In the market for a used MS. What year? Anything special I should look for?

[dsutton]

Hi everyone, I'm new here. I'm a long-time Chevy Volt driver, and while I love my Volt, I'm feeling the draw of a MS. I'm happy to buy used, and here in Arizona, we don't pay sales tax on private party sales, so I'm looking for an opportunity to pull the trigger.

I'm educating myself about the MS, but still don't know too much. Are there specific models and model years that are recommended, or suggested to avoid? Is a 2013 too old now or still worth buying? I see pricing around $40k -$45k for a 2013 with average miles on the private party/3rd party dealer market, though these aren't CPOs.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Carl]

AutoPilot (v.1) is a big deal imho. Exists on cars as of +/- October 2014. Apart from that, nothing wrong with a 2013 MS (will probably have gotten a new motor under warranty anyway ). I loved the big frunk on my RWD 2013 MS, in which you could store two golf trolleys! (not possible anymore, as Tesla reduced the size of the frunk). But AutoPilot is the reason I upgraded to a newer MS and I never regretted it.

 

[dsutton]

will probably have gotten a new motor under warranty anyway

I see a few ads that say "new powertrain". What happened with the 2013's motors that caused them to be replaced, and is it an issue on other cars too? Is a replaced powertrain considered a plus?

 

[Carl]

I think there's a thread on this forum on "how many times has your powertrain been replaced". Believe the record is seven or eight. See also this article (apparently 80% of early drivetrains got replaced!). Anyway, Tesla quite quickly got it right with version "Q" or so. Tesla now boldly states their drivetrains should last a million miles. No idea how bold that statement is of course.

 

[CLLACAB]

If you are any way into performance cars and like the thrill of acceleration, then look at the "P" models. As they got newer, you will find front and rear parking sensors, folding mirrors , and of course, Autopilot. A "D" model will be all wheel drive.

 

[geometro]

I don't like the stalks on the early ones-- I always got them mixed up during test drives. That plus parking sensors would have me looking at 2014 or later models.