How concerned are you about the warranty (or lack thereof)?

[MrMoonUK]

Would you (out of warranty) go to Tesla though? Going to be plenty of EV-independents springing up.

Even then repairs on EVs are expensive as its the parts cost, then its a question, especially with Tesla if the Indy’s can even get the parts. I get a new car every 2-3 years so I dont have to deal with this nonsense

 

[Bouba]

The costs are clear and easy to obtain a quote. My 2021 M3 will be £2428 for an additional 4 yrs/50k miles. However, the list of exclusions is extensive and I think I'd need convincing it was worthwhile. The motor and battery are covered under the Tesla 8 yr 120k mile warranty. Looking through the T&C, exclusions include e.g.

" brake pads/linings, brake rotor, suspension alignment, wheel balancing, air conditioning lines, hoses or connections, battery testing, fluid changes, appearance care for the interior and exterior (such as cleaning and polishing, dent removal, rectifying upholstery wrinkles, scrapes, scratches, or blemishes, wear and tear items, road rash, and the like), filters and wiper blades/inserts; and – Other maintenance services and parts described in Tesla’s maintenance schedule for the covered Vehicle. Other parts not covered: – Bright metal, sheet metal, bumpers, ornamentation moldings, carpet, upholstery, paint, air spring modules and shock absorbers/dampers, 12V battery, battery cables, key fob batteries, lenses, light bulbs, headlights and sealed beams, glass (e.g., windshield), wheels, interior trim, body seals and gaskets (e.g., weather stripping);"

So headlights, shock absorbers, seat materials, interior trim and other items we see regularly listed as changed under warranty by Tesla are not covered under this policy. It's £607 per year, so the question is, would you have spent that much on repairs anyway? I'm trying to work out what is still covered. I guess computer units and screen?

A lot of the exclusions are of course consumables and accident damage (it’s a warranty not insurance) but the biggie for me is the headlights....they are so so expensive that my first thought is great get a warranty and headlights are covered....so I think this is a non starter for me...I hope I don’t regret this decision one day

 

[WannabeOwner]

Even then repairs on EVs are expensive

I wonder how that will pan out ...

Last repair I had on an ICE was a temperature sensor on reductant tank - somewhere in the exhaust system I think - probably making sure it doesn't pollute any more than it should. Diagnostics gave an error code on dashboard indicating what it was ... Garage charged £100 for the investigation, to only then be in a position to give me a quote on Parts and Labour.

having done that then another 1.2 hours needed for full diagnostic. A further £530. Suspected ad blue heater at fault and getting one into stock just in case

The invoice was a paper copy, and I don't have the actual price that that turned out to be. The sensor may well have been a £5 part.

The screen, or main control board, breaking on a Tesla is going to be a big ticket item ... but that's not EV specific, just "Tesla Tech" specific - and Tesla's price-list of course.

Motor failure? Not heard of that. Can't think the last time I had an electric motor fail on something like a vacuum cleaner ...

Battery. Yup replacing that would be bad news, but seem to be places springing up which can replace a dud cell or two.

New Cam belt on an ICE engine? That's a fair chunk. As is the piston colliding with a valve (done that ), or a bolt coming loose and the big end knocking it clean through the bottom of the engine casing (done that too, Lotus Esprit 2.2 - new short end motor ... and we thought that Tesla lead time for parts was bad! Warranty insurance that the garage flogged me on 2nd purchase covered that - hooray! Unbelievable road holding though ... just needed to take the corner 10 MPH faster than felt comfortable so that the ground effect did its magic. Bit tricky making sure that the over-speed was always "enough but not too much"

So I wonder if EV repairs are expensive, or if it is all "modern cars" where a whole replacement electronic unit is fitted, instead of the £5 sensor which is actually what broke? I think the length of time, and thus labour cost, for the diagnostics is key too.

I had a big bang driving down the A1. I thought (wrongly as it turned out) that the dashboard had dimmed and some visualisation-features were not displayed, and consequently (absent any other damage) I thought it was a fuse.

Called Tesla Support and explained what happened. "I wonder if a fuse blew?" TAP-TAP-TAP on keyboard at the far end, "No Sir all your fuses are fine"

 

[PatrickCH4313]

A lot of the exclusions are of course consumables and accident damage (it’s a warranty not insurance) but the biggie for me is the headlights....they are so so expensive that my first thought is great get a warranty and headlights are covered....so I think this is a non starter for me...I hope I don’t regret this decision one day

Exactly, headlights are expensive (for all types of car) and special LED Matrix headlights (cost for a Model S, CHF 1'550.- with labor).

 

[Rooster6655]

Hi,

My car has just passed 2 years old, and I've done hardly any miles (less than 3000). Ordinarily with a regular ICE car from another manufacturer I'm not sure I'd be too worried, since it would generally be piling on the miles that led to bigger bills, but with Tesla I'm not sure what to think.

"They don't really need any maintenance" is something I keep hearing, and whilst that's true, I feel like my Tesla is a bit unique in so much that I've had to have a few minor things fixed under warranty. Specifically, I'm on my second set of rear taillights (well, one side is on first replacement, other side is on second) due to condensation. How much will they cost when I'm out of warranty, since the design is clearly faulty?

Also, while it doesn't affect me, I keep reading about people's powered boot struts failing. How much will that be out of warranty every time it goes wrong?

Perhaps I'm overthinking it, but I started to wonder this morning, with only 2 years left on my warranty and a small amount of miles done, am I going to be looking at regular annoying bills once it expires?

Thoughts?

I had a 2019 car and the heater broke within 2 years with about 25k miles, as they are unlikely to be improving these now due to being replaced with a heat pump I am not sure how long replacements would last.

I don't think the tail light condensation thing is an issue that I would pay to have them replaced.

 

[PatrickCH4313]

Allianz- expensive cost to cover almost nothing... thief's undercover.
My 2020 LR with almost 30k, except one rear taillight with condensation, cabin filters two weeks ago, and 4 tires... no issues. Forgot to mention the windshield liquid (I don't remember the amount ).

Maybe, soon, Tesla Insurance will be available in UK/Europe too.

Take a look at the following thread , message 467.

Late 2016 / Early 2017 S Owners: How Are Your Daytime Running Lights Holding Up?

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

The value of the warranty may be the car they give you while you're waiting 4 weeks for the part if its undriveable, but its not something I'd like to rely on. I sold our Model s when it was coming up to 4 years old as I don't really recall Tesla doing an extended warranty back then and it was in the height of the MCU failures which Tesla were ignoring. An MCU failure out of warranty could be an expensive bill, although aftermarket solutions did come out that fixed the memory issue.

Looking forward, I suspect there will be more and more 3rd party options and spares knocking around from breakers to repair cheapler My wifes old BMW Z4 had a rear light fail out of warranty, BMW wanted £600 to supply and fit, found one on eBay for £125 and changed it myself. One hopes that approach will be more common going forward. I think the only things I'd pay for new parts are suspension and brakes once the car is out of general warranty, and I don't think I've ever owned a car that would fall outside the battery and motor warranty.

Either way I've 3 years and 11 months to decide...

 

[Casss]

Had the RAC / EV one warranty provided by ALA for my model S. They came through when it died on the driveway. No 12v cover as per above and wouldn’t expect it.

They were one of the few I found (outside of Tesla’s official extended warranties) where the exclusion list was reasonable. Other providers I looked at were having a laugh (“any module or component connected to the wiring harness” errr…)

The only issue and maybe something to be aware of, is that ALA can’t or won’t do direct card payments, and Tesla obviously won’t release a car after work is done until full settlement received. In my situation, at the time I couldn’t be without the car for the 7 working days that it was going to take ALA to pay Tesla, so had to pay the full sum upfront (little bit eyewatering) and then get reimbursed. Not a big issue, but if it was a big repair for which you don’t have cash to cover on hand, expect a wait unless the insurer will do a direct card payment with Tesla because they won’t even release the car on promise of payment from the insurer directly in my experience.

 

[glide]

Hi,

My car has just passed 2 years old, and I've done hardly any miles (less than 3000). Ordinarily with a regular ICE car from another manufacturer I'm not sure I'd be too worried, since it would generally be piling on the miles that led to bigger bills, but with Tesla I'm not sure what to think.

"They don't really need any maintenance" is something I keep hearing, and whilst that's true, I feel like my Tesla is a bit unique in so much that I've had to have a few minor things fixed under warranty. Specifically, I'm on my second set of rear taillights (well, one side is on first replacement, other side is on second) due to condensation. How much will they cost when I'm out of warranty, since the design is clearly faulty?

Also, while it doesn't affect me, I keep reading about people's powered boot struts failing. How much will that be out of warranty every time it goes wrong?

Perhaps I'm overthinking it, but I started to wonder this morning, with only 2 years left on my warranty and a small amount of miles done, am I going to be looking at regular annoying bills once it expires?

Thoughts?

Maintenance and repairs are two different things.

You won’t need to maintain your battery or drivetrain with visits to the service center but you very well may need to replace them.

 

[Durzel]

Yeah, but what I mean is, as an example, I've had 3 rear light replacements. I'm not convinced the replacements are of a new or better design. What if they go wrong (get water droplets inside) at least once a year? How much are they going to cost me to replace every X months?

Stuff like that really. If I had a 2021 car with a powered boot I'd be wondering how many times (and at what cost) I'd have to pay for a new strut to be fitted.

 

[doats1]

I was always uncertain about the post-warranty maintenance of the car, but sort of hoped that there would be enough adoption and saturation for there to be a decent second had market and the know-how to maintain it without Tesla getting involved.

I reckon people in the future won’t be deterred by the risks of replacing a HV battery themselves if the money savings are significant enough.

Could be wrong but I wouldn’t hold it against Tesla either way.

 

[markc2]

I saw a couple of charts that put this car on the same level as a Toyota Camary, and if we are saving that much on gas, that should in a "perfect" world take care of any repairs

 

[gangzoom]

Even then repairs on EVs are expensive as its the parts cost, then its a question, especially with Tesla if the Indy’s can even get the parts. I get a new car every 2-3 years so I dont have to deal with this nonsense

Our X is out of warranty, a garge 10 minutes away replaced the 12V battery with no issues. Parts can be ordered from Tesla quite easily, and labour rates are £60/hr versus £140/hr at Tesla.

The same garage also just replaced the PTC heater for a total cost of £650, again ordering parts from Tesla was OK. They told me Tesla don't allow them to keep parts in stock, but are quite happy to sell parts at cost prices as long as they have a VIN number.

Getting a new car every 2-3 years is the very opposite of what intheory Tesla is aiming to achieve. These cars should last as long as any combustion car, and most cars you see on the roads are not less than 3 years old.

We have a 13 year old Mazda 6 too which is still going strong, the Tesla I would hope will easily last 8 years.

I am very lucky though as we have multiple other forms of transport, eBike, other cars. So when ever the Tesla needs 'work' it has virtually zero impact on the convince of getting around.

Our X remains the most unreliable car I have ever owned, warranty or not that hasn't changed.

Other parts am expecting to fail include the AC condenser at somepoint, air suspension, and lighting. But none of those are 'deal breakers' interms of cost as those parts can fail on any other car, I have however heard a motor replacement due to worn bearings out of warranty is something mad like $5k+!!! A new traction battery is currently £15k ish, which am actually OK with interms of cost.

Running out of the 8 year battery/motor warranty worries me far more than the rest of car. Given our car is already nearly 5 years old, that's only 3 years away.......The car will be at near 100k miles by than, I would personally rather keep the car for longer but may swap out of it at that point. But I'll properly explore about the cost/ease getting a new traction battery fitted at that point before deciding. If I do keep that car beyond the 8 year warranty it'll be kept in the family 'for life', and I'll pay what ever is required to keep it on the road for as long as possible.

 

[markc2]

This guy takes his Tesla everywhere along with testing other EV's.

 

[Irata]

Even looking back and counting only the first year of ownership, I've had 8 warranty claims and total cost would have been in the thousands. The headlights change alone cost more than any extended warranty.

So... Understandably I am very concerned if I ever I keep the car outside of warranty. Hopefully in the next year or so things will calm down, but I don't see the issues as build quality as they are really component quality.

Things like the constant boot strut failures don't fill me with confidence. This and other common issues like door check straps clunking / failing over time do worry me long term.

I would desperately like to have more confidence in overall reliability with Tesla. But they do seem focussed on building as cheap as they can while selling for as much as they can.

 

[Billbrown1982]

As soon as I see "wear and tear" in an exclusion list its a waste of money in my mind.

I had a saab 93 that came with one of these extended warranties. I'd had it for maybe just over a year and it had only done 30k miles or something like that and the 5th gear syncro crapped itself.

Warranty put it down as wear and tear and wouldn't pay a penny. Cost me best part of 5 grand in the end, after fighting it for an eternity.

 

[gangzoom]

Even looking back and counting only the first year of ownership, I've had 8 warranty claims and total cost would have been in the thousands. The headlights change alone cost more than any extended warranty.

Lights AREN'T covered by Tesla extended warranty, infact there aren't many third party warranties that cover lights. This isn't just a Tesla issue, BMW 'laser' lights are $5000 EACH for parts, excluding fitting.

 

[markc2]

Even looking back and counting only the first year of ownership, I've had 8 warranty claims and total cost would have been in the thousands. The headlights change alone cost more than any extended warranty.

So... Understandably I am very concerned if I ever I keep the car outside of warranty. Hopefully in the next year or so things will calm down, but I don't see the issues as build quality as they are really component quality.

Things like the constant boot strut failures don't fill me with confidence. This and other common issues like door check straps clunking / failing over time do worry me long term.

I would desperately like to have more confidence in overall reliability with Tesla. But they do seem focussed on building as cheap as they can while selling for as much as they can.

We still have our Mercedes at 130,000. It had maybe two or three big things 2000.00 or so. Tires are the most reoccurring expense. Most of the things that had to be ironed out were covered during warrantee. I figure within 50,000 or 4 years if it plays out the way our MB did all should be good by the end. I am really going to try and set up a savings fund for all of the gas I'm not using. We still have yet to take order of the Model 3 and I am taking notes about how much gas I am using per week.

 

[PatrickCH4313]

Lights AREN'T covered by Tesla extended warranty, infact there aren't many third party warranties that cover lights. This isn't just a Tesla issue, BMW 'laser' lights are $5000 EACH for parts, excluding fitting.

Not really true, headlights (LED Matrix headlights for a Model S : CHF 1'550.- with labor) are covered by the extended warranty (when failed, like f.e. Daytime Running Light DRL part is yellowing).

Take a look at the following thread , message 467.

Late 2016 / Early 2017 S Owners: How Are Your Daytime Running Lights Holding Up?

 

[Irata]

Lights AREN'T covered by Tesla extended warranty, infact there aren't many third party warranties that cover lights. This isn't just a Tesla issue, BMW 'laser' lights are $5000 EACH for parts, excluding fitting.

Maybe I've been lucky previously, my previous car (not a Tesla) had LED headlights and one was changed under a 3rd party extended warranty without issue. It was the only warranty claim in the life of the car.