Planning to private party sell my Tesla in the next couple of months - do I extended warranty?

[eyespii]

Just passed 47k miles on my baby, and starting to look at getting a new MS! Just curious though - is it worth it to purchase the extended warranty for $4250 if I'm going to try to sell private party? How much of the $4250 will I get back in the sale if I have it? Or will potential buyers not even touch the car without it?

Thanks!

 

[micjh18]

I am currently in the market for a used Tesla, and I have been advised a number of times not buy a non CPO Tesla, unless the extended warranty was purchased by the first owner.

I guess the second owner cannot purchase it, unless that policy has changed.

 

[eyespii]

I believe that after the car has passed 50k miles, no one can purchase the ESA.

 

[stan23]

I think the issue is with CPOs selling well and most coming with a fres 4/50K warranty, you'd really need to make your car attractive. Getting an extended warranty will definitely help, but not sure you will recoup all your cash.

 

[HankLloydRight]

I would definitely help, but the buyer can also buy it on their own if they want to.

So you could offer it at a lower price and let the buyer decide if they want it.

 

[Blup85]

I would definitely help, but the buyer can also buy it on their own if they want to.

So you could offer it at a lower price and let the buyer decide if they want it.

I've purchased two private party Tesla's. One with ESA and one without. I think it depends on how sweet the deal is. On a 50k used car you are talking about 4k just in sales taxes + reg (CA) that I saved on (and annual reg is based on valuation, so $$$cha-ching$$!), with that extra saving I could have purchased the ESA, but chose to take a chance. We will see if it pans out. Being that the battery and motor are covered to 100k, $4200 goes a long way to fixing a non ESA car. I personally don't think you will get your money out of it. Sell it before the 50k and let them decide. BTW, I just had my non ESA P85 door handle malfunction and break which tesla quoted $900 to repair, so I'm still ahead! (actually I'm way ahead because I'm going to fix it myself for $150)

 

[cgiGuy]

I guess the second owner cannot purchase it, unless that policy has changed.

It has changed. As Hank mentioned, now anyone (except a dealer or a car bought from a dealer) can purchase the extended warranty, as long as you're within 30 days after you hit the 50K or 4-year mark.

I'm in the same boat (getting close to warranty expiration, thinking about selling soon) and I don't plan on adding it. If someone wants a better deal and the risk, they can go without it. If they want to add it, they can.

 

[Sir Guacamolaf]

A well educated buyer will not buy your car unless it had the ESA. Hard to say what value you'll recoup though. There are stupid buyers out there.

Why not put it on the market now with 3K miles remaining, with the option of purchasing ESA at cost if the next guy wants it?

 

[cgiGuy]

I also just realized they're charging more if you add the 2 or 4-year extended warranty after 180 days of your purchase. It appears, however, that they've grandfathered in those of us who purchased before this change was made. I still have an offer for the 4-year at $4250.

 

[eyespii]

A well educated buyer will not buy your car unless it had the ESA. Hard to say what value you'll recoup though. There are stupid buyers out there.

Why not put it on the market now with 3K miles remaining, with the option of purchasing ESA at cost if the next guy wants it?

I haven’t decided what to replace the car with yet. Ideally another S, but if Tesla doesn’t refresh the car substantially, I’ll get the M3. I might pass 50k miles before that happens though!

 

[Shock-On-T]

I wouldn't buy it.

It's a guaranteed loss of money, with an uncertain increase in sale price.

 

[HankLloydRight]

I wouldn't buy it.

It's a guaranteed loss of money, with an uncertain increase in sale price.

Good point! Also consider the time value of money, and how much longer it might take to sell the car without the ESA. Even with the 4 year ESA and 8 year service plan, it still took me a while to sell my P85+ and when I sold it, it was quite a bit less than I was hoping for. But I had already bought my P85D to replace it, so I needed to sell it sooner rather than later.

 

[cgiGuy]

Did you ask Tesla for a trade-in value? Might be close enough that you wouldn't have to worry about the ESA or reselling...

 

[eyespii]

I'm waiting for the

Did you ask Tesla for a trade-in value? Might be close enough that you wouldn't have to worry about the ESA or reselling...

I got a trade-in quote of $53k from tesla, but that was almost a year and 15k miles ago. Will definitely take it in for another quote when I’m finalizing the sale in the next month or two.

I am pretty sure there’s no way I’d recoup the $4250 on the ESA in a private party sale, but I was worried that without it, it would be really difficult to find a buyer at all.

 

[cgiGuy]

I am pretty sure there’s no way I’d recoup the $4250 on the ESA in a private party sale, but I was worried that without it, it would be really difficult to find a buyer at all.

I agree.. especially once you blow past 50K. You're locking in the decision for the next owner. It's a tough one.

 

[stan23]

I've purchased two private party Tesla's. One with ESA and one without. I think it depends on how sweet the deal is. On a 50k used car you are talking about 4k just in sales taxes + reg (CA) that I saved on (and annual reg is based on valuation, so $$$cha-ching$$!), with that extra saving I could have purchased the ESA, but chose to take a chance. We will see if it pans out. Being that the battery and motor are covered to 100k, $4200 goes a long way to fixing a non ESA car. I personally don't think you will get your money out of it. Sell it before the 50k and let them decide. BTW, I just had my non ESA P85 door handle malfunction and break which tesla quoted $900 to repair, so I'm still ahead! (actually I'm way ahead because I'm going to fix it myself for $150)

It's not so much the mileage of the warranty, but rather the date. Remember; the motor and battery is warrantied for 8 years.

A used 2013 car will have around 4 years left in the battery/motor warranty.

 

[Country Roads]

Reminder that you may get a tax or state registration fees break if you trade in your old S at the time of purchase (value deducted from purchase price). So you may not want to sell private party unless you expect significantly more.

 

[eyespii]

Reminder that you may get a tax or state registration fees break if you trade in your old S at the time of purchase (value deducted from purchase price). So you may not want to sell private party unless you expect significantly more.

I think in the great state of CA, u don't get any breaks from trading your car in. Correct me if I'm wrong!

 

[Blup85]

\you mean CA credits you for reg and use tax when you trade it in? Not likely! Or Tesla PAYS some credit difference for the reg and use tax?? Don't think so.. your paying the full monty.. maybe someone else knows better, but DMV wants their money from dealers...

 

[jjh1234]

I think in the great state of CA, u don't get any breaks from trading your car in. Correct me if I'm wrong!

I believe you are correct. In many states, you only pay sales tax on the difference between your trade and the new one, but not in CA unless the laws have changed since I left on 2004. You pay sales tax on 100% of the new car price no matter what you trade.