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Buying a used model s
- Thread starter connord9
- Start date
Don’t do it. Car is too old, tech is too old, battery is too old. Nothing is under warranty. New battery alone is $22K.
Unless he’s giving it away, stay clear.
dgpcolorado
high altitude member
My 2014 S-60 is down to about 166 miles EPA rated range (which has nothing to do with how far I can really go). Otherwise it works well but is slow at Supercharging on road trips. Longer road trip legs are difficult because I have to charge high and drive down to low %SOC (State of Charge) but I make it work with patience.
When the range gets too low, my plan is to replace the battery pack. I was quoted $15k for a software limited 75 kWh pack three or four years ago but haven't a clue what it is now. I've read that there are independent shops that will do it for a lot less.
Things I enjoy are the free Supercharging and the lack of all the autopilot stuff, which would be useless where I live in the mountains. I also have the tech package of the day, with the wonderful navigation maps and trip managing. I still have MCU 1 with LTE but no daughterboard replacement yet. (There is a recall out on those original MCU 1s due to eMMC chip failure, dead MCU makes the car hard to drive and charge.)
I live six hours from the nearest service center but mobile service takes care of little stuff, such as fixing door handles. I presume they would handle the daughterboard replacement if Tesla ever gets around to it.
I presume that the drive unit has been replaced; the original drive units got noisy but the last version of rebuilt ones fixed the problem.
What is the intended use of the car? If for local driving, the range degradation shouldn't be a problem. I generally charge my car to 70% for local driving and only charge to 90% or higher for long road trip legs. Doing road trips in a short range car is a learned skill and requires care, but it can be done.
Can you afford to replace the battery pack if it failed? (I can.)
Has the MCU1 daughterboard been replaced yet?
Does the car have full navigation? Do you care? (It is vital on road trips but not for local driving, of course.) If not, you could have a MCU 2 installed for about $1500 but would lose the radio.
Does the car have LTE connectivity? Do voice commands work well? (They do on my car.)
How old is the 12V battery? Mobile service can replace it if needed and you will get plenty of warning on the dash.
I suppose any high mileage used car is a bit of a gamble. That is what I have: 127k miles. Plan to keep it. It is my only car, so no backup.
My two cents. Questions?
When the range gets too low, my plan is to replace the battery pack. I was quoted $15k for a software limited 75 kWh pack three or four years ago but haven't a clue what it is now. I've read that there are independent shops that will do it for a lot less.
Things I enjoy are the free Supercharging and the lack of all the autopilot stuff, which would be useless where I live in the mountains. I also have the tech package of the day, with the wonderful navigation maps and trip managing. I still have MCU 1 with LTE but no daughterboard replacement yet. (There is a recall out on those original MCU 1s due to eMMC chip failure, dead MCU makes the car hard to drive and charge.)
I live six hours from the nearest service center but mobile service takes care of little stuff, such as fixing door handles. I presume they would handle the daughterboard replacement if Tesla ever gets around to it.
I presume that the drive unit has been replaced; the original drive units got noisy but the last version of rebuilt ones fixed the problem.
What is the intended use of the car? If for local driving, the range degradation shouldn't be a problem. I generally charge my car to 70% for local driving and only charge to 90% or higher for long road trip legs. Doing road trips in a short range car is a learned skill and requires care, but it can be done.
Can you afford to replace the battery pack if it failed? (I can.)
Has the MCU1 daughterboard been replaced yet?
Does the car have full navigation? Do you care? (It is vital on road trips but not for local driving, of course.) If not, you could have a MCU 2 installed for about $1500 but would lose the radio.
Does the car have LTE connectivity? Do voice commands work well? (They do on my car.)
How old is the 12V battery? Mobile service can replace it if needed and you will get plenty of warning on the dash.
I suppose any high mileage used car is a bit of a gamble. That is what I have: 127k miles. Plan to keep it. It is my only car, so no backup.
My two cents. Questions?
with gas and used car prices where they are its hard to say. im not sure id pay that, but i also dont have a good pulse on the market.
dont just look locally, the world is small, shipping isnt super expensive. compare used prices to tesla used prices as a barganing chip (carmax too)
I would personally go for the 90. They're holding up very well and will charge faster than the 60 on road trips.
dgpcolorado
high altitude member
I would as well. A 2015 would still have a battery and drive unit warranty for another year or so, in case something unexpected happened.
On the other hand, $40k is getting close to the price of a base Model 3 ($46,490), albeit with a considerable wait for delivery, given the backlog of orders (Est. Delivery: Jul 2022). New car with a full warranty. Not as nice as a Model S in my view, but there are those who greatly prefer the 3. And no free Supercharging, although for local driving that is irrelevant and charging is a fairly trivial expense anyway. A new car might be more expensive to register and insure.
Thank you, I thought about that. I just can't get over the look of the 3, LOL. Our tax is based on total current value but I do like the free supercharge.
beatle
Active Member
As a point of reference, I've supercharged my car 40 times on road trips over the course of 29 months. Most of my road trips aren't super long and most require no more than 2 stops in a day. Total cost to supercharge has been $259.30. Of course there are people who really make use of supercharging whenever they can, but I'd find it to be too inconvenient to do so even if it were free. Far better to wake up with a 90% full tank each day after charging at home (which is still pretty cheap).
I think the 90 is the smarter buy.
I think the 90 is the smarter buy.
Dirty Dog
M3LR 2018, MYLR 2021, MSLR 2022 & CT on order!
DO NOT BUY IT. Find the cheapest used M# and pay more. Even if you need it shipped.
For the price, I agree that a Model 3 is a better value unless you’re really set on the form factor of the Model S, in which case a 2015 90D would probably be my vehicle of choice.
dgpcolorado
high altitude member
I agree that free Supercharging is not a big deal for most, and the OP said that the car would be for local driving. Assuming the ability to charge at home, free Supercharging is of little value for local driving.
On the other hand, for a serious road tripper free Supercharging is helpful for the psychological benefit of being able to drive thousands of miles with zero fuel cost. Most of my 120k miles have been on road trips and I've Supercharged my car more than 676 times. And Big Earl above has done a lot more road trip miles and Supercharging than I have!
Free supercharging would have saved me thousands of dollars. Probably approaching $10,000 at this point. Should’ve bought the performance model when we had the chance, which would have included free supercharging. Oh well.
