Model S - Buying a used 2014 model

[alexmat]

I am new to Tesla (havent even driven one ;-)) but have been interested in the company and the product. I am looking at buying a used Tesla Model S, 2014 (4D). Attractive part is it comes with lifetime free supercharging, which I understand transfers over to new owner (but couldnt verify this with Tesla, despite me calling them).
The car has done 110K miles (50K of those in last 15 months as the current owner did up and down driving to workplace everyday which is 100 plus miles away). There was a previous owner (original buyer) who replaced door handles, panoramic sun roof etc. The next owner updated the drive too and the main display screen as there was a screen recall. The battery is still original but the warranty on the car is expiring by next year.
Will be getting this for around $30K. Have a few queries in my mind which I havent found answers to , despite hours of research including google reviews.
- What are your opinions on a battery fail in these models. Are the 2014s having history of battery issues. I live in north california so the winters are cold (30-40s) but no snow but summers are 110s for a couple of months. In the past year the current owner has mostly supercharged these (as they didnt have a home power source). Would these be genuine concern regarding the health and reliability of battery pack going forward.
- Does Tesla sell extended warranties for these models
- The seats look uncomfortable (the newer ones have more contoured seats). The back seat to me looked like a bench and flat. What is the long drive experience in these.
- Anything I should be looking into, checking while I decide to buy this
- What does lifetime free supercharging mean - is it the life of battery pack or what defines the life of car as per tesla. Anyone faced road bumps getting it transferred during private sale.
Thanks.

 

[DavidB]

Seat comfort is very personal; I know owners who love them, and owners who hate them. The back bench is not flat, but not as contoured as the front seats.

Yes, the battery degrades over time & use, and some fail prematurely, but I would expect the average pack to get over 300k miles (time will tell how accurate my prediction will be). It would be best if you can keep the car in the shade during the hot months, but not critical. The one thing you have not mentioned is the battery size. The larger the size (100 kWh is the largest), the better.

 

[beatle]

Being that it's a 2014 it could be a 60 or an 85kwh battery. See what the car's range is at 100% (and that it actually charges all the way to 100%).

See at what kw it supercharges. Should be around "battery percentage + kw = 110." So that means with the battery at 40% it should be charging at ~70kw, at 50% it would be 60kw, etc.

Lifetime supercharging should be for the life of the vehicle, not just the life of the drivetrain/battery.

The car likely has MCU1 (unless the PO had it upgraded) and will either need to be recalled or upgraded. I would budget $1500 for an MCU2 upgrade unless the slowness of the interface and occasional crashes doesn't bother you.

If it has air suspension, ask if any of the corners of the car are lower after sitting for a day or two. This would mean a leak.

Pretty sure Tesla doesn't sell an extended warranty at this point, though there are 3rd party companies like XCare. They may not warrant cars over 100k though.

 

[dabbler]

Next-gen seats are better than the original, especially on long drives.

Battery degradation ( charging loss) should be about 7-10 %. If it is an S85 with the original 265 range, 10% loss equates to 245 approximate range when charged to 100%.

Have suspension links and control arms inspected / replaced as these are prone to failure. This is a very heavy vehicle (5400#). Lifetime supercharging is for the vehicle regardless of configuration. Know that if you are on a long trip using NAV and are at a SC station that is currently restricted to 80% charging capacity, if you stay plugged into charger past the allotted charge time, you will be subject to "idle fees" at $1.00 per minute.

Good luck!

 

[dschol]

I’m still driving a 2013 S85, though I have a Refresh S on order. My family and I find the seats to be fine, but we’re not super picky. I haven’t done a full, 100% charge in A long time, but my guess is that we’d get 230-240 miles of range depending on weather conditions and elevation changes.

FWIW, we are also in Northern CA and drive from SF to Tahoe on a regular basis, which requires a long (30 min) charging stop on the way out. (We can make it back to SF without a charge). We find the car plenty comfortable for road trips. That said, I’ve driven newer S’s and they are more comfortable.

 

[EVRider-FL]

If you care about autopilot features, note that the first generation of autopilot hardware went into production in Sept 2014.

 

[dmwahl]

I bought a '15 model S with 110k on it a few months ago and had some of the same concerns, here are my thoughts...

I am new to Tesla (havent even driven one ;-)) but have been interested in the company and the product. I am looking at buying a used Tesla Model S, 2014 (4D). Attractive part is it comes with lifetime free supercharging, which I understand transfers over to new owner (but couldnt verify this with Tesla, despite me calling them).
The car has done 110K miles (50K of those in last 15 months as the current owner did up and down driving to workplace everyday which is 100 plus miles away). There was a previous owner (original buyer) who replaced door handles, panoramic sun roof etc. The next owner updated the drive too and the main display screen as there was a screen recall. The battery is still original but the warranty on the car is expiring by next year.
Will be getting this for around $30K. Have a few queries in my mind which I havent found answers to , despite hours of research including google reviews.
- What are your opinions on a battery fail in these models. Are the 2014s having history of battery issues. I live in north california so the winters are cold (30-40s) but no snow but summers are 110s for a couple of months. In the past year the current owner has mostly supercharged these (as they didnt have a home power source). Would these be genuine concern regarding the health and reliability of battery pack going forward.

Cold winters are 30-40? Maybe in CA that's considered cold I bought mine from someone in a similar climate, the full charge rated range is 259 out of the original 270 (96%). I personally feel more comfortable with it knowing it's been going that long and only degraded 4% or so. The owner did 2/3 of his charging at superchargers (found via the scanmytesla app). 110F may be hot to a human, but it's not that hot for the car which can easily keep the pack temperature controlled.

- Does Tesla sell extended warranties for these models

I don't think so.

- The seats look uncomfortable (the newer ones have more contoured seats). The back seat to me looked like a bench and flat. What is the long drive experience in these.

I have the earlier seats and they're not as nice as the newer ones, but I found once I got it adjusted how I like it was fine. The most driving I've done in a stretch was about 5 hours which was fine.

- Anything I should be looking into, checking while I decide to buy this

Rich rebuilds has a good youtube video for common stuff to look for, other than drive unit and battery issues which you already know about it's all fairly minor stuff. Expect things to go wrong at some point though, it's an early production car from a new automaker, there will be problems. Ordering parts from Tesla is super easy, albeit slow, so if you can do the work yourself it's not a big deal. Doing the work yourself makes it fairly cheap, having Tesla do them will not be cheap. (ex they quoted my 625 to replace a CV axle, part was $95 from Rockauto).

- What does lifetime free supercharging mean - is it the life of battery pack or what defines the life of car as per tesla. Anyone faced road bumps getting it transferred during private sale.
Thanks.

I had zero issues transferring the free supercharging, the owner just transferred ownership of the to my Tesla account and it all worked. I think it's only an issue when a 3rd party (dealer or Tesla) sells it, private party shouldn't be any problem. As I understand it, it's tied to the VIN of the car which doesn't change.

 

[alexmat]

Seat comfort is very personal; I know owners who love them, and owners who hate them. The back bench is not flat, but not as contoured as the front seats.

Yes, the battery degrades over time & use, and some fail prematurely, but I would expect the average pack to get over 300k miles (time will tell how accurate my prediction will be). It would be best if you can keep the car in the shade during the hot months, but not critical. The one thing you have not mentioned is the battery size. The larger the size (100 kWh is the largest), the better.

Its Model S 85D Sedan 4D. So I think the battery is 60KWh ?

 

[dmwahl]

Its Model S 85D Sedan 4D. So I think the battery is 60KWh ?

The "85" in 85D means 85kWh, although in reality it's something like 77kWh.

 

[techweenie]

I am new to Tesla (havent even driven one ;-)) but have been interested in the company and the product. I am looking at buying a used Tesla Model S, 2014 (4D). Attractive part is it comes with lifetime free supercharging, which I understand transfers over to new owner (but couldnt verify this with Tesla, despite me calling them).
The car has done 110K miles (50K of those in last 15 months as the current owner did up and down driving to workplace everyday which is 100 plus miles away). There was a previous owner (original buyer) who replaced door handles, panoramic sun roof etc. The next owner updated the drive too and the main display screen as there was a screen recall. The battery is still original but the warranty on the car is expiring by next year.
Will be getting this for around $30K. Have a few queries in my mind which I havent found answers to , despite hours of research including google reviews.
- What are your opinions on a battery fail in these models. Are the 2014s having history of battery issues. I live in north california so the winters are cold (30-40s) but no snow but summers are 110s for a couple of months. In the past year the current owner has mostly supercharged these (as they didnt have a home power source). Would these be genuine concern regarding the health and reliability of battery pack going forward.
- Does Tesla sell extended warranties for these models
- The seats look uncomfortable (the newer ones have more contoured seats). The back seat to me looked like a bench and flat. What is the long drive experience in these.
- Anything I should be looking into, checking while I decide to buy this
- What does lifetime free supercharging mean - is it the life of battery pack or what defines the life of car as per tesla. Anyone faced road bumps getting it transferred during private sale.
Thanks.

I have about a month of experience on my 104K-mile 2014 85. It came with a fluid void in the touchscreen, which is not super bothersome, but I will be replacing it. It takes about 12-15 seconds for the dash panel to boot up, but the touchscreen is usually on when I get in the car. I've had a couple glitches where the touchscreen wouldn't turn on at all, which limits functions like turn signals & HVAC. A couple reboots and that was fixed. I do have a service appointment in a week so I can find out what my options are in UI improvements. I'm unlikely to spring for MCU2, because to retain FM radio capability is an additional $500 upcharge. 3G is working ok for me, probably because I'm in a dense urban area that has excellent coverage. I trickle charge between supercharging stints. The phone app indicates the superchargers that are free, and those where all the plugs are in use. I've found that handy. My other car is a Porsche, so the Tesla Gen 1 seat is a letdown by comparisong, But I've been able to find a tolerable position. If I have a windfall, I may upgrade to Gen 2 seats.
My recommendation is that a 2014 85 is a good deal at anything under $33-34K. Mileage isn't a huge concern, IMO. Local tire shop services a Model S with 300K on it.
Eager to hear others' experiences.