Hidden costs behind the Model S ?

[DiamondDave]

I'm a relatively new owner, two months, but my take:

Even if the 12V battery has to be replaced, isn't it covered by the warranty?

In addition to the car, setting up a charging solution would be a one-time expense. If you own the business and will be in the same location for some time, perhaps that can be a business expense.

Annual service is $600 here in the US. That should be the only maintenance expense under warranty.

I agree about the tires. The Owner Advisor I was working with also quoted me the 6k replacement statistic, not sure where he got it. I asked some other owners here and they generally got better tire life but still not great. I hit a pothole that I did not even see within the first couple of weeks and blew out the right front tire. Road service was awesome, they brought me out a spare and I was on my way again. The tire could not be fixed and I was out $350 for a new tire. (Tesla quoted me over $500.) Then I noticed a bubble in the right rear tire, probably from the same pothole. another $350 + $100 for Tesla to install both tires. When I need new tires I'll definitely look into just buying 19" wheels and tires. That said, I think my wheels look sharp!

I drove around Switzerland once back in the 90s, from Innsbruck to Zurich and then up to Frankfurt if I remember correctly. Beautiful country!!

 

[lklundin]

And what do the insurances think about that ? Will this be a problem if I'm "well" assured ?

You enter into a contract with an insurance company exactly to protect yourself from the risk of suddenly having to pay for an expensive repair. The insurance company has mathematicians that look at risk and try to find the optimum (for them) premium to charge you for that protection, which is detailed when you buy the insurance. So as part of your preparation for buying a new (expensive) car, you should shop around for the best insurance conditions - including what the premium will be, if you have the insurance pay for a significant repair.

Btw, I once had a small(*) accident with my Audi A8, out of the 22k€ bill to the insurance I believe two (aluminium) doors accounted for 7k€ each.

So instead of saying that Tesla spare parts are expensive, it is quite possible that you can say that aluminium spare parts are expensive.

In addition to the parts, any body work involving aluminium is more expensive than it would be with steel.
For example, (on another occasion) someone backed the same car into a wall damaging a rear fender, the body work cost 7k€ (paid by that other persons insurance). :-(

So if you expect to cause just a single significant repair to your Model S, you should shop around for a good insurance.

(*) "small accident" defined as one without any air-bags going off - and the car can continue to drive slowly under its own power.

 

[jzhan]

Insurance is definitely more expensive compared to some other luxury sedans in the same price range.
My diesel S350's insurance used to be only $1600 a year. For the same coverage and no ticket or incident, My 90D currently costs $2700 to insure. Geico, Mercury and AAA all gave me the same quote around $2700. I have no ticket and no accident in the past 10 years, so my driving record is squeaky clean.
$1000 a year is not huge in the grand scheme, but it is definitely there.
YMMV.

 

[iffatall]

I'm not trying to provoke an argument but these costs are hardly unique to owning a tesla, all states have auto registration fees, some more onerous than others, and almost all states require some sort of proof of liability insurance, again costs vary by location.

I understand these costs may not be "hidden" for everyone, which is why I specifically said - "To me"... Both insurance and registration expenses were more than what I expected. Also, those are my biggest recurring expenses for the car - by far. It may be the same for other cars, but I have never owned another car, so I don't know.

 

[WileyTheMan]

You guys are scaring me, is your problem the potholes only ?? Because around here in Swizerland there's no potholes at all...

FYI: Here in the US, our road infrastructure is so large and underfunded that its common to be running on roads that are substandard, especially high-traffic areas. So potholes and uneven roadways are a common hazard.

But generally speaking, 21" tires just have an overall higher cost of ownership due to greater wear and susceptibility to poor road conditions.

 

[brkaus]

I personally wouldn't worry about wrap or fancy coatings fur a leased auto.

I also acknowledge that many would.

 

[Swissmoneychf]

I already asked my current insurance (I have everything in there, my actual car, insurances for my employes etc.) and the cost for the exact same coverage is a little bit cheaper as my current car. I don't even know if it's possible but I'll ask if I can pay a bit more to insure the rims, sounds great if I can.

Either I think I found the solution, I like the 21" rims too much, the black Model S with the dark grey rims looks awesome so I'll take em, and take the 19" winter set. If anything happens instead of repairing or buying new 21 rims I'll just swap and as someone said, paint the grey in dark grey. By the way what is the cost of such a thing ?

 

[hybridbear]

I'm not trying to provoke an argument but these costs are hardly unique to owning a tesla, all states have auto registration fees, some more onerous than others, and almost all states require some sort of proof of liability insurance, again costs vary by location.

It's true that you have to pay these costs for all cars, but the Tesla costs much more for them in many areas. MN registration cost is based on vehicle MSRP. The Tesla will cost about $800 per year for registration, compared to less than $400 per year for my Focus Electric. Insurance is also nearly double what the Focus cost, and the Focus was already way more expensive than previous newer cars I had driven (a Prius & a Fusion Hybrid).

 

[kort677]

It's true that you have to pay these costs for all cars, but the Tesla costs much more for them in many areas. MN registration cost is based on vehicle MSRP. The Tesla will cost about $800 per year for registration, compared to less than $400 per year for my Focus Electric. Insurance is also nearly double what the Focus cost, and the Focus was already way more expensive than previous newer cars I had driven (a Prius & a Fusion Hybrid).

really? a tesla versus a focus?
that's apples and oranges!
try using a comparison between like valued cars like a higher end MB or BMW.
I'm not trying to put you down but it appears that your tesla might be the first high end car that you've owned. FWIW, here in FLA, my tesla cost me no more than it cost to insure my SL 550 or Bmw x6.

 

[DMC-Orangeville]

I've owned an 85D for 16 months, 41,000 KM. No issues with the 12V battery. I have 21" rims and I love the look. They still have about 50% tread after about 25,000 KM. You may need (as I do) winter tires, as the Continental 21" summer tires are useless below 5 degrees C. I bought some 19" rims and winter rubber. Nokia's the best for that.

 

[Eclectic]

We have had two Teslas (P85, now a P85D) and have had a grand total of zero costs after the initial purchase, other than car washes & electricity (and the $500 or so to get a NEMA 14-50 put in). I don't remember off the top of my head how many miles we had on the P85 when we upgraded, I think it was around 30k, and we now have 26k on the P85D. We did buy the service package up front and take it in for the scheduled work, but this is probably the least-hidden-cost vehicle we've ever owned.

 

[hybridbear]

really? a tesla versus a focus?
that's apples and oranges!
try using a comparison between like valued cars like a higher end MB or BMW.
I'm not trying to put you down but it appears that your tesla might be the first high end car that you've owned. FWIW, here in FLA, my tesla cost me no more than it cost to insure my SL 550 or Bmw x6.

But, many Tesla buyers have never owned a high end car before. So, the comparison is relevant.

 

[CHG-ON]

I, like many others here, have 21's and say get the 19's. I was in love and way too excited when I ordered the car. I just had to have them. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love them. They look outstanding. But they are such a pain.

1. I get 9,000 mi from the rears. So that's better than 9K km. I am now at 15K mi on the fronts and they still look pretty good. I will most likely need new ones before our rainy season (Nov-Apr), maybe another 3K mi, max.
2. I got curb rash pretty early on. So I got AlloyGators to protect the rims. They have been a problem for me. So I took them off (they are very difficult to install and remove) and put on another brand, which flew off at only 35MPH. Their adhesive failed, not the installation. So I am done with that solution. I'm not sure what I do now, aside from worry!
3. I avoid potholes like the plague! Fortunately, I live in rural/suburban California and our roads have few potholes. But they are rough and the 21's are quite loud. I have been lucky. Knock wood.

Plus, you are in the snow. Get the 19's.

My battery lasted 16 months and the warning came on. It was replaced for free and it caused me no inconvenience. They did it in about 30 minutes.

Otherwise, the car has been hassle and cost free, aside from electrons. I am on an EV rate. It costs me approx 4.40USD to charge to 235mi. My commute is only 24mi per day. So my daily cost is not even noticeable. On top of that, due to the EV rate, when I switched over, my monthly bill dropped 100USD, even with charging the car for a 120mi commute for a job that I have since left. So I pay less for my electricity now than before and do not buy petrol. Pretty cool!

Regarding large repairs after warranty. You may want to consider not keeping past the warranty, extended or not.

Good luck!

PS: your ingles is great!

 

[xav-]

My big regret was getting the 21" wheels. Unless you NEVER hit a pothole save yourself the USD $5k and the extra tire costs and get the 19" wheels. If you don't like the look then buy 20" aftermarket.

I spent $5k on the 21" wheels. The very first pothole I hit (going <35mph) I lost two tires and had to be towed about 75 miles to the nearest service center. Two new tires, towing, and alignment cost about $1200. Then < 2 months later I don't even think I hit a pothole (although it is possible the service center did) I noticed one of my wheels was cracked. That would have been about $1500 to replace. Instead I spent $2k on a full set of aftermarket 20" wheels and aftermarket 20" tires (those tires are ~$1k for a set rather than ~$2k for a set and last twice as long).

Can you post the link for the 20 wheels and tires?

 

[mmccord]

I'm not sure how people get 40k out of the 19" tires. I blew through a set of the Michelin MXM4s in 22k miles. Also two of my snow tires were worn out after 20k miles, the other two are @ 6/32 still, so might be able to get through this winter with only 2 new tires. I am a ...spirited driver though, so I guess that's the price I pay.

44k miles altogether now in 14 months. 12v battery hasn't had a problem. I also haven't had any drive unit problems.

The only major problem was my gauge cluster failing last week, but that was quickly replaced under warranty. I will be out of warranty soon so I guess I'm glad that happened now. I don't think that is typical, haven't heard of a lot of those failing.

 

[Saghost]

Hey all,

first of all, please excuse my english. My first language is french and my english isn't that good. Hope you'll understand me

So, I live in Swizerland, have a small company and i'm thinking about leasing a Model S 90D under my company (more than thinking actually, if everything's ok I'll have it in maximum 6 months).

The fact is, my company can affort the lease etc. but I'm far from "rich". So is there anything I should know before ordering it ?

I'm on this forum for 3 months already, reading almost every thread and just found yesterday that we have to change the 12V battery minimum 1 time a year. Pretty strange but that's fine. What else should I know ?? I'm especially afraid of any thing that can happen and that's not taken by the original warranty. I can't even think about repairing something that cost me 5-10k, can't afford it.

And what about the 21inch tires, do we really have to change them every 10k km ? That's already a "huge" investment if we buy them @tesla.

So yeah, any advice is welcome, thank you by advance.

Regards

Actually, both of the issues you describe probably don't apply to the car you mentioned.

The frequent battery replacement is on early rear drive cars, which had a very small 12V battery in the right side fender area. When the D models came out in 2014, Tesla replaced that with a larger battery located in the upper rear Frunk area. While those cars haven't been around as long, I haven't read of any replacements for them yet (but I don't spend *all* of my time on TMC, so I could have missed one.)

The 21" tire wear issue was I believe laregly described on RWD P85 cars - where the massive torque going to the rear wheels accelerates tire wear.

The car you've mentioned getting is an AWD car with smaller drive motors and less torque - and splitting the acceleration and regen torque across all four wheels. While the 21s will undoubtedly wear out faster than the 19s, you shouldn't see the sort of wear the RWD Performance cars did.
Walter

 

[Jbailey]

Almost 40 K miles on my 85D in the first 14 months. Plenty of tread on the 19" tires. I did splurge on some windshield wiper fluid but it was on sale.

 

[pedriscoll]

I had to have the 12V battery replaced at about 6 months of ownership, but it was covered under warranty. I now have 22,000 mile on my Michelin's on 19 inch rims and the tread depth predicts another 20k miles. The 19 inch are quieter and give a smoother ride. I can still make passengers ill at any time with a sudden acceleration.

 

[Sir Guacamolaf]

4 costs,
- Repair costs, if you get in an accident.
- Insurance costs, sometimes premiums can be high.
- 21" wheel costs, if you get those.
- Maint. plans aren't exactly cheap. ESA isn't cheap either.

Besides the above 4, it's all fun and games. And electricity is cheaper than gas.

Oh wait, you'll end up spending way too much time on TMC. That's a cost too.

 

[cantdecide]

Back in 2013-2014 Tesla had 12v battery issues... Those cars needed replacements after a year. That issue is resolved.
Back in 2103 Tesla had door handle issues, but a redesign apparently fixed that.
Only get 21" if you need them for the looks. 19" last longer, are cheaper, get better range.

Tesla Ss with 19" are cheap to maintain, at least while under warranty.
Insurance can be expensive, don't get a performance model.