Model S reaching 4 years old or 50 000 miles

[nowtleft]

Dilemma!

We lose all roadside assistance even if extended warranty taken out and I suspect goodwill from Tesla based on my questions to a service centre.

OR - upgrade to newer used car at +£40k only to lose 30k in next couple of years.

Makes me wonder if a Tesla REALLY is a good idea - the electric, joy of driving, no emissions etc is a no brainer but financially it is SUICIDE!

I honestly think I WILL extend warranty and join green flag as whilst I can afford to get a new or used Model S my brain cannot allow me to lose another 40K over 2 years on top of the 20K lost in 12 months on my P85 - £60k to help save the planet???????

Are we mugs or am I TOTALLY missing the point? Perhaps I should buy an ICE car again and spend my money on solar, ground source heat pumps etc - makes you think doesn't it!!

On top of that my referral wheels have STILL not arrived after 6 months of lies and fake promises.

 

[plumazul]

Are we mugs or am I TOTALLY missing the point? Perhaps I should buy an ICE car again and spend my money on solar, ground source heat pumps etc - makes you think doesn't it!!

On top of that my referral wheels have STILL not arrived after 6 months of lies and fake promises.

All the environmental benefits are nice, but the way I look at it, half of my purchase price I wrote off to "entertainment". The handling, the instant response/power, the quiet, the lack of smelly exhaust, never going to another gas station, and on and on. To me it's my version of a never ending trip to Disneyland! So if you look at it like that, it will take a while for the car to depreciate below the cost/2 point, so I don't "lose" anything.

 

[kev1n]

if you're only thinking financially, i would tell you not to buy a Tesla. its not worth it no matter how you go about it.

 

[nowtleft]

I will keep mine probably until it is 8 years old as new ones are the same as mine (worse in most cases!). I hope that by year 7 the future of EVs and Tesla cars will be clearer and cheaper. I agree Teslas are a total waste of money but that the enjoyment etc outweighs the fact if you can afford to.

 

[redbaronace]

I am at the place where I need to decide shortly whether to extend my warranty or not.

Leaning toward not, but then again quite a few repairs have been made to my car in mileage 48,000-50,000. Mostly I had everything done while it was still covered.

 

[Rockster]

After going back and forth on the matter, we decided not to extend our warranty, as our S had been rather trouble-free at that point. We are now at 70,000 miles and (knock on wood), we've not regretted that decision. Part of the reason we didn't extend the warranty is because we put a lot of miles on the car and the warranty would have added only about another 24 months of coverage, considering the rate at which we put miles on the car.

 

[KidDoc]

Unless you are a high mileage person like Rockster I would get the warranty. I went without it for a year and Tesla repair cost are shockingly high even for simple things like bugs in the tail-lights or door handles not working correctly. I recently purchased Car Shield warranty to help mitigate the costs. The $175/hr shop fee is pretty brutal for Texas at least, about 80% more than other shops and 25% more than other luxury car dealership shops.

 

[patrick40363]

My warranty will run out next year and I will not buy the extended warranty. The extended warranty is too expensive so I will take my chances.

 

[Rockster]

A number of people here on the forum have said they would take the extended warranty money and buy TSLA stock with it instead, hoping that they'll come out ahead in the long run.

 

[roblab]

There's so little service. I put my own new windshield wipers on my S today, but am having trouble remembering ever taking it in. Had 82,000 on old S, 67,000 on current one. I don't have my car serviced on any schedule, except as it needs. It's not a gas car. No oil, no plugs, no transmission. There's no access to engine.

Of course, if you take it in, they will gladly take your money.

 

[csanders90D]

If you need roadside assistance, sign up with someone like Green Flag (or AAA or whatever other program covers your area) and buy roadside assistance. The manufacturer of any car (ICE or EV) only provides that coverage for a couple years, then you're on your own.

Getting a new car because roadside assistance ran out makes a much sense as replacing a car because the tires are bald. Need tires? Buy tires. Need roadside assistance? Buy roadside assistance. That 40k for upgrading to a newer car would pay for decades of Green Flag and any other repairs.

 

[mspohr]

Dilemma!

We lose all roadside assistance even if extended warranty taken out and I suspect goodwill from Tesla based on my questions to a service centre.

OR - upgrade to newer used car at +£40k only to lose 30k in next couple of years.

Makes me wonder if a Tesla REALLY is a good idea - the electric, joy of driving, no emissions etc is a no brainer but financially it is SUICIDE!

I honestly think I WILL extend warranty and join green flag as whilst I can afford to get a new or used Model S my brain cannot allow me to lose another 40K over 2 years on top of the 20K lost in 12 months on my P85 - £60k to help save the planet???????

Are we mugs or am I TOTALLY missing the point? Perhaps I should buy an ICE car again and spend my money on solar, ground source heat pumps etc - makes you think doesn't it!!

On top of that my referral wheels have STILL not arrived after 6 months of lies and fake promises.

I think you are missing the point (or at least some of the points).
- A car is not an investment. A car is not an investment. A car is not an investment.
All cars depreciate. Expensive cars depreciate more that cheap cars. If you're looking at the value of your used car each day like a stock, you're doing it wrong. It will go down in value every day. If you buy a new car it will go down in value even more. Just stop torturing yourself.
- what makes you think you will lose "goodwill" (whatever that is)?

Most people don't think the cost of the extended warranty is worth it. Most people don't have many repair expenses after the 50,000 mile warranty.
I have a three year old Model S with 60,000 miles. It's perfect. I don't have extended warranty. I plan to drive it "forever".

Drive your car, don't worry, be happy.

 

[Booner]

Think it depends on your specific car. Tesla quality and reliability from car to car seems to vary dramatically. My 2014 P85 with only 38k miles has been at the SC several times over the last several months (leaking tail lamps, tailgate filling with water when it rains, MCU failure, pano roof problems, drive unit replacement this coming week, etc...). Guy I work with has a 2013 with 90k miles and NO issues whatsoever. I can handle the depreciation but the frequent SC visits gets very tiring. It’s unlikely I’ll be keeping my S after warranty expiration.

 

[nowtleft]

My P85 has been pretty trouble free but is currently at the service centre for the 2nd time to have the leaky roof sorted out.

I will get the car serviced before 4 years is up and hope they find things to sort under the warranty. Still not sure what to do but will not change the car as I do not feel a newer Model S offers anything my car doesn't have.

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

You lost £20k in 1 year on a private purchase of a P85?

If you bought from Tesla the warranty would have been extended for 4 years and 50k miles.
If you bought private, the UK market still looks like cars are a minimum of £40k so you must have paid top $ a year ago and prices have been stronger recently. You could spend £25k extra, get a new 75D so I don't get your maths that will be quicker than your P85, better built, latest tech etc,

The SC are really busy everywhere but buy the Tesla approved extended warranty and they should look after you. Roadside assistance has been an issue even on cars under warranty as they don't cover flats or accidents and just take you to the nearest SC.

 

[RAW84]

There's so little service. I put my own new windshield wipers on my S today, but am having trouble remembering ever taking it in. Had 82,000 on old S, 67,000 on current one. I don't have my car serviced on any schedule, except as it needs. It's not a gas car. No oil, no plugs, no transmission. There's no access to engine.

Of course, if you take it in, they will gladly take your money.

What about the fluid flushes that they do at the annual services? Do you skip those? Or do them yourself?

 

[nowtleft]

You lost £20k in 1 year on a private purchase of a P85?

If you bought from Tesla the warranty would have been extended for 4 years and 50k miles.
If you bought private, the UK market still looks like cars are a minimum of £40k so you must have paid top $ a year ago and prices have been stronger recently. You could spend £25k extra, get a new 75D so I don't get your maths that will be quicker than your P85, better built, latest tech etc,

The SC are really busy everywhere but buy the Tesla approved extended warranty and they should look after you. Roadside assistance has been an issue even on cars under warranty as they don't cover flats or accidents and just take you to the nearest SC.

Point was I paid £58k - now worth £45ish private but Tesla offer £30k trade in (£30k potential loss!) - ripping us off on purchase price AND then on trade in. Tesla need to sell new at a realistic price - Model S 75D about £50k which is the most the cars worth. Also should be fair on trade in as ripping customers off is not a long term sensible plan.
I have a 100d Model X loaner at the moment - £100k new??? Horrible car which is no better than my P85 S and you can't even fold the middle row of seats down - I honestly do not get what market the Model X is aimed at.

 

[nowtleft]

Once the wave of us fanboys dissipates on the beach Tesla will have to start treating its market in a much more realistic way or will fail very quickly. There are no fan boys in the truck market!!

 

[mmccord]

90k now on my 2015 85D. Warranty expired at 50k, only minor repairs since. Did a few door handles myself, paid for a 12v battery.

There is an insect in one of my tail lights, but I'm not replacing it for that. He's not hurting anything.

The pano roof shudders when it opens and closes. Service center tried to fix it last year and it was ok for a few weeks, and then came back. Will probably just put up with it.

Everything else is in good shape still.

 

[Zeromus-X]

The pano roof shudders when it opens and closes. Service center tried to fix it last year and it was ok for a few weeks, and then came back. Will probably just put up with it.

Ugh, I meant to take mine in for this. I just passed 50,000 the other day on my July 2016.

I won't be doing the extended warranty simply because if I keep driving the way I am, it's really only lasting me a year and a half to two years at most anyway. I travel a lot. I'm crossing my fingers that the car can keep up.