My Used 2017 90D and CPO Checklist

[Catbiscuits]

Greetings! I am now the owner of a beautiful silver 20017 Tesla Model 90D.

I took delivery yesterday, exactly one week after I ordered it I’d heard so many horror stories so, for better or worse, I thought I’ll give my impressions. The car was in Newburgh, NY and delivery was in Paramus, NJ. It got here Wednesday and while I was originally scheduled to pick it up this morning, I work independently so I said I’d be there any time they were ready and a spot opened up at 4pm, Friday. Audrey came into the lounge then and was easy to work with. I was glad there wasn’t a long wait as I don’t do well with those!

I’d prepared an (almost!) 70 point checklist of my own based on the earlier checklist here, plus lists from other CPO processes, and on the common problems that I’d seen earlier that day. There were a couple of scuffs here and there to the exterior, but nothing that I hadn’t seen in the photos. The interior immediately demonstrated a screen with yellowing around the edges, which didn’t bother me as much as I’d thought, but it’s certainly something I’ll want to take care of. The tools for fixing the problem are presently broken and new ones are being ordered so I got on a list, but I don’t know if this is something I’m going to be want to be without the car for, so I’m hoping that I can get it done along with an MCU 1 to 2 upgrade if that comes out this spring. The only other thing on my lengthy checklist that came as a disappointment is that there is a fairly large gauge on the top side one of the passenger seat that looks almost like a burn. Wonder how on earth that happened. I’ll see if someone can fix it. Audrey said that was just a used car thing and I am not surprised. I was not able to get a CPO checklist, Service History, or Alignment Specs. MaybeI I could ask the previous owner since his registration was in the glove compartment.

I read the posts about Plastiq and while I love collecting United frequent flyer miles, I can buy them for 2.3 cents a mile and paying 2.5% to Plastiq is worse. Although a personal check would have been ok, I figured better safe than sorry and I brought a cashier’s check made out to Tesla Motors. Until I took delivery, the Tesla app wasn’t linking to my car, but it linked while I was at the dealer. The web site still says I haven’t paid, but that’s because the check wasn’t deposited yet.

Some general observations.

Somehow, I got lucky and even though there was a lot of traffic when I drove the car home (it’s northern New Jersey at 530pm), it was all moving fast.

The aero suspension was pretty similar to the suspension in the new S I test drove, definitely better than the 3 and much, much better than our previous BMWs. I was laughing like a crazy person driving over the horrific patchwork pavement in our town (Montclair, NJ). Later on our teenage kids noticed it too. The torque and horsepower in this car are truly, truly phenomenal. I’ve never drive a car this much fun to drive, let alone owned one. My previous car was a 2011 BMW 335xi (last year of the e90s), stick, performance edition with Dinan Stage 2 tune. It was a fast car, with more torque than that year’s M3. It was a fast car. The Model S would smoke it. People complain about the driving. Well BMW hasn’t been the same since the e46 series, if not earlier, and I thought the handling on the S is just fine. This car is also much, faster than my wife’s 2006 530xi (we keep cars a long time here).

I enabled autopilot and had the car drive me. It was fine, no discernible difference from the autopilot in the newer Teslas on the lot (this car has AP 2.0). It’s still a bit stressful, but certainly better than some taxi drivers I’ve had. Having watched a YouTube video about MCU 1 vs MCU 2, I was very concerned that the screen would be very laggy. It’s wasn’t as bad as I imagined (prepare for the worst and it will be better). When we got home, my son pulled up the Tesla web site, which took over 20 seconds to load in the YouTube video and it loaded much faster than that.

There were no rattles in the car. Whoever did the 70 point inspection made sure of that. The stereo is pretty good. I’m an audiophile with a Model X’s worth of stereo gear at home (no, I don’t buy $5,000 cables, but good amplifiers and massive, high quality speakers like Vandersteen 5As cost a lot of money). The Ultimate Hifi is not great. I’ll have to check, but I suspect the 335xi has a better stereo, but the lack of engine noise makes it a *much more* enjoyable listening experience than in my 335xi or any ICE car.

There have been folks saying that their SiriusXM is missing or not present, but mine was there and I easily transferred service from my BMW to the Tesla after I figured out I had to tune to channel 0 to get the radio ID. Now i can listen to the Julie Mason show in the late afternoon whenever I want (it’s the best show for politics…a strictly nonpartisan show in which she interviews journalists covering the day’s breaking news as well as politicians and other DC figures all with relentless snark). MCU 1 surprised us since initially we thought there’d be no games, but 2048, Asteroids, Missile Command, Super Breakout, and other games were included. Sadly no synthesizer!

I’m going to try to post my CPO checklist in the next post.

 

[Catbiscuits]

Tesla Model S CPO Checklist


Bring insurance cards and Velcro for EZ Pass, don’t forget the EZ Pass like I did. Wear clothes suitable for getting on the ground. Bring tire gauge and pressure gauge.


On Delivery

☐ 1. Check for two key fobs, also check condition

☐ 2. Request service history, CPO checklist and alignment specs

☐ 3. Ask for due bill form



Walkaround


☐ 4. Check alignment of all doors and hood

☐ 5. Check tire pressure, compare to sticker inside door

☐ 6. Lowest tread should be greater than 2mm

☐ 7. Wheel center caps present

☐ 8. Check for matching lug nuts

☐ 9. Front license plate holder condition

☐ 10. All tires match and clear of issues

☐ 11. Check for even wear on tires

☐ 12. No rim issues beyond what was in photos

☐ 13. No/minimal windscreen glass pitting

☐ 14. Windshield distortion or cracks (especially near passenger side halfway up)

☐ 15. Check wiper blade condition

☐ 16. Check jack points and battery pack for damage

☐ 17. Check lights and cameras for condensation, look for any cracks, esp in rear

☐ 18. Look for paint/panel issues beyond what was in photos

☐ 19. Check paint under bumpers

☐ 20. Check all door handles function, including tailgate and frunk

☐ 21. Check carpet condition in frunk and rear mat

☐ 22. Parcel shelf present

☐ 23. Check carpet condition in lower trunk

☐ 24. Charging kit with all adapters (including j1722, NEMA 5-15, NEMA14-50)

☐ 25. Tow hook

☐ 26. Check charging port door opens

☐ 27. Pull rear edge of maintenance panel upward to release the five clips at top, check for damage

☐ 28. Brake fluid level

☐ 29. Windshield washer fluid level

☐ 30. Coolant level

☐ 31. Any cracks under rear diffuser (chrome piece under bumper)



Interior


☐ 32. Immediately do an odor test

☐ 33. Any rumbling from AC when car is turned on?

☐ 34. Check front and rear floor mats

☐ 35. Check carpet condition

☐ 36. Look under front and rear mats, run hand over carpet under mats for wet spots

☐ 37. Make sure both front seat controls function

☐ 38. Check rear seats fold up and down

☐ 39. Check manual present in glove compartment

☐ 40. Check windows work

☐ 41. Check windshield sprayer and that wipers work

☐ 42. Check screen for yellowing or other defects

☐ 43. Make sure VIN matches paperwork (5YJSA1E20HF191227)

☐ 44. Make sure miles match order (30601)

☐ 45. Make sure previous user settings/details wiped

☐ 46. Is it the most recent software?

☐ 47. Check range on battery in % and miles

☐ 48. Check LTE connection

☐ 49. Connect phone to check Bluetooth

☐ 50. Bring phone cable and USB adapter. Check USB connection and power at all ports.

☐ 51. Make sure Autopilot/FSD enabled

☐ 52. Check all speakers work, play music, for example first track of Blade Runner 2049 soundtrack.

Any crackles, rattles, or other sound issues?

☐ 53. Check radio function

☐ 54. Check for SiriusXM

☐ 55. Run the HVAC, hot then cold

☐ 56. Make sure sunroof opens/closes

☐ 57. Check air suspension

☐ 58. Check power lift gate function

☐ 59. Check frunk function

☐ 60. Check mirrors work and fold in

☐ 61. Check all interior doors, center console, etc.

☐ 62. Any interior trim loose

☐ 63. Check headliner

☐ 64. Seat belts functional and locking

☐ 65. Check visors

☐ 66. Check to see if steering wheel controls function

☐ 67. Make sure all seat heaters work

☐ 68. Make sure lights work (low beams, high beams, fogs, left, right, hazard, brake)

☐ 69. Check interior lights




Take photos, notes and request due bill in writing for any damage noted, ask for a ranger to come perform any repairs

Set up EZ Pass, add your driver profile. Set up the mirrors and phone for drive home.

 

[Catbiscuits]

One last thing, since my editing time on the first post expired.

I should have said that this was an easy experience with absolutely no glitches. Audrey didn’t have any issues with our long checklist, there were no delays in my delivery which only took one week from order to delivery, and I was treated fairly throughout. We got into Tesla at 3.50 and I was on the road by 5:20. Most of that time was going over the checklist (it helped to bring my wife with me).

For all the people talking about how it’s subpar and how they miss bottles of wine handed to them by German automotive engineers took time off to fly in from Munich to hand them their keys let me tell you that I’ve bought a new and CPO European cars in the NYC and LA areas and those experiences were much, much worse.

In those cases, some guy who doesn’t know or care about your car but clearly does know the art of sleaze gives you a dumb “present” like a key ornament that you will never use but feel weird throwing away takes you into a back room where you wind up spending thousands more on garbage like interior protection that you will find useless if you ever need it points to the sign on his desk saying “Give us five stars or we fail” and tells that the experience requires five stars or his boss will have to follow up with you (this sounds like something out of the Sopranos more than quality assurance). The whole process takes *hours.* Car dealers are AWFUL people, and luxury car dealers see you as a chump, the only luxury being the cushy lifestyles they get to lead by profiting from you. Don’t even get me started on BMW service where everything. When I brought my car in for a warranty repair, the grinning service writer at Park Avenue BMW said oh look you scuffed your bumper a little, you’ll have to pay $3,000 to stop the obnoxious warning on your fancy and useless road-following headlights. I cussed him out in front of everyone, ending with... “Next time, I’m buying a Tesla your cars suck!”

I went to dinner before teaching a Merit Badge for my son’s scout troop and charged the car a little at a Chargepoint station in a lot. After dinner I had to pick up my daughter from tech crew at the high school prior to teaching the Merit Badge and of course when I got back the station was occupied by some jerk in his ICE. Well, it’s New Jersey, jerks thrive on the water here. Next time I’ll call the cops and have him towed. The car has been charging all night and it’s got 30 miles more than when I parked it. Whoopie! I can’t wait for the electrician to come out and install the wall connector I’ve ordered. (I had one bid of $1,800 for a new sub panel and running the 240 to the garage, hoping the other bid comes in lower, but these are the burbs of NYC).

 

[Tdblanchard]

Thanks so much for posting!
I ordered my 2016 Model S 90D on Monday and am waiting for the delivery dept to get the car the the location that was actually listed on the listing page (got an email saying it’s waiting for me in Orlando, FL when it was supposed to be in GA!).
As has been posted, communication thus far has been super-lame but I’m hopeful the process is better once transport has completed.
Definitely going to use a checklist like yours!
Congrats on your new ride!
I can’t wait to “whisper” home in mine

 

[outeast]

Great post... I'll be taking delivery in the next week or so of a "CPO" used car myself. Will be using this. Thanks!

 

[Ostrichsak]

Important distinction to avoid confusion: Tesla ended the CPO program nearly a year ago. What you're talking about is a used car and not a CPO which would normally denote a certain level of cosmetic inspection and refurbishment. What you're getting is a used car with a factory warranty against mechanical defects that likely hasn't had the 70pt inspection done they claim. It's important that you know you're buying a used car and inspect it thoroughly as any cosmetic issues are yours once you sign the paperwork. If you want them to fix anything ask before you sign paperwork and force them to put it in writing.

 

[outeast]

Important distinction to avoid confusion: Tesla ended the CPO program nearly a year ago. What you're talking about is a used car and not a CPO which would normally denote a certain level of cosmetic inspection and refurbishment. What you're getting is a used car with a factory warranty against mechanical defects that likely hasn't had the 70pt inspection done they claim. It's important that you know you're buying a used car and inspect it thoroughly as any cosmetic issues are yours once you sign the paperwork. If you want them to fix anything ask before you sign paperwork and force them to put it in writing.

where have I seen this before?

thanks for spreading the awareness though

 

[Ostrichsak]

where have I seen this before?

thanks for spreading the awareness though

As long as people keep incorrectly referring to them as CPO I'll keep posting to help curb some of the confusion. It's prolific enough thanks to Tesla shenanigans w/o further muddying the waters with using incorrect terms when we could just as easily use proper terminology.

 

[Akikiki]

OP, why would they link that car to your account until you paid for it and made it officially "your" car. ANS: They would not. They avoid the possibly that someone would climb the fence to get to the car and use the app to unlock and drive off in Tesla's car.

 

[outeast]

As long as people keep incorrectly referring to them as CPO I'll keep posting to help curb some of the confusion. It's prolific enough thanks to Tesla shenanigans w/o further muddying the waters with using incorrect terms when we could just as easily use proper terminology.

Agreed, thats why I even put CPO in quotations, just a used car being sold by tesla at the end of the day (mine was a recently turned in 3-year lease from the carfax) with a 4yr/50k warranty. Not sure what else to really call it? UIP used inventory program?

 

[SilverGS]

Congratulations and welcome to the Tesla family!

 

[Ostrichsak]

Agreed, thats why I even put CPO in quotations, just a used car being sold by tesla at the end of the day (mine was a recently turned in 3-year lease from the carfax) with a 4yr/50k warranty. Not sure what else to really call it? UIP used inventory program?

I've seen several things suggested since they discontinued the program but nothing has really stuck. I just call them used cars sold through Tesla and I don't really have a preference to what people call them just so long as we stop calling them CPO> People who are new to the market are super confused while trying to educate themselves which we should all really try to avoid given how confusing this topic already is.

 

[Catbiscuits]

OP, why would they link that car to your account until you paid for it and made it officially "your" car. ANS: They would not. They avoid the possibly that someone would climb the fence to get to the car and use the app to unlock and drive off in Tesla's car.

I had paid for it. While the check wasn’t cashed, it was a cashiers check for the, and I drove away as they saved. Perhaps I wasn’t clear, but the app was linked but the web site listed as not yet paid. Now, the app was not linked until I gave the, the check, BUT there was a link encouraging me to download the app under “manage my Tesla” and if I was in the IT department, I wouldn’t have that appear until I had paid. I mentioned this only because it seemed odd to me and it might to other purchasers.

As for CPO or not. Fine, they don’t call it a CPO. These days a “Certified” BMW has its original warranty plus one year plus unlimited miles after expiration of the original 4 year, 50,000 mile warranty. Now I’m a low mileage driver, with a maximum of 12,000 miles a year, but you tell me, would you rather take a 2017 Certified BMW (with 2 more years of warranty left) or a Tesla with 4 years and 50,000 miles in my case? Oh and believe me, I’ve owned two Certified BMWs. Heaven help you if you buy one.

 

[Catbiscuits]

In other news, drove it on a shakedown cruise into the city and back (15 miles each way of alternately fast and stop and go) traffic, then around the NJ burbs. No issues to write home about, except maybe the poor performance of the MCU1 web browser, which I’ve heard about previously.

 

[Akikiki]

I had paid for it. While the check wasn’t cashed, it was a cashiers check for the, and I drove away as they saved. Perhaps I wasn’t clear, but the app was linked but the web site listed as not yet paid. Now, the app was not linked until I gave the, the check, BUT there was a link encouraging me to download the app under “manage my Tesla” and if I was in the IT department, I wouldn’t have that appear until I had paid. I mentioned this only because it seemed odd to me and it might to other purchasers.

As for CPO or not. Fine, they don’t call it a CPO. These days a “Certified” BMW has its original warranty plus one year plus unlimited miles after expiration of the original 4 year, 50,000 mile warranty. Now I’m a low mileage driver, with a maximum of 12,000 miles a year, but you tell me, would you rather take a 2017 Certified BMW (with 2 more years of warranty left) or a Tesla with 4 years and 50,000 miles in my case? Oh and believe me, I’ve owned two Certified BMWs. Heaven help you if you buy one.

These days, I'd rather live next door to some one that owned a Tesla than personally own a BMW.

 

[ItsTTime]

Thanks for posting this - your situation is pretty similar to mine. I put in my order for a used 75D last week on Tuesday and though the website showed the car was in Paramus, it was in Newburgh, NY. I will be coming up from NC and they said the car would have to be moved to Paramus, NJ and I still haven't gotten any further updates on that or a delivery date yet. Also waiting on the MVPA for my person financing. Hope the rest of the process is as speedy and smooth as yours was.

 

[Tdblanchard]

I put down the $100 on my MS 90D on 1/20 and was ready to make my plans to go pick it up in Roswell, GA (where it was listed as being). The next day I received an email from Tesla saying:

Your vehicle is located in a storage facility in Orlando, FL. Please confirm if you are able to pick up at our Orlando-Eatonville Delivery Center. We can also transport the vehicle to our Baltimore- MD delivery center which will add $2000 to the vehicle purchase price. ​

I contacted my “advisor” and told him about the mistake. He assured me that he’d figure something out for me.
After not hearing anything from him by 1/25 I took the initiative and called the Roswell Tesla dealership and got a super-friendly lady named Katie on the phone who was able to ping my car and confirm it was in Decatur. She then scheduled my delivery for 2/7 (giving me time to arrange travel).

Point worth considering...

The “advisors” aren’t very capable of providing you with much more than you can ascertain yourself. Once you’re order is in, call the nearest Tesla center and deal with a rep there. They can actually access the vehicle location.

Regardless, I’m so pumped to get my new ride!!,

 

[Ostrichsak]

I put down the $100 on my MS 90D on 1/20 and was ready to make my plans to go pick it up in Roswell, GA (where it was listed as being). The next day I received an email from Tesla saying:

Your vehicle is located in a storage facility in Orlando, FL. Please confirm if you are able to pick up at our Orlando-Eatonville Delivery Center. We can also transport the vehicle to our Baltimore- MD delivery center which will add $2000 to the vehicle purchase price. ​

I contacted my “advisor” and told him about the mistake. He assured me that he’d figure something out for me.
After not hearing anything from him by 1/25 I took the initiative and called the Roswell Tesla dealership and got a super-friendly lady named Katie on the phone who was able to ping my car and confirm it was in Decatur. She then scheduled my delivery for 2/7 (giving me time to arrange travel).

Point worth considering...

The “advisors” aren’t very capable of providing you with much more than you can ascertain yourself. Once you’re order is in, call the nearest Tesla center and deal with a rep there. They can actually access the vehicle location.

Regardless, I’m so pumped to get my new ride!!,

That's all well and good until your "advisor" accidentally ships it somewhere. Happened to us. Twice. One of which wasn't relayed to us until 10:00pm the night before our 8:00am flight to San Diego to get the car. To say that Tesla used sales is a clown show is giving them entirely too much credit.

 

[outeast]

That's all well and good until your "advisor" accidentally ships it somewhere. Happened to us. Twice. One of which wasn't relayed to us until 10:00pm the night before our 8:00am flight to San Diego to get the car. To say that Tesla used sales is a clown show is giving them entirely too much credit.

How did you find the overall condition of your vehicle come delivery? Any surprises? My SA gave me an estimate of 7-10 days time to delivery at my local service center on 1/24

 

[Ostrichsak]

How did you find the overall condition of your vehicle come delivery? Any surprises? My SA gave me an estimate of 7-10 days time to delivery at my local service center on 1/24

That's a whole separate thread. The first one had a grocery list of problems and we were blatantly lied to our face by being assured these problems would be resolved. Lesson learned, get EVERYTHING in writing. I mean everything. Tesla will snake you down the road if you don't, believe me that it's happened numerous times to us now. The following ones had issues as well but I got them to agree to fixes in writing before we ever signed anything. They'll push to try to get you to completely paperwork before even being able to see it for this very reason. Demand to see it first and examine carefully the damage revealed in the photos to make sure it matches. If it's worse, get them to fix it in writing. If there's additional damage not pictured get them to fix it in writing. If it's too much for you to take delivery simply walk away from the deal and demand a refund of your deposit due to the vehicle not matching the condition presented which you put down the deposit for. They'll try to make it seem like this isn't possible and the best they can do is make an exception to transfer this deposit to another car which is BS. They'll try all sorts of crooked tactics to keep your money and make you think it's your fault when it's not. Tesla is dirty. Plain an simple. Changing the face of the car industry my @$$. Tesla is finding new ways to try to screw customers over that make even traditional dealerships blush.

tldr; get everything in writing and get it before signing anything.