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Model S Economics

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Hello. I'm trying to decide on the best course of action on a Tesla.

I drive over 50k miles a year. My work commute is 120 miles per day, and we travel on the weekends 200 miles each way to our vacation home. I used to drive a Jaguar, but when I changed jobs, I bought a Prius. I have a 2007 Prius with 500k miles, and a 2017 Prius Prime with 140k miles.

I am hoping to buy a used Tesla with supercharging included (if possible), but am concerned about the battery replacement. So, it seems like I would need a more current model to get closer to the 8 years. Any suggestions on what would make the most sense? Thanks.
 
IMO your logic is backwards. Why pay a SUBSTANTIAL premium for a car that will be out of warranty in a year or so? Sure you'll have a few more years on the battery & motor warranty but when you factor the amount of depreciation you'll get on a couple of years that will FAR outweigh any potential savings on a battery pack replacement which you don't even know you'll for sure need or when.

My suggestion would be to get an older one with higher mileage but at half the price (or less) of a new(er) one. Then see just how long EVs are capable of going w/o major repairs. You'll have saved $20k-$40k over a newer one you can dip into for repairs should you even need them. Chances are pretty good that you'll get several years w/o needing to dip much into that savings much at all.

That's my take anyway. I don't buy new due to the financial hit one takes on depreciation. This is only magnified the more miles you anticipate driving.
 
I’d be curious what the high mileage folks are seeing on degradation. Other than the packs that are known to be problematic, my belief is they hold up really well. I’ve spoken to a few guys who do black car service with Teslas and the degradation is very minimal. They love the low maintenance.

So my point is - the battery wouldn’t be a big concern to me. I think generally a Tesla is a great car for high mileage use.
 
I believe TeslaLoop (TesLoop?) has a few cars with well over 400,000 miles on them. Some have had battery replacements and others have not. Check YouTube for high mileage Teslas and there will be videos showing user experiences.

I would go for a used car produced just before the battery warranty changed from unlimited miles to 150,000 miles (assuming the applicable warranty is not the most recent when you take delivery).