I want to buy a used S with free supercharging. Should I go Private or Tesla ?

[tccartier]

Yeah, that's what scares me.

Well if the thought of buying used bears too much uncertainty for you your other alternative is to buy new or new enough to have a warranty. But what you would essentially wind up doing is paying for the replacement battery at the time that you purchased the vehicle due to the increased cost of getting the car in the first place.

You either have to pay upfront to alleviate the risk or you have to accept the risk that you may have to pay . There is no free lunch. My advice get the car and enjoy it.

 

[IronDan]

Well if the thought of buying used bears too much uncertainty for you your other alternative is to buy new or new enough to have a warranty. But what you would essentially wind up doing is paying for the replacement battery at the time that you purchased the vehicle due to the increased cost of getting the car in the first place.

You either have to pay upfront to alleviate the risk or you have to accept the risk that you may have to pay . There is no free lunch. My advice get the car and enjoy it.

Great advice! Yes, knowing that probably any 2012-2013 models being sold right now with no issues might be an indication that the issues won't arise, or already have but have been fixed. I'm sure I'll go for it, especially with the feedback, but just wanted you all's thoughts whether it was a good idea or not. Thanks!

 

[tccartier]

My last supercharging experience showed 58 kW rate at 30% SOC. Definitely a lot slower than it was last year.

That's about what I'm seeing. 48-55 KW rate even @ sub 15/20% state of charge. and less than that @ any SOC above 50% That translates into Hours "not minutes" at each supercharger stop while travelling. Therefore I don't travel in this car anymore sadly, which was the only real benefit of free supercharging for me. The whole battery gate thing has left a sour taste in my mouth for sure. an answer may be forthcoming as there is a class action suit working it's way through the courts but honestly I'm not expecting much perhaps some small $$ amount or a discount for those affected to purchase a new/current year model etc.

 

[GTi_roadkill]

That's about what I'm seeing. 48-55 KW rate even @ sub 15/20% state of charge. and less than that @ any SOC above 50% That translates into Hours "not minutes" at each supercharger stop while travelling. Therefore I don't travel in this car anymore sadly, which was the only real benefit of free supercharging for me. The whole battery gate thing has left a sour taste in my mouth for sure. an answer may be forthcoming as there is a class action suit working it's way through the courts but honestly I'm not expecting much perhaps some small $$ amount or a discount for those affected to purchase a new/current year model etc.

Have not seen much on the class action suit. Would like to see an option to allow for a battery upgrade that could supercharge at full rate. If the original battery pack is not able to supercharge, I would offer to give up FUSC if I had a car that could road trip. I recently did a 300 mile (one-way) trip with supercharging requiring 1 hour when this previously would have been half that. To be fair, I am pretty conservative about SOC levels and not ready to show up with 5-8% remaining when I get to the charging station.

 

[tccartier]

Have not seen much on the class action suit. Would like to see an option to allow for a battery upgrade that could supercharge at full rate. If the original battery pack is not able to supercharge, I would offer to give up FUSC if I had a car that could road trip. I recently did a 300 mile (one-way) trip with supercharging requiring 1 hour when this previously would have been half that. To be fair, I am pretty conservative about SOC levels and not ready to show up with 5-8% remaining when I get to the charging station.

I concur I'm with you. I really didn't mind the loss of 10 or so miles of rated range but the throttling of the charging speed is really painful. That would be what I would most like to have back because it has changed the car in such a way that it can no longer be used in the manner that I intended to when I purchased it. I'm pretty sure there will be some kind of a legal remedy because there is precedent. You don't get to reduce a products capability after it's in the customer's hands effectively taking away what they purchased.

Another nagging consequence of being throttled at superchargers is that the time to charge completion or add sufficient charge to continue your trip as reported by the car nav is not accurate. When I plug in, the car will tell me that it will take roughly 40 minutes to continue my trip when in actuality it takes about an hour and 20 minutes of real time, not what the car estimates. for all intents and purposes supercharging time has basically doubled for my car from what it used to be.

Anyway enough of my ranting. I don't want to get too far off topic

 

[IronDan]

How would one know if a Tesla still has supercharging available without having to go to a supercharger station? I would want to be sure even after I ask the salesman. I know salvaged vehicles get their supercharging disabled, but what about clean title vehicles with no accidents? Since I'll most likely be trying to get a used Tesla delivered from another state(more selection), that's why it's a little iffy, and I know probably not as recommended.