Owning a Tesla is awesome, until you get into an accident...

[stevej119]

The insurance will include sales tax on the $70k, so that is covered for the replacement. Some credit Unions will do 100% loans, or at least 95% (making the down payment $3500.) I would think most people driving a Model S can probably swing a $3500 down payment...

...and as I mentioned before, if you replace with an inventory car you also get the $7500 federal tax credit plus whatever your state offers plus you're resetting your warranty at day 1 and zero miles (odometer reading when you take delivery plus 50,000) PLUS you're getting the updated features.

 

[Victory]

I would flip this around and look at the "glass half full" side of this. If you haven't done it yet, immediately request a list of "inventory cars" from Tesla. I recently purchased an S85 MC red, tech, obeche wood, matching yacht floor, Nappa leather, parking sensors, 6856 miles for $71,800. This car does not have the new Autopilot sensors, but has everything else. Does New York have a state incentive? In CA, my price drops 10k including federal and state incentives bringing the price to under $62k (plus sales tax on $72k) for a car with full warranty (4 years, to 56,856 on the odometer).

You can look at it as having paid $34,000 to have owned your car for one year, or you can look at it as an opportunity to reset your warranty period to day one, and get a newer more updated car with far fewer miles than you had driven. Granted, you won't get an autopilot demo with the 2% per month in service discount offered on non-autopilot cars (you'll get 1% per month in service, $1 per mile driven), but I would personally be thrilled to be able to update to the latest features and new full warranty and resetting the odometer to a lower number for a few thousand dollars.

I could be wrong, but I'd also have a very hard time imagining that Tesla would not transfer your service agreement to another car you purchase from them.

^ this right here. Seriously

 

[green1]

As long as Tesla is selling $100K cars, they aren't going to worry about $30K repair bills. But this won't fly in the market segment they want to compete in for Model 3. I suspect things will eventually have to change, the question is, when? and that's much harder to guess.

 

[RiverBrick]

... you're resetting your warranty at day 1 and zero miles (odometer reading when you take delivery plus 50,000) ...

Can you explain the + 50,000 part? I understand the rest.

 

[breser]

Can you explain the + 50,000 part? I understand the rest.

There's some people that believe the warranty on the inventory cars is 50,000 miles on top of whatever mileage the car already has.

 

[RiverBrick]

There's some people that believe the warranty on the inventory cars is 50,000 miles on top of whatever mileage the car already has.

Well, that would be 80,000 km for me, as I have an inventory car, but it seems too good to be true.

 

[HankLloydRight]

There's some people that believe the warranty on the inventory cars is 50,000 miles on top of whatever mileage the car already has.

That's what they told me when I bought my inventory car. I don't know what the "believe" part of that is, it's in writing.

 

[robby]

As long as Tesla is selling $100K cars, they aren't going to worry about $30K repair bills. But this won't fly in the market segment they want to compete in for Model 3. I suspect things will eventually have to change, the question is, when? and that's much harder to guess.

I agree but if the Model 3 is steel, it may be that the S and X continue to get stiffed with these sorts of repair bills while the 3 is more widely serviceable.

 

[stevej119]

There's some people that believe the warranty on the inventory cars is 50,000 miles on top of whatever mileage the car already has.

That's because "some people" were specifically told by more than one person at Tesla before and while taking delivery that where the "Tesla Service Loaner and Demonstration Vehicle Sales" document states "Warranty coverage spans 4 years / 50,000 miles (whichever comes first) beginning with the first owner", it means exactly that. 50,000 miles from the time the first owner takes possession of the car.

 

[RiverBrick]

OK, you're covered for the normal 50,000 miles of use, hence the "reset" of the mileage to zero. I was misreading as if the the 50,000 mile extended warranty was included (minus the deductible).

 

[breser]

That's what they told me when I bought my inventory car. I don't know what the "believe" part of that is, it's in writing.

I've seen people say that it's both ways. If you have something more definitive in writing then that settles that.

 

[HankLloydRight]

I've seen people say that it's both ways. If you have something more definitive in writing then that settles that.

Hi Hank,

Yes, the warranty starts when you take delivery of the car. So in effect your standard warranty ends at 4 years/57,000 miles and your extended warranty ends at 8 Years/107,000 miles. In addition, your service plan last for 8 years or 107,000 miles.

Even though I did not buy the extended warranty, yes, I was one of the fools that bought the 8 year "service" plan.

 

[Just a Reader]

Let me correct one slight misunderstanding. Insurance rates are a function of INJURIES not property damage, in general. Which is why current Tesla Model S premiums are much lower than similar performance vehicles. If you don't believe, go price out insurance for a Mercedes S550 or Porsche Panamera. The Model S protects occupants very well, resulting in low injury rates and low premiums.

Sure. Don't we all know that a S-Class comes with the Grim Reaper as a standard accessory? Do you have any figures at all to back up this claim? And please don't come up with injuries suffered by passengers of S-Classes that were built at some time in the 1980s.

 

[Adrian]

And please don't come up with injuries suffered by passengers of S-Classes that were built at some time in the 1980s.

But that's what insurance companies does.

 

[swegman]

I can confirm that when my insurance came up for renewal, the cost went up significantly, even though I had no accidents or tickets. It was not the liability portion that went up, but the collision and comprehensive portion that increased. When I asked the insurance company why the rate increased, they told me their claim history for the car in my area (Washington, DC area, which includes DC, VA and MD) was much higher than they had anticipated, and that even though I was accident free/ticket free, the risk gets spread among all the owners.

 

[yobigd20]

maybe we can get the media to start picking up on this. that'll escalate the problem. you'll want to read this: Testing Tesla Certification - FenderBender - March 2014

- his shop has seen four or five Tesla vehicles each week
- these are high-ticket jobs
- average ticket has been roughly $10,000 per Tesla vehicle (and Peotter says he has yet to have a “hard hit” on one yet)
- “I mean, you put a quarter panel on a Model S, and that’s going to be an $18,000 job, compared to, what, $5,000 for the average [domestic] vehicle?

That just proves these shops are making a killing with the insane prices. $10k for little dings and scratches. "lucrative investment" BS - it's lucrative because YOU ARE PRICE GOUGING OWNERS.

 

[Luclyluciano]

Sure, casualty/safety ratings affect premiums but so do claims history for theft, sportiness of the vehicle, and cost to repair.

 

[themacs]

There's some people that believe the warranty on the inventory cars is 50,000 miles on top of whatever mileage the car already has.

I bought an inventory car last month. I have it in writing that the warrantee is 50,000 miles AND 4 years from the day I took delivery. My car had about 7,200 miles so the warrantee is 57,200 miles and 11/7/2018.

 

[zwede]

I bought an inventory car last month. I have it in writing that the warrantee is 50,000 miles AND 4 years from the day I took delivery. My car had about 7,200 miles so the warrantee is 57,200 miles and 11/7/2018.

This is correct. Same deal on my inventory car bought in January '14.

 

[wycolo]

Just renewing with State Farm: Over past 12 months increases are:

1. $2000 Deductible Collision = up 9.8%

2. $2000 Deductible Comprehensive = up 5.5%

FWIW.
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