Best Year/Model to Buy Used Model S

[Tobeyslame]

I’m in the market for a used S. Was very disappointed the new ones raised 10k

I drove about 90 miles a day. 20-25k a year. Mostly highway. Once a month will take a little longer trip with the family and probably need 175-200 one way real world miles.
I care about a smooth ride/comfort more than the newer tech in the car which is why I’m shying away from a model y.

any thoughts on good years/models. I was thinking a 2017 and extending the warranty to get 4-5 years out of the car.

 

[2101Guy]

I’m in the market for a used S. Was very disappointed the new ones raised 10k

I drove about 90 miles a day. 20-25k a year. Mostly highway. Once a month will take a little longer trip with the family and probably need 175-200 one way real world miles.
I care about a smooth ride/comfort more than the newer tech in the car which is why I’m shying away from a model y.

any thoughts on good years/models. I was thinking a 2017 and extending the warranty to get 4-5 years out of the car.

key question: what is your budget?

 

[Tobeyslame]

key question: what is your budget?

probably between 45-60

I can stretch higher for the right car

 

[2101Guy]

Best value is to buy from an owner, not from Tesla. Things like FSD and Free Unlimited Supercharging, premium connectivity will transfer from one owner to the next. When buying used from Tesla, it depends.

For that price range, you can most likely find a 2017 and maybe 2018 Model S Long Range. 2018 would have the MCU2 (most recent) center screen/CPU, etc in place. Much less troublesome than MCU1. 2017 can have its MCU1 upgraded to MCU2 for $1500. (well worth the spend).

One example that has attractive packages (High Fidelity sound system, Heated seats/steering wheel, Sunroof, Full Self Driving)
2017 Model S | Tesla


About used performance versions: they are much higher price and known issues with leaking seals on the rear motors.

 

[2101Guy]

FYI..price history on the one in the link above
VIN: 5YJSA1E22HF211753
MILEAGE: 23687

STATUS: For Sale

PRICING HISTORY:

$60,700 10 hours ago
$61,400 2 days ago
$61,200 3 days ago
$61,100 6 days ago
$61,300 7 days ago
$61,900 8 days ago
$62,100 9 days ago
$62,400 10 days ago
$63,200 11 days ago
$63,500 12 days ago
$64,000 13 days ago
$64,600 14 days ago

 

[wts13]

FYI..price history on the one in the link above
VIN: 5YJSA1E22HF211753
MILEAGE: 23687

STATUS: For Sale

PRICING HISTORY:

$60,700 10 hours ago
$61,400 2 days ago
$61,200 3 days ago
$61,100 6 days ago
$61,300 7 days ago
$61,900 8 days ago
$62,100 9 days ago
$62,400 10 days ago
$63,200 11 days ago
$63,500 12 days ago
$64,000 13 days ago
$64,600 14 days ago

Interesting. Anyone know if Tesla lowers pricing automatically until a car sells, or if there are more organized changes?

Partly I'm wondering if any major shifts in pricing may occur as people start to trade in their cars for refreshed Model S beginning in March, of if that's all priced in.

 

[Tobeyslame]

FYI..price history on the one in the link above
VIN: 5YJSA1E22HF211753
MILEAGE: 23687

STATUS: For Sale

PRICING HISTORY:

$60,700 10 hours ago
$61,400 2 days ago
$61,200 3 days ago
$61,100 6 days ago
$61,300 7 days ago
$61,900 8 days ago
$62,100 9 days ago
$62,400 10 days ago
$63,200 11 days ago
$63,500 12 days ago
$64,000 13 days ago
$64,600 14 days ago

Thanks
Really helpful.

what are your thoughts on sunroof vs glass roof

 

[Tobeyslame]

Interesting. Anyone know if Tesla lowers pricing automatically until a car sells, or if there are more organized changes?

Partly I'm wondering if any major shifts in pricing may occur as people start to trade in their cars for refreshed Model S beginning in March, of if that's all priced in.

Good question

as these get close to their dec 2021 initial warranty will they reduce more

 

[beatle]

Interesting. Anyone know if Tesla lowers pricing automatically until a car sells, or if there are more organized changes?

Partly I'm wondering if any major shifts in pricing may occur as people start to trade in their cars for refreshed Model S beginning in March, of if that's all priced in.

Tesla plays games with the prices of their new and used cars. Usually the price keeps dropping daily, but sometimes they hold for a day or bump it back up for a couple, likely to make a "lurker" panic and hit the buy button. If nobody takes the bait, they continue to lower the price until it sells. I wouldn't expect any dramatic shift in price due to trade-ins.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Think some of the best deals are Model S with Raven updates.
Longer range, faster charging, well respected 100 kWh battery, V3 computer, adaptive air suspension. Comes with premium interior and premium sound standard.
They carried new pricing about $10,000 below new refreshed pricing, but still most of the goodness.

Due to new Model S pricing I believe their will be some upward pricing on the used market as well.

 

[2101Guy]

Thanks
Really helpful.

what are your thoughts on sunroof vs glass roof

Two ways to look at it:
1)One other thing with moving parts that can potentially go wrong/have issues/rattle compared to full glass roof
2)They are no longer made with sunroofs and some covet them for rarity now and LOVE them with a passion

For open honesty, I have the sunroof on my 2017 and I do like it on a nice crisp fall day or even spring day. I used it maybe 4 times in 2020 though. But was it a must for me? Would I miss it if I traded up to a newer model S with no sunroof? Probably not.

 

[fcastrillo86]

Interesting. Anyone know if Tesla lowers pricing automatically until a car sells, or if there are more organized changes?

Partly I'm wondering if any major shifts in pricing may occur as people start to trade in their cars for refreshed Model S beginning in March, of if that's all priced in.

In my experience (using EV CPO to research when i bought my own car), Tesla lowers the used car prices $100 to $100 every day, at least on the lower end of the inventory. The price cuts seem to get more intense towards the end of each quarter, maybe to help sales numbers?

 

[DanCar]

I'd go for a 2018 with MCU2, updated cameras, sentry mode, and more. Different prices based on how many miles on the car. For $60K can get one with less than 20K miles. For $50K can get one with 30K miles and no premium upgrade package.

Although if range is important might be better to get a 2017 with 100kWh battery pack and pay for MCU upgrade. Not sure how well the upgrade works. For example cameras are not upgraded so get less color.

2018 100D costs $65K, but I expect prices will drop as lease returns start happening. There was an engineering hold early in 2018 so suspect bulk lease returns are delayed till April. As the year progresses expect to see significant price drops on 2018s as more are available for sale.

 

[Victor9mm]

What's the consensus on getting MCU1 vs 2. I see you can now get it upgraded from 1 to 2 for $1,500 from Tesla? What is so bad atbout the 1, and also is this new NHSTA recall going to upgrade my 1 to a 2 for free anyways?

1 will get a yellow ring on the outside edge of the screen then the glue will start to run down onto your carpet and console ruins everything. 2 fixes this and has a few more features, theater, cabriole, ect and more responsive and faster. Cons are that you lose xm but gain streaming music you have to pay subscription to that comes with live traffic. You also lose fm radio and can add it the module and antena for $500 more for a total of $2000. I did it to two of my model s back to back

 

[Ostrichsak]

1 will get a yellow ring on the outside edge of the screen then the glue will start to run down onto your carpet and console ruins everything. 2 fixes this and has a few more features, theater, cabriole, ect and more responsive and faster. Cons are that you lose xm but gain streaming music you have to pay subscription to that comes with live traffic. You also lose fm radio and can add it the module and antena for $500 more for a total of $2000. I did it to two of my model s back to back

The way that this is worded is a little bit funky and I'm not sure you intended the way it reads.

MCU1 versus MCU2 has nothing to do with your premium data subscription. In other words, if you have free premium data for life, changing/upgrading your MCU doesn't affect that at all. If you didn't have it previously, then you wouldn't get access to streaming music and live traffic w/o paying for it but that's no change from what you currently had anyway.

Someone reading your post might think that you're saying that if they have MCU1 and free premium mobile data for life that they would lose that by upgrading to MCU2 which isn't the case. Just wanted to clarify that for anyone out there reading who doesn't know.

 

[SoCal Buzz]

And it was my 2018 MCU2 that got yellow edges (fixed with UV treatment), not my previous car's MCU1.

 

[Kandiru]

If OP can hold out for about a year or so, Giga Texas will start flooding the market and prices will drop.

 

[Ostrichsak]

If OP can hold out for about a year or so, Giga Texas will start flooding the market and prices will drop.

I think we are at least two years out before we even meet current demand which will continue growing.

I think if we're lucky, values will plateau a couple of years from now and that's if all goes well and we start seeing a massive spike in materials/supplies this spring so that manufacturers can actually start making cars.

There's also the possibility of a spike in this pandemic, some crazy variant that's even worse than what we're experiencing currently, a global recession or a number of different variables we're not even thinking of that can skew this even further negative. Telling somebody to wait may not be the best suggestion at this point from a financial standpoint if that's the motivation.

I would say that if you are in need of a vehicle, start shopping now and months from now you may find a "decent" deal on one. There's also no saying that, months from now, a "decent" deal may be highway robbery today. Sure this could be a temporary bubble that bursts eventually but that's not going to happen without inventory catching up to demand which we are far from even being able to guess let alone predict with any degree of certainty.

It's all just Supply v Demand at this point. Economics 101.

 

[Intl22]

I would say 2013-2014 P85+
I have a 2014 P85+ and like it more than the newer ones.
Most of them would have had problems fixed, including motor replacement.

I'm looking at a 2014 P85+. Do you think the reliability is there or should I pursue a different year?

 

[SoCal Buzz]

I'm looking at a 2014 P85+. Do you think the reliability is there or should I pursue a different year?

I think that entirely depends on what service work has already been completed. You would want the drive unit update (ceramic bearings to address milling noise), MCU2 upgrade (or at least the daughter board memory upgrade under recall), and a number of other typical fixes for the earlier cars (e.g., door handles, charger unit). I personally wouldn't buy a 2014 without decent understanding of the service / warranty history (or Tesla inspection to gain that info).