90 Day $4K Battery Repair Warranty with Purchase of Roadster

[Dean412]

I have my 2010 2.5 Fusion Red Tesla Roadster( it is not the " Sports" model ) for sale on Autotrader and I am considering an offer of a 90 day , $4000.00 battery repair warranty to the purchaser of the Roadster , which is presently for sale @ $54,900.00.
During the first 90 days of ownership should the batteries or battery fail, must be diagnosed and repaired by Tesla Motors Service Center, I will pay the cost to repair ( parts and labor) , up to a limit of $4,000.00 total or the lesser exact amount of the necessary repair, to the Tesla Motors service center that makes the repair upon receiving and confirming the Tesla Motors service billing statement with the Tesla Motors service center representative of repair.
The offer will be based on a final sell price of the $ 54,900.00 as advertised in the Autotrader ad and starting on the 1st day that title is transferred to new owner and ending @ 12 midnight on the 89th day thereafter( ending day to be established at time of sale).
Ok , I would like to have comments and opinions from the members of the Tesla Motors Club forum, prior to finalizing this offer.
It would be appreciated, Thank You, Dean

Dean

 

[RichardD]

Sounds reasonable, maybe list your battery SOC etc so people know what they are walking into.. Maybe a new vs now comparison as well?
Good luck on the sale.

 

[dhrivnak]

That sounds reasonable and should actually be a low cost policy for you. I have thought of something similar.

 

[spaceballs]

Make sure to add in clause that this doesn't apply if user bricks the pack by not charging it.

 

[SageBrush]

If $4000 was the ballpark cost of a battery replacement cost I would look on the warranty favorably as a potential buyer.
If as I suspect, $4000 is no where close, I would presume the seller has either 1. no confidence in the battery; or 2, is selling a soon to be very expensive lemon and is trying out some CYA

 

[supersnoop]

Sounds like more trouble than it's worth. I think it's unnecessary.

 

[patrick40363]

You will scare people away who have concerns about battery powered cars. Lower the price instead.

 

[SageBrush]

You will scare people away who have concerns about battery powered cars. Lower the price instead.

Yep. Not to mention the extravagant legalese

 

[DeedWest]

I think a 2.5 with fantastic options, color combination, and mileage is a STEAL at $54,900. I personally don't think you need to go to the trouble of offering that.

With summer approaching, I'd be surprised if your car doesn't sell soon. Patience is key with these niche cars.

 

[ecarfan]

I think a 2.5 with fantastic options, color combination, and mileage is a STEAL at $54,900. I personally don't think you need to go to the trouble of offering that. With summer approaching, I'd be surprised if your car doesn't sell soon. Patience is key with these niche cars.

Agreed. Roadster can take awhile to sell. As much as I love them, I readily admit they have a very limited market. And I think sale prices have fallen significantly over the past 2 years since I bought my 1.5 with no options except the HPC and paid about $60K. The 2.5 with many cool options being offered by @Dean412 seems like a great deal. It is interesting that it has yet to sell at $55K.

If it was me selling that car I would not venture into all the complications of offering some sort of battery warranty. The potential downsides are too great.

 

[Dean412]

Agreed. Roadster can take awhile to sell. As much as I love them, I readily admit they have a very limited market. And I think sale prices have fallen significantly over the past 2 years since I bought my 1.5 with no options except the HPC and paid about $60K. The 2.5 with many cool options being offered by @Dean412 seems like a great deal. It is interesting that it has yet to sell at $55K.

If it was me selling that car I would not venture into all the complications of offering some sort of battery warranty. The potential downsides are too great.

 

[Dean412]

I wish to thanks each of U for Ur thoughts and comments on this warranty offer issue.
When I first had the opportunity to test drive a Roadster it was in Colorado Springs in June of 2010 at the Antlers Hotel, with a rep. from Boulder, Co., Erich Ziegler.
It took me months to make the decision to purchase an all electric car, a Tesla Roadster, because like many of U I always drove a gasoline powered vehicle. So many questions on battery powered vehicles ?????
How would batteries preform, how long was the lifespan of batteries, an unknown adventure for me and a hell of a outflow of cash, with the possibility of no return and a big loss of savings.
I pulled the trigger in October 2010 and placed my order, receiving my Roadster in Dec. 2010 and today my only regret is I am now selling it due to age(70) and osteoarthritis, its time to let someone else enjoy the Roadster.
The Roadster has no problems, according to Roadster techs in Houston and Denver, who are established Roadster techs from the days of the Tesla Ranger service, both have stated that the battery pack is in great shape / with no apparent problems .
Last confirmed in the annual October 2016 service.
My thought originally was to offer a warranty based on the extended warranty which I purchased in 2010 for $5000, but the first item on the top of the " list of items not covered " was the batteries.
So thus the thought of covering battery based on my concerns when I decided to take the plunge and buy my Roadster, batteries and all.
Its a great vehicle and a great ride !
I agree with many of U " Its Not Necessary " to offer any warranty. Its a great Deal @ $ 54900.00
Thanks for Ur comments and suggestions
Dean

 

[supersnoop]

What's the CAC on the battery? That's a killer deal on a 2.5!

 

[NicholasJB]

This sounds like a great idea to me, one I was considering stealing for my own Roadster if you don't mind. But I also see SageBrush' point about the warranty limit vs cost of actual battery replacement. I'd love it if you could post back here if you do decide to try this, so we can all learn from your experience on whether this helped you sell or not.

Agreed. Roadster can take awhile to sell. As much as I love them, I readily admit they have a very limited market. And I think sale prices have fallen significantly over the past 2 years since I bought my 1.5 with no options except the HPC and paid about $60K. The 2.5 with many cool options being offered by @Dean412 seems like a great deal. It is interesting that it has yet to sell at $55K.

If it was me selling that car I would not venture into all the complications of offering some sort of battery warranty. The potential downsides are too great.

I understand your point here, but I think there's also another perspective. If you offer a $5k battery warranty that may make the purchase seem safer to potential buyers. While if you drop the price another $5k, it doesn't offer that same sense of "safety net", and those nervous buyers may not bite (despite the numbers working out almost the same for them). Purchases aren't usually rational in nature, car purchases least of all. And this may work to the seller's advantage from a purely psychological perspective.

As someone who has been slowly decreasing my Roadster price for over 6 months with little new interest this year I can understand the desire to try something outside-the-box, especially when price drop after price drop brings in no new leads, and the start of Spring has come and gone. Trying to sell becomes an aggravating and in some way terrifying experience, even for someone who is fine holding on to the car for a while if necessary. I can only imagine how difficult this must be on someone in a situation where they really need to sell soon.

 

[scottm]

It's a noble gesture, but unwarranted ..

Warranty law is geared toward manufacturers... not private citizens. It might be hard to hold up in court, say, if he comes after you for whole purchase price. Say, if something else craps out, or he hits a pot hole breaks a ball joint and veers into a barrier and totals the car. Your warranty may have "implied" the vehicle was more sound that it was. He's suing for cost plus damages and hitting you up for $4 million, for the broken bones.

First thing I'd do if I was in the market for the car, and wanted it, and saw a private seller warranty like this ... would be to negotiate (and demand) a lesser price and no warranty.

as-is my friend... sell used vehicles "as-is" and put that on the bill of sale... with no other conditions are qualifiers. These words are your best friends. It puts the onus of the soundness of the item onto the purchaser to determine fitness for use for any purpose. If buyer wants to drive the car, it's up to him to determine that it's OK to do that.

Just take the money, shake hands, hand the key over, and peace of mind.

Will you take $50,000 for it?

 

[adaboost]

As someone who recently bought a roadster, I saw this ad and there were a few odd descriptions that made me wonder.

• Standard charge gets to 158, but no comment on range mode - also there was a comment on "dealer tech says battery health is good", which doesn't give the same confidence as you stating it
• Description about moving from TX to CO, with no explanation on how that is relevant (fine for people to move and register in different states)
• Unclear on how/where one could test drive it. I'm based out of the bay area, would I need to fly to CO to take a look?

I would strongly recommend *not* putting a warranty disclaimer on, as it makes it seem like something might be wrong with the battery. Other than that, I'd agree with @DeedWest that this is a great deal for someone looking for a 2.5/carbon fiber interior/black wheels. GLWS!

 

[DeedWest]

If Standard charge gets to 158, my estimate on the CAC value would be around 130-131.