Buying from Dealer vs Tesla CPO

[Seetwobyte]

Hi Tesla Nation,
Thank you in advance for your input.
I drive between 100- 130 miles during the weekday so I am seriously considering a Tesla Model S as my next vehicle. My options are:
i) Go to a Dealer and purchase a used model S (with autopilot) also risk getting a car with issues and not certified by Tesla.
ii) Get a CPO Model S from Tesla without AP and get the extended warranty.
iii) Go to Tesla's new inventory with a few miles on the cars, AP capable and still benefit from AP.

Is autopilot a must have for you Tesla owners. I think that it will help my daily commute however there are great deals on cars without AP and I love to drive, more than being driven.

Thanks again and I'm looking forward to your responses.
Seetwobyte

 

[cab]

Is that 100-130 miles PER DAY or for the entire Monday-Friday work week (i.e. 20-25 miles per day)?

 

[kort677]

I would not buy a tesla from any dealership other than tesla, the reason is that most car dealerships do not have the expertise that tesla has with these cars.

 

[Seetwobyte]

Sorry guys... the drive is 100 mikes per day Mon to Friday.

 

[Seetwobyte]

I would not buy a tesla from any dealership other than tesla, the reason is that most car dealerships do not have the expertise that tesla has with these cars.

What about AP, would you buy a non auto pilot model s

 

[SamT]

I will not buy a car without AP, once you experience it, you will never go back to a car without AP. you have the option of not to use it if you don't want to. Plus, It will help with resale value if you decide to sell it later.

 

[TexasEV]

Don't buy a Tesla from a dealer. Period.
I don't think autopilot is a "must", but that may be because I have an early model S before autopilot. I enjoy driving it. If you want a great long range EV that you like to drive and want to save some money, go with a CPO on a pre-autopilot Tesla.

 

[carter_seattle]

What about option iv, buying a CPO with autopilot?

 

[croman]

No one can decide this for you. Take test drives. Think about your lifestyle and what you prioritize. Familiarize yourself with what AP1.0 does and most importantly what it doesn't do and make a decision.

 

[Boourns]

I would eliminate option i, for the reasons stated by @kort677, among others.

Beyond that, your budget should dictate. If you can afford a new inventory car, get one. You will benefit from the latest technology and the quality improvements that have been made over time. If you cannot afford an inventory car, go the CPO route. Even without AP driving a Model S is significantly more enjoyable than an ICE.

Just to make sure you understand, since your delineation of options implies you may not, the CPO warranty (4 years/50k miles) takes effect the day you purchase it. It does not add onto the end of the new warranty. In other words, if you buy a CPO tomorrow the warranty expires on 12/28/2020 or after odometer reads 50k miles more than it has tomorrow. This is true no matter what CPO you buy, whether it's a 2012 with 49k miles or a 2015 with 5k miles.

 

[Seetwobyte]

Thanks all for the help...

I would eliminate option i, for the reasons stated by @kort677, among others.

Beyond that, your budget should dictate. If you can afford a new inventory car, get one. You will benefit from the latest technology and the quality improvements that have been made over time. If you cannot afford an inventory car, go the CPO route. Even without AP driving a Model S is significantly more enjoyable than an ICE.

Just to make sure you understand, since your delineation of options implies you may not, the CPO warranty (4 years/50k miles) takes effect the day you purchase it. It does not add onto the end of the new warranty. In other words, if you buy a CPO tomorrow the warranty expires on 12/28/2020 or after odometer reads 50k miles more than it has tomorrow. This is true no matter what CPO you buy, whether it's a 2012 with 49k miles or a 2015 with 5k miles.

Excellent feedback. Thank you

 

[Pollux]

One more vote for not buying from a dealer. I think you want Tesla's warranty, servicing and support.

I just traded from a 2013 Model S P85+ to a 2016 Model S P100DL. Very smooth trade-in experience. Service & support on the 2013 were out-of-this-world good (your mileage may vary depending on how busy your local service center is, although all of mine have been very busy since they opened).

Since a dealer can't even service your car effectively, the dealership doesn't have ANY vested interest beyond the initial sale.

Alan

P.S. I would consider a private sale, especially from someone who could also transfer an extended warranty to you. I believe in that case, you can get the duration of whatever original warranty remains PLUS the extension. Perhaps you could even make a private sale conditional on an appraisal or inspection by Tesla. If they give you an opinion about price, it will almost always be significantly less than what the private seller is asking for the vehicle. Tesla needs margin for reconditioning and reselling the car, plus some level of profit. Tesla also values certain extras at $0, things that you might actually like. For instance, a private seller may have Xpel wrap on the car to help protect the paint and bodywork from rock chips and other small impacts. Or conditioned seats, lighted floor sills, etc.

Good luck!

 

[cab]

A few comments:

Price Point
So since you are shopping pre-owned, we can probably assume you are somewhat price sensitive (otherwise go hog wild and just a get a loaded new one!). You really need to decide which "features" are absolute must-haves.

Honestly, understanding your "price point" makes all the difference here. $45K? $60K? $75k? - those can get you pretty darn different options. Give us some guidance on that and we can better assist.

Your Usage Pattern and Battery Size / Autpilot
Given your driving pattern, I would suggest an 85kw car over a 60 AND I would strongly consider Autopilot even though I, myself, purchased a 2013 CPO P85+ w/o AP over the summer. In my case, however, I work from home and "performance" was one of my priorities. I test drove an AP car and while it was "cool", I also knew my use-case was such that it would be mostly wasted and I would be paying extra for a rarely used feature. Your situation in terms of commute is almost the exact opposite of mine and 100 miles/day suggests long freeway slogs where AP is probably most useful. Indeed, I took a short out of town trip this weekend that was 110 miles each way and remarked to myself "it would be nice to have AP on this run".

Warranty
One thing I will say. Get something with at least a 12 months worth of "driving" warranty on it. In your case, it looks like you are driving at least 30K miles a year so that's either a CPO Car (which is only really about 1.5 years of warranty for you given your annual miles) OR a 2014 or later with 20K or less miles. Indeed, the latter are probably better deals right now since Tesla CPO prices seem to be currently inflated. Some issues will be immediately apparent, but others take a while to crop up. I've had my car in the shop 3 times since I got it in the Summer. The first one was a biggie with several items replaced (virtually all of which should have been caught during the CPO process). The latter two not nearly as much, but still, it is nice to know that is an option.

 

[doubleohwhat]

1) Do not buy from a dealer. Buy either new/CPO from Tesla or do a private sale with a warranty transfer.
2) AP is nice to have on long runs but not required. Teslas are awesome even without AP. If you do end up looking at a car with AP1, wait until you see feedback on 8.1 before taking the plunge. Tesla has been limiting AP1 lately and who knows what is in store with the next update.
3) I would suggest a 75kw or higher. You may not get 130 miles out of an S60 in the snow with the heat on.

 

[Sethsla]

Hello

I'm an NJ refugee living in California. Our 2013 CPO 85 does NOT have AP. What it has is all the other amazing Tesla benefits. I couldn't justify buying new but your situation is different. Our great experience with CPO is in this prior thread. Enjoy the ride.
If you'd have never owned a Tesla, would you buy a CPO MS today?

 

[JClu]

I would make a different suggestion about AP if you are on the fence about it. First, I agree with others that the best way of figuring out if you want AP is to test drive one. Then, I'd consider looking at inventory for a new car with AP 1.0. There's likely SIGNIFICANT discount on those cars because most people want AP 2. If you are already kinda indifferent about the AP feature (I like driving more than being driven, too), then I'm guessing you don't care to drop $5,000 for AP 2.

Good luck, and also keep in mind if you order within 5 days, you get free Supercharging for the duration of your ownership.

 

[Sonny Daze]

Warranty
One thing I will say. Get something with at least a 12 months worth of "driving" warranty on it. In your case, it looks like you are driving at least 30K miles a year so that's either a CPO Car (which is only really about 1.5 years of warranty for you given your annual miles) OR a 2014 or later with 20K or less miles. Indeed, the latter are probably better deals right now since Tesla CPO prices seem to be currently inflated. Some issues will be immediately apparent, but others take a while to crop up. I've had my car in the shop 3 times since I got it in the Summer. The first one was a biggie with several items replaced (virtually all of which should have been caught during the CPO process). The latter two not nearly as much, but still, it is nice to know that is an option.

This is a bit confusing (to me). I get the impression the CPO warranty replaces the original warranty. Later on it also seems to imply that the vehicle must be serviced by Tesla according to their maintenance schedule.

 

[Steve1081]

I was in the same situation as you (I drive about 80 miles per day) and found that used car dealership prices on Model S were worse than CPO from Tesla. So I didn't go that route. If you could find a nice one private party that would be a good option if it still had warranty.

If your drive is on the interstate you will enjoy having AP. Honestly I think the majority of the benefit is in the adaptive cruise control; but, I use auto steer for my whole drive every day and rarely have to disengage it from the time I get on the highway until I am ready to get off.

I ended up going with a 2016 Facelift S75 with AP 1.0 and I am very happy I went this route. I paid $68k and the car had less than 5,000 miles. There aren't any great deals right now on CPO cars. But, they pop up and get purchased quickly. There are also many cars not listed online. So, I recommend:

1. Set up notifications on EV-CPO.com for a car with the options you want.
2. Get in touch with a CPO advisor and have them send you cars that meet your criteria.

The warranty is confusing on CPO... Multiple people at Tesla told me that it is exactly the same as the new warranty... that does not jive 100% with the paperwork. But so far I have had no issues with getting repairs. In my case the CPO warranty is not much longer than factory anyway. I do with the warranty was supplemental like it is with most other luxury brand CPO warranties....

 

[Steve1081]

I would make a different suggestion about AP if you are on the fence about it. First, I agree with others that the best way of figuring out if you want AP is to test drive one. Then, I'd consider looking at inventory for a new car with AP 1.0. There's likely SIGNIFICANT discount on those cars because most people want AP 2. If you are already kinda indifferent about the AP feature (I like driving more than being driven, too), then I'm guessing you don't care to drop $5,000 for AP 2.

Good luck, and also keep in mind if you order within 5 days, you get free Supercharging for the duration of your ownership.

Lifetime supercharging is based on the original delivery date of the car. Not the CPO delivery date. So all CPO cars will likely have free supercharging.

 

[Sonny Daze]

Update to the Supercharger network policies