How long are you determined to keep your Model S for?

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Many of us are pushing our budgets to get a Model S so, it only makes sense that we would want to keep it for a loooong time to recoup the upfront cost in gas savings, etc. Assuming that Tesla or some third-party will make battery replacements / refurbishment options available as needed over the years, how long would you keep the car?

In theory, I want to keep the car 'forever' (atleast as a second car) but, practically speaking, I'm committing to atleast 15 years! I'll be 50 then and will surely have some midlife crisis that'll make me want to buy Model Z or whatever

This is inspiring stuff btw:

BBC News - For sale: 1964 Mercury, one lady owner, 576,000 miles

It has outlasted three marriages and 18 battery changes

 

[Yggdrasill]

I'm thinking I'll keep my Model X until they stop making batteries for it. But a minimum of 15 years.

The thing about high performance cars here is that they are taxed to death. There's nothing else on the market that can do 0-100 km/h in 4.4 seconds, that doesn't cost over 200 000 dollars. And this will probably be true also of electric cars in less than a decade.

So, I might as well keep it as long as I can, and when I get a better, newer car, just keep the Model X for weekend driving and the like. (It wouldn't surprise me if the car will have a 200 kWh battery when it is retired.)

 

[AnOutsider]

Not sure, I WANT to keep it forever, but being a tech junky, if they make something 5-6 years down the road that can't be retrofitted, I might be tempted to do a trade-in and upgrade (if Tesla allows that). Also depends on how the car holds up as well.

 

[grisnjam]

My plan is to keep it until the AWD performance version of the BlueStar is ready to be built

 

[ElSupreme]

I hope to get 8 years ~150,000 miles out of my 40kWh battery. Then assuming I can upgrade my battery I will be looking to get an 85kWh+ battery replacement and keep my car for 15+ years total. But depending on battery price, Bluestar price, and new Model S/Model "New Hotness" I may end up with a new car when my 40kWh pack runs out of steam.

 

[Larry Chanin]

I expect to trade it back in to Tesla (or an agent for Tesla) for a new an improved model. I guess the timeframe will be determined by how innovative Tesla is, but I could certainly conceive a trade-in in less than five years.

Larry

 

[mnx]

I'd like to think I'll keep my Model S until it dies, but I've never owned a car more than 3.5 years...

Of course the Model S is much nicer than anything I've ever driven before.. It should last longer than the beaters I've driven in the past, and I doubt I'll ever get bored of it either.

If I feel the need for something new down the road, I'll get a motorcycle again.

 

[de704]

I plan to keep my 85kw Model X for as long as it runs. In the future, (at the end of pack life) I will try to upgrade the battery pack if possible. There's nothing that says I cant buy another vehicle but I think I will always keep the Model X. It will be my Family Trip enabler as I am 35 and have not started one yet.

My hunch is it will take the rest on the automakers and consumers a good 10 years to catch up to Tesla Owners. So basically Model S/X will have new car prestige for 10 years.

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

I am hoping for at least 10 but hopefully more like 15 yrs. The 130K mi, 10 yr old lexus that I am driving looks and feels as if it will go another 200k miles or more so I'm hoping the S is built to last too!

Since my new car price limit is ~$30k and the performance S will be breaking all of my rules I better keep it a while!

 

[Sig698]

Planning to keep mine until Roadster 3.0 comes out, then we'll see how things pan out from there

 

[SigGuy]

I can't get over the feeling that the touchscreen is going to look dated in 5-10 years. I can't imagine what will be newer (holographic projections?) but somehow I just picture it looking like a giant 8 track player sometime well before the car dies. As for me, as excited as I am for it now, I'm sure I'll be bored with it an enamored of the next one (hopefully another Tesla!) in 3-5 years. I know I'll never begin to recoup significant cost through gas savings (price is too high and my miles are too low) so I really have to hope for resale value to remain high.

 

[goyogi]

The longest I kept a car was 10 years and the reason I sold it was to get my Scion xB which I was going to convert to electric. Otherwise I would have kept my old car longer as it was good looking, had great power and handled really well.

The Model S will be better looking, have more power, handle better, have more space, quieter, no to low pollution and most of all no oil in places we want to invade.

 

[Tempus]

i intend to keep mine for as long as it will run. Have had my current car for 10 years now... hoping to get at least that long out of the Model S. And if things develop such that i can swap out the battery once it's no longer viable for something lighter with more range, that would be great. (obviously depending on how dated the car REALLY is in 10 years.. ) I mean, if we really all do have hover cars with holographic displays, then all bets are off

 

[ckessel]

The car is easily 2x my normal car (even accounting for gas vs. electricity costs), so it needs to last 2x as long and have a comparable resale value when it's done. I typically keep my cars about 8 years, so I'm shooting for 15 with the Model S. I'm getting the 85kwh battery and even if it's down near 50-60% after 15 years, that's not a big issue.

 

[NigelM]

This is inspiring stuff btw:

BBC News - For sale: 1964 Mercury, one lady owner, 576,000 miles

She lives in FL, so it's fair to bet that the car has never been driven faster than 37 mph.

 

[dsm363]

Not sure, I WANT to keep it forever, but being a tech junky, if they make something 5-6 years down the road that can't be retrofitted, I might be tempted to do a trade-in and upgrade (if Tesla allows that). Also depends on how the car holds up as well.

Me too. I really need to not upgrade for at least that long. If they treat the car like a computer letting you upgrade small or big parts years from now, that'd likely keep me happy and delay upgrading down the road.

 

[efusco]

8-10 years, probably. I usually keep a car 7 years, but I'll be near or over 9 years on my Prius by the time the Tesla arrives, so 8 seems at least realistic.

 

[JRod0802]

I can't get over the feeling that the touchscreen is going to look dated in 5-10 years. I can't imagine what will be newer (holographic projections?) but somehow I just picture it looking like a giant 8 track player sometime well before the car dies...

FWIW, I expect the "future" to be dials, knobs, and physical buttons.

More on topic, I've noticed that some cars age well and some don't age well. BMWs and Audis from the late 90's (15 years ag0) still look good to me. Most other cars from that era don't look very good to me. From the looks of it, I think the Model S will age well, but I won't really know until 15 years from now. If I were to buy a Model S, how well it ages would affect how long I keep it. I don't want to be driving a car that I think is ugly.

 

[jerry33]

From the looks of it, I think the Model S will age well, but I won't really know until 15 years from now. If I were to buy a Model S, how well it ages would affect how long I keep it. I don't want to be driving a car that I think is ugly.

I'm not thrilled with the Model S's looks. To me it looks like almost every other car made during the last century with it's three-box design. However, since I won't really look at the outside after the first few times I'm not going to let that bother me. And anyway, I'm buying it for the cool technology. But I would have much rather have it look like it belongs in the 21st century rather than like a leftover from the 19th.

 

[spatterso911]

I'm averaging about 7-8 years on vehicles at this point. This car, OTOH is a bit different, because I usually trade for tech advancements, increased performance, and reliability concerns. I have few concerns about reliability as I see it with the Model S, outside of the sheer mechanicals of the interior, wheel/suspension components, and joints/seams/hinges. The screen has significant enough resolution to manage what is coming for at least a few years (granted it's no "retina display"), and can be updated with cooler technology as it comes out. The performance version should provide more than enough performance to keep me happy, and batteries can be replaced, essentially giving me a whole new car, provided I do my part and take good care of the rest. I can see this lasting at least 15 years. My current ride is 7, with nary a scratch or dent, and only the driver's seat looking less than perfect.