Buying advice

[Sclackjr]

I’m currently considering buying a 2015 Model S P85. Test drive complete and I love it! It has 101,000 miles black with clean white interior and is equipped with autopilot, free charging, new brakes and rotors and still has one year left on the battery unit warranty and a year left drive unit warranty. The asking price is a firm $42,900. My question is should I proceed? Is this a good deal? I tend to ponder and procrastinate when considering major purchases, sometimes to the extent of missing out on great deals. This would be my first Tesla so I don’t want to jump at something that isn’t worth it, or pass a good deal. Thanks

 

[NewbyMaybe]

Carfax? If there's wrecks then?

 

[Sclackjr]

Carfax? If there's wrecks then?

Yes, viewed the carfax and it had 1 accident. Detailed as side swipe in traffic to the front passenger side of the car and minor. The only blemish I can find, other than two minor scratches to the paint and a scratch in the window tint of the driver side rear window, is a small piece of the passenger side mirror housing is broken. But the title is clear.

 

[NewbyMaybe]

Sounds like a good deal.
You didn't mention sentry mode, that's what I'm looking forward to.

 

[Sclackjr]

Sounds like a good deal.
You didn't mention sentry mode, that's what I'm looking forward to.

I don’t think sentry mode was available until the 2017 model. I could be wrong, I’m a “newby” myself when it comes to Tesla facts and knowledge.

 

[roblab]

Personally, I wouldn't pay that much, but whatever the market will bear and all that. This is an old car with high miles, and besides the fact that electrics have less maintenance than gas engine cars, it's still an old car with high miles. At least you're in Texas and hopefully the car was in Texas, so you won't have salt damage from winter roads. As for sentry mode, many of us have never needed it, so it would not be a selling point for some, and maybe not for you. You should be able to pick up a new mirror housing from Tesla for less than a thousand bucks (jk), but if it doesn't bother you, no need to change it.

If I were selling that same car, I'd probably ask a "firm" $30K, and I am thinking you ought to look around some more. Sure, it's not got a gas engine with its wear and tear, but other things wear out, too. At least find out what the present owner paid for the car and how long ago. There are people "out there" who will pick up a used Tesla and resell it for a lot more and end up making good money flipping them. And I think you'd be better off buying a new Model 3 than this car. Unless you know a lot about cars or have a friend who does, an old beater is not usually a bargain.

 

[Sclackjr]

Personally, I wouldn't pay that much, but whatever the market will bear and all that. This is an old car with high miles, and besides the fact that electrics have less maintenance than gas engine cars, it's still an old car with high miles. At least you're in Texas and hopefully the car was in Texas, so you won't have salt damage from winter roads. As for sentry mode, many of us have never needed it, so it would not be a selling point for some, and maybe not for you. You should be able to pick up a new mirror housing from Tesla for less than a thousand bucks (jk), but if it doesn't bother you, no need to change it.

If I were selling that same car, I'd probably ask a "firm" $30K, and I am thinking you ought to look around some more. Sure, it's not got a gas engine with its wear and tear, but other things wear out, too. At least find out what the present owner paid for the car and how long ago. There are people "out there" who will pick up a used Tesla and resell it for a lot more and end up making good money flipping them. And I think you'd be better off buying a new Model 3 than this car. Unless you know a lot about cars or have a friend who does, an old beater is not usually a bargain.

I understand, like I said I’m new to Tesla. I know cars and even raced mustangs in the 90s, but the electric car technology is still foreign to me. I’m in Texas and while it is a little high the going price around here for this year with comparable mileage is between $37k-$40.5k. However, most that I have seen do not have autopilot or any remaining warranty or free charging. So I figured this may be what has the price where it is. In your opinion what other areas should I be concerned with or looking at on a model s with this number of miles?

 

[PCMc]

If I were selling that same car, I'd probably ask a "firm" $30K, and I am thinking you ought to look around some more.

I understand the perspective, but the reality is that used car prices are insane at the moment. I happen to know an owner with a similar 2015 Model, AP1, lifetime supercharging, red with tan interior, pano sunroof, subzero package with heated front/rear seats & steering wheel, and the premium interior upgrade package, always garaged and no accidents. I don't know current miles, but he's asking $44,600 firm. So the car in question isn't totally out of line.

There are a couple items that you haven't mentioned it would be good to confirm. One is if it has the MCU2 upgrade, either with or without radio. The upgrade to MCU2 brings all the entertainment capabilities to view video in the car, etc., and provides much faster response for navigation. That's $1500 without new FM radio tuner, $2000 with new radio tuner. You also haven't mentioned anything relative to whether pano sunroof or metal roof (all glass 1-piece roof wasn't available at that time) or other upgrades like premium interior (brought items like interior lighting groups), premium audio system, or items like sub-zero package. Not all those may be important to you, but are details of the spec that could influence a reasonable selling price.

 

[Wol747]

There's a very good YouTube site by R Symons - who is a dealer in EVs in the UK - and his latest one is all about two "old" Model Ss of around the vintage you are thinking about:

 

[SoCal Buzz]

I would also check the rated range at 100% charge to evaluate degradation, along with inquiring about service completed to date (MCU upgrade, drive train update for milling noise, DC/DC converter, etc.). You would expect to see some of the typical issues on a 2015 with 100k miles.

 

[HAILERS]

YES. Rated range. Check it out first.

Supercharging degrades batteries. You have no idea how many times the previous owners used superchargers and or let the car charge up to 100 % or drop below 20%. Those cause battery degradation.
Not nearly enough ev fanatics mention how superchargers degrade the battery. They only talk about how Tesla has a great network of superchargers. It seems most of them only go to work and back and don't actually go anywhere.

 

[David29]

The batteries are not the only item that can cost you money in an older Model S. My 2015 70D has only 60K miles but my car has had a number of problems that make me glad I have an Extended Service Agreement. One example is the coolant system, which is complex, with two coolant pumps, a coolant heater, a 3-way valve and a 4-way valve, a fluid reservoir, various sensors and electronic controls, etc. Right now my car is in the shop with coolant leaks (both the valves I mentioned are apparently leaking in my car and about to be replaced). So even though we talk about how few "moving parts" the drive train has, there are still other mechanical devices that will experience wear and tear. How readily these can be repaired, and by whom, is something to be thinking about.
This is not a complaint -- just a comment. For now, I am hanging in.