Advice on Lemon Title P85D - Beware???

[RoninAMG]

Hello All. I'm a soon to be Model S owner, P85D to be exact, and I really need as much feedback and advice on the following topic. After many months of research I have finally found Thy P85D that I've been searching for with every available option. The only thing this doesn't have are the rear facing seats, which I didn't want anyway. Everything down to the final terms is just about buttoned up. The only hang up is that this specific vehicle has a Lemon Buy Back title. It was purchased back by Tesla sometime last year for repetitive issues with the Smart Air Suspension, as well as I believe ABS lights that continued to be triggered. Having numerous conversation with the Seller (approved Tesla Reseller), he was upfront with the issues and e-mailed the Tesla document outlining the reason for the Buy Back. Now, doing my research I know that some of these vehicles had a water leak issue into the cabin that may have been able to trickle into the electrical components, which I know through previous vehicle experience, can trigger all sorts of lights. It recently came back from Tesla with a clear Bill of Health. But now I discovered through my Tesla contacts that the vehicle had some body damage and had parts replaced, this part WAS NOT disclosed to me. I brought this up to the Seller and he was extremely surprised. He called his Tesla Executive and through their research they discovered that at some point after the Buy Back it was used as a Dealer Loaner and at that point was involved in a collision of sorts. I'm still waiting to find out from the body shop directly EXACTLY what was replaced/repaired on the vehicle to make a decision on this purchase. My biggest hang up is on the Lemon Title. Has anyone had any experience with this? I can't seem to get a straight answer from Tesla Service if being a Lemon Buy back if this will have any bearing on the remainder of the 4yr/50K warranty which has 1 1/2 years left and about 25K miles is one of the many concerns. Others: Impact on free Supercharger privileges, software updates, impact to me when I go to sell this down the line for my P100D, etc. Besides the financial hit for having a tainted CarFax with Lemon Title. Would this deter you from purchasing this vehicle? Has anyone here had a Lemon Titled car? If so how did your story go? Besides the personal experience, I really need your knowledge on Lemon Title cars regarding Tesla's. I feel I should be able to get a straight answer on Tesla for this, but I just can't at this point. I'm well known in the Lexus forum and feel these vehicle forums are a great resource for personal experiences and knowledge with our machines. Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated. And I look forward to chatting with you all in the near future. Thanks...

=============================================================================================
2015 Lexus LS460 F-Sport RWD - Nebula Gray Pearl
Gone but never forgotten...
2013 Lexus LS460 F-Sport AWD - Ultra White
2013 GS350 AWD, 2015 RC350 F-Sport AWD
2010 MB E63 AMG, 2008 Lexus LS460
2012 Acura TL SH-AWD, 2007 Lexus GS430
2003 MB CLK55 AMG, 2004 Acura TL, 2004 Nissan 350Z, 1995 BMW M3

 

[thegooch49]

You mentioned that the seller is a Tesla approved reseller. I don’t understand this......approved resellers don’t exist to my knowledge.

 

[RoninAMG]

You mentioned that the seller is a Tesla approved reseller. I don’t understand this......approved resellers don’t exist to my knowledge.

Based on what the guy I'm working with said to me is that he buys his Tesla's direct from Tesla. So basically, he gets first dibs after Tesla passes on the vehicle for whatever reason. In this case Tesla cannot CPO this car so they resold it to this outfit. The dealership information will be disclosed after everything is sorted out. I didn't mean to state that there was anything such as a "Tesla Approved Reseller". Perhaps there is???

 

[Akikiki]

I'm with the gooch49. What's an approved Tesla reseller? Never heard of that.

 

[thegooch49]

Based on what the guy I'm working with said to me is that he buys his Tesla's direct from Tesla. So basically, he gets first dibs after Tesla passes on the vehicle for whatever reason. In this case Tesla cannot CPO this car so they resold it to this outfit. The dealership information will be disclosed after everything is sorted out. I didn't mean to state that there was anything such as a "Tesla Approved Reseller". Perhaps there is???

This sounds really sketchy man. Just being honest. It may be a good deal, but you would be getting a car with a known bad history. You cannot buy the extended warranty on a car that has passed through a dealer. I would definitely pass on this car. Way too many red flags.

 

[Tam]

...he buys his Tesla's direct from Tesla...

That means this is not Tesla new inventory, not CPO, not a private party sales. It's a 3rd party dealer.

Which means you cannot buy extended warranty from Tesla.

I am not sure but I don't think Tesla would cover warranty for a Title Brand below:

• Salvage
• Junk
• Totaled
• Lemon
• Flood
• Reconstructed...

You might want to make sure to secure a friend first!

 

[Lbkmxp100d]

I wouldn’t touch it!!! Too many red flags and at the end of the day you own a vehicle titled “lemon”.

 

[Adm]

Even if nothing goes wrong with the car while you own it, it will still be a lemon when you sell it. It better be reflected in the price today if you would consider it worth despite the risks mentions by others.

 

[Tiger]

Drop it like it's hot ...

 

[davidc18]

walk away

 

[jjh1234]

I bought a salvage title car years ago and could barely give it away whe. I was done with it. I’m not sure about lemon titles, but salvage are worth less than half of what a non-salvage version would be. There are so many electrical things that can go wrong with a TESLA, that I wouldn’t touch one that has a preexisting condition severe enough to warrant a lemon buyback, meaning even Tesla themselves couldn’t fix the problem after multiple attempts. Is there at least some record of a fix that was finally supposed to address the lemon issues? I would be more worried about that than a small (if that’s what it ends up being) body repair. Good Luck either way!

 

[whitex]

How good of a deal is it compared to buying a non-lemon, fully warrantied CPO? Everything has it's price in my opinion, including risk that the car will become a hassle and/or a piggy bank. For example, if this car was offered at $20K, you can always sell it for parts if things don't work out, but for the trouble of taking that risk and having to later sell a car for parts (or having to part it out yourself) you'd get an unreal deal. Of course this is a hyperbole used to illustrate the example, substitute your own numbers for what the added risk is worth to you.

 

[JPUConn]

25k miles and 18 months left on factory warranty is meaningful.

If the price is sub $60k then yes. Otherwise pass.

 

[hill]

25k miles and 18 months left on factory warranty is meaningful ....snip......

if by 'meaningful' - you mean in the sense that the warranty 'means' nothing - then ok, meaningful.
.

 

[Az_Rael]

I'm with the gooch49. What's an approved Tesla reseller? Never heard of that.

I don't know about "approved", but there are channels Tesla sells their cars through when they can't CPO them or want to reduce inventory. There was a Texas company that was selling off lots of VINs that were formerly listed as CPO cars after one of the "Great CPO Purges" last year.

 

[JPUConn]

if by 'meaningful' - you mean in the sense that the warranty 'means' nothing - then ok, meaningful.
.

Not following. Meaningful meaning of value / significance (a positive).

There is much debate over the value of the extended warranty at $5k / $200 deductible. If the OP buys this car they will have 18 months and 25k miles to shake out any issues and get them addressed under warranty.

 

[patrick40363]

Hello All. I'm a soon to be Model S owner, P85D to be exact, and I really need as much feedback and advice on the following topic. After many months of research I have finally found Thy P85D that I've been searching for with every available option. The only thing this doesn't have are the rear facing seats, which I didn't want anyway. Everything down to the final terms is just about buttoned up. The only hang up is that this specific vehicle has a Lemon Buy Back title. It was purchased back by Tesla sometime last year for repetitive issues with the Smart Air Suspension, as well as I believe ABS lights that continued to be triggered. Having numerous conversation with the Seller (approved Tesla Reseller), he was upfront with the issues and e-mailed the Tesla document outlining the reason for the Buy Back. Now, doing my research I know that some of these vehicles had a water leak issue into the cabin that may have been able to trickle into the electrical components, which I know through previous vehicle experience, can trigger all sorts of lights. It recently came back from Tesla with a clear Bill of Health. But now I discovered through my Tesla contacts that the vehicle had some body damage and had parts replaced, this part WAS NOT disclosed to me. I brought this up to the Seller and he was extremely surprised. He called his Tesla Executive and through their research they discovered that at some point after the Buy Back it was used as a Dealer Loaner and at that point was involved in a collision of sorts. I'm still waiting to find out from the body shop directly EXACTLY what was replaced/repaired on the vehicle to make a decision on this purchase. My biggest hang up is on the Lemon Title. Has anyone had any experience with this? I can't seem to get a straight answer from Tesla Service if being a Lemon Buy back if this will have any bearing on the remainder of the 4yr/50K warranty which has 1 1/2 years left and about 25K miles is one of the many concerns. Others: Impact on free Supercharger privileges, software updates, impact to me when I go to sell this down the line for my P100D, etc. Besides the financial hit for having a tainted CarFax with Lemon Title. Would this deter you from purchasing this vehicle? Has anyone here had a Lemon Titled car? If so how did your story go? Besides the personal experience, I really need your knowledge on Lemon Title cars regarding Tesla's. I feel I should be able to get a straight answer on Tesla for this, but I just can't at this point. I'm well known in the Lexus forum and feel these vehicle forums are a great resource for personal experiences and knowledge with our machines. Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated. And I look forward to chatting with you all in the near future. Thanks...

=============================================================================================
2015 Lexus LS460 F-Sport RWD - Nebula Gray Pearl
Gone but never forgotten...
2013 Lexus LS460 F-Sport AWD - Ultra White
2013 GS350 AWD, 2015 RC350 F-Sport AWD
2010 MB E63 AMG, 2008 Lexus LS460
2012 Acura TL SH-AWD, 2007 Lexus GS430
2003 MB CLK55 AMG, 2004 Acura TL, 2004 Nissan 350Z, 1995 BMW M3

If you are having this trouble when you are trying to buy it just think when you have to sell it.

 

[drsaab]

It all depends on the price. Trading in a lemon titled car will get you about 50 to 60 percent of wholesale trade in back. Are you saving that much now? Then it's a wash, why take the risk?

So you should be saving even more.

Unless you keep it till like 200k miles and 6 more years.

 

[hill]

Not following. Meaningful meaning of value / significance ......snip.....

sorry my fault. Should have put a little winking tongue in cheek picture but the site closes down edit capability so fast you hardly have time to hit the edit button. Yea - one really take chances on a title blemish. I managed to pick up a beautiful 1989 Speedster that was stolen, & all the thieves got was the motor. Recovered - the ins.Co sold it & the next owner put in a brand new motor ...... but it came with a cloud on title. In the mid-90s I got it for $30K. Had it come with clean title? They can sell for nearly 1 mil.
.

 

[rudngo]

Pretty sure I looked at this exact same car. I'm glad you posted this so I can move on, he gave me the same story about buying cars directly from Tesla. Everything about this car makes alarm bells go off for me. That car is one of the cheaper P85Ds in the country but that's a whole lot of trouble to be potentially taking on IMHO and it is definitely not less than $60k.