Ugliest1
S85: "Sparky"
Say, what, now? I'm on 2017.42 a88c8d5 as of Dec 1 -- is your car's last week's update a higher number? I actually created a separate "Exit" profile but it's a pain waiting for it so I almost never use it. This would be great.
5 Year Ownership Experience
- Thread starter ModelS1079
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scole04
Member
Nice. TMC should start a section for 100k+ mile owner experiences as we look to extract long term value.
ChadS
Last tank of gas: March 2009
My wife got her Model S in September 2012, so it is over 5 years old. It has 88k miles on it (the most miles we have ever put on a single car). VIN 112.
It was so awful, we just sold it a few minutes ago. Kidding. I mean, I DID just sell it, but we loved the car. My wife cried when it sold; she had wanted to keep it another 5 years. We are just replacing it with an X, which will be easier for her 6'4" elderly father with back pain to get in to.
It did have the typical early-S issues: door handles, contactors, drive unit noise, pano noise, screen bubbles. But Tesla fixed them quickly and politely and proactively under warranty, and now the car seems solid. Very smooth and quiet. It worked every single time my wife got in to it.
I also had a Roadster for 7 years. Absolutely loved that car too, and it had less go wrong. I now have a short-term lease on an S until I get a 3 in 2018.
I look forward to other automakers catching up so I have more choices, but for now I am happy to continue buying these. The X we pick up tomorrow morning will be our 4th Tesla.
It was so awful, we just sold it a few minutes ago. Kidding. I mean, I DID just sell it, but we loved the car. My wife cried when it sold; she had wanted to keep it another 5 years. We are just replacing it with an X, which will be easier for her 6'4" elderly father with back pain to get in to.
It did have the typical early-S issues: door handles, contactors, drive unit noise, pano noise, screen bubbles. But Tesla fixed them quickly and politely and proactively under warranty, and now the car seems solid. Very smooth and quiet. It worked every single time my wife got in to it.
I also had a Roadster for 7 years. Absolutely loved that car too, and it had less go wrong. I now have a short-term lease on an S until I get a 3 in 2018.
I look forward to other automakers catching up so I have more choices, but for now I am happy to continue buying these. The X we pick up tomorrow morning will be our 4th Tesla.
David29
Supporting Member
Excellent write-up. And I appreciate the positive attitude and the long-term view of an early adopter! Glad to hear of the successful experience of a fellow Bay Stater! Hope to run into you (figuratively speaking!) one of these days (if I haven't already).
Zextraterrestrial
P1538
I am also at a couple of weeks over 5 years and 72k miles
still love my car and haven't ever considered upgrading...maybe to the newer seats but that's about it. D's pull pretty nice but are not nearly as fun to drive
planned on doing a comprehensive 4 yr review but its a bit late for that now...maybe I will get something together for a 5 yr review...I have lots of data, a bit of autocross racing and several 600 mile/ day ~12 hr trips.
While I may complain a bit more about some issues than I used to, service has done a ton or work over the years and always tried to fix any poorly engineered parts/issues from the original factory set up.
Travelling (at least on the north west coast) is soooo much easier than it was for the first couple of years. The SC network is really pretty amazing, especially when you look at the 'competition'
still love my car and haven't ever considered upgrading...maybe to the newer seats but that's about it. D's pull pretty nice but are not nearly as fun to drive
planned on doing a comprehensive 4 yr review but its a bit late for that now...maybe I will get something together for a 5 yr review...I have lots of data, a bit of autocross racing and several 600 mile/ day ~12 hr trips.
While I may complain a bit more about some issues than I used to, service has done a ton or work over the years and always tried to fix any poorly engineered parts/issues from the original factory set up.
Travelling (at least on the north west coast) is soooo much easier than it was for the first couple of years. The SC network is really pretty amazing, especially when you look at the 'competition'
efusco
Moderator - Model S & X forums
Mine's birthday was Dec. 12th, which I was a bad parent and forgot to take celebratory photos. (VIN 1267)
I was just shy of 89,000 miles with a lifetime average of 304Wh/mi
Haven't tracked expenses well, but out of pocket I've only had to pay for a door handle repair as far as I can recall (about $700) and one Ranger fee of around $300.
electricity is around $50-60/mo--if high side then = $3600 in fuel.
Still on the "A" battery with Max range at 250miles and daily (90%) charge at 225-228 miles depending upon her mood.
One Drive unit replacement
Lots of door handle replacements.
One headliner replacement due to a leaky seal
Lots of the other various early adopter issues
One parking brake lock-up that made her undrivable (the only time)
One dead battery due to her owner being a dumbass.
Only been to 6 states in the S.
Still very satisfied and she still drives beautifully. I do keep thinking of cheating on her to upgrade some of the creature comforts and to get a dual motor vehicle (not available when I got mine) with a Model 3...I have a day one reservation, but just can't decide if the value is there to trade "up".
I was just shy of 89,000 miles with a lifetime average of 304Wh/mi
Haven't tracked expenses well, but out of pocket I've only had to pay for a door handle repair as far as I can recall (about $700) and one Ranger fee of around $300.
electricity is around $50-60/mo--if high side then = $3600 in fuel.
Still on the "A" battery with Max range at 250miles and daily (90%) charge at 225-228 miles depending upon her mood.
One Drive unit replacement
Lots of door handle replacements.
One headliner replacement due to a leaky seal
Lots of the other various early adopter issues
One parking brake lock-up that made her undrivable (the only time)
One dead battery due to her owner being a dumbass.
Only been to 6 states in the S.
Still very satisfied and she still drives beautifully. I do keep thinking of cheating on her to upgrade some of the creature comforts and to get a dual motor vehicle (not available when I got mine) with a Model 3...I have a day one reservation, but just can't decide if the value is there to trade "up".
slcasner
Active Member
I assure you my feelings are not hurt. Just poking a little fun. Perhaps a smiley on the first post would have helped. Now, regarding posts in TMC that are unnecessary, ...
I'm at 4 yrs, Vin 249xx P85 fully loaded with 60k miles coming this week. Similar experience, on my second drivetrain after 30k miles - everything covered under warranty in Palo Alto or San Mateo. Other than the drivetrain, general recalls, 12v batter, door handles and one flat tire from a nail. Added the center console after 3 yrs, regret not doing it earlier. Car makes me smile every time I drive it. Have model 3/D on order for next fall, will prob replace S with new S/D as well. Added our oldest daughter as a driver and her own profile a year after getting her license.
David29
Supporting Member
I know what you mean. My S will be (only) three years old next fall when my lease expires, and I am already wrestling with the dilemma of whether to order the Model 3 I have reserved, when my time comes, or to stick with my Model S, which has been very good. Tough choices!
gg_got_a_tesla
Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913
@ModelS1079, have missed your great sense of humor on these forums recently. Congrats on the 5th anniversary!
Btw, the Teflon underplate may be good for making omelettes but not for protecting your A battery.
Did the nice folks at Watertown gyp you on the Titanium one?!
Btw, the Teflon underplate may be good for making omelettes but not for protecting your A battery.
Did the nice folks at Watertown gyp you on the Titanium one?!Wait what? I thought you had to pay for annual maintenance, or do you not do those? I'm a 3 month owner, and looking over the service plan, it seems annual maintenance is still around $500 each time, even if under warranty?
I think he posted because the original post says "As 2017 rolls to close, many of us have now experienced five years of ownership of a single Tesla." So he's correct that is 9 years of ownership of a single Tesla, but five years of a single Tesla model S.
Great write up. I traded in my very early VIN 2012 MS P85 with 110,000 miles on her earlier this year for the MS P100DL . My out of pocket was $1,900 over that time period for new front breaks and one door handle. I think to be more accurate, you should also include your extended warranty costs. After all, the center screen would cost you quite a bit if you did not have the extended warranty, however you did pay for that extension. What were they charging for it back then? I forgot. I did not get that so my out of pocket cost above is exact.
I also had most of the in warranty issues you mentioned. At the end of the day, at 110,000 miles, it drove like the day I took her home. Very impressed.
I also had most of the in warranty issues you mentioned. At the end of the day, at 110,000 miles, it drove like the day I took her home. Very impressed.
Sudre
Active Member
- May 30, 2012
- 1,038
- 6,622
My Model S60 arrived on Feb 2013. I think everyone has pretty well covered how great driving the cars are. I am still charging to 221+ Ideal miles (I do not used rated). Still on my A battery. 64K miles.
I expected a beta test vehicle buying one so early on but I did not expect things like getting my MCU replaced this year. I had offers for the screen before it went into service because the screens are really really bad about separating and leaving bubbles. After I received my original part back with the screen Tesla service damaged it and did not offer anything for their horrible workmanship just finger pointing. Undamaged screens are in high demand. I raised my concerns about it along with the fact that I need a $3000 repair on my car every 6 months and I was pretty much told too bad by upper management and I had to deal only thru my local service center.
I canceled my Model 3 order because of this last MCU issues that will never be resolved now because of how it was handled.
FYI: Loss of the MCU in a 3 and you are stranded.
I have had three new vehicles in the past. I purchase and hold onto vehicles until they don't drive anymore. My wife's Toyota is still kicking along. Sure the water pump went out but that's been it since it's purchase in 2000.
I have had two Saturns (both fully loaded) and while the first one (early 90s) was like a beta test car Saturn worked out all the kinks and I had no problems with the car at all after it's 2nd year. I rolled that car being stupid and bought my 2000 Saturn L300. It had a few minor things under warranty but again those issues were all worked out after 2 years. I did end up replacing a fuel pump and a camshaft sensor out of warranty towards the end. I sold that when I got my Tesla to a junkyard because a few months before I got my S someone hit it and I had to limp (literally) it along waiting.
My Tesla hits the shop twice a year for repairs and one more time for service where it usual needs something replaced then too. It was all under warranty but now it's not and the demands of this car never stop. The warranty is not the concern as my shares in Tesla I kept by not selling them to buy a warranty are keeping up with the repair costs easily. I have had 18 things replaced/repaired so far and that doesn't include goodwill. The last two repair visits have been out of warranty and at least $3000 each. I think people should know that. If you don't invest to create your own extended warranty then buy an extended warranty.
From what I have read most people sell their Tesla's after 2-3 years. Some keep them for 4 years. Almost everyone is upgrading on the 5th year. That really doesn't give a good long term reliability report IMO. Miles driven is not a good reference for an EV since there are so few moving parts. As many warranty replaced moving parts I have had on my Tesla I would say Tesla fails on reliable moving parts. In a few years I will know if they improved on that as the new parts hopefully won't start failing again.
Non-moving parts don't care about miles driven much like my laptop doesn't care where I take it. The laptop I am typing this on is older than my Tesla and it has only needed a new battery. It has two moving parts, a hard drive and a DVD. Both still function just fine. My Android Samsung phone has been flashed with upgrades many times and is still being used with no issues. Tesla IMO fails on the non-moving part test too. I am hoping that is just my luck but it sounds like everyone is having issues with the non-moving parts too, they just don't care because it's under warranty and they sell their cars early in the cars life. (4 years old is not even middle age IMO)
I mean read these glowing reviews, "It did have the typical early-S issues", is the usual report from owners. I am still having those issues 4 years later.
I guess people really have such extreme differences in opinions about reliability. I think people love the car as I do but they don't want to separate that emotion to really look at the reliability. I try and look at it from the point of view of what if I couldn't afford to buy another car? Would I own this car? Honestly I wouldn't.
Here's an example of my annoyance. Do you know why the door handles stop working?
The wires break off inside from the motion of it going in and out. This problem is not in new cars because the wires are rerouted in a way so the motion doesn't stress the connection points. The issue is solved long-term. That means all the old handles IMO should be recalled and the wires rerouted since it is a design flaw. All old handles will fail.
I expected a beta test vehicle buying one so early on but I did not expect things like getting my MCU replaced this year. I had offers for the screen before it went into service because the screens are really really bad about separating and leaving bubbles. After I received my original part back with the screen Tesla service damaged it and did not offer anything for their horrible workmanship just finger pointing. Undamaged screens are in high demand. I raised my concerns about it along with the fact that I need a $3000 repair on my car every 6 months and I was pretty much told too bad by upper management and I had to deal only thru my local service center.
I canceled my Model 3 order because of this last MCU issues that will never be resolved now because of how it was handled.
FYI: Loss of the MCU in a 3 and you are stranded.
I have had three new vehicles in the past. I purchase and hold onto vehicles until they don't drive anymore. My wife's Toyota is still kicking along. Sure the water pump went out but that's been it since it's purchase in 2000.
I have had two Saturns (both fully loaded) and while the first one (early 90s) was like a beta test car Saturn worked out all the kinks and I had no problems with the car at all after it's 2nd year. I rolled that car being stupid and bought my 2000 Saturn L300. It had a few minor things under warranty but again those issues were all worked out after 2 years. I did end up replacing a fuel pump and a camshaft sensor out of warranty towards the end. I sold that when I got my Tesla to a junkyard because a few months before I got my S someone hit it and I had to limp (literally) it along waiting.
My Tesla hits the shop twice a year for repairs and one more time for service where it usual needs something replaced then too. It was all under warranty but now it's not and the demands of this car never stop. The warranty is not the concern as my shares in Tesla I kept by not selling them to buy a warranty are keeping up with the repair costs easily. I have had 18 things replaced/repaired so far and that doesn't include goodwill. The last two repair visits have been out of warranty and at least $3000 each. I think people should know that. If you don't invest to create your own extended warranty then buy an extended warranty.
From what I have read most people sell their Tesla's after 2-3 years. Some keep them for 4 years. Almost everyone is upgrading on the 5th year. That really doesn't give a good long term reliability report IMO. Miles driven is not a good reference for an EV since there are so few moving parts. As many warranty replaced moving parts I have had on my Tesla I would say Tesla fails on reliable moving parts. In a few years I will know if they improved on that as the new parts hopefully won't start failing again.
Non-moving parts don't care about miles driven much like my laptop doesn't care where I take it. The laptop I am typing this on is older than my Tesla and it has only needed a new battery. It has two moving parts, a hard drive and a DVD. Both still function just fine. My Android Samsung phone has been flashed with upgrades many times and is still being used with no issues. Tesla IMO fails on the non-moving part test too. I am hoping that is just my luck but it sounds like everyone is having issues with the non-moving parts too, they just don't care because it's under warranty and they sell their cars early in the cars life. (4 years old is not even middle age IMO)
I mean read these glowing reviews, "It did have the typical early-S issues", is the usual report from owners. I am still having those issues 4 years later.
I guess people really have such extreme differences in opinions about reliability. I think people love the car as I do but they don't want to separate that emotion to really look at the reliability. I try and look at it from the point of view of what if I couldn't afford to buy another car? Would I own this car? Honestly I wouldn't.
Here's an example of my annoyance. Do you know why the door handles stop working?
The wires break off inside from the motion of it going in and out. This problem is not in new cars because the wires are rerouted in a way so the motion doesn't stress the connection points. The issue is solved long-term. That means all the old handles IMO should be recalled and the wires rerouted since it is a design flaw. All old handles will fail.
Hit my 5 year anniversary earlier this week. 77,688 miles and 326Wh/mi lifetime in this northern climate!
The car is still a joy to drive every day. However in September 2014 when my wife got her Model S and
October 2014 when my commute got cut in half, I started putting on fewer miles than I anticipated. Her
seats are more comfortable and she has a B-battery which supercharges faster on road trips so we generally
take her car on long distance trips.
I have never been stranded by the car, but have had one flat and had a battery cell replaced, had a loaner
battery for a few months.
38 superchargers visited (including Switzerland and Colorado rentals), but there are at least 3 in my state
which I still haven't hit yet, the build-out is incredible! Driven my car through MA, RI, CT, VT, NH, ME, NY,
NJ, PA, DE, MD, VA. Wife's car in QC too. I need to get out more...I remember the first few road trips using
the 120V extension cord extensively, now we have the luxury of choosing where to SC based on traffic or
food preferences.
The car is still a joy to drive every day. However in September 2014 when my wife got her Model S and
October 2014 when my commute got cut in half, I started putting on fewer miles than I anticipated. Her
seats are more comfortable and she has a B-battery which supercharges faster on road trips so we generally
take her car on long distance trips.
I have never been stranded by the car, but have had one flat and had a battery cell replaced, had a loaner
battery for a few months.
38 superchargers visited (including Switzerland and Colorado rentals), but there are at least 3 in my state
which I still haven't hit yet, the build-out is incredible! Driven my car through MA, RI, CT, VT, NH, ME, NY,
NJ, PA, DE, MD, VA. Wife's car in QC too. I need to get out more...I remember the first few road trips using
the 120V extension cord extensively, now we have the luxury of choosing where to SC based on traffic or
food preferences.
