my windshield was defective since day 1 (everybody's was until they started using different windshields) and they told me 'nope, you're out of warranty. that'll be $1200 please). uhm no. so in my case, even though EVERYBODY knows it was defective since day 1, AND Tesla openly admits it AND they even have a TSB for windshield replacement, they STILL won't do it for me because I'm out of warranty.
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my windshield was defective since day 1 (everybody's was until they started using different windshields) and they told me 'nope, you're out of warranty. that'll be $1200 please). uhm no. so in my case, even though EVERYBODY knows it was defective since day 1, AND Tesla openly admits it AND they even have a TSB for windshield replacement, they STILL won't do it for me because I'm out of warranty.
If you've followed some of my posts, I'm all about getting extended warranties but the way the Tesla extended warranty is structured with a $200 deductible makes that a really horrible extended warranty. Perhaps one of the worst in the segment considering Mercedes has a zero deductible. So if you go in for a malfunctioning tire pressure sensor, a leaking sunroof, and a malfunctioning door handle, that's $600 in deductibles AFTER you've paid $4,000 for an extended warranty. Does not seem fair or comparable to other premium car manufacturers.
I agree with you in that I would not ever think of owning a Model S out of warranty but I'm starting to think the only warranty that means anything is the original factory warranty for the initial 50,000 miles as after that it is $4,000 for the warranty but those $200 deductibles can add up really quickly.
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That was my initial assumption. And I was thanking them - but the service manager made very clear that the work they did was NOT 'special treatment' but fell squarely within the bounds of policy. But he took the 'thanks!' anyway.
You know you got special treatment :wink: Like I said, I can't recall any Model S owner who has had any out of warranty repair covered at no charge. If anything it seems some have chimed in saying that some of the out of warranty repair quotes are more expensive than what they should be, as in Yogi's case.
Father Bill
Member
Out of warranty cost fears are really effecting my driving habits. I used to just hop in the car for any old task and think nothing of a whole bunch of little trips through out the day. Now I carefully consider what needs to be done and how it can be done with the fewest miles possible. I burned through the first 6000 miles of my CPO warranty in a little over three months. I need to stretch that out as far as is reasonably possible. Not that I am having any problems with my car but I tend to be in the "prepare for the worst, hope for the best" crowd.
Peace,
Father Bill
Peace,
Father Bill
FredTMC
Model S VIN #4925
Whats defective about your windshield?
I'm out of warr now. I did annual services twice and I asked them to clear all TSBs at the time. As far as I know, they did. Windshield wasn't an item for me. Strange...my car is older.
This.
To me, the real issue here isn't so much the cost of out-of-warranty repairs or the crazy high deductible structure for the extended warranty; it's those things *combined* with Tesla's reluctance to come up with a solution that allows third-party shops access to service information. Tesla's policy (for the moment) basically forces you to go through the SC for even out-of-warranty work, and anyone with any high-end car can tell you that not being able to use an independent shop is a recipe for extremely high costs.
In the long term, it's not sustainable. For many high-end customers, it's not going to be an issue, because they'll simply trade their new or CPO Tesla in on a different one before the warranty runs and the only thing they'll get hit for is the ridonkulous $600 annual service. But what are the next people in the ownership chain going to do? What about the people that bought the car on the theory that an electric drivetrain should mean excellent long-term reliability? Especially those folks that stretched to buy a very expensive car after factoring in what they thought were lower long-term costs of ownership?
More than anything else, this is what I view as the existential threat to Tesla's growth from a niche producer (where they can afford to take great care of every customer individually, like the limited pool of Roadster owners) into a mainstream automaker. We'll see how they handle it.
lagann
Member
I'm at 61K and this thread terrifies me. I've had a stellar experience "post 50K" with my car at two different SC's. My repairs were drivetrain related and thus fell under the 8 year warranty, however, I am having TPMS issues after they rotated the tires. I'm not going to douche-out and call them to complain that its their fault, but I would like to try to get it fixed.
I drive this car everywhere (2500 miles in one month so far), and I bought it because I was convinced that cost of ownership would be less than a similar luxury car sans gas (think: moving parts). I understand that there is no "fixing" most electrical components, I fully expect to replace a malfunctioning TPMS sensor or a screen with a dead touch sensor area. But I do shudder to think of the things that I might be able to work through myself, such as coolant or 12v replacement, where there is no guide or book. Further, diagnostics are out the window, so I have to take it to an SC for any kind of issue the car throws at me.
So far I'm lucky, in the sense that I haven't had any major issues, and the car drives like a dream. But if I could purchase an extended warranty I would, just because I know that SOMETHING is going to happen, it would be foolish to think otherwise. I don't think that option is available to me though as a second owner, with 61k miles.
I drive this car everywhere (2500 miles in one month so far), and I bought it because I was convinced that cost of ownership would be less than a similar luxury car sans gas (think: moving parts). I understand that there is no "fixing" most electrical components, I fully expect to replace a malfunctioning TPMS sensor or a screen with a dead touch sensor area. But I do shudder to think of the things that I might be able to work through myself, such as coolant or 12v replacement, where there is no guide or book. Further, diagnostics are out the window, so I have to take it to an SC for any kind of issue the car throws at me.
So far I'm lucky, in the sense that I haven't had any major issues, and the car drives like a dream. But if I could purchase an extended warranty I would, just because I know that SOMETHING is going to happen, it would be foolish to think otherwise. I don't think that option is available to me though as a second owner, with 61k miles.
The Mercedes CPO warranty is for 12 months, unlimited miles, and can be extended to 36 months, unlimited miles.
Mercedes-Benz Repair & Warranty | Mercedes-Benz
The Tesla CPO is 48 months, 50,000 miles, standard, no deductible.
Pre-Owned ModelS | Tesla Motors
So, for CPOs, I think Tesla's warranty is generally better, unless you drive a lot of miles.
Brass Guy
Active Member
I'm still not going to succumb to all this peer pressure. Another 50k miles is still only another 2 years for me. 100k miles is a drop in the bucket as far as I'm concerned, but only time will tell.
I asked at the service center, and was told that they'd sell me any parts I want to purchase, so I'll probably get to try my hand at suspension work again someday.
Past 44k and the countdown continues.
On a side note, I asked if I could purchase the newer rear-door hinges (open wider?), since I often have passengers or large items (tuba in a hard shell case) in the back seat. Again I was told yes, but I asked them to try and find out if they're fully compatible with my older vehicle. Still waiting on that one.
I asked at the service center, and was told that they'd sell me any parts I want to purchase, so I'll probably get to try my hand at suspension work again someday.
Past 44k and the countdown continues.
On a side note, I asked if I could purchase the newer rear-door hinges (open wider?), since I often have passengers or large items (tuba in a hard shell case) in the back seat. Again I was told yes, but I asked them to try and find out if they're fully compatible with my older vehicle. Still waiting on that one.
rxlawdude
Active Member
If you drive more than 12,500 miles a year, be sure to factor in the cost of maintenance during the warranty period. Otherwise the Extended Service agreement is not worth the paper it's printed on! (Read the explicit conditions for coverage!)
gizmoboy
Member
I'm on the fence about the extended warranty. I think it wise for a car this tech-laden, but the fact that you can defer the decision until the factory warranty is almost up makes it seem prudent to do so. (You're risking a price hike, of course, but also heading against changes in the future...)
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Excellent point. There is conflicting information in this regard (statements saying that your car remains under warranty even if none of the service visits are done versus the contract for the extended warranty does require you to do them to schedule to remain in force). It would be nice to have the languages squared away.
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Excellent point. There is conflicting information in this regard (statements saying that your car remains under warranty even if none of the service visits are done versus the contract for the extended warranty does require you to do them to schedule to remain in force). It would be nice to have the languages squared away.
heh, now i'm at 76.5k miles. I'm racking them up. about 1150 miles a week now on my current commute and will be this way for long time. that gives me about 20 more weeks until I reach 100k miles. I estimate around just about around Christmas i'll hit it. a little less than 3 yrs total ownership. no way I would have paid for the extended warranty.
Isn't that a case for that Lemon law you have in the US? Does that still apply after such a long time? Isn't that like fix it or take the car back?
We own two Mercedes cars in our household. One is still covered by the factory warranty and the other is covered under a CPO extended warranty so please don't tell me the Tesla warranty is better, because the Tesla warranty is decided not better. The Mercedes CPO warranty EXTENDS the factory warranty by 1 to 3 years while the Tesla CPO warranty REPLACES the factory warranty with a 4 year warranty. So if you buy a 2015 Mercedes CPO you have full warranty coverage until 2020 (4+1 years) whereas the Tesla CPO 4 year warranty runs out in 2019 but with absolutely no way to extend it. Whereas the Mercedes CPO warranty can be extended for a total of 2 additional years so you have warranty coverage through 2022 with a zero deductible and complete peace of mind that any repairs are covered.
The Tesla Extended warranty is even more horrible. You pay $4,000 for the Extended warranty but then essentially each issue they fix under the warranty costs an additional $200 a piece. This is probably the highest insurance deductible in the segment. The Mercedes Extended warranty is about $3,000 and granted it only offers 3 additional years of coverage but that coverage comes with a zero deductible. So if you take a Tesla and a Mercedes in for a door handle issue, a sunroof issue, and an air suspension issue for Extended Warranty coverage the Tesla cost is $4,000 + 200 + 200 + 200 = $4,600 while the Mercedes cost would be $3,000 + $0 = $3,000.
IMHO Tesla needs to revise their warranty offerings and cost structure as it is just plain bad. You should be able to extend the CPO warranty up to 8 years from the initial in service date and the deductible should be either zero like Mercedes or around $50 like BMW. $200 is absurd.
In any case this is definitely not a car to own out of warranty, just like any other premium car.
gizmoboy
Member
You have to have a problem and request it be fixed and have them fail to fix it 3 times in (I think) a year for that to apply.
It's unclear if all (or any) of those conditions applied.
rxlawdude
Active Member
Remember that the Extended Service Agreement is a contract between you and TMC. This is the document that contains the provision that all maintenance visits (12.5K miles/1 year) must have been performed (within +/-1000 miles or 1 month of schedule, respectively). The factory warranty, in contrast, is subject to several consumer protection laws that indeed prohibit TMC from denying WARRANTY coverage simply because you didn't do a maintenance as scheduled (12.5K miles or 1 year, whichever comes first*).
*As a lawyer, I do note that the recommended service is 12.5K miles or 1 year, and that the "whichever comes first" isn't specified. I believe it would be a novel case to test this with someone who has the "4 year" pre-paid service to actually elect a yearly schedule.
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He can correct me if I'm wrong but I believe that the early windshields didn't have the coating cleared out for EZpass to work. I'm not sure if that is the defect he is talking about but that is the only one I can think of.
