Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Does a used tesla purchased from a non tesla dealer maintain its warranty?

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
I am looking at buying a 2021 Tesla Model 3 long range with only 4,717 miles on it. The vehicle is being sold by a Volkswagon dealer. Does the car still maintain the original factory warranty even though I would be the second owner or does it fall under the used car warranty or is there even a warranty at all?
 
I am looking at buying a 2021 Tesla Model 3 long range with only 4,717 miles on it. The vehicle is being sold by a Volkswagon dealer. Does the car still maintain the original factory warranty even though I would be the second owner or does it fall under the used car warranty or is there even a warranty at all?

(moderator note)

Thread title changed from "warranty" to something that I feel better describes the question being asked.
 
I am looking at buying a 2021 Tesla Model 3 long range with only 4,717 miles on it. The vehicle is being sold by a Volkswagon dealer. Does the car still maintain the original factory warranty even though I would be the second owner or does it fall under the used car warranty or is there even a warranty at all?
New car warranty stays with the car until it expires whether the car is new with 1 original owner or used by multiple different owners.

If you buy a used Tesla that's still under 4 years and 50,000 miles the "new" car warranty is still in effect even though it's a used car.
 
Speaking of warranties.. has anyone extended theirs? I was told about the 4 year which I knew.. but I was also told there was an extended 1 year for XX bucks. Sounded sketchy to me. I've gotten extended warranties before and even had them pay off :). The best was over 6K in repairs when a trans decided to die on the freeway so I think there could be some value in one.
 
Tesla does not offer anything currently on a Model 3 or Y. Not sure about S or X. There are third party warranty companies, but I havent investigated that too much. My personal mantra was either "I want the warranty from the car manufacturer" or "I dont want the warranty at all".

Thats a personal thing for me though. I wont buy third party car warranties.
 
Tesla does not offer anything currently on a Model 3 or Y. Not sure about S or X. There are third party warranty companies, but I havent investigated that too much. My personal mantra was either "I want the warranty from the car manufacturer" or "I dont want the warranty at all".

Thats a personal thing for me though. I wont buy third party car warranties.

Who cares what company is offering the warranty, as long as it covers issues you will encounter and the cost of said warranty is reasonable. Usually the dealer or manufacturer does the repair work anyway, the warranty provider just pays for said work. So in the case of a Tesla, it would still be Tesla doing the repair work.

You should check out Doug Demuro on youtube. He historically has bought 3rd party warranties on all of his cars, such as Landrovers and Aston Martins, and in his particular case, those warranties have yielded tens of thousands in savings via claims.

Doug Demuro Range Rover Warranty.

In the end, that payout, combined with all the others, means that CarMax paid $21,276 in warranty claims on my Range Rover. I purchased the Range Rover for $26,998, and I paid $3,699 for the warranty, so the overall cost of the warranty claims nearly exceeded the value of the vehicle. It’s truly impressive that we got this far.

I think a big key is warrantying a car that is lowish in production numbers, or doesn't have a whole lot of backing data to dictate how much the warranty should cost up front. In these cases, I think underwriters default to average values, which can really backfire for them. Teslas might fit into that category, since their sales numbers were low up until the last couple of years, and the cars are still pretty new, and there may not be a lot of maintenance data available for underwriters to use.
 
Last edited:
Who cares what company is offering the warranty, as long as it covers issues you will encounter and the cost of said warranty is reasonable.

I care, because manufacturer warranties in general are exclusionary (everything but these things are covered), while third party ones tend to be inclusionary "only these things are covered" and for ME (ME, not you or anyone else), having a warranty on something, then having an issue with it, taking it where you are supposed to, only to be told "Oh THAT thing is not part of the covered items" makes me "red hot mad".

When you have a warranty from the manufacturer (dealer usually) you can usually use it at multiple dealerships, while third party warranties many times are "pay and get reimbursed". The manufacturer ones normally cost more for all that extra convenience, and IF i am going to have a warranty its something "I" want.

Feel free to make the correct decision for you.

I am well aware of doug demuro's land rover / range rover, and how that worked out for him, and I am also aware that, as a rule, these warranties are money makers for the people who sell them, otherwise they wouldnt be in business. Its a Bet... that you will incur more expenses than it cost you to purchase the warranty, and in "most" cases, people lose that bet. Its better in general to simply put the money you were going to spend on that warranty in a bank account and use it to fund expenses.

Unless you are buying a car with known thousands of dollars of poor repair history (like dougs land rover), in general its a losing bet.. but if you ARE going to bet, you have to make sure you know whats covered and what isnt.
 
New car warranty stays with the car until it expires whether the car is new with 1 original owner or used by multiple different owners.

If you buy a used Tesla that's still under 4 years and 50,000 miles the "new" car warranty is still in effect even though it's a used car.
Thank you for your help. I ended up buying the 2021 Model 3 after I read your response. Glad to see there are some helpful people in the world.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jjrandorin
You should check out Doug Demuro on youtube. He historically has bought 3rd party warranties on all of his cars, such as Landrovers and Aston Martins, and in his particular case, those warranties have yielded tens of thousands in savings via claims
I can attest to that.. I bought a 2500 USD warranty on my 2015 T&C.. Its taken 3 months with them but they are paying over 6500 in repairs on a car worth about 14K right now. Mine was zero deductible which I dont think you can buy anymore.. I got one on my A3 Audi but never used it.. however, since I traded it in at the 1/2 way point of the policy, I get a refund for about 1/2 ( low miles). It was worth that for the peace of mind with the turbo and the selectronic automatic.

However, each to his/her own.
 
Just wanted to add that Tesla extends the warranty by 1 year and (I believe) 10k miles on the CPO cars that they sell. Another good reason to buy direct from Tesla even if you're in the market for pre-owned. My experience has also been that they go over the car and recondition where needed to make it look brand new.