Help me buy my first Telsa!

[schnieds]

Hey there Tesla community.

I have been researching Teslas, test driving, etc. for the past month and I think I have a path forward and wanted to get some opinions from veteran Telsa owners.

I want to get a Model S. The Model 3 is nice, but I prefer the size, trim and overall design of the MS.

I think I want to get a used MS. I looked into new purchase, new inventory with a few miles and discount, lease, lease takeover and CPO/used. I ended up favoring the CPO/used route because I don't want to deal with a depreciation cliff of buying new, especially with an MS redesign coming out in the next couple of years.

I specifically want something late 2016 with AP2 or newer. Given Telsa's AP HW3 plans and the option to upgrade or replace the onboard computer to add FSD on all Teslas with AP2 or AP2.5 I definitely do not want to get a vehicle with AP1 hardware.

So summary of target Tesla:
- Model S
- Late 2016 with AP 2 or newer
- CPO / private party / used

I found the following P90D at a dealer (non-CPO) that seems pretty good to me.
- $83k ($143k original MSRP)
- 2016 MS P90D
- ~20k miles
- No accidents, condition looks great
- All the options: EAP, FSD, sub-zero, premium interior, ultra sound, air suspension, 21 inch wheels, glass roof,

I would love thoughts, opinions and wisdom on my plans, the deals I identified, etc.

Thanks!

 

[AMPd]

Are you aware of the 90kWh battery degradation issues?
If I were in your place I’d rather get a used 100D. I own a P90D and not being able to charge faster than 90kW at a supercharger is annoying.
I see a few 100D’s on autotrader priced in the low to mid 80s
You’ll get more range and a better battery

 

[commasign]

Agree with AMPd. But besides that, I think you’re looking at the right build date and feature set. Free unlimited transferable supercharging, free lifetime premium data, LTE, premium center console, FSD capable, etc.

 

[BerTX]

Just a few things to be aware of:

+ free unlimited Supercharging is transferable to new owners for cars delivered before Mid-January, 2017. Might be important to you, might not.

+ Tesla extended warranty is available ONLY for vehicles purchased from Tesla or private sellers. They will not sell you the extended warranty if you buy from a dealer.

+ early 90 kWh batteries do have some issues. I am not that familiar with the issues. I thought the AP2 cars had the issues resolved, but maybe not. I think 100D cars were not produced until 2017 (but I may be confusing it with the MX), and none come with free unlimited Supercharging. There are P100D's that were produced in 2016 and do.

 

[roblab]

Just a comment I've made before, on looking at used Teslas.

Mileage should not be a factor.

Most of us have bought several used cars, but there has never been a way to estimate the wear and tear of a fossil fuel burning engine, so we came up with the idea that mileage would help, and it does. There are nearly a thousand moving parts in a gas engine, and those parts tend to wear down until 200,000 miles or so and the engine or transmission need to be replaced. $$$, on TOP of all those oil and filter changes.

This is not true of an EV like Tesla which has maybe a dozen moving parts in its drive unit.

The one big bucks item in a Tesla is the battery. Tesla warranties the battery for "a million miles", but then says the warranty is TIME based. Eight years. Part of that warranty talks about "normal" battery degradation, rapid the first year, then tapering slowly.

A three year old Tesla with 20,000 miles is pretty much equal with a three year old Tesla with 80,000 miles, or even 100+K miles. The engine does not "wear out" like a gas car. My car has near 80,000 miles on it (not for sale) but it looks and drives like new, doesn't burn oil, brakes are good, just replaced the windshield wipers. And the battery is three years old.

Tesla gives a 50,000 mile warranty to allow time to fix problems with fit and finish and failures, like door handles not working or the frunk leaks. By 50K miles those problems should be worked out.

Tesla has only been making the Model S for a little over six years. I suspect that in six more years we'll know the battery will last more than eight years, and a Model S will still have a lot of miles left in it when the odometer reads 200,000 miles, but no one will know how many.

 

[brkaus]

S100D came out in March 2017. That is when the EPA hold was released. S P100D were available earlier.

 

[Jkhood]

From what I've gathered from this forum, the v3 battery came out in 4th quarter of 2016. That was the one that is the least problematic. So far...

 

[brkaus]

@schnieds suggest checking with your insurance on rate comparison between P and non-P models. The difference was significant for me.

 

[schnieds]

I wasn't aware of the 90kWh battery degradation issues. Thank you. I will research that. Sounds like it may have been addressed in any MS that have AP2 (Oct 2016 or later) though? - thanks @Jkhood

 

[schnieds]

@schnieds suggest checking with your insurance on rate comparison between P and non-P models. The difference was significant for me.

Thanks @brkaus - you remember ballpark difference in the rates?

 

[schnieds]

Great info. That makes sense and I guess I should change the way I am looking at "miles" on a car. Maybe the only thing to note is lower miles may equal less wear and tear overall?

Just a comment I've made before, on looking at used Teslas.

Mileage should not be a factor.

Most of us have bought several used cars, but there has never been a way to estimate the wear and tear of a fossil fuel burning engine, so we came up with the idea that mileage would help, and it does. There are nearly a thousand moving parts in a gas engine, and those parts tend to wear down until 200,000 miles or so and the engine or transmission need to be replaced. $$$, on TOP of all those oil and filter changes.

This is not true of an EV like Tesla which has maybe a dozen moving parts in its drive unit.

The one big bucks item in a Tesla is the battery. Tesla warranties the battery for "a million miles", but then says the warranty is TIME based. Eight years. Part of that warranty talks about "normal" battery degradation, rapid the first year, then tapering slowly.

A three year old Tesla with 20,000 miles is pretty much equal with a three year old Tesla with 80,000 miles, or even 100+K miles. The engine does not "wear out" like a gas car. My car has near 80,000 miles on it (not for sale) but it looks and drives like new, doesn't burn oil, brakes are good, just replaced the windshield wipers. And the battery is three years old.

Tesla gives a 50,000 mile warranty to allow time to fix problems with fit and finish and failures, like door handles not working or the frunk leaks. By 50K miles those problems should be worked out.

Tesla has only been making the Model S for a little over six years. I suspect that in six more years we'll know the battery will last more than eight years, and a Model S will still have a lot of miles left in it when the odometer reads 200,000 miles, but no one will know how many.

 

[schnieds]

So I just found this blog from electrek.co talking about real word acceleration of 3.6 seconds on a 100D Tesla unlocks even more power in Model S 100D, 0-60 mph now down to 3.6 seconds

With additional insurance costs and a higher price tag maybe it makes more sense to target a 2017 100D instead of a P series. A second of additional acceleration probably doesn't do much for me in the real world since I don't drag race. Thoughts?

 

[brkaus]

Thanks @brkaus - you remember ballpark difference in the rates?

It was practically double. But insurance varies on region, driver, history, etc.

I pulled two VIN numbers off the CPO site and chatted with my agent. A P model was a long shot for me, but that sealed it.

 

[brkaus]

So I just found this blog from electrek.co talking about real word acceleration of 3.6 seconds on a 100D Tesla unlocks even more power in Model S 100D, 0-60 mph now down to 3.6 seconds

All S100D are not that fast. Mine falls in that category (very early in production run). No idea what changed, but repeated escalation resulted in no additional performance. I’m still happy with current performance of course. But. It would be nice

 

[Alset4S]

I bought 2016 AP2 model S and love it. It's an uncorked 75D. Can't imagine why anyone would need more exceleration. Back in the day I thought my 69 olds 442 was bad. The S showed me it wasn't.

 

[f205v]

With additional insurance costs and a higher price tag maybe it makes more sense to target a 2017 100D instead of a P series. A second of additional acceleration probably doesn't do much for me in the real world since I don't drag race. Thoughts?

I have a 2017 100D and for any normal driving the acceleration you get is out-of-this world and totally not needed in any real situation.
And you have a better range compared to a P.

 

[pedriscoll]

I would agree with looking at a 100D. I traded in my 85D for a 100D a few months ago. Unless you just must have that extra acceleration that the P version provides, save your money. The 100D can snap your neck back on a launch nearly as much as the P100D.