Model S - Coming out of Warranty - Canada

[Struja]

Like the title says folks, I have a CPO 2016 Model S Refresh about to come out of warranty.

I am about to exceed my 80k km on my warranty within the next couple of months. CPO cars weren't eligible for an extended warranty when I purchased the car, so I am not sure what (if any) options I have going forward and would like to solicit some thoughts.

Does any third party company offer extended warranties to Tesla's and if so, what are the pros and cons? Anyone have any experience with 3rd party extended warranties?

My concerns stem from a few areas... largely my car has been pretty good from a maintenance stand point. Not nearly as good as my Lexus before the Model S, but I half expected it to be a bit worse on reliability. Don't get me wrong, my S90D is a way better car than my former IS350, just not in the area of reliability. I have in the 3 years I have owned it had to replace my front driver seat, 12V battery, windshield mounted camera, one door handle, car horns (both) and realigned the chrome window trim like 17 times...it just has never aligned properly.

So, my second concern stems from the unknown. Unlike many of you, I really don't know the ins and out of the car that well, in terms of what might be the big ticket repair items going forward. Is there anything I can do to protect myself and ensure, I don't get smacked with a $4,000 repair, two weeks after my warranty runs out.

Basically, this is my attempt at some preventative medicine, so I would appreciate your thoughts.

 

[SilverGS]

I'm curious about this as well even though it will be a while before I get to use my 80k km warranty.

 

[Bitjockey]

Same here, I bought an extra 40,000km warranty for my 2015 85D, now nearing 108,000km, so I'll be out of warranty in about 6 months. Was hoping there would be an S refresh with non-18650 batteries and faster charging by then, not holding my breath.

 

[aaron0k]

I really don't know the ins and out of the car that well, in terms of what might be the big ticket repair items going forward. .

Your MCU might croak (that big display and the computers inside it) = $2500.

 

[03DSG]

Like the title says folks, I have a CPO 2016 Model S Refresh about to come out of warranty.

I am about to exceed my 80k km on my warranty within the next couple of months. CPO cars weren't eligible for an extended warranty when I purchased the car, so I am not sure what (if any) options I have going forward and would like to solicit some thoughts.

Does any third party company offer extended warranties to Tesla's and if so, what are the pros and cons? Anyone have any experience with 3rd party extended warranties?

My concerns stem from a few areas... largely my car has been pretty good from a maintenance stand point. Not nearly as good as my Lexus before the Model S, but I half expected it to be a bit worse on reliability. Don't get me wrong, my S90D is a way better car than my former IS350, just not in the area of reliability. I have in the 3 years I have owned it had to replace my front driver seat, 12V battery, windshield mounted camera, one door handle, car horns (both) and realigned the chrome window trim like 17 times...it just has never aligned properly.

So, my second concern stems from the unknown. Unlike many of you, I really don't know the ins and out of the car that well, in terms of what might be the big ticket repair items going forward. Is there anything I can do to protect myself and ensure, I don't get smacked with a $4,000 repair, two weeks after my warranty runs out.

Basically, this is my attempt at some preventative medicine, so I would appreciate your thoughts.

Some piece of mind is that the really big ticket items, power unit and battery, have 4 years of warranty left. The way I look at it is that I have never purchased an extended warranty on anything. Not on cars, bikes, appliances, HVAC, cameras, computers, phones etc.

I basically self-insure. I've saved enough in not buying extended warranties over the years that I'm fine with paying as I go.

In retrospect there would have been very few, if any, opportunities to exercise an extended warranty anyways. Just my POV.

 

[Struja]

Some piece of mind is that the really big ticket items, power unit and battery, have 4 years of warranty left. The way I look at it is that I have never purchased an extended warranty on anything. Not on cars, bikes, appliances, HVAC, cameras, computers, phones etc.

I basically self-insure. I've saved enough in not buying extended warranties over the years that I'm fine with paying as I go.

In retrospect there would have been very few, if any, opportunities to exercise an extended warranty anyways. Just my POV.

I am much like you...BUT (and this is a big but), one of the reasons I have always been a Honda/Toyota/Lexus owner in the past, was related to reliability issues.

That is not to say those cars don't break, but their historic track record is pretty good. I don't have NEARLY the same confidence in my Tesla. I can't say exactly why I don't but I just get the feeling this car is going to start gettting very expensive. That feeling isn't really based on anything other than my gut.

 

[SilverGS]

I am much like you...BUT (and this is a big but), one of the reasons I have always been a Honda/Toyota/Lexus owner in the past, was related to reliability issues.

That is not to say those cars don't break, but their historic track record is pretty good. I don't have NEARLY the same confidence in my Tesla. I can't say exactly why I don't but I just get the feeling this car is going to start gettting very expensive. That feeling isn't really based on anything other than my gut.

I guess the other last resort option for your peace of mind (but it may not be an option based on what your budget may be) is to sell it now while it still has some warranty and get another S. That's what I plan to do, but it also depends on how much the next car will cost and my budget situation at that time.

I've also only ever owned Japanese cars prior to my S (Lexus GS400, Toyota 4Runner, Honda Civic)

 

[Decibelle]

Extended warranty is of course a gamble. I paid for a 4 year agreement in May of 2019 when my original warranty was up and within a few months I had already had repairs for about $3,000. My Air suspension pump died while on a trip to Kelowna and the interior HVAC fan was chirping. For me the extended warranty is more of a piece of mind than anything else. You get a lot of parts for the cost of the warranty, plus you have to pay $300 each time the car goes in for surgery. I’ll see if it was worth it in another 3+ years.

 

[Victoria3]

Never insure anything you can afford to repair/replace. Extended Warranties are insurance, and therefore probability is that you will pay more for the warranty than any repairs made under the warranty would cost... otherwise they wouldn't be selling them.

 

[EV-Fixme]

Your MCU might croak (that big display and the computers inside it) = $2500.

Yes, and options are available for many areas now. Some locations will require owner to do part of the work or finding a good stereo shop to help.

 

[wayner]

Never insure anything you can afford to repair/replace. Extended Warranties are insurance, and therefore probability is that you will pay more for the warranty than any repairs made under the warranty would cost... otherwise they wouldn't be selling them.

Very, very wise advice!

The only caveat would be that if you can't afford the loss then you might want to consider insurance. Therefore, it never makes sense to buy the extended warranty for a $50 item from Best Buy. But it does make sense to buy fire insurance for your house. For your car it depends if you can afford a few $K to fix items on the car.

 

[Rockster]

Our 2015 Model S has about 100k miles now and has had a number of repairs, some in warranty, some out of warranty. Off the top of my head:

• Motor (RWD) replaced under warranty at about 30k miles due to the milling sound.
• Three of four door handles replaced (one in warranty, two rebuilt by me out of warranty)
• MCU failed and replaced (failed just out of the 50k mile warranty, replaced free as a courtesy)
• Onboard charger failed at about 80k miles, $2000 cost to us, I believe
• Motor/axle seals leaking at 95k miles, $200 cost to us, I believe
• Main battery replaced at about 90k miles and it failed and was replaced again at about 97k miles, both under warranty.

All in all, we came out ahead paying out of pocket for the post-50k repairs over buying the extended warranty but that was only because they replaced the MCU as a courtesy and I repaired the two door handles myself for a small amount instead of paying Tesla for replacement door handles. Otherwise, we would have been better off with the extended warranties.

 

[Hugh Mannity]

Hmm; also debating what to do; My car is 2016 with 73K on the clock; it looks like another 4 year warranty extension is north of 6 grand - holy crap .... but .... will 6 grand worth of stuff fail in the next 4 years ? Probably not .... it will give piece of mind though ....

something else to keep in mind; if you sell; an extended warranty is likely to boost up the resale value a bit

 

[xG35]

Same situation, 2016 S. I think I will pass. My car has been reliable so far and hope it will be the same.

 

[Gerk]

I was in the same situation a while back as well, but when crunching the numbers it was a big outlay and assumed that I would be spending at least $1500/year on repairs out of pocket (not to mention the deductible each time you need to use it). Considering my car already has a replaced MCU, front camera, 3 out of 4 handles, a rebuilt sunroof and a handful of other smaller replacements I decided not to. One year in and I don't regret the decision. Self-insuring is probably the better option in most cases I would suspect.

 

[SilverGS]

I was in the same situation a while back as well, but when crunching the numbers it was a big outlay and assumed that I would be spending at least $1500/year on repairs out of pocket (not to mention the deductible each time you need to use it). Considering my car already has a replaced MCU, front camera, 3 out of 4 handles, a rebuilt sunroof and a handful of other smaller replacements I decided not to. One year in and I don't regret the decision. Self-insuring is probably the better option in most cases I would suspect.

Good to know! I see you're also a resident of Oakville like myself! Nice to meet you. What year is your car?

 

[Gerk]

Good to know! I see you're also a resident of Oakville like myself! Nice to meet you. What year is your car?

It's a 2015.

 

[wayner]

I too had this decision to make a year ago as I bought my car in January 2015. I have not regretted it either as I haven't had any issues.

 

[Gerk]

Yep I mean if you do have to pay $6k out of pocket for a repair it's probably a major one ... and if you have to pay more then it for sure is super major. Considering the battery and motors are still covered under warranty ... I'm glad I made the decision to not spend the money up front. If I regret it later so be it but I think it's worth taking the chance but I guess you have to make that call on a car-to-car basis. If your car is in the shop several times a year and always has issues maybe it's worth it to you, but for me, nope.

 

[canadianeh]

Is it just me or does this one thread dispel the myth that you'll save on maintenance with a tesla? Yikes. I am looking at some used Teslas but this has scared me.