Low Mileage CPO - Does it Matter?

[Buster1]

Hi guys. Shopping heavily on ev-CPO and really trying to understand what's out there, what I like and what I might want to do as far as car features I 'want' versus 'need.'

The big question I have is how concerned should I be with getting a CPO car low in mileage versus price points or options?

When shopping for a traditional ICE car over the years, I'm springloaded to look for the lowest mileage car I can afford. Does mileage matter for a Tesla?

The Tesla will be my daily commuter car. I do about 100mi a day and average 15-17k miles per year. So I'm thinking of looking for a really low mile car to try to maximize the 'wear' and 8 year battery warranty. I traditionally keep my cars 8-9 years.

What are your thoughts?

 

[azred]

Of course mileage matters.

 

[Ugliest1]

I'm going to look at this from the other way around.

I purchased my Model S new (lucked into an inventory sale instead of the 3-month order delay) Jan 2014 (pre-Autopilot); it now has 86,000km / 54,000mi on it and we're about to put another 4,000km / 2,500mi on in the next two weeks. Honestly the car drives like it's new, still as quick as ever, solid feel. I know at this point in an ICE I'd be thinking "Will the fuel pump last? Does it need a coolant flush?" etc. So I would say mileage matters far less in a Model S than in an ICE.

 

[abasile]

I agree with Ugliest1; I don't think mileage matters that much with EVs. Age and condition of the battery pack are more important. Our Model S now has 85K miles and it seems as good as new. That said, it appears that the first owner used it primarily for a long freeway commute in SoCal, i.e., no driving on rough roads, etc.

If buying a CPO today, I would focus on getting the features I want, I'd insist on personally inspecting the car for visible wear and tear before making the final payment, I'd want to know the rated miles relative to the charge level, and mileage would only be a minor consideration. This is exactly what I did when buying our used Model S from Tesla last year. I'd probably try to stay under roughly 80K miles, though, since the CPO warranty now ends at 100K odometer miles.

 

[eye.surgeon]

Mileage matters. Maybe not as much as an ICE (yet to be determined IMO) but it definitely matters.

Buy the lowest mileage, highest serial # you can afford that's equipped with what you want.

 

[CalBlue 85D]

The drivetrain is solid and has the longest warranty on the car, no mileage worries there. The issue with owning an out of warranty, or soon to be out of warranty car, is the body hardware. Our car has had three door handles, the passenger seat and the steering rack repaired or replaced under warranty. The seat and steering rack were issues that won't come back once fixed, but I'm a little concerned for long term maintainance issues on those door handles. Hopefully the design is improved enough to get some long term durability....

 

[animorph]

I think you'd get a better value from a high mileage car. I think, just from what I've read here, Teslas will last for at least twice as many miles as an average ICE car, but are being priced similar to an ICE car. But, we don't have a whole lot of evidence beyond a few cars that are not that old but have 100k to 200k miles on them.

Of course that's just the motor. The rest of the car should wear just like any other I think.

 

[UnknownSoldier]

Mileage always matters in cars but mileage is a significant price premium in Tesla CPO pricing. Nothing drives up the price of a CPO vehicle like lower mileage does in their pricing algorithm.

 

[cab]

Stuff it definitely matters for:

1. Paint and exterior trim (i.e. rubber seals, plastic and rubber trim, etc.)
2. Exterior glass
3. Suspension components (shocks, air springs, bushings, ball joints, control arms, etc.)
4. Steering (tie rods, rack, electric motor)
5. Air conditioning (compressor, lines, condenser, evap core, etc.)
6. Interior seat wear and trim, carpet wear
7. Brakes (pads, rotors, etc - note - these last a long time on all plug-ins though)
8. Screens ( screen "bubble", etc. - not sure there is really a key here in terms of miles...probably more like "time")

So, while you DON'T have a TON of stuff under the "hood", you do still have a number of items common to any car. Fortunately, a lot of those items don't get replaced until vehicles are in excess of 100K miles these days.

 

[Az_Rael]

Does it need a coolant flush?"

Well, the Model S does need a coolant flush every 50k miles, so there is that.


I bought a high mileage CPO for the low price. The only downside is you start closer to the more expensive service intervals. My first service was the 50k, and the car definitely needed the brake flush (pedal was getting mushy). So my first service was the $850 one instead of the $400 one.

I am still all for high mileage CPOs for the value, and would do it again on my next Tesla.

 

[mmd]

Mileage always matters in cars but mileage is a significant price premium in Tesla CPO pricing. Nothing drives up the price of a CPO vehicle like lower mileage does in their pricing algorithm.

This could be due to range loss in high mileage electric cars. The battery warranty is for defects, not for range loss.
For Tesla Roadster, 20% range loss was normal over 4 years. Are there studies on high mileage Model S range?
This is not a big issue for gas cars. Gas tank size remains same, and can be filled up in 3 minutes.
Tesla Roadster Lost 20% Of Total Range In 4 Years - Gas 2

Here is one with some studies on Model S range. Wonder if there are more recent studies, as more high mileage Model S cars may be available now, that still have the original battery pack.

Tesla Model S Battery Life: How Much Range Loss For Electric Car Over Time?

Based on 84 data points from the 85-kWh version of the Model S and six from 60-kWh cars, the study concludes that the Model S will retain about 94 percent of its capacity after 50,000 miles, with losses thereafter shrinking to about 1 percent per 30,000 miles.

That translates to a range loss of only about 21 miles, from 265 to 244 miles.

The highest-mileage car in the study, which had about 52,000 miles on it, still retained about 94 percent of its battery capacity and range.

Plug-In America has also been gathering data for a range-loss study of the Model S.

Tom Saxton, its chief science officer and the author of the earlier Roadster study (he’s also a Roadster owner), reports that his preliminary results show that a Model S85 is projected to retain about 90 percent battery capacity until 86,000 miles.
According to Saxton’s data, the S60 version, whose smaller battery must undergo more charge/discharge cycles to travel the same distance, retains 90 percent capacity to about 67,000 miles.

The high-mileage car in the ongoing PIA study had 92,000 miles as of last summer, and still retained 92 percent of battery capacity. Hopefully the final PIA Model S report will be issued soon. We look forward to reading it.

 

[Science fan]

I think you'd get a better value from a high mileage car. I think, just from what I've read here, Teslas will last for at least twice as many miles as an average ICE car, but are being priced similar to an ICE car. But, we don't have a whole lot of evidence beyond a few cars that are not that old but have 100k to 200k miles on them.

Of course that's just the motor. The rest of the car should wear just like any other I think.

Actually, there are lots of Tesla parts (transmission, water pump, fuel pump, exhaust system, valves, rings cam shaft, etc.) that will wear better than an ICE for one good reason: They don't exist.