Early 2014 Model S Buyers Guide

[jon8oy86]

Hi all,

I'm swinging again from getting a new M3 to going for a used S. I was wondering though, there are some quite well-priced S 85 models out there currently but I know that generation was pre-AP. What I don't know is what it does have - is it just traditional cruise control, or adaptive? Is there lane keep assist? Not a deal breaker for me, but struggling to find anywhere online that makes this clear so any early 2014 S owners out there please let me know!

In addition, any buying or ownership experiences you feel it would be useful to share with someone looking to buy a used S from 2014, please do share them on this thread!

 

[vitesse]

I'm not absolutely sure but did we get cars without the AP hardware here in the UK? I had assumed they all had the 1st-gen hardware but not everyone opted to pay for the Autopilot software.

 

[arg]

is it just traditional cruise control,

It's just plain ordinary cruise control.

And yes, there were pre-autopilot cars delivered in the UK - deliveries started in June 2014, and just about everybody who had pre-ordered months or years in advance had just received their cars at the point of the Autopilot/dual-motor announcement in September 2014.

So you will find an uneven distribution of car ages: there are quite a few cars dating from summer 2014, then very few delivered during the following 6 months as most people postponed their orders pending the availability of Autopilot and dual-motor. So if you see a P85 advertised of that sort of vintage then it's almost certainly pre-autopilot, while a P85D will have autopilot V1.

A minor advantage of the early cars is that they were all built with 22kW AC charging capability. The difference between 11kW and 22kW was an extra-cost option, but most of the advance-orderers paid for it (at the time, there was only 1 supercharger in the UK and no CHAdeMO adapter, so the ability to charge at 22kW from Ecotricity units at motorway service areas seemed like worth spending £1k on). Various technical issues meant that Tesla delivered all UK cars with the 22kW hardware and just did a software lock to 11kW for those people who hadn't paid the extra; I would expect that any cars which subsequently got part-exchanged through Tesla will have had the software lock taken off, though I'm not sure.

There was also a thing called the "tech pack" which was the usual sort of con to make the list price look lower by putting various essential items into an extra-cost option pack - this included navigation, so almost everybody ordered it; you might possibly find an early car without tech pack that you would want to avoid.

For cars at otherwise comparable prices, note that the late '85 batteries (ie. all UK ones) had good reputations for keeping their capacity with age, while the early '90 batteries weren't so good - not actually bad, just not worth paying much more for a 90 vs an 85 as the range is likely to be not much different.

 

[vitesse]

Every day is a school day

 

[xdcthedoc]

It's just plain ordinary cruise control.

And yes, there were pre-autopilot cars delivered in the UK - deliveries started in June 2014, and just about everybody who had pre-ordered months or years in advance had just received their cars at the point of the Autopilot/dual-motor announcement in September 2014.

So you will find an uneven distribution of car ages: there are quite a few cars dating from summer 2014, then very few delivered during the following 6 months as most people postponed their orders pending the availability of Autopilot and dual-motor. So if you see a P85 advertised of that sort of vintage then it's almost certainly pre-autopilot, while a P85D will have autopilot V1.

A minor advantage of the early cars is that they were all built with 22kW AC charging capability. The difference between 11kW and 22kW was an extra-cost option, but most of the advance-orderers paid for it (at the time, there was only 1 supercharger in the UK and no CHAdeMO adapter, so the ability to charge at 22kW from Ecotricity units at motorway service areas seemed like worth spending £1k on). Various technical issues meant that Tesla delivered all UK cars with the 22kW hardware and just did a software lock to 11kW for those people who hadn't paid the extra; I would expect that any cars which subsequently got part-exchanged through Tesla will have had the software lock taken off, though I'm not sure.

There was also a thing called the "tech pack" which was the usual sort of con to make the list price look lower by putting various essential items into an extra-cost option pack - this included navigation, so almost everybody ordered it; you might possibly find an early car without tech pack that you would want to avoid.

For cars at otherwise comparable prices, note that the late '85 batteries (ie. all UK ones) had good reputations for keeping their capacity with age, while the early '90 batteries weren't so good - not actually bad, just not worth paying much more for a 90 vs an 85 as the range is likely to be not much different.

Wow - that is so useful as a summary. Good job!

It worries me a bit about the 2nd hand market for Teslas... as they haven't clearly delineated different model subtypes in the range and so many iterative changes have happened over the years.

It could put people off buying an older car as they won't really know for sure what to look for / what they are getting.

 

[vitesse]

Wow - that is so useful as a summary. Good job!

It worries me a bit about the 2nd hand market for Teslas... as they haven't clearly delineated different model subtypes in the range and so many iterative changes have happened over the years.

It could put people off buying an older car as they won't really know for sure what to look for / what they are getting.

Well, maybe. I personally avoided any used cars that didn't have Autopilot enabled. But I guess there might be some not so technically obsessed! Caveat Emptor

 

[xdcthedoc]

Well, maybe. I personally avoided any used cars that didn't have Autopilot enabled. But I guess there might be some not so technically obsessed! Caveat Emptor

Well yeah - but to get the information you had to post on a forum that will be obscure to many non tesla owners... and hope someone knowledgeable (who doesn't make a mistake in their answer) pipes up.

Bit flaky really... wouldn't it be better to have the info transparently available from Tesla themselves in some way?

 

[gangzoom]

Hi all,

I'm swinging again from getting a new M3 to going for a used S. I was wondering though, there are some quite well-priced S 85 models out there currently but I know that generation was pre-AP.

Post AP cars are better built, they have a square radar sensor under the nose cone so easy to spot on photos.

Purely from the depreciation point of view Model Ss seem to be hovering around the £30k mark as the low price point for the last 12 months, and I cannot see that changing, not when MG wants £25k for a smaller, slower, less range EV which doesn't even have timed charging support let alone the tech on a Model S.

When used Model 3s appear on the market thay may change, but again all the brand new EVs are in the £20-30k+ bracket so comparatively you are still getting ALOT of car in a £30k used Model S compared to a brand new £30k EV from another brand.

Providing you don't end up needing to pay £2k to replace the MCU, a £30k Model S may be the slowest depreciating EV for the next 12-18 month quite easily.

 

[vitesse]

Post AP cars are better built, they have a square radar sensor under the nose cone so easy to spot on photos.

Purely from the depreciation point of view Model Ss seem to be hovering around the £30k mark as the low price point for the last 12 months, and I cannot see that changing, not when MG wants £25k for a smaller, slower, less range EV which doesn't even have timed charging support let alone the tech on a Model S.

When used Model 3s appear on the market thay may change, but again all the brand new EVs are in the £20-30k+ bracket so comparatively you are still getting ALOT of car in a £30k used Model S compared to a brand new £30k EV from another brand.

Providing you don't end up needing to pay £2k to replace the MCU, a £30k Model S may be the slowest depreciating EV for the next 12-18 month quite easily.

I'm certainly hoping that! The MCU is my biggest concern. We have another 41 months and/or 43K miles of warranty with our CPO. I hope we will be in a position to upgrade to either a Model Y or used inventory Raven MS before that runs out and still see a reasonable residual value on the 70D we have at present. The next one we'd look to keep for a substantial period.

 

[gangzoom]

Personally unless needed I would hold on your pre facelift S. These cars WILL become future classics.

The more Tesla push Model 3 sales and keep S/X prices high, the better residuals will be on these cars, if you look at figures Tesla is now just a 3 product line, like how Apple transitioned to phones/laptops away from the G3/G3/G5 desktops. Pretty soon the 3 will be like the BMW 3 series, parked around every corner, great for Tesla, but it'll be about as exciting as seeing BMW 3 series today.

The preface lift Model S however is the car that made Tesla. Amazing to think a decade ago Tesla first showed it off in the back of a garage stuffed full of half gutted Lotus Elises.

You are literaly driving a bit of motoring history, how many people can say that?? Its easy to forget just how symbolic the S is with the constant need to upgrade everything in our lives that society demands.

The more I look at the uninspiring EVs been announced by various manufactures the more am amazed how ahead of the times the S was. Even today its the only EV that can DC rapid charge on CHADEMO, CCS, rapid AC at 22kw and Tesla SC, thats for a car that was conceived in 2009 which offers more charging options than a £150k+ Porsche Taycan!!

Am in 2 minds about if we should just go for it and get a prefacelift P85D S as our combustion car replacement.

Also note how unchanged the S was at the demo stage to production, all those people who think the Cybertruck is a not real are going to be in for one massive shock the first time they see one charging towards them on a B road

 

[vitesse]

Personally unless needed I would hold on your pre facelift S. These cars WILL become future classics.

The more Tesla push Model 3 sales and keep S/X prices high, the better residuals will be on these cars, if you look at figures Tesla is now just a 3 product line, like how Apple transitioned to phones/laptops away from the G3/G3/G5 desktops. Pretty soon the 3 will be like the BMW 3 series, parked around every corner, great for Tesla, but it'll be about as exciting as seeing BMW 3 series today.

The preface lift Model S however is the car that made Tesla. Amazing to think a decade ago Tesla first showed it off in the back of a garage stuffed full of half gutted Lotus Elises.

You are literaly driving a bit of motoring history, how many people can say that?? Its easy to forget just how symbolic the S is with the constant need to upgrade everything in our lives that society demands.

The more I look at the uninspiring EVs been announced by various manufactures the more am amazed how ahead of the times the S was. Even today its the only EV that can DC rapid charge on CHADEMO, CCS, rapid AC at 22kw and Tesla SC, thats for a car that was conceived in 2009 which offers more charging options than a £150k+ Porsche Taycan!!

Am in 2 minds about if we should just go for it and get a prefacelift P85D S as our combustion car replacement.

Also note how unchanged the S was at the demo stage to production, all those people who think the Cybertruck is a not real are going to be in for one massive shock the first time they see one charging towards them on a B road

Cool video

Lots of detail changes of course. I'm not awash with spare cash though, sadly, so nurturing a future classic - unless a financial windfall intervenes - may have to be the joy of someone else.

 

[12Pack]

I miss my 2014 S 85, one of the first with AP1. Roomy frunk, solid autopilot, auto wipers, speed sign recognition, free supercharging, pano (opening) roof.

Yes, my current MS is more powerful (P100D), newer MCU - Netflix, Sentry mode etc. but AP2 is just so flaky that I can never trust it - and I have to clean the cameras continuously. And I'm never sure if the speed limit is correct.

As recognized by the large US auto publications, the original MS is the car that changed / is changing the world.

 

[vitesse]

I miss my 2014 S 85, one of the first with AP1. Roomy frunk, solid autopilot, auto wipers, speed sign recognition, free supercharging, pano (opening) roof.

Yes, my current MS is more powerful (P100D), newer MCU - Netflix, Sentry mode etc. but AP2 is just so flaky that I can never trust it - and I have to clean the cameras continuously. And I'm never sure if the speed limit is correct.

As recognized by the large US auto publications, the original MS is the car that changed / is changing the world.

Is yours a Raven?

I'm banking on AP2 (3?) being sorted in a couple of years.

 

[12Pack]

Is yours a Raven?

I'm banking on AP2 (3?) being sorted in a couple of years.

No and I hope so.

 

[12Pack]

As recognized by the large US auto publications, the original MS is the car that changed / is changing the world.

See what I mean. An new American list, and I have newer versions but nice to see both my MS and Mac on this list
9 Most Important Cars of the 2010s