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goingplaid

Member
Aug 1, 2022
32
2
brooklyn ny
#1
I’m interested in buying an older Tesla model S, may be a 2015-17. I’m really concerned about the battery warranty. Part of me wonders if I’m worrying too much. I don’t like risk. I don’t gamble.

So why would anybody buy an older Tesla? I'm watching these vids, but I wonder how common is battery failure on older Teslas really?
You don’t hear about the ones that are great. I don’t want a 45k paperweight. I have some questions that I have not gotten a satisfactory answer.

Does failure happen more or less often than ICE engines?

Are there any telltale signs or can they fail without warning?

Can it fail regardless of how you treat it over its lifespan?

Will insurance cover the vehicle or battery cost, should the engine fail?

Is there separate insurance I can buy for the battery?

On the other hand, if the battery fails is there a strong market for parts? Can I recoup my loss?

What has your experience been with older Teslas? Are you selling before the battery warranty runs out?

Older Tesla owners does it feel like gambling to you? What calms your nerves.

Are new buyers also concerned?

I know this is a lot, but I cannot afford a new one. I want to be talked into it not out of it, so I'm looking for hope.
 
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#21
SR123 said:
I'd suggest you just buy used directly off of the Tesla website. Tesla cars retain their value for a significant amount of time which is good for people buying new but if you're buying used, not so much. Plus I'd say invest 12k in fsd because it's value keeps on growing as new features roll out. When you ultimately sell your car, you can list it for a higher price. Plus some insurance will cover most- if not all of the things that you said were concerns. .....
Click to expand...

Trouble is, there is practically no inventory. As of August 4, the Tesla site lists only one Model S and one Model X for my area. (The site does not seem to show more distant cars as it used to, so maybe there aren't many anywhere.) If I were looking, I'd probably prefer to buy from Tesla (despite all the restrictions, such as not being able to so much as see the car, let alone drive it, before you plunk down more money than my Model S cost me when it was new!). But I'd have to look elsewhere and I am not sure where else I would look....
 
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#22
David29 said:
the Tesla site lists only one Model S and one Model X for my area. (The site does not seem to show more distant cars as it used to, so maybe there aren't many anywhere.)
Click to expand...
Tesla has done this for a while, you have to put in different zip codes to look at the inventory in various areas. No idea if they would actually ship one if you contacted them after you found one that was in a different area.
 
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#23
There's inventory on the Tesla website - you just have to insert different zip codes. Another site that's come online since I bought my S is Tesla Info:
tesla-info.com

United States Tesla All cars for sale

We list All cars for sale in United States We provide a number of filters including seller type, new, demo, CPO and used, model, price, year plus you can add filters for color, wheels, autopilot etc. Each car is shown in more detail with a number of market charts and a detailed price history...
tesla-info.com tesla-info.com
You can filter to show different sources - I attached a screen shot of inventory from Tesla only. The advantage you get in buying a car from Tesla, is that you get the remainder of the factory warranty, or in the case of a high mileage car, they give you 1 year or 10,000 miles of coverage. Prices are nuts - a 2016 75 D is as much as my 17 100D today. I did take a leap of faith in buying the car sight unseen, as Tesla just has rendered images instead of the actual car. But in the end, it turned out ok. Try to test drive one locally if you can. Good luck!
tesla info.jpg
 
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#24
3Volts2aTes said:
Tesla has done this for a while, you have to put in different zip codes to look at the inventory in various areas. No idea if they would actually ship one if you contacted them after you found one that was in a different area.
Click to expand...
Shows up for me just fine, it puts cars in your area at the top, then u have to scroll all the way down n the page refreshes n shows all with a message below
i do not enter zip code...

1659630762072.png
 
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#27
3Volts2aTes said:
Tesla has done this for a while, you have to put in different zip codes to look at the inventory in various areas. No idea if they would actually ship one if you contacted them after you found one that was in a different area.
Click to expand...
To keep our costs down, we found a car that was close to us - mine came from Paramus, New Jersey for $500 shipped to Pittsburgh. Back in December of 2020, Tesla would have shipped a new long range plus to us from Hawaii - for a tidy sum. After 63,461 miles, I've lost a little over 3% of range - car charges to 322 miles when full - new, it was rated at 335.
 

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#34
goingplaid said:
I’m interested in buying an older Tesla model S, may be a 2015-17. I’m really concerned about the battery warranty. Part of me wonders if I’m worrying too much. I don’t like risk. I don’t gamble.

So why would anybody buy an older Tesla? I'm watching these vids, but I wonder how common is battery failure on older Teslas really?
You don’t hear about the ones that are great. I don’t want a 45k paperweight. I have some questions that I have not gotten a satisfactory answer.

Does failure happen more or less often than ICE engines?

Are there any telltale signs or can they fail without warning?

Can it fail regardless of how you treat it over its lifespan?

Will insurance cover the vehicle or battery cost, should the engine fail?

Is there separate insurance I can buy for the battery?

On the other hand, if the battery fails is there a strong market for parts? Can I recoup my loss?

What has your experience been with older Teslas? Are you selling before the battery warranty runs out?

Older Tesla owners does it feel like gambling to you? What calms your nerves.

Are new buyers also concerned?

I know this is a lot, but I cannot afford a new one. I want to be talked into it not out of it, so I'm looking for hope.
Click to expand...
I bought a 2015 Tesla MS 70D back in June thru a private seller with ~100k miles. Main thing for me was that the current battery health was in good condition (less than 10% degradation) and there was still 13 months left on the battery and drive unit warranty. I agree that after the battery warranty expires, it will be a bit of a gamble, but all you can do is minimize risk by ensuring the battery health is in good condition with the known metrics and that you take good care of it yourself once it's in your possession.
 
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#35
For me personally, I think the 2015 is the best value. It has almost entirely bottomed out on depreciation, has AP1 (which is more than sufficient imo), has the sunroof option which has been discontinued, and some units have the standard air suspension (which mine did). Also they used real leather for this model year which is plush.
 
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#36
jschimel said:
For me personally, I think the 2015 is the best value. It has almost entirely bottomed out on depreciation, has AP1 (which is more than sufficient imo), has the sunroof option which has been discontinued, and some units have the standard air suspension (which mine did). Also they used real leather for this model year which is plush.
Click to expand...
2016 is when Tesla removed the nose cone though and In my opinion the nose cone on the model s dated the exterior heavily
 
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#38
Tesla got rid of the opening sunroof in 2018. A 2015 model S and 2016 model S are technologically the same except for some minor differences. The seats are significantly improved in the 2016 model S and keyless start is also available on the 2016 model S and then 2016 model has a standard MP3 player which was optional on the previous model
 
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#40
SR123 said:
Tesla got rid of the opening sunroof in 2018. A 2015 model S and 2016 model S are technologically the same except for some minor differences. The seats are significantly improved in the 2016 model S and keyless start is also available on the 2016 model S and then 2016 model has a standard MP3 player which was optional on the previous model
Click to expand...
How did one start the 2015? Inquiring minds want to know
 
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