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$55k budget - what Model S to buy?

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#21
beatle said:
Looking at Tesla's used car prices on ev-cpo.com, a raven performance currently only commands a small premium (maybe $4-5k) over a LR+. That surprised me. That puts a LR+ into the low-mid 60s. If $55k is a hard high limit, it puts you into a weird price bracket for tech/speed because it puts any raven out of your budget by several thousand.

I normally say to buy the most car you can afford, but while a P100D gets you (noticeably) more power/range/charging speed over a P85D, it loses the benefits of AP1, HID headlights, and performance plus suspension. A P85DL can be had for $40k or less, and it will still be faster than a LR+. It's true that you'd also be going without a battery/DU warranty, but you'd also have $15k in your pocket, and the 2015s were where Tesla had worked out many of the bugs of the earlier cars. Everyone values different aspects of a car differently so it's not an obvious choice.
Click to expand...
Some P100DL have AP1 (mine does), but yeah mine does NOT have the plus suspension (my P90DL did). I don't notice a difference, and I drive spirited, pretty much everywhere.

DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT buy a Tesla out of warranty unless you have $15-20k in the bank ($15k for a refurbished battery or $21k for a new battery, 90kWh to be clear). This does not factor in the DU replacement cost (measured in the thousands as well). One of the biggest gambles you can make is to own one of these outside of a warranty.
 
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#23
MorrisonHiker said:
When FSD went up in price, the buy rate went down so Tesla came out with a bare-bones offering called Basic Autopilot in 2020. Tesla initially offered Basic Autopilot for $2000 but now it is standard on all currently sold vehicles. Basic Autopilot has auto speed (TACC) and can maintain the lane but does not have auto lane changes. Auto lange change functionality on newer vehicles requires Enhanced Autopilot or FSD.
Click to expand...
For a while they were constantly changing what came with autopilot and how much it cost. My sticker says $2500 and lists autopilot convenience features which includes auto lane change with signaling and basic summon.
 
#24
a late 2016 P100DL can be upgraded to FSD and possibly FUSC depending on its ownership history.. I used to think that "3.7 seconds or 3.5 seconds 0-60 is fast enough".. It is fast enough, but once you get a P100DL, you'll understand the sheer thrill of the drive... you don't need to use it all the time (but I bet you will)
 
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#25
gaswalla said:
a late 2016 P100DL can be upgraded to FSD and possibly FUSC depending on its ownership history.. I used to think that "3.7 seconds or 3.5 seconds 0-60 is fast enough".. It is fast enough, but once you get a P100DL, you'll understand the sheer thrill of the drive... you don't need to use it all the time (but I bet you will)
Click to expand...

You'll want to clarify - only cars with certain computer modules can be upgraded to FSD (+ cost). AP1 cars cannot be upgraded.

NO CAR can be "upgraded" to FUSC. I know that's not what you meant by that, but just to clarify for others. Transferable supercharging ended Q1 2017, and if the car went through Tesla (trade-in) it MAY have its transferable supercharging stripped. To that end, it's about $20-25 to get from 20%-80% SOC at the supercharging station (California rates). You can also charge at a fair number of Chargepoint stations for free if you have the adapter ;) (suitable for topping off, because it's so painfully slow).

Re: 0-60 times
My point, too...1.5sec difference is significant
 
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#29
Ryan Autry said:
We bought our car through CarMax and added a extended warranty from Xcelerate Auto.
Click to expand...
Okay, awesome. Was it close enough where you could drop by look at / test drive? I once bought a car from Chicago and had it shipped to NJ without ever seeing it. Got lots of pictures / videos / records but let's just say I had a lot of anxiety! Fortunately, the car turned out near show room considering it was 10 years old...

I'll have to look into Xcelerate Auto, good info.
 
#31
jongrreat said:
Looks nice! Although it's been in an accident. I'm always leery because you never know who did the repairs, etc. etc...
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That particular car has the Premium Upgrades Package which includes HEPA with Bioweapon Defense Mode, One of my absolute favorite features. Keeps the car smelling like new almost forever since mold spores can't get through into the car. I've had old loaner S and X and few times, some with and some without HEPA. Non HEPA ones smelled like regular old cars of similar age whereas the HEPA cars didn't. Big difference.

Became standard on S in later years, not sure exactly when.
 
#32
I recommend you wait to see what changes come with the pending model 3 upgrade. And, then reconsider a new MP3.

I think the MP3 might go better with your muscle car leanings than a S.

We have a new MYP without USS. The car is more than manageable in tight spaces. USS would be nice but we‘ve learned to be extra careful and use the cameras as required, while we wait for the update to enable the cameras to serve this function.
 
#33
jongrreat said:
Okay, awesome. Was it close enough where you could drop by look at / test drive? I once bought a car from Chicago and had it shipped to NJ without ever seeing it. Got lots of pictures / videos / records but let's just say I had a lot of anxiety! Fortunately, the car turned out near show room considering it was 10 years old...

I'll have to look into Xcelerate Auto, good info.
Click to expand...
We spent $199 to have the car shipped from one location to another so we can see it and drive it. We also took it on a 4 hour test drive. Which was really great, imo.
 
#34
beatle said:
…A P85DL can be had for $40k or less, and it will still be faster than a LR+…
Click to expand...
If you don’t care about the nosecone front bumper, I would second this. Save your money for a used 2021.5 plaid down the road.

Also, I know that you are buying for performance, but keep in mind that the older large drive units (LDU) are liquid cooled and originally had maintenance issues with the coolant seals that the small drive units never had. Not sure enough time has elapsed to know how much better any revisions are.
 
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#35
Krash said:
If you don’t care about the nosecone front bumper, I would second this. Save your money for a used 2021.5 plaid down the road.

Also, I know that you are buying for performance, but keep in mind that the older large drive units (LDU) are liquid cooled and originally had maintenance issues that the small drive units never had.
Click to expand...
What year did they fix these issues with the drive units ?
 
#36
TwistedGray said:
The P also carries quite a performance.

If you want a Tesla for performance, getting a non-P is a bit of a let down, in my opinion. Drive a P on the different driving modes...

Here is a comparison video (not exciting) that I did with my P90DL (0-30 times on Chill, Sport, Ludicrous, and Ludicrous +).
Mode 0-30mph times
Chill 4.01sec
Sport 2.14sec
Ludicrous 1.54sec
Ludicrous+ 1.44sec
Click to expand...

Yeah. I mean I'm not saying it's not worth it. Just that the non performance version nearly qualifies as a muscle car. Maybe that level of power is sufficient for those who want a lot of power. Maybe it's not.
 
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