I'm a high mileage driver (approx 40k/year) so the initial warranty will take me to approximately 15 months. The additional $4,000 extended warranty would take me only through 30 months. That's not as good a value as for someone who drives 12.5k/year or less and gets the full four years, then coverage through year eight with the extended warranty. There are a lot of components on the car, door handles among them, which aren't going to be affected by the number of miles driven. For instance, I don't open my doors more often because I drive 95 miles from home to work instead of driving 5 miles from home to work. That's also the reason I prefer not to have the pano roof (that, and I think the red roof looks better) or the air suspension. The plan is to put 250k miles on the car and both of those items would likely need a repair after I'm out of warranty, extended or not.
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Anyone NOT buying the extended warranty?
- Thread starter johnmodels
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Doesn't help keep my Sig in warranty, though.
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It's a relatively new car company with a different view on a great many things related to automobiles, and very few cars are out of warranty and none (AFAIK) have reported in (on TMC) what out-of-warranty repair costs are like with a Tesla Model S yet. As such, in the face of the unknown the extended warranty is relatively cheap "insurance" against unbounded repair estimates.
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Or drive a different car while waiting for your appointment.
tliving
Member
Im at 30K miles in 12 months and there's still little stuff going wrong. Charge port discoloration in a section, leaky sunroof, had to have a ball joint replaced. I see these things going on for a while so i'm planning on getting the extended warranty. Shame to pay for quality issues and didnt need it for my Acura for 190K miles but Tesla is still new.
That's kind of what I did. I did my annual service and it happened to be at around 40k miles. Now, two weeks later later I'm at 45k. I'm not sure about the extended warranty. I would actually consider it, but since I drive 40k miles in a year, maybe even more this coming year I feel like paying $4000 for what ends up being just one year of coverage to be pretty high.
Just a random data point, my father's 2002(or so) BMW 528 had a door handle break. It was about $850 from the dealer to fix - not far off Tesla's $1000 price for a much more complicated part.
He had a non dealer fix for $300 ish total - so not an entirely fair comparison.
I suspect there are several possible repairs that will cost less than $2000 and very few that would cost more than $4000, so you would really need to have 2 expensive repairs to just break even, and 3 to really feel like money was saved.
Extended warranties have always been a horrible deal and a huge money maker to the sellers of warranties. That doesn't mean everyone loses of course. But buying one is akin to gambling in Vegas - sure some people win but the house wins over the long haul.
Tesla has been very good at doing things for goodwill to date. Extending the drivetrain warranty is the best example. They also have retrofitted problem parts.
I never got the "worrying" about expensive repairs and piece of mind. Hopefully almost all Tesla owners have much more money at risk in some way that could go away at any time. I have a vacation rental and if I miss renting a peak week, that would be a pretty expensive auto repair - anyone want the week of June 6th? A nicely placed hurricane could put me out hundreds of thousands of dollars over insurance. What - me worry?
I do feel for the 49k milers. No one has the history. But given the time issues - ie lots of things to go wrong based on time not mileage - I wouldn't opt for the warranty if I was a high mileage driver. You won't lose big because Tesla will make it okay. The market is watching (and I don't mean stock).
He had a non dealer fix for $300 ish total - so not an entirely fair comparison.
I suspect there are several possible repairs that will cost less than $2000 and very few that would cost more than $4000, so you would really need to have 2 expensive repairs to just break even, and 3 to really feel like money was saved.
Extended warranties have always been a horrible deal and a huge money maker to the sellers of warranties. That doesn't mean everyone loses of course. But buying one is akin to gambling in Vegas - sure some people win but the house wins over the long haul.
Tesla has been very good at doing things for goodwill to date. Extending the drivetrain warranty is the best example. They also have retrofitted problem parts.
I never got the "worrying" about expensive repairs and piece of mind. Hopefully almost all Tesla owners have much more money at risk in some way that could go away at any time. I have a vacation rental and if I miss renting a peak week, that would be a pretty expensive auto repair - anyone want the week of June 6th? A nicely placed hurricane could put me out hundreds of thousands of dollars over insurance. What - me worry?
I do feel for the 49k milers. No one has the history. But given the time issues - ie lots of things to go wrong based on time not mileage - I wouldn't opt for the warranty if I was a high mileage driver. You won't lose big because Tesla will make it okay. The market is watching (and I don't mean stock).
That's a REALLY BAD IDEA.
Spend the $4k--it's likely to be money well spent with your first post-warranty repair . . . trust me.
rogbmw
Member
Here in Florida they initially were not able to offer extended warranties. This has recently changed, and now it is available. Hope the same comes true for you guys up in Washington.
ThosEM
Space Weatherman
I'm about halfway to the decision point (24k miles) and pondering this question. Some relevant things:
* I almost always turn my nose up at service contracts and extended warranties. Sometimes I go for "catastrophic" coverage.
* Most mechanics will probably decline to work on the car owing the presence of DC high voltage. My best ever auto tech declined to install a trailer hitch lighting connector on a Lexus RX400h because the car was a hybrid.
* The $15k for drive train replacement was on a taxi or intense usage commercial vehicle.
* My experience with a BMW is that anything in the doors, even just a bad power lock mechanism, will cost ~ $500 just to open the door up. Car makers really need to make doors easier to work on. Stuff goes wrong all the time in there. Tesla tech rates are no higher.
* I suspect that the first 50k miles will drive out most "infantile" failures. The next 50k could be pretty trouble free, but it is rolling the dice. It's the next 100k-200k miles that could see wear and tear issues cropping up. And there is no insurance available for that.
My bottom line is I'd like to see Tesla offer a "catastrophic failure" coverage for a more attractive rate (free!?), maybe with $4000 deductible.
* I almost always turn my nose up at service contracts and extended warranties. Sometimes I go for "catastrophic" coverage.
* Most mechanics will probably decline to work on the car owing the presence of DC high voltage. My best ever auto tech declined to install a trailer hitch lighting connector on a Lexus RX400h because the car was a hybrid.
* The $15k for drive train replacement was on a taxi or intense usage commercial vehicle.
* My experience with a BMW is that anything in the doors, even just a bad power lock mechanism, will cost ~ $500 just to open the door up. Car makers really need to make doors easier to work on. Stuff goes wrong all the time in there. Tesla tech rates are no higher.
* I suspect that the first 50k miles will drive out most "infantile" failures. The next 50k could be pretty trouble free, but it is rolling the dice. It's the next 100k-200k miles that could see wear and tear issues cropping up. And there is no insurance available for that.
My bottom line is I'd like to see Tesla offer a "catastrophic failure" coverage for a more attractive rate (free!?), maybe with $4000 deductible.
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paco3791
TMC OG
One thing I'm considering, with the announcement of the upgraded warranty on CPO vehicles, is getting a CPO car instead of getting the extended warranty. Since you basically get a new warranty (4yrs./50K) when you by a CPO vehicle, and since I'd like to upgrade to a larger battery at some point, being a 60 owner, this avenue seems particularly attractive. Considering there are CPO P85's out there right now in the $63k range (that have less miles than I currently have as well), factoring in getting the new warranty vs. the cost of getting the extended warranty, and depending on what Tesla would offer for my 60, I might be able to upgrade to an 85kWh pack for significantly less the the $8k (or a lot more if I wanted to get a P85) it would have originally cost me when I was buying new. I have about 12k miles on my current car to figure it out but this time next year I think I'll be giving it serious consideration.
For those that haven't seen it yet here is a link to the CPO page with the warranty details: http://www.teslamotors.com/models/preowned
For those that haven't seen it yet here is a link to the CPO page with the warranty details: http://www.teslamotors.com/models/preowned
islandbayy
Active Member
My opinion is that the extended warranty is in-despensible. I could have lemoned my car out 4x in the first two years with number of visits to the service center. I'm at 52,000 miles. So far this year, I have been in approx every 2-3 weeks for repairs.
With 49,500 I have decided not to pay the $4,000 + for extended warranty. We had our appointment at the Service Center for our second "annual" service at 49,000 miles and everything checked out fine. Granted, as a early production car we certainly had our share of hardware/electronic problems (which were quickly addressed) during our first year of ownership. But issues encountered over the past year have been minor, and mostly software/firmware related. Considering the number of miles we put on this car annually, it doesn't make financial sense to me to spend that much money for an extended warranty that will not last many years. Yes, I am gambling that any future system failures would be lifetime, not mileage related. I believe the "infant mortality" issues of the systems in my car have already been addressed, and look forward to many miles of trouble-free, low cost of ownership, driving.
I'm thinking a lot like you. In the beginning I visited the SC many times but in the last year I haven't. My feeling is that there is only about a 20%ish chance that I will need to take the car in over the next 50,000 miles. But if I do, what will the charge be?
What is peace of mind worth?
John
What is peace of mind worth?
John
Lucky! I ask about it every time I talk to the service center; still no luck in WA state. Sucks.
ChadS
Last tank of gas: March 2009
Be sure to read the warranty before you sign up. The extended warranty is NOT just an extension of the initial factory warranty. In addition to the $200 deductible, there is a long list of things that are not covered.
And of course the battery and drivetrain are covered separately under the standard 8-year warranty.
I don't think there's really likely to be a ton of failures, at least not covered ones (a long list of complaints on the forums notwithstanding; you expect many complaints on a forum even if the failure rates are average, which they appear likely to be). And as noted earlier, the house sets the terms, so they usually win on these types of gambles.
On the other hand (also as noted above) Tesla is the only source for fixes and they could be quite expensive. And while Tesla has indicated they are not trying to make a profit, it can still be expensive to fix - heck, not trying to make a profit could help keep prices high (at least after warranty).
Overall, tough call. It's all about predicting the future of rare events, so there can be no "right" answer. Do what you feel most comfortable with.
And of course the battery and drivetrain are covered separately under the standard 8-year warranty.
I don't think there's really likely to be a ton of failures, at least not covered ones (a long list of complaints on the forums notwithstanding; you expect many complaints on a forum even if the failure rates are average, which they appear likely to be). And as noted earlier, the house sets the terms, so they usually win on these types of gambles.
On the other hand (also as noted above) Tesla is the only source for fixes and they could be quite expensive. And while Tesla has indicated they are not trying to make a profit, it can still be expensive to fix - heck, not trying to make a profit could help keep prices high (at least after warranty).
Overall, tough call. It's all about predicting the future of rare events, so there can be no "right" answer. Do what you feel most comfortable with.
William13
Active Member
If I didn't have the sig red I would not get the extended warranty. I would go bare and trade in the Tesla with Tesla for a new CPO car if any serious problems occurred. I doubt Tesla would factor in any repair work on the trade in value.
glhs272
Unnamed plug faced villian
I will not be getting the extended warranty.
My car has been working well enough I don't feel the need. I drive a lot so it's going to blow through the extended warranty anyway. I want 200,000+ miles out of my car, that's only a few years from now.
Dice roll...
My car has been working well enough I don't feel the need. I drive a lot so it's going to blow through the extended warranty anyway. I want 200,000+ miles out of my car, that's only a few years from now.
Dice roll...
it is NOT worth it. It wasn't even worth it at $2500 before they raised the price and especially not worth it now since the drive train is now covered with the battery for 8 yrs unlimited miles. You'd basically be paying for an overpriced insurance plan that still has a deductible anyway. I'm at 67k miles and 0 issues...these cars are built very very well.
The two things in life I hate spending money on the absolute most are gasoline and extended warranties. I encounter this in my real life (as a financial planner) when clients considering financing for a house pay a higher interest rate for a 30 year mortgage even though the odds are overwhelming they will not be in the house more than 10 years or so. For anyone considering the extended warranty how about this: park $4000 in a market index fund that you will not touch as long as you own the Model S. Use that money only to pay for non-warranty repairs (NOT regular maintenance: that is part of the TCO of the car).
My bet is that over the life of the car you will come out ahead (if not way ahead) 80-90% of the time. Buying this warranty has a negative expected return, like all insurance. But this insurance is really not necessary IMHO.
I'm springboarding off your post because you bring up some good points, that the drive train is now covered along the same lines as the battery plus factoring the $200 deductible per repair under the extended warranty.
I want to point out that the "drive train" coverage, as far as I know, applies to the drive unit only. If I'm mistaken, please correct me, but it doesn't apply to any other parts of the car's drive train or power train such as driveshafts, joints, etc. It is specific to the motor/inverter unit only, not anything that is connected to the unit. What if your motor mounts crack, as has happened to a number of folks, would that be covered? I don't know.
Similarly, I believe the battery warranty covers the battery only. It does not cover components needed to charge or discharge the battery that are not contained within the battery pack itself. If your on-board chargers or Supercharger hardware fails, neither would be covered under the battery warranty. A single failed charger can set you back over $1,500 and failed Supercharger hardware, which happened to Goldie Bhullar (the livery driver who was supposedly asked to pay for a new drive unit), costs around $4,000. This is all based on hearsay and from what I remember Goldie posting over at the TM forums. The DC-DC inverter in the front of the car would likely also not be covered under the battery warranty.
I mention the above because some people make the honest and understandable assumption that anything charging-related is also battery-related. It's not.
Forum - please correct me if I'm wrong on any of the above.
I've read that the 17" touch screen is at least a $3,000 expense. I can't imagine what it would cost to replace the pano roof in case of a failure. Door handles are $1,000 each. Then we have the LED screen in the instrument cluster which may have its own Tegra processor. Autopilot cars have a suite of sensors and a windshield camera, I imagine those items would be costly to fix.
I think that if the ESA buys you peace of mind, go for it. I bought mine when it was $2,500 and I'm glad that I did. I think it also helps with private party sales, especially if you have to disclose your thick-as-a-phonebook service history.
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