Closing in on a 2013 P85 ... excited but nervous

[tomjonesrocks]

I've dreamed of owning a Tesla ever since they came out. I have Tesla Solar on my house. I am frankly one of those "fans" of the company.

I have a 2013 P85, 21" wheels, tech package, gray - I've placed a $1,000 deposit on through Tesla. I love the price, the package, the color. I would have preferred a year newer but it's just what I've been seeking for months and this makes sense all around to me. It's time to close the deal.

But with all the negative press on Tesla lately I'd be lying if I were saying I'm not nervous. I can afford this car (albeit with some years on it and some mileage) but it's still the most expensive car I have ever bought and if it were to be a reliability nightmare it would hurt pretty badly (2 year warranty and all).

Most of the reliability reports I find online from owners are solid. I can't find a reason not to move forward. Thought I'd try a "yay or nay?" post here in the event there's *anything* I need to know about a 2013 P85 I might not. It -seems- like any major issue would already been fixed with newer parts, and this is a car I've been reading about for years and years.

Any last thoughts before I make my 2nd largest investment ever would be appreciated - hope this is a friendly community...

 

[P85_DA]

Since you have a warranty the things I would worry about are the 12v battery and the main pack contactors...both items failed on my 2013 P85+ early on but were fixed easily ...other than that it’s a solid car ...u can see a recent similar experience here minus the contactors Well, It happened to me.....and I am not happy about it

 

[Super_Popular]

Drive it until the warranty is up then get a newer one. The drive units on those can be problematic so you will not want to keep it once the warranty is up on that.

 

[CLLACAB]

We have the same car. 55K miles and no major issues. It doesn’t have any squeaks or rattles and has run perfectly. Enjoy the car.

 

[tomjonesrocks]

Drive it until the warranty is up then get a newer one. The drive units on those can be problematic so you will not want to keep it once the warranty is up on that.

Really! What year is safe on that?

 

[P85_DA]

@tomjonesrocks here’s a good read 100% drive unit failure rate??

Either way u have an 8 year drive unit warranty

 

[Doanster1]

How many miles on it? Any initial pics they’ve sent you (assuming you’ve requested them)? I think the best thing you can do is set expectations early and often with your advisor. That is, relay to him/her what your deal-breakers are and what you’re willing to accept. This varies for all of us, so depending on the responses you get, you can decide whether to pass immediately or (hopefully) continue on with the process with a higher sense of a positive outcome in getting your dream car.

Even though my CPO was under the old program, I was abundantly clear about what my pain points were and I’m sure it helped to some extent.

Do you mind posting what the sale price is?

 

[rocketshipp85]

Was that the cpo p85 for 36k that came up yesterday evening along with the 27k 85?

 

[ChadS]

Any car you buy - used or new - might be trouble-free, and might have a lot of issues.

Sure, some brands or model years might have better or worse chances, and some people make a lot of hay about that despite the differences between most models these days being pretty small (and most cars of any make falling in to the "good" camp). But the larger issue for an individual buyer is that it can always go either way. You aren't buying a statistical sample of a model line, you are only buying one car, and you never know which camp it will fall in to until it is too late. I know that's not assuring you that you won't have problems...but nobody can do that. I hope it does point out, though, that you would face the same lack of certainty with any car you buy.

All I can tell you is that we had a 2012 S for over 5 years and 88k miles, and we really loved that thing. (My wife had to trade it for an X to get her elderly father in easier, or we would have kept it a lot longer). I would suggest that the Model S' record-breaking user satisfaction ratings would indicate similar performance for an awful lot of owners - although, as with any car, not all of them.

Good luck.

 

[demundus]

I've dreamed of owning a Tesla ever since they came out. I have Tesla Solar on my house. I am frankly one of those "fans" of the company.

I have a 2013 P85, 21" wheels, tech package, gray - I've placed a $1,000 deposit on through Tesla. I love the price, the package, the color. I would have preferred a year newer but it's just what I've been seeking for months and this makes sense all around to me. It's time to close the deal.

But with all the negative press on Tesla lately I'd be lying if I were saying I'm not nervous. I can afford this car (albeit with some years on it and some mileage) but it's still the most expensive car I have ever bought and if it were to be a reliability nightmare it would hurt pretty badly (2 year warranty and all).

Most of the reliability reports I find online from owners are solid. I can't find a reason not to move forward. Thought I'd try a "yay or nay?" post here in the event there's *anything* I need to know about a 2013 P85 I might not. It -seems- like any major issue would already been fixed with newer parts, and this is a car I've been reading about for years and years.

Any last thoughts before I make my 2nd largest investment ever would be appreciated - hope this is a friendly community...

2013 P85s have the most issues of that model year run. As long as you're in warranty there should be no issue. Just be prepared for several issues. I can walk you around mine and show you everything you need to look for if you want, i see you're in San Diego.

 

[tomjonesrocks]

That would be helpful!