranty. I realize Tesla is different but as written above, certain repairs can be expensive. I plan to buy extended warranty for my X, in 2.5 years.

 

[trmmcd]

I struggled with exactly the same question. I have an early X and decided to go for the extended warranty. I recently had a bizarre falcon wing door problem where the center spline popped up while the doors were opening and cracked the glass on both FWDs and the spline. The repair cost was about $3500. I am thinking about other potential issues such as suspension, MCU, center screen etc and thinking I will definitely get my money’s worth. As someone else said, the overall ownership experience is much better not having to worry about what might happen or what things will cost when they eventually go wrong.

 

[Need]

I bought the 4yr warranty for our MX before the 180 days for the $500 discount. The reason I bought it was our previous experience with the BMW X5 and Mini Cooper S. Everything started to break down right around the end of the original warranty. Every repair was between $1000 to $3000. We went to BMW specialist shop and the mechanic could tell us what would be next break just from experience from working on them so much.

So just to be saved and don't have to worry about it, I got the 4 yrs extended warranty. And now from reading the posts, our MCU 1 has a good chance of failing after 4/5 years. And replacing that alone will probably break even with the warranty cost. And the auto present door, falcon doors, seem to be fairly easy to have problem with all those sensors and actuators. We already have to take the car in to replace those twice. I am sure they will only get worst after 5 or 6 years. I think we will probably hit the 100,000 miles in 7 years.

 

[gangzoom]

2 years and 30k miles into ownership and it's the first time I can say our X is 'fault free', though clearly the MCU is a ticking bomb.

I've had a new drivers seat, new door latches, new passenger door actuator, new steering wheel, new FWD sensors, new front suspension links, new drive shafts, new front motor mount, new hatch latch, drivers A pillar rebuilt, new key fobs, new MCU screen - than UV fix for MCU screen.

I recon any profit Tesla had from selling me the X (60D) is pretty thin after that lot especially each item was paired with a few days in a loaner, and with AP2 -> AP3 to come, an extended warranty is a no brainer in my book.

Reliable these cars are not.

 

[Ludalicious]

I had the rear motor blowup in mine a few months back. The bill was 10,000k CDN. It was under warranty but I am in the same boat. Looking to purchase warranty but 7K seems high to me too. I do plan on getting it though. I probably wouldn't purchase one if it was a 60D though.

 

[Need]

I had the rear motor blowup in mine a few months back. The bill was 10,000k CDN. It was under warranty but I am in the same boat. Looking to purchase warranty but 7K seems high to me too. I do plan on getting it though. I probably wouldn't purchase one if it was a 60D though.

Motor and Battery are on a different warranty though. My 2017 MX was 8 years unlimited miles. I think the newer MS and MX are 8 years and 125k miles. The extended warranty (2yrs or 4yrs) is for everything else except motors/battery. There are so many mechanical moving parts on the MX.. I just feel like there is no way some of those won't fail after 4 years. And Tesla is NOT known for cheap repairs.. LOL.

 

[gangzoom]

I probably wouldn't purchase one if it was a 60D though.

Why not? Our 60D was a bargain compared to current prices, here in the UK the warranty is £4k.

A new Model X LR in the same spec as ours (range aside), is £91k without FSD. Cost to swap to a new car is around £40k if we sold ours for £50k, so x10 more expensive than the extended warranty.

If you told me a brand new X will be fault free you could tempt me, but just browsing these pages your see Tesla are making Xs just as badly now as they did in 2016.

 

[LoveMX]

I had the rear motor blowup in mine a few months back. The bill was 10,000k CDN. It was under warranty but I am in the same boat. Looking to purchase warranty but 7K seems high to me too. I do plan on getting it though. I probably wouldn't purchase one if it was a 60D though.

Wow, extended warranty is now 7K?!!! I don't see anywhere in my Tesla account even if I want to purchase the extended warranty.

 

[LoveMX]

I Typically, most luxury cars need repairs in that period.

MX is actually not a luxury car. If you remove the battery, it's more like a 35-40K car.

 

[Ludalicious]

Wow, extended warranty is now 7K?!!! I don't see anywhere in my Tesla account even if I want to purchase the extended warranty.

I believe you can still purchase it but only at the service center directly. Thats what I have read, don't hold me to that... LOL

 

[mswlogo]

I plan to get it.

As mentioned, it's exactly like a casino or insurance. Statistically you are unlikely to beat the house.

But let's say your Model X was all paid for (meaning a lender doesn't force you to buy collision) would you skip collision?
Even though statistically the insurance company will win and you are more likely to spend more on collision than you will ever get back.

Have you never ever taken a shot at the Casino or a Lotto ticket, knowing you're highly likely to lose?

I'm quite sure most folks that could afford to buy a Model X in the first place could afford a collision loss or out of control service repairs.

Considering it is a $100K+ Vehicle and adds 4 YEARS and 50K miles is not terribly outrageous.
I paid about $2300 on a VW Extended warranty on a $26K car for 7 years 110K miles. Never used it once, dam it.
I paid about $2700 on a Jeep for lifetime warranty on a $50K car. That was a bargain, no longer offered (not transferable!). But never used that once either.

So I'm due for win but I'd be just as happy to lose again and experience another reliable vehicle. I've had a good run of reliable cars for a long time now. 5 Jeeps, 2 VWs, 1 GM, all bottom of the food chain statistically on reliability, but ended up dirt cheap to own. My old Lemons, 87 Audi, 85 GM, 84 VW.

I will plan to maximize the years I get out of the warranty by keeping one eye on the mileage. We average ~24K / year between two cars. The other car is a plugin hybrid (plenty green and cheap to run).

One other plus with this Extended Plan is, if it does not activate (i.e. expire the original warranty) and you decide to trade/sell early you can get the money back. Not sure if it's 100% back though. And it would be prorated (and claims subtracted) once the extended warranty goes active. Another plus is that, it is transferable. Don't rely on me for any of this info, confirm for yourself.

I plan to buy now, while it's still available and before price inevitably goes up.

 

[balefire]

Im nearing the end of my warranty and had numerous issues recently.
So we splurged on the ESA for piece of mind despite my typical self insure mentality.
Extended Service Agreement

 

[Need]

Wow, extended warranty is now 7K?!!! I don't see anywhere in my Tesla account even if I want to purchase the extended warranty.

$7k Canadian $....

 

[rush6410]

I just passed 50K and decided not to get it. The stipulations to keep it active swayed me against. If my only obligation was the cost of the warranty, I probably would have. But, you have to follow and pay for their routine service which we all know is way over priced for what they actually do. So, you are looking at close to $2000 in routine checks by Tesla over the life of the extended warranty + the $5300 + the $200 deductible per visit. So, you are looking at $8000. They will not honor the warranty without the scheduled routine maintenance being performed by them. https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/service/vehicle_extended_service_agreement_en_us.pdf