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Any advise on purchasing a used Tesla from the experts;-)

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RedLoubs&wine

Member
Feb 18, 2019
118
9
Atlanta
#1
I’m new to posting and certainly new to the forum! Hence, my apologies in advanced! I’ve read & asked from the several friends who owns Tesla’s ! Many new but just one who purchased used! I’ve seen( what I think is) great deals on used Tesla’s. From dealerships. Any thoughts on the CPO Tesla’s versus a used one? I’ve come to realize even the 75 S, battery comes with the 8 year warranty, correct?

I found a used 2016, with low miles and one owner. In the color I like! But slightly hesitant because as you know many used car dealerships don’t know much about Tesla’s, and surely don’t know much about their warranty!

Anything else I need to look for besides the range on a full charge?
Female purchaser here! Much much appreciation in advanced!!!
 
#3
Be sure to try to get the original window sticker to see the features. That will also show the build month. Most dealers don't know how to list Tesla features. And the build month is important since Tesla is changing things on the cars every month.
 
#7
b team said:
Watch out for third party "luxury" dealers. Many of them buy damaged vehicles at auction, fix them up, and resell.
Click to expand...
I reviewed the car fax and there wasn’t an accidents reported. A couple of service records apparently, and that’s it. I plan on test driving it today!! But it is a 3rd party luxury dealership. Should I lean more towards the Tesla CPO? I just feel like I’m getting a pretty good deal on a 2016 for 45k? With less thank 50 k miles? Or maybe I’m not
 
#8
Teslas come with 4 years overall warranty and 8 years battery and drive unit failure warranty. Let's say the car you are considering was manufactured in May 2016. That means the overall warranty will run out in May 2020. By the way, the 8 years warranty on the drive unit and battery is against complete failure. Let's say this car is a Model S 75D (not Model S 75). In that case, it would have 251 miles rated range at 100% charge when new. Let's assume it now displays 200 miles at 100% instead of 251 miles. That's not covered by the 8 years warranty. If the car stops moving because of battery failure, then that's covered.

Generally speaking, buying a new Model 3 instead of a used Model S would be a better choice because the technology in Tesla cars changes very quickly. The people selling those cars are switching to newer Teslas.

If this car was manufactured before 16 Oct 2016, it will have Autopilot 1.0 with the single front camera instead of Autopilot 2.0 with 7 cameras and a faster computer and the option to upgrade to Autopilot 3.0 when it's released in a few months. The newly released Sentry Mode and Blind Spot Chime features won't work with Autopilot 1.0 hardware. Also, AP2.0 and above has 'Navigate on Autopilot' but not AP1.0.
  • Does this car have the plastic nosecone or is it the facelift version?
  • Do you know when it was manufactured?
  • Is it a Model S 75 or Model S 75D?
  • For how many years are you planning to keep this car?
  • What do you think about the Model 3? Have you test driven both?
 
Last edited:
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#10
Troy said:
Teslas come with 4 years overall warranty and 8 years battery and drive unit failure warranty. Let's say the car you are considering to purchase was first purchased in May 2016. That means the overall warranty will run out in May 2020. By the way, the 8 years warranty on the drive unit and battery is against complete failure. Let's say this car is a Model S 75D (not Model S 75). In that case, it would have 251 miles rated range at 100% charge when new. Let's assume it now displays 200 miles at 100% instead of 251 miles. That's not covered by the 8 years warranty. If the car stops moving because of battery failure, then that's covered.

Generally speaking, buying a new Model 3 instead of a used Model S would be a better choice because the technology in Tesla cars changes very quickly. The people selling those cars are switching to newer Teslas.
  • Does this car have the plastic nosecone or is it the facelift version?
  • Do you know when it was manufactured?
  • Is it a Model S 75 or Model S 75D?
  • For how many years are you planning to keep this car?
  • What do you think about the Model 3? Have you test driven both?
Click to expand...
I will get these details ASAP! I just like the look of the model S! I don’t know why! I know, typical woman! Lol I haven’t test driven the 3! But I plan on keeping it maybe another 3-4 years. My commute is going to get longer for work and the BMW X6, isn’t a gas friendly obviously!! ;-)
 
#11
I purchased mine private party but I also went to my local service center with the vin and asked them to run service records for me. They obviously keep the sellers info private but were able to confirm everything I was being told about the vehicle and all the options it had. It was a good piece of mind.
 
#12
RedLoubs&wine said:
I reviewed the car fax and there wasn’t an accidents reported. A couple of service records apparently, and that’s it. I plan on test driving it today!! But it is a 3rd party luxury dealership. Should I lean more towards the Tesla CPO? I just feel like I’m getting a pretty good deal on a 2016 for 45k? With less thank 50 k miles? Or maybe I’m not
Click to expand...
Do you know where they got the car, trade-in versus auction?
 
#13
I was told that the car was a trade in.But of course would need to do some digging to confirm! But according to the Carfax, it looks as if it was a trade in! Thus far, they don’t have the original sticker. Is there another way I can figure out the specifics in regards to exactly when it was made? Possible by VIN?
 
#14
RedLoubs&wine said:
I was told that the car was a trade in.But of course would need to do some digging to confirm! But according to the Carfax, it looks as if it was a trade in! Thus far, they don’t have the original sticker. Is there another way I can figure out the specifics in regards to exactly when it was made? Possible by VIN?
Click to expand...
You can contact the Tesla Service Center to request the service history and you can also ask them for the spec sheet or window sticker. Hopefully they will be nice & help you.
 
#18
RedLoubs&wine said:
The car is listed as 2016.5. Does that equate to being made in May? Also, I doind out there is a recall for 2016 models, airbags?!
Click to expand...
Tesla doesn't use any designations like 2016.5. Used dealerships online use that term in different ways in my shopping. I'm going to guess that it's an AP1 facelift Model S if they're calling it 2016.5. Be sure to read the link posted by @commasign to the "Tesla Advice Blog". That article is a great resource for identifying what version Model S you're looking at online.
 
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