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Official: Model S Service Plans

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I drive about 20k miles a year and took it in after 1 year. They did the 2 year service for me. I'm assuming they used up one of the 4 prepaid ones I purchased.

For a person who drive over 15k miles a year, it doesn't seem worth it to get the service plan from what I've gathered in this thread.

With that, it seems 2 years is a sweet spot to bring in for service. How much is that service cost if you didn't pay for the $600.00 per year or the pre-paid plan? What does it cover when you bring it in?
 
What would happen if my car was stolen or totaled?
Can the remainder of the service plan be applied to a replacement vehicle?

I was in this situation but for the extended warranty (ESA) rather than for the service plan. My S60 was totaled 19 months into ownership and I had the P85D on order shortly after. Tesla clarified that they wouldn't be able to apply the extended warranty (that I paid $2,500 for before the price hike to $4,000 in July 2013) to the new vehicle but, they refunded the entire amount to me as I hadn't hit the 4-year/50,000 mile mark for activation of the ESA. I'd assume that they'd prorate the service plan accordingly and refund the unused part.
 
Having owned and worked on S class Mercedes for 20+ years and realizing their maintenance schedule is more rigorous than many makes, I don't see the value of the service plan. My current S500 has over a quarter million miles on it and I've never had to replace the AC receiver dryer (which essentially is a filter element) or evacuate and re-charge the gas. That typically is done only when the condenser grenades, or there is a massive leak allowing air and moisture to get into the system, at which point it is mandatory. I do however agree with replacing the brake fluid every 2 years as its chemical make-up absorbs moisture from the air, and if that moisture builds and is left in the system indefinitely it can cause corrosion to occur, leading to the need to replace the calipers, which is expensive. At a cost of $120.00, it's far cheaper to purge and fill the system every 2 years with new fluid than replace the calipers. I also have the Mercedes dealership replace the wiper blades twice a year at a cost of $46 each time.

I'm surprised they don't recommend replacing the power steering fluid every 2 years, which is a MB requirement. Mercedes is big on replacing fluids and filters with frequency (power steering and transmissions also have filters whereas most cars don't) as a form of preventive maintenance.

Here in PA, we have a very rigorous annual safety inspection process, so they check brake pad wear, rotor thickness and give a very thorough look at all suspension component, all for about $40 I believe, which I would have to pay each year with or without the service plan, further reducing the value of the service plan. They also do emissions checks with the car running under load on a dynamometer, but I don't have to get that any more. :)))

pdq
 
The fact that the AC system has to work harder due to cooling the battery is more of a capacity design issue to assure there is adequate cooling capacity. I know of no reason to replace the receiver dryer or the gas every 2 years.

It was just a guess on my part, but for whatever reason, they did it on my car. It was part of my pre-paid service plan. At one point Tesla said you had to have the services to maintain your warranty, but then backed down on that. I suspect that the car would have been just fine without this service.
 
Sounds like, originally, the service contract was compulsory to maintain warranty and also provided unlimited ranger service. Now, that's not the case. I'm not sold on the pre-paid.

Originally (back in 2012/early 2013) Tesla said that having the annual inspections was compulsory to maintain your warranty. You didn't have to purchase the pre-paid plan, but it was cheaper to do so, so many, like me, did. Tesla also said at the time that purchasing the pre-paid plan was the only way to get hardware and software updates for the car. Another big incentive to purchase the plan. You could get the plan with or without the unlimited Ranger service. After I purchased it, Tesla backed down on the warranty requirement issue and, it seems, everyone gets software updates regardless. The few hardware updates I've had (door handles, defroster vents etc.) also seem to have been provided to those with or without the plan as well.

If I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't have gone with the pre-paid either. I did separately purchase the extended warranty, and I'm comfortable with that decision.
 
Originally (back in 2012/early 2013) Tesla said that having the annual inspections was compulsory to maintain your warranty. You didn't have to purchase the pre-paid plan, but it was cheaper to do so, so many, like me, did. Tesla also said at the time that purchasing the pre-paid plan was the only way to get hardware and software updates for the car. Another big incentive to purchase the plan. You could get the plan with or without the unlimited Ranger service. After I purchased it, Tesla backed down on the warranty requirement issue and, it seems, everyone gets software updates regardless. The few hardware updates I've had (door handles, defroster vents etc.) also seem to have been provided to those with or without the plan as well.

If I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't have gone with the pre-paid either. I did separately purchase the extended warranty, and I'm comfortable with that decision.

I've read several of your posts on this subject and really appreciate your input. I agree on he ESA. The only thing that's not clear is whether I could opt not to buy the pre-paid service, do the inspection/service bi-annually and still be able to purchase the extended warranty at the 4 year/50k mile mark.
 
The only thing that's not clear is whether I could opt not to buy the pre-paid service, do the inspection/service bi-annually and still be able to purchase the extended warranty at the 4 year/50k mile mark.

After Elon came out with his blog post saying the inspections were no longer required, I decided not to have them done as religiously. My mileage is such that I'd need two "annuals" a year just to make the mileage limit requirements. I figured I'd just use one per year regardless of how many miles I'd driven. Here's where it gets weird: When I went in for my last annual, Service told me that my extended warranty (which I was now in to) might not be in effect because I hadn't had all the inspections done. WTF? No one told me this was a requirement. In any event, they did the inspection and said thay would "see what they could do" about the extended warranty. I think they got me "caught up" paperwork wise.

What's weird is that I can make a post here about some little issue and Service will often call me up to see if I want to make an appointment, but they can't seem to figure out how to call me when my Annual Inspection is due.

Bottom line is you should be able to buy the extended warranty without the pre-paid plan, but you may have to have the inspections done a-la-carte to keep it in force.
 
After Elon came out with his blog post saying the inspections were no longer required, I decided not to have them done as religiously. My mileage is such that I'd need two "annuals" a year just to make the mileage limit requirements. I figured I'd just use one per year regardless of how many miles I'd driven. Here's where it gets weird: When I went in for my last annual, Service told me that my extended warranty (which I was now in to) might not be in effect because I hadn't had all the inspections done. WTF? No one told me this was a requirement. In any event, they did the inspection and said thay would "see what they could do" about the extended warranty. I think they got me "caught up" paperwork wise.

What's weird is that I can make a post here about some little issue and Service will often call me up to see if I want to make an appointment, but they can't seem to figure out how to call me when my Annual Inspection is due.

Bottom line is you should be able to buy the extended warranty without the pre-paid plan, but you may have to have the inspections done a-la-carte to keep it in force.

I am afraid of that exact scenario. I might see if I can get them to put such in writing before I take delivery. $600x4 ($2,400) + $4k for the Extended Warranty. - at that point, you might be better off not doing any of it and just trading it in and buying a new car @ $50k
 
After Elon came out with his blog post saying the inspections were no longer required, I decided not to have them done as religiously. My mileage is such that I'd need two "annuals" a year just to make the mileage limit requirements. I figured I'd just use one per year regardless of how many miles I'd driven. Here's where it gets weird: When I went in for my last annual, Service told me that my extended warranty (which I was now in to) might not be in effect because I hadn't had all the inspections done. WTF? No one told me this was a requirement. In any event, they did the inspection and said thay would "see what they could do" about the extended warranty. I think they got me "caught up" paperwork wise.

What's weird is that I can make a post here about some little issue and Service will often call me up to see if I want to make an appointment, but they can't seem to figure out how to call me when my Annual Inspection is due.

Bottom line is you should be able to buy the extended warranty without the pre-paid plan, but you may have to have the inspections done a-la-carte to keep it in force.

At least here in the US, unlike standard MS warranty, the optional extended warranty terms do require "service as recommended by Tesla within 30-days or 1K miles of recommended intervals". I read into that "annual service" or mileage-based for various things as the Owners Manual suggests, and made a mental note of that difference in "suggested" vs "required" service between basic and extended warranty terms very clearly when I read all the documents before even ordering my MS.
 
Not so for extended warranties. I realize that no one reads what they sign anymore, but it's all in the fine print. That's why the extended warranty is such a crappy deal if one actually reads the terms and conditions.

For me, getting in early was a bit of a detriment in terms of understanding these things as it was a bit of a moving target back then. I have purchased extended warranties in the past (and utilized them) and not one ever required these "inspections". I just assumed it would be the same with Tesla. I was also given absolutely no information on what the annual inspections entailed, and only recently discovered that they undertake quite a variety of activities depending on the mileage interval. I'm not trying to abdicate my personal responsibility for understanding the contracts I entered into, but do feel Tesla could have done a better job of explaining it to prospective purchasers. Not to mention, the rules seemed to be changing on the fly. For instance, my basic warranty still stipulates that the inspections are required to maintain coverage. I was never provided with an updated copy. All I have is Elon's blog post saying inspections are no longer required.
 
After Elon came out with his blog post saying the inspections were no longer required, I decided not to have them done as religiously. My mileage is such that I'd need two "annuals" a year just to make the mileage limit requirements. I figured I'd just use one per year regardless of how many miles I'd driven. Here's where it gets weird: When I went in for my last annual, Service told me that my extended warranty (which I was now in to) might not be in effect because I hadn't had all the inspections done. WTF? No one told me this was a requirement. In any event, they did the inspection and said thay would "see what they could do" about the extended warranty. I think they got me "caught up" paperwork wise.

What's weird is that I can make a post here about some little issue and Service will often call me up to see if I want to make an appointment, but they can't seem to figure out how to call me when my Annual Inspection is due.

Bottom line is you should be able to buy the extended warranty without the pre-paid plan, but you may have to have the inspections done a-la-carte to keep it in force.
I'm having a discussion with Tesla here in the UK about whether the annual/12k-mile service is compulsory if you want to use the Resale Value Guarantee or their finance. Please would you point me to Elon's post.
 
I'm having a discussion with Tesla here in the UK about whether the annual/12k-mile service is compulsory if you want to use the Resale Value Guarantee or their finance. Please would you point me to Elon's post.

The reference is made in this blog post from April 2013. These arethe relevant statements:


  • "$600 annual service now optional with no effect on warranty"

"As such, we are comfortable making the annual checkup entirely optional. There is still value to having Tesla look at the car once a year for things like tire alignment, to address a few things here & there and perform any hardware upgrades – our goal is not just to fix things, but to make the car better than it was. However, even if you never bring in the car, your warranty is still valid."
 
I was bringing my car in next week just for a tire rotation, check the heating as it is weak unless put up to 75 degrees and the rear vents. After reading these posts and having purchased the 4 prepaid service visits, I decided to make it an annual inspection. Even though the car is only 9 months old it has a little over 12,000 miles.