New member, looking to buy used Model S

[Boomski]

Hey everyone, new to the community but I'm hoping to get some good information with the goal of buying a used Tesla model s in the near future (over the next 30-45 days)

I'm curious to get people's thoughts on purchasing a used model s from a third party dealership and/or private party, as opposed to a CPO from Tesla. Pricing is notably better through third party dealerships and independent sellers, but there's obviously associated risk there. There's also a chance that I would be purchasing the vehicle site unseen, and having it delivered. My hope is that I will be able to have friends or family in the area where the vehicle is being sold to do a once-over inspection for me, before any money is exchanged.

I've been doing heavy research over the last week getting a gauge for pricing and features. Realistically I shouldn't spend more than 40K total.

I have tons of very specific questions, but I figured I'd start off with asking for some general advice, thoughts, opinions on purchasing a used model s.

Cheers, excited to start down this journey.

 

[Krash]

If you have patience, I would buy a late 2016 AP2 S75D, should be uncorked and have transferable unlimited free supercharging. They should be in your price range soon.

 

[Boomski]

If you have patience, I would buy a late 2016 AP2 S75D, should be uncorked and have transferable unlimited free supercharging. They should be in your price range soon.

This is pretty much exactly what I'm looking for. Would love the all wheel drive since I'm moving to a cold weather climate, and im huge fan of AP, so Ideally I would be able to get a care with AP2 hardware (and software included) but it's tough at my price point...

This is the closest I could find at the moment, which seems like a decent deal (70D, although it says rear wheel drive in description)
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/777690999/overview/

But also considering this one if I can live with AP1:
Autotrader - page unavailable

Any thoughts on settling for AP1?

 

[Boomski]

But also considering this one if I can live with AP1:
Autotrader - page unavailable

Hopefully this link works? Used 2015 Tesla Model S For Sale near Denver CO | Stock: TFF080311

 

[dubzz24]

But also considering this one if I can live with AP1:
Autotrader - page unavailable

Any thoughts on settling for AP1?

I think it depends on how you use the car. I'm perfectly happy with my AP1, as it does great on my mostly freeway commute. While my car was in for service I had a P100D loaner (AP2 I believe that would be?) and besides the display showing a bit more information about the cars around you, the actual AP functionality was very similar. The only thing in my ~100 AP miles with the loaner that I can say it did better than my AP1 is anticipating when people will cut you off or change lanes. In the AP2, when people put on their turn signal the car would slow down to make a gap. In my AP1 my car just keeps going until the car is mostly in your lane, sometimes requiring me to decrease the speed myself.

Besides the AP generation and facelift, the cars are just so similar throughout all model years. I'd instead focus on options, condition, history etc.

I personally would go for a late 85D AP1 (pre-facelift) as they seem like a much better value. There are lots of pristine examples out there, and with nearly 50k miles my car has only lost less than 2% battery capacity. Just make sure you check the range to make sure it hasn't degraded excessively. You can also extend the factory bumper-to-bumper warranty through Tesla to match the 8 year battery / DU warranty as long as the car is less than 4 years old. I have 3 months left to decide if I want to do the extended service agreement, or just roll the dice

 

[Boomski]

Thanks for the input Dubzz. I think I could totally live with ap1, and hopefully upgrade to FSD a vehicle in the next 3-5 years, once the technology matures some more. I would love to get a vehicle with AP2 / more future proof hardware, but I just don't think it's feasible within my budget and/or on a vehicle under 100k miles.

Is there a place where I can get some good information about warranties. Also would you recommend purchasing one for a 2015 S 85D with ~40k miles. I guess the root of my question is how reliable are these vehicles and what type of maintenance is typically required.

 

[dubzz24]

"More future proof" but really who knows - When the next gen AP comes out they might stop development on AP2 / 2.5 / 3. You've got the same idea as me - this is a holdover car to keep me happy for the next ~4 years while the EV market comes to life.

I'm on the fence about purchasing a warranty - there are details on the costs and coverage on the tesla site. I could need 2 or 3 fairly major repairs in those 4 years and still come out ahead without buying the warranty. These cars seem pretty reliable all-in-all, so I think it depends on if 1) you can afford the potential repairs, and 2) how much your peace of mind is worth. I'm leaning towards not getting the warranty.