Looking to buy our first Tesla Model S, is a 2015 P85D a good idea ?

[BigNick]

The main drawback is that a P85D will absolutely ruin ICE cars for you unless you never take it out of Chill mode (and why would you spring for a P if you don't go Insane from time to time?)

 

[Shadious]

Just wanted to comment that that's a fantastic deal. Beautiful car!

Thanks a lot! I was actually resigned to not buying one since my garage layout is funky and I would have to change and sell some things to get it to fit. On a whim, I checked out Car Gurus and found this beast. Drove up the day afterwards and saw it in person. Had to wait 4 days to pick up since the title was not in hand. During that time the seller had offers of $45k. He was a good dude and kept to our deal- he replaced it with a red Raven P100DL...

 

[nguyentoogood]

I just bought mine less than a month ago, here was my experience!

 

[nguyentoogood]

I also did the headlights,

i'll be documenting it on my youtube on a how to!

 

[tstafford]

After four years with a Tesla (inc. a P85D) I am convinced range is king. I loved my P85D but would trade the P part for any amount of extra range. But that's just me.

 

[iqless]

I would not get a Tesla out of warranty in any circumstances.

The first year of my having a non-P 85D, it had a LOT of problems, and I had gotten it 'completely refurbished' from Tesla. And when I got it it was 2017, so it was only a 1.5 year old car, a P85D would be at least 4 years old now.

What Tesla repaired for me during my ownership of this car:

- Radiator replaced
- 6 suspension links replaced
- Front bumper valance replaced
- Wheel arch liners replaced
- Rocker panel replaced
- Rear window regulator replaced
- Door front belt molding (?) replaced
- Door handle backplates replaced
- MCU replaced
- Front window regulator replaced
- Front radar realigned
- Replaced driver door handle
- Windshield replaced
- 12V battery replaced
- Bolts in steering rack housing replaced (part of recall)
- Passenger seat replaced
- Left and right halfshafts replaced
- Front right jack shaft assembly replaced
- Front stabilizer link replaced
- 12V battery replaced (again)


I am not sure which ones of those would be covered under the drivetrain warranty, but several big ticket items I'm seeing would definitely not. So there's no way I'm rolling the dice on a used, out of warranty Tesla not bought from Tesla.

 

[Az_Rael]

I would not get a Tesla out of warranty in any circumstances.

The first year of my having a non-P 85D, it had a LOT of problems, and I had gotten it 'completely refurbished' from Tesla. And when I got it it was 2017, so it was only a 1.5 year old car, a P85D would be at least 4 years old now.

What Tesla repaired for me during my ownership of this car:

- Radiator replaced
- 6 suspension links replaced
- Front bumper valance replaced
- Wheel arch liners replaced
- Rocker panel replaced
- Rear window regulator replaced
- Door front belt molding (?) replaced
- Door handle backplates replaced
- MCU replaced
- Front window regulator replaced
- Front radar realigned
- Replaced driver door handle
- Windshield replaced
- 12V battery replaced
- Bolts in steering rack housing replaced (part of recall)
- Passenger seat replaced
- Left and right halfshafts replaced
- Front right jack shaft assembly replaced
- Front stabilizer link replaced
- 12V battery replaced (again)


I am not sure which ones of those would be covered under the drivetrain warranty, but several big ticket items I'm seeing would definitely not. So there's no way I'm rolling the dice on a used, out of warranty Tesla not bought from Tesla.

It looks like none of those would be covered by the 8 year warranty because it isnt a drivetrain warranty, it is actually only a battery and drive unit warranty. So it only covers drive units and the main battery, not all the suspension stuff. That is a super common misconception with Tesla's 8 year warranty and I would hate for anyone to get surprised by that buying an out of bumper to bumper warranty car.

 

[WizMedic]

If you going to go down the used Model S road, then I recommend going with CPO from Tesla. I just got a Model S 85D 2015 with 2 years and 100,000 mile warranty. I had it since May 2nd of this year and I have had it in the Service Center a few times to get a few things fixed. Might as well since I have 2 years to get things fixed. I have 262 miles on 100% battery and free unlimited Supercharging so that was the breaker for me over the Modem 3, oh also the size of the S over the 3. Good luck in your Tesla search! Rick......