Bought a Certified Pre Owned Model S

[SabrToothSqrl]

Since everyone seems interested, I guess I'll post some info. I'm on my ipad at the moment, I'll write more when I'm on a keyboard. Picked it up 2/20/2014

Apparnetly the the forum doesn't like my iPad photos. So you may have to rotate your head.

Its a 2013 s85, black leather, black, 19s, 13,000 miles, tech, air, sound, sunroof, maybe has the lighting thing, dual chargers and paint protection. $75,100.

6 year, 100,000 bumper to bumper from original date. So I'm good until 2019!

They refurbed the car, fixing wheels, scratches, etc. it's my hold me over car, until I can get in a Model X.

It was less $ than a used one I found online, has a longer warranty, and hey, strait from Tesla...

ita going to the shop Monday for pulling to the right, bugs (insects) inside the tail lights, and the noise from the seatbelt rubbing the plastic trim piece by my left ear. Also, I'm not sure if refurbishing the mobile connector is part of the process, because mine has a big dent in it. Stupid me didn't look at it at the showroom. So, I'll see if it is what it is, or if they will give me a less beat one since its CPO. It works fine, I just... Wonder if they ever looked at it.

They also replaced the nose cone for me, as it came from one of those loser states that ruins cars by putting plates on the front

The whole process was fine, other than the state level selling rules in NJ.

PArammus, NJ will be the CPO hub for the north east. When I picked mine up you got the sense that they JUST moved in. From the boxes and wet paint on the walls. And .. Lack of finished HVAC. (It was cold in there).

Anyway, I am loving my space boat. It's fast. Too fast. Gonna get the fuzz on my butt fast.

I knew there would be a range impact of... Enthusiastic driving, but damn.... I'm still more than satisfied. The cold weather range is also worse than I hoped, but hey, I still love it. If I'm honest, I don't like like driving cars, but that's me, not the car. I prefer the higher up seat, easier entry SUVs (I came from a full size Tahoe).

So, the plan was to hold out for the X. But I want it... NOW!! So I got this. . And yea, it's pretty awesome.

yes, I wish it was AWD (I'm in PA snow here). And yes, my X will have auto pilot.
I wanted the 19s due to pot holes, and tire choices.
has to have tech package. Duh
has to have audio. I'm not sure what music is without a subwoofer. And I don't want to know.
Sunroof I can take or leave. But I did sell my wrangler to buy this.
air suspension... Not bad in a low sports car, don't think I'll need it on the X.
also, don't need the dual chargers... I just don't need drive that much in a single day.

 

[3s-a-charm]

Good story and thank you for sharing. Enjoy your new (to you) Tesla!

 

[FredTMC]

Yep. Enjoy! Thx for posting the CPO material. Seeing is believing. Looking forward to tesla officially announcing the CPO program.

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

Thanks

Thanks!
my wife and I are already planning epic cross country trips!

- - - Updated - - -

Trying to get more pics, I'm sure I should have scanned it, but I'm busy watching The 100.

 

[schneiderjohn]

That's awesome! Thanks for the pamphlet pictures. I've rotated them upright, if you don't mind.

[Edit: More!]

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

They show upright on my iPad.. Several forums have the same issue. Yea. I don't mind lol.

how dare you rotate my photos! Lol.

ive been talking/dreaming/wishing about this thing for Years. My friends, family, co-workers were like... Put up or shut up. And I'll believe the Model X is real when I can touch one... So yea, I'll drive this for 1-3 years to keep me from going insane.

 

[schneiderjohn]

They show upright on my iPad.. Several forums have the same issue. Yea. I don't mind lol.

how dare you rotate my photos! Lol.

Yeah, it's a known issue. From my understanding, iOS devices "rotate" the image with metadata stored with the image, without actually rotating the image itself. So, when the image gets posted somewhere that doesn't recognize the metadata, the picture doesn't get rotated.

 

[robby]

Interesting that aside from the drivetrain and battery, CPO vehicles have a longer warranty than new ones.

 

[Cyclone]

Great story. I have been wondering about their CPO inventory. Can't wait till my local store final opens and I get some listings from it. Glad you are enjoying the car! I would be coming from a 4Runner, so your perspective on the lower ride would be great. Thanks for sharing!

 

[MsElectric]

Congrats on your car! The CPO pricing is higher than I expected as for the $75k paid it is possible to buy a 2013 P85 under warranty.

 

[ModelX]

Congrats!

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

Congrats on your car! The CPO pricing is higher than I expected as for the $75k paid it is possible to buy a 2013 P85 under warranty.

Thank you.

Yea; these are hard to price. I had done a US wide search on several sites to find pricing I wanted to go with. This was actually $1k LESS than a similar 2014 I was going to buy, and they gave me $2k more for my trade-in, so for me, this one made the most sense. The pricing seems to be ALL over the place... and several sellers were completely unrealistic in a used car price.

Apparently, if I had bought even a used one in CA, from a "dealer" (not Tesla) I'd be charged 8% there AND 6% in PA when I registered it! I was like.. WT_?

I'm hoping if it was more $ than an off the street one, the CPO badge means it was treated better, and refurbed by Tesla to be worth it.
I know you can't just pop down to Advance Auto and pickup a new flux capacitor, so for me the warranty really sealed the deal...

 

[andrewket]

Apparently, if I had bought even a used one in CA, from a "dealer" (not Tesla) I'd be charged 8% there AND 6% in PA when I registered it! I was like.. WT_?
.

Not correct. As long as the car is shipped out of CA and not picked up in person, you don't have to pay CA sales tax. If you had, most states (not sure about PA) will allow you to offset the taxes paid in another state, and if that amount is more than what is due in your home state, you don't have to pay any additional tax. Otherwise only the difference is due.

Example:

100k car, tax rate 8% in CA, 6% in home state. Pick up the car in CA, pay 8k. Register in home state, pay 0.

100k car, tax rate 8% in CA, 6% in home state. Ship the car from CA to home state, pay 0 to CA, 6k to home state.

100k car, tax rate in purchasing state 4%, 6% in home state. Pay 4k in purchasing state, 2k in home state.

Many states will allow a buyer who out of state residency to obtain a drive away permit and not pay sales tax even if the car is picked up in person. CA unfortunately is anal and is not one of them. There are also a few states that won't give you credit for taxes paid in another state, and I don't remember which they are off the top of my head.

For California, this has created a market for automobile transporters moving cars from CA to Nevada. The seller ships the car to Vegas, the buyer picks it up there and drives it the rest of the way home.

Congrats on the car!

 

[supratachophobia]

So here is the million dollar battery question. What does a full to 100 precent charge yield you in rated miles?

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

Yes, it's certainly complex, and yes, the original plan was fly out to some state, with my wife, and drive back to PA via super chargers. I'm sad I didn't get that road trip, but we are already planning PA to FL, hopefully next month to visit some friends there. According to evplanner it will take us 8-9 super chargers to get there. I do have to say I am disappointed in the "Tesla" navigation. The maps are googles. and are awesome. the search is google, again, awesome. The navigation is apparently... not... WHY NOT? Going from the Newark, DE supercharger, to my house, the Tesla navigation has you basically drive to Baltimore and up. You can save well over 100 miles going the way google maps suggests.... I'll see if I can screen shot that, but whatever.

I'm also a bit disapointed I can't enter multiple destinations in the sat nav. Even my 20 year old garmin GPS can do that. Go HERE, then HERE, then HERE.

I know I'm nit picking, and I know that thanks to the awesomeness that is Tesla, all that can be fixed w/a firmware update, but... I do like good navigation. Espeically if my wife and I are planning long road trips... but we each have iphones... so that should cover that until Telsa catches up to Google... which begs the question... why not just license google navigation? is it that much more $ than building your own?

- - - Updated - - -

So here is the million dollar battery question. What does a full to 100 percent charge yield you in rated miles?

I've only done this 2 or 3 times, and I think EPA says 265. Mine charges, with 14,000 miles on it now, to 258 I think... I'll have the chance to check again Sunday night when I max charge to make it to the service center and back Monday.

 

[Galve2000]

I've only done this 2 or 3 times, and I think EPA says 265. Mine charges, with 14,000 miles on it now, to 258 I think...

The cold weather range is also worse than I hoped....

What kind of cold weather range were you hoping for? What are u actually getting? The weather has warmed up a bit and snow in the north east has started to melt.. have you seen an improvement in range since then?

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

I was hoping to go 265 miles on a charge... as that's what everything says it does!

It's been in nearly the 20s (F) however since I bought the car. It's met all of my needs as far as range, I was just not expecting the drop in miles. Also 265 miles is what appears to be the world's best conditions. Open highway, no A/C, no windows, cruise set at 55. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but real world miles are not 265, when it's back-roads and cold out. Combine that with the occasional enthusiastic foot, and those batteries go quick.

Let me repeat; I've not had any range issues with the vehicle. I knew going to this would be an adjustment. I'm not knocking a car that's a freaking space boat of light and wonder. (everyone reads the oatmeal, right)?

However, when my rated says 200 and my projected says 150, it's like... ok... where did my miles go?! And why do I have to look at two numbers to figure out what's going on here...

I'm just asking that we (Tesla) simplify the whole ideal/rated/projected miles situation. Statistically they are interesting, and correct. In the real world, when I'm driving from Devon, PA to Lewisberry, PA on Saturday, and leave Devon without a full charge, there is only one number that means a damn thing to me... and that number is the most accurate number of miles left on the charge. And I know how subjective that is, and again, I am NOT knocking the car here. Just trying to make it easier to understand how to ensure I make it home Last time I made it with about 7% battery left.

I full charged, drove to KOP, then had to stop at the Devon Service Center to charge to 150 rated miles to drive home. That should have been 50 miles of spare. I drove home, no A/C, minimum heat, and set the cruise at 65 (speed limit) any slower and I was going to die as everyone drives 75/85 on the turn pike...

Yes, that did cause me some stress... not going to lie. My daily commute, which is Home --> work --> Car wash (unlimited pass) --> home is nothing for the car. Even driving stupid fast it only takes me down to 82% battery or so (from 90). Sometimes I can even eek out 320 wh/mile (usually I'm 380-400)

I have no range anxiety on super charger trips, in fact those are actually pretty close together.

The only trip I'd like to make, which we cannot easily do, is to the wife's parents. 140 miles each way. Up hill. (ok, not up hill both ways, but still it's cold and far).

we've discoverd a HPWC at bucknell, which I got 79 amps from when we scoped it out, so that may make this trip possible, but still... not ideal.

I'm not sure if I'm ready to ask the in-laws to hey, install a RV plug in your garage for us ... but that's another conversation.

I am excited to take our PA to FL and back trip in the next month or two.
This car is basically my litmus test to see if
1. it's as awesome as I've been dreaming of for 3 years, and
2. can I deal w/an electric car?

And so far, the answer is a resounding YES. (Other than I personally seriously prefer SUVs, and can't wait to buy the X).

My wife is also talking to the president of my college, Penn College, in Williamsport, PA, which if we get them to install one or two HPWC, will benefit us (and them, wink wink) greatly.

Penn College has some of the best automotive and technology classes and majors anywhere. Adding Tesla to the campus would be a win for everyone.

We have had some (few) 40 and 50 degree days, and on those days, I've seen much better range numbers, so I'm hoping as soon as it's like 60-70 out, it keeps going up. of course it now says 1" of snow next friday... so... you know... lol.
Good thing I saved my 2005 Mazda Tribute for snow days Why get rear ended by a 1996 Geo Metro in a $75k car, when I can let them hit me in a $5k car?!

 

[arijaycomet]

Having leased a Nissan Leaf for the past two years (my wife's car-- we still have 12 payments left) we had already experienced the cold weather "hit" that EVs take. And based on the percentage loss we would see in that car (as much as 50% loss of range in single-digit temps here in Cleveland, Ohio), we knew what to expect heading into our Tesla. Still, I do agree that the EPA in general should do a better job expressing mileage limits in these conditions. It will otherwise cause a lot of unrest in colder climates when people expect to make certain distances. I've found that most Tesla product specialists aren't really going to offer up the limited range in cold weather unless you pry, and most folks wouldn't KNOW to even ask in the first place.

That being said, picked my car up right before NYE/2014 (3 months ago). Since then my average for the past 4,000 miles has been 430 wh/mi. Now I know the car is rated around 300 wh/mi ... so I'm using 43% more energy to get around. Granted driving style, snow tires, and many other factors are at play here. But if 265 miles was based on 300 wh/mi, then just some rough math indicates the car is basing this only 80 kWh of energy available. At 430 wh/mi, my car would only go 186 miles on a charge, on average. Again, that 43% delta I mentioned.

Everyone gets different levels, but I wanted to share this so you would know what I'm getting in cold, similar, great lakes region. I will say the days temps have been better, I have seen a much better wh/mi efficiency -- with numbers as good as 330-350 wh/mi recently. This indicates to me that with non-snow tires, the car should prove to be much closer to rated range. If again comparisons could be drawn to our Nissan Leaf, you should expect range during the spring/fall months when the HVAC is used sparingly that you'll get VERY close to the 265mi (300 wh/mi). Come summer, the figures should drop again, but not nearly as harshly as winter time (heat = more energy vs A/C).

On the wife's Leaf we would see about 15%-25% loss of rated range using A/C + hot temps worst case in summer (so we'd be able to get ~50 miles instead of the 75). And in the winter, a 30-50% loss depending on extremity of cold temps (with our worse charge being 30-35 miles of range). Generally speaking I think you would be safe to expect you'll see 160-180 miles in the coldest of winter, and 220-240 miles in the summer, with variations in between. but as always.. YRMV....

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

Ok, I'm glad what I'm seeing is "normal".

Yea, I don't know how you'd do it with a leaf if I'm losing 40% of range due to cold. that's 40% on a HUGE battery. 40% loss on the range of a leaf would be fairly problematic!

You always see the P85D tearing it up in the snow, but you never read that... yea... you'll get 160 miles... not 260 when it's 20 out.

Since heat is a byproduct, or actually most of, a gas engine, range doesn't seem to be affected at all on my 2009 Tahoe if it's 20 out or 90 out. it's still going 400 miles to a tank. Now towing my boat... lol... that WILL cut the range! good bye 18 MPG hello 10 MPG.

It's just something to keep in mind while traveling I guess. Every other aspect of the car has been sublime. Driving a gas car now feels like... watching a black and white television...

 

[stevezzzz]

...The only trip I'd like to make, which we cannot easily do, is to the wife's parents. 140 miles each way. Up hill. (ok, not up hill both ways, but still it's cold and far).

we've discoverd a HPWC at bucknell, which I got 79 amps from when we scoped it out, so that may make this trip possible, but still... not ideal.

I'm not sure if I'm ready to ask the in-laws to hey, install a RV plug in your garage for us

Not ideal, perhaps, but eminently feasible. Even if you only plug into a 120V outlet at your in-laws' place, stopping for an hour or so each way at the HPWC should be enough to get you home again. With a 14-50 at their place you wouldn't have to stop at all.

Good thing I saved my 2005 Mazda Tribute for snow days Why get rear ended by a 1996 Geo Metro in a $75k car, when I can let them hit me in a $5k car?!

OTOH, there's no better car to be riding in than Model S if you're unlucky enough to be in an accident.