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Need advice on buying a used Model S from Tesla

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KnoxHarrington

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Aug 2, 2020
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Los Angeles
#1
So I’m looking at buying my first Tesla and having a hard time getting in-depth information so I thought I’d ask for recommendations.

The big impediment I have is that I’m in an old apartment building which is pretty unlikely to install chargers. So free supercharging is a big draw for me (assuming it works out well) and the only way to get that currently seems to be to buy a used model S directly from Tesla.

I also need something that will drive itself and I believe the “full self driving” feature is the best option, right?

So I enable both of those filters (supercharging and self driving) and then look for the best example I can find. It seems to be difficult to find a Ludicrous or Long-Range model but it would be cool if I could.

Any advice on the best way to go about this? Thank you.
 
#3
Relying solely on superchargers isn’t best idea. They were designed primarily for road trips. I think Using superchargers as sole means of charging will degrade the battery pack faster than just occasional Supercharger use
 
#4
2101Guy said:
Relying solely on superchargers isn’t best idea. They were designed primarily for road trips. I think Using superchargers as sole means of charging will degrade the battery pack faster than just occasional Supercharger use
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I'll second this. It's a poor plan for numerous reasons to have supercharging be your only method of charging.

Also, if what you desire is free unlimited supercharging for life that transfers to the next owner you should be looking at used Model S's from private party sellers. The only way you will get that from a used Model S directly from Tesla is on a couple of random cars that have been sitting for long enough that Tesla adds it as a bit of a perk to move a particular car. It's important that you realize that even on these that you get directly from Tesla that have free supercharging, it's only for you the buyer. When you go to resell that car it no longer has free unlimited supercharging for the next buyer.

Used Tesla's sold at third party dealerships lose free unlimited supercharging for life entirely.

As of right now, the only way to get free unlimited supercharging for life is to buy from a private party that has a car that still has it. It's the only SureFire way given how Tesla keeps screwing around with this feature that they gave to older cars and said would never go away.
 
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#5
Yeah you need a home charger. It’s worth pushing your apartment complex or even finding an extension cord to help you charge at home.

an older model s will have a much harder time with this vs a 3 or Y, if you don’t drive much these cars are efficient enough you can usually top off small drives by charging all night...

I would get a 3 and find a way to have it have some kind of plug at home.
 
#6
Evee said:
Yeah you need a home charger. It’s worth pushing your apartment complex or even finding an extension cord to help you charge at home.

an older model s will have a much harder time with this vs a 3 or Y, if you don’t drive much these cars are efficient enough you can usually top off small drives by charging all night...

I would get a 3 and find a way to have it have some kind of plug at home.
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Care to give further details on why you think a 3 or Y will be better on charging small amounts overnight? That or correct what you seem to have said here. I think you were trying to say that the 3/Y is more efficient but, ultimately, the different in absolute efficiency is nominal compared across Tesla models. This is especially apparent when you compare the efficiency of any Tesla to that of any ICE car. From that perspective, you're just splitting hairs on the different Tesla Models so it's not worth basing your decision on this aspect.

If you're driving 15-20 miles per day or so you won't have a hard time recovering this overnight in a basic 120-volt outlet regardless of if you have a Model S/3/X/Y. The fact that your used Model S will likely have 300 miles +/-50 miles will allow you to use a little more than you recover a few days a week and still have enough fudge room to either recover more on the weekends or hit a Supercharger to get most of your range back if need be.

I'll agree with your (and myself? lol) though that you need some sort of "home" charger solution. Many have been having success getting their apartment complex to put in some form of charging though. Just research to know what you're asking them, what it will take to accomplish and be professional in your request. Just remember the old adage "You get more flies with honey than vinegar" because ultimately you're asking a favor. If you approach the topic from a standpoint of entitlement you'll likely get shot down early.
 
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#10
Ostrichsak said:
fAs of right now, the only way to get free unlimited supercharging for life is to buy from a private party that has a car that still has it. It's the only SureFire way given how Tesla keeps screwing around with this feature that they gave to older cars and said would never go away.
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That’s not true, Tesla has multiple used models with free supercharging in stock. In fact I just checked EV-CPO and there are 69 model s with free supercharging.
 
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#11
AMPd said:
That’s not true, Tesla has multiple used models with free supercharging in stock. In fact I just checked EV-CPO and there are 69 model s with free supercharging.
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OP, just verify, verify, verify about FUSC. I believe it was June 2019 when Tesla made news headlines for removing FUSC across their entire used fleet. I remember this because I was in the market at the exact moment it happened and lamented "if I had only hit buy a few days earlier". Then the following weeks Tesla would bring back FUSC on new and inventory models to entice buyers. Now, not even new S/X receive FUSC after the $5K discount last month, but understandable there. Moral of the story, if you buy used direct from Tesla, get it in writing and screenshot it that it indeed still retains transferable (to you) FUSC.

When we first bought our S, I didn't have an L2 charger installed yet and relied on the regular 110V outlet to charge overnight. I commute around 40 miles daily (pre-COVID) and figured the 110V outlet would still easily suffice as a temporary solution. Then I learned during cold weather, or hot Summer months in California, my 40-mile travel sometimes ate up 70-miles of rated range -- that's when the 110V outlet couldn't keep up.

If you park outside at an apartment complex, and you get a used S that has Sentry Mode (which you'd want to turn on), keep in mind parking outside is going to consume some range throughout the day and overnight. Have you looked into ChargePoint and PlugShare sites to identify local L2 chargers that can supplement your reliance on Superchargers (latest updates also show 3rd-party charging options in SF and LA too now in-car, i think)? Can you charge at work or nearby at work? I work from home but my work is also only six minutes away where they installed free L2 chargers for employee use. I thought I would always use free Supercharging but the truth is it's much more convenient to charge at home and I use free Supercharging maybe once every few months in the past year. Good luck and really think this through. It's certainly possible to make it work in your situation but has its challenges. Maybe rent an S for a week before buying.
 
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#12
Also, keep in mind that FUSC and Free Premium data for life tend to go hand-in hand. Review what you get with that and decide if you can live without those are if you'd pay $10/mo for those features when determining if you want a car with both or not since if a car includes one it likely includes the other... unless of course you're buying used from Tesla a car that has free Supercharging added as a promo to sell it. This isn't the same as FUSC though since it doesn't transfer to the next owner the way FUSC/Premium data does.
 
#13
There is some timeline of overlap (i believe its a short one, someone will come along and correct me) where FUSC and FSD existed as an option. Finding a FUSC car, and an AP2.0(or beyond) is likely going to be a hunt for you. And as others have said, relying on superchargers in the southern california area was something i did in 2014 between moving houses with no charger in the new one with much success... nowadays? No way. I try to stay away from super chargers generally speaking
 
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#14
demundus said:
There is some timeline of overlap (i believe its a short one, someone will come along and correct me) where FUSC and FSD existed as an option. Finding a FUSC car, and an AP2.0(or beyond) is likely going to be a hunt for you. And as others have said, relying on superchargers in the southern california area was something i did in 2014 between moving houses with no charger in the new one with much success... nowadays? No way. I try to stay away from super chargers generally speaking
Click to expand...

Nov 2016 - Jan 15 2017. AP2 with transferable FUSC.
 
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#16
#17
demundus said:
There is some timeline of overlap (i believe its a short one, someone will come along and correct me) where FUSC and FSD existed as an option. Finding a FUSC car, and an AP2.0(or beyond) is likely going to be a hunt for you. And as others have said, relying on superchargers in the southern california area was something i did in 2014 between moving houses with no charger in the new one with much success... nowadays? No way. I try to stay away from super chargers generally speaking
Click to expand...

These exist out there, I have one, and I have FSD on it. I am debating trading it to Tesla for a Y though, mostly because I like the idea of longer range. I don't know what Tesla would do if they took it on trade (resell with or without FUSC) but I believe private party for my 11/2016 build it probably would transfer.
 
#18
Ostrichsak said:
Care to give further details on why you think a 3 or Y will be better on charging small amounts overnight?
Click to expand...

Generally, I doubt it makes much difference, and certainly not the basis for making a choice, but I would HOPE that the latest M Y with heatpump and latest battery could turn in better city efficiency than an older X for example - and certainly if you measured absolute combined efficiency from the charge socket. But then you'd be spec'ing (and driving) your car based borderline measures that might not work out.

As others have said, having regular access to AC charging is imo virtually essential to the longterm experience.

Now if you lease a new car and supercharge it as often as you like for a year or two, that might work for you, but still not how I would do it.
 
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