Buying a Model 3 privately.... what should I look out for?

[JSJohal]

Hey - new here,

We're looking to buy a facelift Model 3 LR and we've found one that looks great for us - but is being sold privately, not by a dealership.

I was looking for advice for key things to look out for - I know it's still covered by warranty, but not sure what I should be checking for apart from the usual HPI check?
If anyone has any advice, or a check list of sorts, it'll be greatly appreciated.

Much thanks.

 

[Alan J]

Hey - new here,

We're looking to buy a facelift Model 3 LR and we've found one that looks great for us - but is being sold privately, not by a dealership.

I was looking for advice for key things to look out for - I know it's still covered by warranty, but not sure what I should be checking for apart from the usual HPI check?
If anyone has any advice, or a check list of sorts, it'll be greatly appreciated.

Much thanks.

Usual checks on Bodywork as for any make of Car.
If possible check the State of Charge to Mileage Displayed and extrapolate to Max Range.
Be very clear about the Sellers reason for selling.
Check Charging Cables etc. are present.

There may be a fuller Checklist on this Forum so I suggest you have a search.

 

[GRiLLA]

Nothing much, if it's advertising any optional features like Enhanced AutoPilot, Acceleration boost etc. I would make sure they are really there. If they aren't claiming anything then little to worry about. Check that it includes a 3-pin Tesla charger and a 3m Type 2 cable.

Tread on the tyres is normally good for 20-25K miles, so maybe worth considering how soon to replace.

I wouldn't worry about checking the battery, it's covered by warranty and it's unlikely they've done any harm is such a short time, even if it's reading low it's most likely just needing flattening and recharging to let the BMS recalibreate.

 

[Jason71]

tree damage?

 

[Jason71]

They are right there is not a lot but if I was being really picky I might look at the following:

I would say check the undertray for any damage to the front and rear shields. They can be damaged by as little as hitting a puddle too fast.
I would also check the boot and boot lid for signs of water ingress. ideally take out the under boot storage bin and look under that but the owner may not be happy to let you since it involves removing a trim piece.

On a test drive listen for any significant rattles which can be annoying but not usually a major issue
I would also try full lock and a speed bump ( not at the same time) to listen for noisy front suspension. Covered under warrantee but good to know about.
I would also want to drive at motorway speed and listen for excessive wind noise.

None of this is necessarily a deal breaker but good to know what you are getting into.

I would also ask the owner about his charging routine and see if e.g. he says he charges it to 100% every night and leave it there. Gives you an indication of how much he knows about EV batteries and looks after the car.

While it can be variable I would still want the owner to plug in then slide the charge bar on the app to 100% to see what it says the range is. My 2019 started at 310. Got as low as 285 but recently ( software update maybe?) it is back above 300 now some of the time. varies depending on temp state of charge etc but anything below say 280 on a 2020 unless high mileage I would consider a bit odd I think. others will have a different view on this.

 

[WannabeOwner]

Whether it has been very frequently charged on Rapid Charge. Not sure how you can tell that (the car keeps a count, but I don't remember how one gets to see that) ... but worth asking the seller. Similar to @Jason71 question about charging habit / 100% charge frequency

plug in then slide the charge bar on the app to 100% to see what it says the range is

I think the number might be variable depending on when battery was last balanced, and for that it might need a 100% charge ... and if that hasn't been done recently that's good on the one hand, but might obscure the true value on the other.

if it is an outlier with massive range loss that would be important to discover. battery is under warranty, but there is a fair bit of wiggle-room and Tesla's legal view of what requires rectifying might not match what the owner considers unacceptable

Maybe investing in Scan-My-Tesla connected to CAN_bus or OBD2 is the answer ...

 

[DrJFoster]

Most has been covered although I'd be less worried about the charging history and certainly not go to the trouble of paying money on something like scanmytesla. If it does bother you the current owners Tesla app should show the recent charging history which gives a breakdown of the last month or so, its not exhaustive but would give you an idea.

If you're wanting to check spec etc then the following might a be useful place to start for background reading.

Buying a used Tesla

Advice on buying a used Tesla Model S, Model X, Model 3 or Model Y and what to be aware of.

tesla-info.com

 

[WannabeOwner]

Do Tesla still (i.e. on M3 / MY) throttle Rapid Charge rate after X-number of rapid charges?

Not sure "throttle" is the appropriate word there!

 

[Ferret]

Check it hasn't previously been written off

 

[exlatccatsa]

tree damage?
View attachment 781216

Flattening, but no recharging neccessary.

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

Do Tesla still (i.e. on M3 / MY) throttle Rapid Charge rate after X-number of rapid charges?

Not sure "throttle" is the appropriate word there!

There’s no real evidence of that although I suspect that’s possibly down to the M3 being capable of up to 250kw, so even if it was throttled to say 200kw few would ever notice and never on a V2 charger. The MS and MX were peaking at around 125kw so a similar 80% cap would be making 100kw unusual and hence more noticeable.