Extended Warranty Debate

[kev1n]

I'd like to bring up the topic of extended warranty cost, is it worth it?

my P85D 4year/50k mile warranty is up in December (3 months left)
will still have another 4year/unlimited miles on battery/drive unit
i drive about 10k miles a year

my background: DIY car enthusiast, i do pretty much anything and everything i can on my own cars. my car never sees the stealership unless it is something i cant do or cost prohibitive.

the cost to purchase the extended warranty has nearly doubled in the past few years
todays price, we are now looking at,
2 years/25k miles for $2600
4 years/50k miles for $4750
also there is a $200 deductible per visit which makes it even worse value

list of common replacement items ive seen so far/cost:
MCU ~$2700 installed from Tesla
MCU screen ~$1000 installed from Tesla
Chargeport/door ~800 installed from Tesla
4G LTE module ~500 installed from Tesla
TPMS system ~600 installed from Tesla
Door handles DIY solder or gear replacement $70

if others have had other part replacement out of pocket, please comment below with details/cost.

even if i were to have Tesla do the work, id have to break 2 MCU's within 4 years to make the warranty worth it which seems unlikely to happen.

I have thought about it in detail and I'm leaning towards not purchasing. I'd like to hear what others have to say who have similar background knowledge of cars and fellow DIY'ers

 

[Rockster]

Currently about 75k miles on our S.

I’ve had three door handles fail out of warranty. Tesla fixed the first one as a courtesy and I fixed the other two with the $149 rebuild kits from EV Tuning Solutions.

The MCU died out of warranty and Tesla fixed that as a courtesy. I don’t know how common it is that they do that, but I was grateful.

 

[David_Cary]

I know I am a little early but I have 66k miles on a Apr 15 build. Zero out of warranty repairs except for a 12V battery which is $200 so it doesn't really matter.

 

[glhs272]

I currently have 128K miles on my 2013 Model S and no the extended warranty would not have been worth it. However, if Tesla had not made the drive unit warranty the same as the battery warranty, then I would think different. I only had about $400 worth of repairs that would have been done during the extended warranty period. So a waste of money. Instead of getting the warranty, I just banked the money for any future repairs that may have come up. That doesn't expire. I have also started doing more work on my own car. I have done all the brakes and rotors, front wheel bearings, and a door handle myself. With some basic tools, those repairs were pretty easy. Soon to be trying to replace my HID bulbs before they fail. So if your at all handy, a lot of repairs could easily be done DIY. I don't have a vehicle lift, so doing drive units and batteries looks like more of a challenge. There are always a few lemon cars out there where they could really take advantage of the extended warranty. However, not that common it seems.

 

[kev1n]

Currently about 75k miles on our S.

I’ve had three door handles fail out of warranty. Tesla fixed the first one as a courtesy and I fixed the other two with the $149 rebuild kits from EV Tuning Solutions.

The MCU died out of warranty and Tesla fixed that as a courtesy. I don’t know how common it is that they do that, but I was grateful.

yeah it doesnt seem like much work in terms of the door handle fix

I currently have 128K miles on my 2013 Model S and no the extended warranty would not have been worth it. However, if Tesla had not made the drive unit warranty the same as the battery warranty, then I would think different. I only had about $400 worth of repairs that would have been done during the extended warranty period. So a waste of money. Instead of getting the warranty, I just banked the money for any future repairs that may have come up. That doesn't expire. I have also started doing more work on my own car. I have done all the brakes and rotors, front wheel bearings, and a door handle myself. With some basic tools, those repairs were pretty easy. Soon to be trying to replace my HID bulbs before they fail. So if your at all handy, a lot of repairs could easily be done DIY. I don't have a vehicle lift, so doing drive units and batteries looks like more of a challenge. There are always a few lemon cars out there where they could really take advantage of the extended warranty. However, not that common it seems.

what did the $400 involve? im not going to worry about the battery/drive unit yet since there is still another 4 years on those.

 

[glhs272]

yeah it doesnt seem like much work in terms of the door handle fix



what did the $400 involve? im not going to worry about the battery/drive unit yet since there is still another 4 years on those.

Replacing the GPS antenna. The GPS got erratic, then would fail to acquire satellites. Turned out to the gps antenna harness in the rear hatch. That required removal of the rear window and replacement of the rear stop light as well (glued to the window). All in it was around $420, which seemed fair for the amount of work it took.

 

[xyeahtony]

no it is not worth it
Is it worth buying an extended car warranty? - Consumer Reports

55 percent of owners who purchased an extended warranty hadn’t used it for repairs during the lifetime of the policy. And, on average, those who did use it spent hundreds more for the coverage than they saved in repair costs.

 

[sauce]

Take the money and go long TSLA. Only withdraw what you need to cover repair expenses. I bet you'll outlive your extended warranty.

 

[Tam]

...DIY...

I don't see why you need to pay for an extended warranty if you know how to fix your own car.

This man was so fed up trying to get his Tesla fixed that he ended up doing it himself

How often would your built-in charger fail? That's $2,800 for a new replacement




How often would your air conditioner fail? That's $4k to repair:

 

[kev1n]

I don't see why you need to pay for an extended warranty if you know how to fix your own car.

This man was so fed up trying to get his Tesla fixed that he ended up doing it himself

How often would your built-in charger fail? That's $2,800 for a new replacement

View attachment 330523


How often would your air conditioner fail? That's $4k to repair:

View attachment 330524

because im still looking at it at a cost perspective, some things may cost more to repair than the warranty is to purchase. im not worried about the small ticket items. those are some valid cost heavy items. i was aware of the $2800 master charger. the 4k ac is new to me. anyways thats why i made this post. to get more information and hope it helps others decide as well.

 

[Tam]

...more information...

This is my thinking: If I can self-insure, I wouldn't buy an insurance.

The most expensive watches I've ever bought in my life have cost me $15.00. I can self-insure for that amount of $15 so I never bought insurance for it: I know how to replace its wristband and its battery and even if it's dead, I can easily buy another one for $15.

Not so with my health. I've never gotten into any serious illness or surgery but I faithfully pay health insurance all my life. If I didn't pay it, I could have been very rich by now. I still do because if I get cancer or I'll be in an Intensive Care Unit, I could go bankrupt without insurance. I just can't self-insure for some illness that might cost hundreds of thousands of dollars or more!

Back to Tesla. It's pretty much a monopoly right now and Tesla charges very high for repairs. I don't know how to do car repairs on my own so for the peace of mind, predictable expenses of extended warranty and its co-pays, I am fine to pay in advance.

For my personal experience, I owned my 2012 Model up to this year for about 100,000 miles. It has been very reliable except for 2 post-warranty repairs which I think are quite common among other owners:

My 17" screen got bubbles and the whole MCU was replace which could have costed me about $4,000 when brought it in for my 75,000 mile scheduled maintenance. It did not cost me any additional cost, not even the $200 deductible. (Whole MCU actually required me to reprogram my settings such as HomeLink and its IP address was changed too but cheaper screen replacement only without whole MCU replacement would retain all my previous settings.)

Shortly before my scheduled 87,500 mile maintenance, my heater went cold which could have cost me $4,500 but I did not pay any additional expenses because I didn't bring it in right away (subject to $200 deductible) but I waited until the scheduled maintenance.

 

[Flyguy]

The other thing to factor in, if you plan on keeping for more than four years, is the resale value. When I was looking at used Teslas I would not look at anything didn’t come under warranty, either original warranty or extended. I wound up buying a new tesla One year ago. I also bought an extended warranty. I’m still torn, I may wind up cashing it back in...

 

[bishoppeak]

When you buy an extended warranty, you are betting that repairs will cost more than you paid and Tesla is betting the other way. Who do you think is better at measuring the risk accurately?

 

[Tam]

...risk...

It's the same idea that my home has never caught fire for all these decades but I still insure it. I know clearly statistically, the house always wins so why don't I stop paying the premium?

If I can replace my home on my own when it's burned down completely, then, of course, I don't need insurance.

As I learned from my past 2012 Model S, it's very reliable that only had 2 problems in its 100,000 miles but since Tesla repairs still cost an arm and a leg, I have no problem in paying the cost in advance even though I know that statistically, the chance to recoup the cost is minimal.

 

[bishoppeak]

Most of us can't afford to replace a home out of pocket. I'd bet any Model S owner can afford to pay for repairs.

 

[Tam]

Most of us can't afford to replace a home out of pocket. I'd bet any Model S owner can afford to pay for repairs.

I agree that if an owner is able to pay for repairs then there's no need to waste money to pay in advance an extended warranty.

 

[boonedocks]

It's the same idea that my home has never caught fire for all these decades but I still insure it. I know clearly statistically, the house always wins so why don't I stop paying the premium?

If I can replace my home on my own when it's burned down completely, then, of course, I don't need insurance.

As I learned from my past 2012 Model S, it's very reliable that only had 2 problems in its 100,000 miles but since Tesla repairs still cost an arm and a leg, I have no problem in paying the cost in advance even though I know that statistically, the chance to recoup the cost is minimal.

t least it was just an arm and a leg and not a “tow”

I did purchase the extended warranty as well. Just turned 50k miles this week on my 2017 S100D.

 

[BigTonyTones]

I have bought a few extended warranties in my life and they have all paid off. Cars, fridges, laptops.
My first car (kept for 8 years) had so many issues after factory warranty. Had over 10k in problems. Extended paid off
Macbook broke with $500 of damage, extended paid off
Fridge broke a few months after factory warranty ended, extended paid off.

I will be buying one for my Tesla. These cars just have so many issues. One little thing breaks and it will cost far too much to fix. The fact we cant get parts properly makes it worst. My MCU screen was just replaced under warranty due to a yellow border around the screen forming. I noticed brand new cars also had it forming. I suspect this will happen again to me after warranty is over. Its not something I want to pay for

 

[Modeler]

For me it’s more about a peace of mind. Sure, I can afford a $3k or $4k repair, but I prefer to know that my liability is limited to the $2k warranty premium (plus possible deductible) over years 5 and 6 of the car life. If I didn’t have this assurance, I would probably sell the car, but I know that I would pay way more in sales tax plus the annual property tax (Virginia), let alone the depreciation. So the extended warranty is what’s keeping me from buying a new car and spending $20,000 over the same 2-year period. $2k vs. $20k is pretty simple math.

 

[FlatSix911]

One MCU screen replacement will cover the warranty cost...