Buy a used Model S

[wdskuk]

Ok here's our dilemma here. We were thinking of either buying a used 2016 and newer Model S 75D or a brand new Model 3 dual motor. Prices will be similar when everything is done and calculated.

Now my question is if we were to go for the Model S is it better to buy it through Tesla for the warranty extension or to buy it from a independent dealer. I found a couple of 2016 and above Model S with great deals and low mileage from independent shops. But if I was to do that then the warranty will be up in a year or 2. Any good aftermarket warranty companies that deal with Tesla? Also how are the 2016 and up Model S models. How is the reliability. Any electrical problems or motor problems. I'm just concern as this will be the first Tesla me and my wife will try to own. Also something I need to think about as Consumer Reports always rate the reliability of Tesla on the bottom of the chain.

Or.... forget all of this and just go straight for a brand new Model 3 with the warranty and the first owner to touch the car.

Ahh this is nerve wrecking lol!!!

 

[chrisb8s]

I would buy Used from Tesla. I have a CPO Model S p85 and it has been great. You get an extended warranty. here are the things to thing about. If you need to have the latest and greatest.. I mean, if you would wait in line at an apple store for the the next phone.. regardless if your phone works great.. then the Model 3 is for you.. it has the new tech. A used Model S is bigger and the range is just fine. anything over 250 miles of range is enough to go anywhere. Daily, you will never even notice your range. Today I drove 305 miles.. stopped at one super charger. .if I had a Long range model 3.. I still would have stopped at a supercharger. AutoPilot is a must.. AP1 is acts the same as Autopilot in the new cars.. they changed it so you won't get nav on autopilot unless you buy full self driving. The best part is.. my charging today was free. I spoke to a lady that was frustrated with her model 3 because the credit card on file keeps having issues and she cant' charge her 3.. crazy.. I told her to call tesla. I am sure that they would fix it.. but for me.. plug in and charge.. no charge. The 2016 and newer are great.. nice seat etc.. and if you prefer the new front nose design it's good. Personally I didn't care about the nose design. I have a 2014 and love it. I am just about to hit 80,000 miles.. with zero issues. So basically I highly recommend a used Model S. They have more space and I do like having the extra screen in front of me.. you can configure it to just have your mph and ap location and it's in front of you.. it feels natural. Here is my BIG suggestion. Buy from Tesla.. do not buy from their website.. call a Sales rep.. tell them EXACTLY what you want.. battery size, color, wheels, features.. do you want air suspension exactly.. let them put that in the computer and find you a car. Also.. the darker colors, will show nicks and dings, so I personally like the lighter silver or pearl white.. it's a multi coat .. or multi coat red.. they hold up the best. Good luck and let us know what you get.. I went through the very same thing 1 year ago.. I gave up my model 3 reservation and bought CPO Tesla and no regrets at all.

 

[BridgeMojo]

If you read the forums here for a while, you'll get the impression (as I have) that you're much likely to be treated better during the transaction by a private seller or 3rd party dealer. Sales service from Tesla appears to be nightmarish right now.

If you're willing to put up with that, in exchange you might get a better warranty. Or you might find a private seller whose car is still eligible for a warranty extension, get $4,000 off the price, and have a better purchase experience.

Everyone's mileage varies, but that's the way the forum winds seem to blow.

 

[SF_EVFAN]

I had a model 3 reservation but ended up buying MS 2016 with low mileage. Absolutely love the drive of MS, feels roomier, large screen for aging eyes and a dashboard behind steering wheel. 4 year CPO warranty and 6 year battery warranty gave a security feeling. AP1 is still smooth as butter and I don't think FSD is important for me.

After driving MS I doubt I will ever go back to M3 but your situation may vary.

 

[insaini]

id go with the model s, its like buying a Mercedes C class vs E or may even S class for the same price...

Also, a 2016 is still the current model, no changes have been made to the car on the interior or exterior and over it just looks better then the 3. Not sure what your family situation is, but the extra leg room in the S is great if the rear seat will be used a lot, as well as the hatch for trunk access.

 

[AMPd]

I would buy from Tesla rather than an independent dealer
A better warranty is hard to pass up even if it means dealing with unresponsive sales folks at tesla.

 

[brewcoffee2019]

I'm close to taking the plunge on a CPO Model S. The number one most important thing for us is that it can get a purple CA sticker. I know many people with Teslas (some for 5+ years), and so I expect it to be unreliable, need frequent service, leave us stranded, etc. That is why I want to buy it directly from Tesla, because maybe they will stand behind it.

 

[Ostrichsak]

I'm close to taking the plunge on a CPO Model S. The number one most important thing for us is that it can get a purple CA sticker. I know many people with Teslas (some for 5+ years), and so I expect it to be unreliable, need frequent service, leave us stranded, etc. That is why I want to buy it directly from Tesla, because maybe they will stand behind it.

These aren't ICE cars and I think maybe people are missing the point of EV in the first place that they're so worried about higher miles. If the price is reflective of higher miles there's no reason not to get a higher mile Tesla considering it has a fraction of the moving parts & components to fail as a typical ICE car.

 

[Parkjhmd]

I just bought a used 2015 Model S... After reading through a lot of posts, I have to agree that buying a car with looking at low resolution pics is a little disconcerting... After putting down a nonrefundable $2500 deposit and nervously waiting for delivery, the delivery team in Orlando was nice enough to send some high res pics (thanks Holly Grimm!) and give a little piece of mind. Still, buying an used car solely from pics felt quite odd.

The car is amazing... It is in incredible shape and in much better condition than I hoped.

Although being able to see the car in person would be preferable, in this new era of buying almost everything online, I couldn't be happier with my S!

The delivery team at Orlando was awesome!!! Thanks, Holly Grimm, Victor LeBron, and Matt Myers!

 

[Brutaka]

I'm looking to purchasing a used 2015 or 2016 pre facelift model S through Tesla. Anyone think that's a good idea? Just hoping it won't give me issues that everyone else has been stating.

 

[Rogue Synapse]

These aren't ICE cars and I think maybe people are missing the point of EV in the first place that they're so worried about higher miles. If the price is reflective of higher miles there's no reason not to get a higher mile Tesla considering it has a fraction of the moving parts & components to fail as a typical ICE car.

Agree that Tesla cars can have some frustrating flaws and are pricey to fix, but there seems to be a slightly less linear correlation between mileage and stuff breaking in EVs, apart from maybe battery degradation.

 

[jskenney]

I'd recommend that you go with Tesla and get a used S with the 4yr/50k warranty. There may be issues (as there can be with any used car purchase), but Tesla will make them right in the end. I just bought a CPO X a few weeks back to replace my S, and the experience was fine.

My Experience buying a CPO X

 

[Ostrichsak]

Agree that Tesla cars can have some frustrating flaws and are pricey to fix, but there seems to be a slightly less linear correlation between mileage and stuff breaking in EVs, apart from maybe battery degradation.

Like any car the correlation between mileage and stuff breaking is obvious. My point is that many think that Teslas, for some odd reason, have MORE reliability issues than a comparable ICE car with comparable miles. The simple fact is that Teslas have a FRACTION of the moving parts so a Tesla with hundreds of thousands of miles will be more reliable than an ICE car with hundreds of thousands of miles by a wide margin. We're seeing a lot of people that are incorrectly assuming out loud that Teslas will somehow be less reliable with higher miles than an ICE car and this simply isn't true. Buy the car at the right price for the mileage and it will be a great purchase. I've wrenched on my own cars for decades and I can honestly say from first-hand experience that I'm FAR more comfortable with a high-mile Tesla than I would be a high-mile ICE car because I've personally had every part of ICE cars fail on me in my lifetime and been left stranded and personally replaced each one of them in my garage (or on the side of the road) and to ignore that Teslas don't have any of these parts is myopic at best.

 

[Cheburashka]

I bought from a third party dealer, got a good price and car was triple mint.

Tried to get from Tesla but their process sucks. Not going to buy a car I can't test drive..

 

[zkdunn]

If you read the forums here for a while, you'll get the impression (as I have) that you're much likely to be treated better during the transaction by a private seller or 3rd party dealer. Sales service from Tesla appears to be nightmarish right now.

If you're willing to put up with that, in exchange you might get a better warranty. Or you might find a private seller whose car is still eligible for a warranty extension, get $4,000 off the price, and have a better purchase experience.

Everyone's mileage varies, but that's the way the forum winds seem to blow.

I bought a beautiful Tesla Blue 2015 S90 from the Las Vegas Dealership on Dec 9, 2018.....I still do not have the title. I need HELP !

 

[DanT]

Hello everyone,

I placed the online order for CPO Model S with Tesla over 10 days ago and I cannot make any of the delivery specialists return my emails. I have no clue what is the status of my order. I have no problem waiting, but I expect that someone there would at least let me know the status.
Did anyone had a similar experience? How long would delivery usually take place after the order?
I wish I read this forum before I placed the order. I would probably think twice...
Thank you all...

 

[Parkjhmd]

Hello everyone,

I placed the online order for CPO Model S with Tesla over 10 days ago and I cannot make any of the delivery specialists return my emails. I have no clue what is the status of my order. I have no problem waiting, but I expect that someone there would at least let me know the status.
Did anyone had a similar experience? How long would delivery usually take place after the order?
I wish I read this forum before I placed the order. I would probably think twice...
Thank you all...

Hello everyone,

I placed the online order for CPO Model S with Tesla over 10 days ago and I cannot make any of the delivery specialists return my emails. I have no clue what is the status of my order. I have no problem waiting, but I expect that someone there would at least let me know the status.
Did anyone had a similar experience? How long would delivery usually take place after the order?
I wish I read this forum before I placed the order. I would probably think twice...
Thank you all...

I had the same experience... Communication was great until I paid the deposit... Soon as I paid the deposit, the salesman (who before the deposit was awesome about replying to emails and texts) didn't reply at all!

The delivery team will contact you... It takes 10-14 days depending on where the vehicle is being stored and where the delivery center for your S is...I would think that if you are having your S shipped, it would take even longer...

The waiting and not getting any updates is the worst part, but the delivery team should be contacting you once your delivery is scheduled. One thing I did was to call the delivery center and speak to the staff about updates, more pics of the vehicle, etc. The Orlando team for me was fantastic!

I have my S and I love it! Just be patient and perhaps call your delivery center for updates.

 

[DanT]

I had the same experience... Communication was great until I paid the deposit... Soon as I paid the deposit, the salesman (who before the deposit was awesome about replying to emails and texts) didn't reply at all!

The delivery team will contact you... It takes 10-14 days depending on where the vehicle is being stored and where the delivery center for your S is...I would think that if you are having your S shipped, it would take even longer...

The waiting and not getting any updates is the worst part, but the delivery team should be contacting you once your delivery is scheduled. One thing I did was to call the delivery center and speak to the staff about updates, more pics of the vehicle, etc. The Orlando team for me was fantastic!

I have my S and I love it! Just be patient and perhaps call your delivery center for updates.View attachment 399675

Thank you very much Parkjhmd,
I placed the order for the vehicle that is located in Chicago area and I will pick it up at Tesla location in Chicago. I just chated with some customer service lady and she said that my vehicle is ready to be shipped to South Carolina. I'm now totally confused.
I'll wait few more days and then I will call every single number until I find the answers.
Best regards,

 

[Parkjhmd]

Thank you very much Parkjhmd,
I placed the order for the vehicle that is located in Chicago area and I will pick it up at Tesla location in Chicago. I just chated with some customer service lady and she said that my vehicle is ready to be shipped to South Carolina. I'm now totally confused.
I'll wait few more days and then I will call every single number until I find the answers.
Best regards,

That's frustrating.... For me, there was an initial sales person, then a delivery coordinator (Richard, based out of California who was actually quite helpful), and the delivery team in Orlando where I picked up my vehicle (I live in the DC area).

In your Tesla account, can you see if your option was for vehicle delivery or pick up. I recall that option was there for me. There is a 5 step process for completing your Tesla account prior to vehicle delivery.

It is a weird and frustrating experience buying a car sight unseen, but it will be worth it... I'm sure it'll all work out fine.

 

[DanT]

That's frustrating.... For me, there was an initial sales person, then a delivery coordinator (Richard, based out of California who was actually quite helpful), and the delivery team in Orlando where I picked up my vehicle (I live in the DC area).

In your Tesla account, can you see if your option was for vehicle delivery or pick up. I recall that option was there for me. There is a 5 step process for completing your Tesla account prior to vehicle delivery.

It is a weird and frustrating experience buying a car sight unseen, but it will be worth it... I'm sure it'll all work out fine.

Yes. I completed the 5 step process on the day one. I selected a pickup option and everything is listed in order. This morning I sent a semi-nasty email to the sales rep and asked him to forward it to the manager of the delivery team. Guess what... One hour later, delivery specialist called me to give me an update. She said that the vehicle is arriving today at the pickup location and that she would probably schedule a delivery for this Saturday "if everything goes well". I don't believe until I see... Fingers crossed...
Thanks