Thought I would share my story since I am likely one of the first people to take delivery of a non-refurbished CPO car.
About a week ago when it seemed like several hundred cars were added to the CPO site, I made a reservation on a CPO car with higher miles that seemed like it was well priced. Not as good as some of the deals some of the people here seem to have found apparently though. I think if you have the proper expectations, you'll be very happy with the process, but don't expect a pristine and perfect car.
The car was located in Bellevue, WA, which is close enough that I would not need to have it delivered, and would save the many weeks others seemed to have to deal with. After uploading the documents they needed, I received an email from the Tesla rep who later that day sent me photos. The photo resolution wasn't great, so it wasn't all that useful realistically. The car came with a clean carfax (they told me that they don't CPO the non-clean carfax cars generally).
Anyway, less than a week later the car is ready to be delivered- maybe less but that was the first appointment. Very happy the whole process is so quick. So I picked up my car within a week of reserving, likely because it was local and because they don't refurb it much is my guess. At the delivery the rep told me that they had been spending $7000-$10,000 refurbishing each car, and Tesla couldn't keep up with the volume, was sending them out to be repaired, and couldn't turn the cars around fast enough the way they were doing it so they are now doing it this way. The car wasn't pristine as the previous CPO program would have, but still better than the regular used car treatment.
There were two dings on the hood, a scrape on the side fender that probably bothers me the most that wasn't really repaired, and a small gouge in the leather in the back seat. The car was cleaned, but there was definitely some grit in the side rails of what the center console would ordinarily be. Curious whether they were unable to vacuum the grit out or didn't try to. There were little leaf bits under the hatch, so the car was more cleaned than detailed. The door sills weren't even wiped down, which in reality would not take much time for them (or me) to do so I feel like it's the kind of thing that should not be overlooked, but I can spend the 10 minutes to do it myself. It's just indicative that the car wasn't carefully detailed Not sure if the paint was corrected as I'd expect much more paint damage for a car this old with so many miles, but there were spots missed if it was polished where I can see swirls and light scratches. The charging cables also seem used. From a few feet away, it's still a gorgeous vehicle. I'm hoping I can get the dings removed cheaply and maybe the side scrape repainted. If it were on my existing car, I'd likely ignore it but on something you just purchased, it would be nice to feel new for a while.
The tires appear to be brand new, and the wheels are also flawless. All the carpet floor mats are also brand new, likely in the frunk, as well as the carpet in the center console space. The hatch cover also appears to be new. The steering wheel actually feels new as opposed to something that has been handled for many years, which really surprised me the most. The rep said that they would NOT fix anything purely cosmetic like paint chips, but they did offer to replace a tail light that had water inside and a molding that was just barely coming off.
While I could have been happier, I was still very happy with the car at the price I paid, and wouldn't hesitate to still recommend the CPO program. The people I dealt with were all very pleasant and responsive. If it were a new car, obviously the expectations would be higher, but as a CPO it's in much better shape than you'd expect a car with that many miles to be. I'm also sure I couldn't find a used car and bring it to this condition for less money. I'd assume if I had bought used from a third party, they wouldn't even know if the car was working properly mechanically. If you are looking for perfection like I had heard the cars were before, you will likely be disappointed though.
About a week ago when it seemed like several hundred cars were added to the CPO site, I made a reservation on a CPO car with higher miles that seemed like it was well priced. Not as good as some of the deals some of the people here seem to have found apparently though. I think if you have the proper expectations, you'll be very happy with the process, but don't expect a pristine and perfect car.
The car was located in Bellevue, WA, which is close enough that I would not need to have it delivered, and would save the many weeks others seemed to have to deal with. After uploading the documents they needed, I received an email from the Tesla rep who later that day sent me photos. The photo resolution wasn't great, so it wasn't all that useful realistically. The car came with a clean carfax (they told me that they don't CPO the non-clean carfax cars generally).
Anyway, less than a week later the car is ready to be delivered- maybe less but that was the first appointment. Very happy the whole process is so quick. So I picked up my car within a week of reserving, likely because it was local and because they don't refurb it much is my guess. At the delivery the rep told me that they had been spending $7000-$10,000 refurbishing each car, and Tesla couldn't keep up with the volume, was sending them out to be repaired, and couldn't turn the cars around fast enough the way they were doing it so they are now doing it this way. The car wasn't pristine as the previous CPO program would have, but still better than the regular used car treatment.
There were two dings on the hood, a scrape on the side fender that probably bothers me the most that wasn't really repaired, and a small gouge in the leather in the back seat. The car was cleaned, but there was definitely some grit in the side rails of what the center console would ordinarily be. Curious whether they were unable to vacuum the grit out or didn't try to. There were little leaf bits under the hatch, so the car was more cleaned than detailed. The door sills weren't even wiped down, which in reality would not take much time for them (or me) to do so I feel like it's the kind of thing that should not be overlooked, but I can spend the 10 minutes to do it myself. It's just indicative that the car wasn't carefully detailed Not sure if the paint was corrected as I'd expect much more paint damage for a car this old with so many miles, but there were spots missed if it was polished where I can see swirls and light scratches. The charging cables also seem used. From a few feet away, it's still a gorgeous vehicle. I'm hoping I can get the dings removed cheaply and maybe the side scrape repainted. If it were on my existing car, I'd likely ignore it but on something you just purchased, it would be nice to feel new for a while.
The tires appear to be brand new, and the wheels are also flawless. All the carpet floor mats are also brand new, likely in the frunk, as well as the carpet in the center console space. The hatch cover also appears to be new. The steering wheel actually feels new as opposed to something that has been handled for many years, which really surprised me the most. The rep said that they would NOT fix anything purely cosmetic like paint chips, but they did offer to replace a tail light that had water inside and a molding that was just barely coming off.
While I could have been happier, I was still very happy with the car at the price I paid, and wouldn't hesitate to still recommend the CPO program. The people I dealt with were all very pleasant and responsive. If it were a new car, obviously the expectations would be higher, but as a CPO it's in much better shape than you'd expect a car with that many miles to be. I'm also sure I couldn't find a used car and bring it to this condition for less money. I'd assume if I had bought used from a third party, they wouldn't even know if the car was working properly mechanically. If you are looking for perfection like I had heard the cars were before, you will likely be disappointed though.
