Anyone commuting 35-40k miles a year?

[Venomized]

My current car payment is $350 (2008 Acura TL Type S). I spend about $450-500 in gas monthly. My daily commute is about 120 miles round trip (SF Bay Area). I've been thinking about getting a new or used MS and would like to keep my payment below $900. Should I go new or used considering I drive that many miles a year? Would getting an extended warranty be worth it even though I will exceed the mileage in 3 years or so? Is getting a MS is too risky with that type of yearly commute? I would be keeping this car for at least 7 years. That would put the MS with a total mileage of 235k-280k miles at 7 years

 

[Saghost]

I tend to think an AP equipped Tesla is one of the best possible choices for you.

Electric powertrains are simpler and inherently more reliable - and with that kind of annual mileage, Tesla is the only company that'll give you a powertrain warranty that'll last more than a few years (modern Teslas have an eight year warranty on the entire powertrain including the battery, with no mileage limits.)

At the same time, Autopilot will make your commute easier and more relaxing.

I know of at least two Ss with over 200k miles on them so far, both seem to be holding up well.

 

[mjcostajr]

My one year annivesary with Model S70D was Nov 14. I put just over 32k miles on it! No problems whatsoever. Still drives like day one.

 

[GlmnAlyAirCar]

My current car payment is $350 (2008 Acura TL Type S). I spend about $450-500 in gas monthly. My daily commute is about 120 miles round trip (SF Bay Area). I've been thinking about getting a new or used MS and would like to keep my payment below $900. Should I go new or used considering I drive that many miles a year? Would getting an extended warranty be worth it even though I will exceed the mileage in 3 years or so? Is getting a MS is too risky with that type of yearly commute? I would be keeping this car for at least 7 years. That would put the MS with a total mileage of 235k-280k miles at 7 years

I commute 100+ miles/day, plus frequently take my June 2015 70D on road trips for work. I currently have 52,000 miles on it. Minimal battery degradation; drive train working flawlessly. In fact, the only issue that is still outstanding is chattering of the sunroof when opening (it appears something is too tight) - still pressing the service center to get to the bottom of it. Other than that, and the stone chips on the hood, you wouldn't know the car isn't new.

 

[Markolise]

Venomized - I was more or less in the same boat. Except for the mileage, used to drive an older Avalanche with an average of 11mpg.
It was around $200-$300 a month in gas alone.

Bought a used MS 60 for $46,500 and the payments are around $715 a month, which is about what I payed for gas plus my previous car payment. So switching over to a Tesla is a really good deal for me. Plus if you can buy one before the January 1st you get to keep the free supercharging for life.

 

[davecolene0606]

My current car payment is $350 (2008 Acura TL Type S). I spend about $450-500 in gas monthly. My daily commute is about 120 miles round trip (SF Bay Area). I've been thinking about getting a new or used MS and would like to keep my payment below $900. Should I go new or used considering I drive that many miles a year? Would getting an extended warranty be worth it even though I will exceed the mileage in 3 years or so? Is getting a MS is too risky with that type of yearly commute? I would be keeping this car for at least 7 years. That would put the MS with a total mileage of 235k-280k miles at 7 years

I drive 40k annually back an forth to work. I swapped my Sig 85 for my current AP equipped 70D. Commute is 107 each way. Driving 75 with occasionally 80 and slowing with traffic a max daily charge does the job with about 5 -10 of range left in the garage when I get home. Also 3 super chargers along the route for a little back up in case of adverse conditions (speed,rain) make this an absolute no brainer. The AP reduces the fatigue factor by orders of magnitude. In the worst possible scenario a 10 minute (literally) stop at an SC covers any contingency possible. I range charge if I know there will be shitty conditions and or I want to floor it both ways. If 900 is the target I would be hunting for an AP equipped 85/70D or stretch it for a new 75. With the excessive miles you will burn through warranty fast and I don't think the extended warranty is logical for burning up,the miles nor is prepaid service. Take your car in annually regardless of miles and you cost per mile will more will more than make up for any advantage you may have gained for prepaid service or extended warranty. I can honestly say that that newer cars are noticbly better. We started with a 2012 Sig 85, added a 2013 S60, swapped the 85 for a 201570D and just swapped the S60 for a 2016 S60. The new 60 is way better for features and build quality very noticeably than any of the previous ones.

Good luck, any Tesla you choose will blow the doors off your current ride, you can't lose!

Cheers

 

[ucmndd]

FWIW I'm in a very similar situation, do 120 miles a day, and just placed an order for a MS 60 after months of sitting on the fence. To me, it seems like about as close to an ideal time to buy as there is without knowledge of the future.

 

[AMPd]

In your case I would go the CPO route.
Unless you want autopilot.

 

[rcarpen22]

To echo what's been said already, you're an ideal candidate. I have the exact same commute you have. I bought a 70D a year ago. Going to hit 35k miles right at about the year mark. I've had no problems and done no maintenance other than rotate the tires. I do not intend to pay for the extra warranty, as most of the expensive items that it would cover (touch screen, door handles) will wear out with age rather than mileage. If you're going to charge at home, the gas savings won't be 100%, but it will be something. Also, AP makes the drive so much less stressful, especially in stop and go. It's worth the extra money. Do it now before the price increase (11/22) and the new supercharging scheme (12/31). Good luck.

 

[demundus]

I do 80 round trip a day, sometimes more if its poker night. I bought a used Tesla and havent looked back. Went from 51K miles to 93K miles in about 1.5 years.

Do yourself a favor and upgrade the seats!

 

[Wshowell]

You could do something a bit different and buy one of the many Toyota RAV4 EVs that are coming off lease. We have a 2014 and it's good for 130 miles RT with its Tesla 40KW battery. It also comes with an 8 year battery warranty I recall. I'm seeing them under $20k used. There were only 2500 or so produced. It'd be a great commuter vehicle or a bridge to get a Model 3. If you can find one under 36K miles then you can buy the Toyota Platinum extended warranty that'll add 5 years and up to 120K miles to it. It'd save you a ton in fuel and be so much cheaper than a Model S. Here's a higher mileage one in the Bay Area.

2013 Rav 4 ELECTRIC, 100+ mile range, Tesla made.

 

[ken830]

I own an early 2013 Model S 85 and I picked-up a used 2012 Rav4 EV last September. Both really great cars and with your intended annual mileage, they will save you tons in fuel. I don't have Autopilot in the Model S, but with a long commute, it's definitely something that adds a lot of value.

 

[DPDsModelS]

My daily commute for the past 15 years is exactly 120 miles. Like clockwork, I'm coming up on 70k miles and just scheduled my second annual inspection. Overall, the car has held up extremely well and I've never had any maintenance problems. I've only had to buy new tires at 50k because I could hear the treads on the road! Buying the Model S was definitely one of the best decisions I've ever made.

Do yourself a favor and upgrade the seats!

Absolutely! With 2 to 6 hours per day in the car, I've saved $thousands$ on chiropractor bills by getting the new (at the time) Recaro seats. The extra support is awesome.

I also highly recommend finding a car with autopilot both for stop and go traffic and night time highway miles. It's probably saved my life a few times coming home at 11PM. I'm sure that getting a new Model S with the Autopilot 2.0 hardware is worth it as well, whether or not you are looking for autonomous driving. It will just be so much safer with all of the extra cameras and sensors.

 

[thx1139]

We have put on just over 40K miles with about 1 week to go before the 1.5 year anniversary on our Model S. Mostly commute/work miles. My wife drives it most of the work week and she is a Sales/Account Representative.

 

[dhcp]

I also highly recommend finding a car with autopilot both for stop and go traffic and night time highway miles. It's probably saved my life a few times coming home at 11PM. I'm sure that getting a new Model S with the Autopilot 2.0 hardware is worth it as well, whether or not you are looking for autonomous driving. It will just be so much safer with all of the extra cameras and sensors.

Can't agree enough on the autopilot - I do a little over 80mi a day in the Bay Area along the 280 route and it's a total quality-of-life change for the better. I wanted it for the geeky cool factor but now after using it for a while, what a life changer. I'm no longer riding the guy in front of me in the left lane ("go! go! ") - I can ride in another lane and half zone out as autopilot carries me along and stop and go traffic like across the Golden Gate last weekend for and hour makes it 90% more bearable.

I'd be willing to give up pretty much any other feature on the car but that one.

 

[Electroman]

With anyone with a loong commute like the OP, they should RUN now and get an S with AP.

AP is god send for folks that have a long highway commute. It will transform the way you have been dealing with your commute all these years.

 

[NAVALARCHITECT]

Exactly why I got my AP2.0...traffic conditions in SoCal are just nuts...Excited to hear that AP helps so much with the commute.

 

[GlmnAlyAirCar]

With the excessive miles you will burn through warranty fast and I don't think the extended warranty is logical for burning up,the miles nor is prepaid service. Take your car in annually regardless of miles and you cost per mile will more will more than make up for any advantage you may have gained for prepaid service or extended warranty.

+1 on the advice not to get the extended warranty. Putting on so many miles I could see blowing through the entire extended warranty in 18 months. Instead, I took the money I would have spent on the warranty an stuck it in a savings account in case any big repairs did come up.

I did buy the prepaid service but that was a mistake. It seems like every time I turn around I'm bringing it in again (just brought it in for my 4-year/50,000 service). It's nice to know everything is getting checked out regularly but I certainly don't think it's worth what I paid.