End of Warranty Inspection

[Hairyman]

My car will be 4 in September and the warranty will be ending.

I spoke about an end of warranty inspection with the Alexandria Service Centre in Sydney, but they seemed not to be offering such a service - I can see why it might not be in their interest.

Can anyone recommend someone who has the knowledge and experience to do an end of warranty inspection on an M3P?

I’m in Newcastle, so Newcastle - Sydney area is OK.

 

[BCTS]

I'm going to be in a similar situation in Melbourne shortly with my Model S P90DL in terms of Drive Unit / Battery (2015).
Would love someone to be able to inspect the Drive Unit Coolant etc for Leaks etc before Warranty ends.

 

[paulp]

My car will be 4 in September and the warranty will be ending.

I spoke about an end of warranty inspection with the Alexandria Service Centre in Sydney, but they seemed not to be offering such a service - I can see why it might not be in their interest.

Can anyone recommend someone who has the knowledge and experience to do an end of warranty inspection on an M3P?

I’m in Newcastle, so Newcastle - Sydney area is OK.

You can check your 12v battery by parking your car for 24 hours. If the battery is not holding charge then you will see significant range loss.

 

[Hairyman]

You can check your 12v battery by parking your car for 24 hours. If the battery is not holding charge then you will see significant range loss.

Thanks, I’ll give that a go.

 

[louco73]

Definitely a business opportunity for an independent company to offer such a service. My M3P will be 4 years old in December and I was thinking about finding someone to do this too. Worst case, is anyone aware of an online resource of the common problems to look out for that I could give to a mechanic to inspect? A quick google showed mostly generic issues rather than mechanical ones.

 

[Vostok]

I’ve taken my car in only once for a general check-up and fluid checks (with a couple of minor items to fix under warranty) just before it turned 2. I will do the same thing just before it turns 4 towards the end of this year, just in case they find something that should be fixed under warranty. And maybe deal with the reversing camera cable harness, if they have the required part.

If you tell them you are bringing your car in to do the 2-yearly check on brake fluid (which is recommended) and perhaps rotate the tyres and balance the wheels, they can’t tell you not to. And then when you turn up, ask them to also give the car a general check up.

 

[evbee]

Definitely a business opportunity for an independent company to offer such a service. My M3P will be 4 years old in December and I was thinking about finding someone to do this too. Worst case, is anyone aware of an online resource of the common problems to look out for that I could give to a mechanic to inspect? A quick google showed mostly generic issues rather than mechanical ones.

Doesn't the NRMA offer a warranty inspection above? And pretty sure there are businesses offering this as well. Just need to get someone who has the experience with EV's.

 

[rx80]

Actually I just remember when I visited Gerry from Sydney Hybrid | Sydney Hybrid & Electric Cars | Australia he said he can do a general service check ie: check the battery coolant level etc. Might worth giving him a call.

 

[mrpseudonym]

@Hairyman have you considered buying the extended warranty?

 

[moa999]

@Hairyman have you considered buying the extended warranty?

Don't believe it's available in Aus.

 

[Hairyman]

@Hairyman have you considered buying the extended warranty?

As @moa999 says I can’t get it here yet. If it does become available I probably will - I expect to replace the car within 6 years of buying it

 

[Onshore]

NRMA used to do end of warranty inspections. I think it’s now outsourced to Redbook

 

[mrpseudonym]

Don't believe it's available in Aus.

yes it is or at least it was. I purchased it in feb 2021. allianz was the underwriter. 4 years $7k. I went through the same scenario as you @Hairyman, couldn‘t get Tesla to do a proper end of warranty inspection so just ended up going with the extended warranty (was actually recommended by a Tesla tech). A month later had to have a part replaced that cost more than the 7k, Tesla got it sorted at no cost and no paperwork to me. I also figured if I sold the car I’d get the warranty cost back in the resale value.

 

[Hairyman]

Thanks @mrpseudonym I’ll give Tesla a call.

 

[louco73]

Reviving this thread to see how everyone is managing this situation?

I've been noting a few things that I need to do:

Thinking about replacing 12V battery, as most people say they last about 4 years.
The plastic covering on boot lid is loose. I noticed this when trying to get my youngest daughter (shorty) to see if she could reach the grips to close the boot.
Left side rubber on small window is not flush (this happened after the fixed the rear camera harness)
Check on tyre prices, as mine probably have < 5,000 km left on them
New wipers (still original and probably should have changed them earlier)
Noise when opening driver's window, like a click
One of the wheel arch covers looks loose

I guess I can ask Tesla to do a full inspection, but I'd prefer to receive an independent report before I get the above sorted. Any input welcome.

 

[Zoltrix77]

If only Tesla offered A, a 5 year unlimited warranty (like every other manufacturer in this country), and B) a reasonable priced warranty extension,

 

[Vostok]

Reviving this thread to see how everyone is managing this situation?

My warranty runs out next month but I took in my car in June since I was getting the knocking noise under the bonnet doing hard turns. So I asked them to do the general inspection a bit earlier than planned.

The knocking noise was due to the well-known fault with the upper control arms. They were replaced under warranty. They also replaced the rear camera harness under warranty.

The “General Inspection” cost $175. They checked the brake fluids, replaced AC filter, replaced wiper blades, rotated the tyres and rebalanced and aligned the wheels. Note labour and material costs for these are in addition to the $175 inspection fee (presumably they looked at other stuff but if they didn’t do anything it’s not listed in the invoice).

Total cost was $848 inc GST. The most expensive bit was doing the tyre stuff - $440. Probably a lot cheaper to take it to Jax for that.

I suggest you add the list of things you want them to check into the App when you make the service booking. They will decide which bits fall under warranty and which don’t.

 

[louco73]

I've decided to book a 3rd-party check on December 4 (warranty up on the 12th). They company said they do pre-purchase inspections for people looking to buy a car and they had bothered to put some Tesla maintenance information on their website, plus their reviews are positive.

I'll update the thread after the inspection, and I'll name the company if it's a positive experience.

I'll book in a General Inspection with the maintenance issues I need for that same week.

 

[RCAF 73]

I just had my 2020 M3 DM end of warranty inspection done in Ottawa. The car has only 27.8K on the clock. What is interesting is that I had not noticed any issues and it appears that both rear upper suspension links and the left front upper control arms were replaced under warranty. One never gets to speak to anyone about these issues but maybe these are inherently bad designs and or material choices in this model year and others should have them looked at before entering the no warranty period. Everything else was good to go. The inspection cost $220 Can so well worth it in my case.

 

[louco73]

I took my car in for the inspection today and the team at Gold Coast Car Electrics & Mechanical did exactly what I needed for $88.00. The mechanic called me in to the workshop to take a look at the suspension, enabling me to take some photos. He said the rear suspension was OK, but the front control arms, especially on the left side, need to be addressed. I've booked a service appointment with Tesla for Friday, the 8th.