Please help - Buying a used 2018 Tesla S and confused

[MajorKook]

Hi everyone, I'm new here. I've been researching to be a used 2018 Tesla S and am pretty confused about the autopilot features and all the info out there.

- How do I check which type of autopilot or FSD the car has before buying it?
- If the car I'm looking at had EAP with all the features, did it change with the most recent update where the options became just Autopilot and FSD
- Which version hardware will a 2018 model have? Is it the latest version?
- How do I know how much I have to pay for upgrading to FSD?

Thanks!

 

[Uncle Paul]

If you are buying directly from Tesla, they most likely will delete EAP and revert you to basic Autopilot which will keep you in your lane and vary speed depending on the car in front of you for cruise control.

If you are buying from a private party, the EAP will remain. It will have Navigation on Autopilot which will change lanes for you and get you on and off freeway exits and merge from one freeway to another. Look for Navigation on Autopilot button on display to confirm availability.

Most likely you will have hardware version 2.5.

This is a good system, and can be upgraded to 3.0 at no cost, but you will need to wait for Tesla to get around to you. This will have all the FSD currently available. Not sure how much it will cost you to upgrade to the new FSD, with future upgrades to come. Upgrades seem to be in a fluid situation right now, with new capability in the pipeline, but no release date certain.

 

[ucmndd]

In 2018, all Model S came with either no autopilot, enhanced autopilot, or full self driving. Any 2018 car you look at will have one of those packages.

There is not a slam dunk easy way to know what you’re getting without inspecting the car, and/or the Tesla account associated with it, and/or the original order sheet/window sticker (assuming you’re buying third party). If buying from Tesla, they’ll tell you what the car has.

If the car was configured with enhanced autopilot, it will still have that package. Nothing changes.

All 2018 cars have autopilot hardware version 2.5. This is NOT the latest (3.0), but cars that have also purchased the FSD package (or those who buy it after delivery) will eventually be upgraded for free to the new computer.

One question you didn’t ask which is relevant - 2018 cars made after March 2018 have an updated media control unit (MCU, the 17” screen). This is a major differentiator in features and performance - if I were you I’d be looking at MCU2 (March and later) cars only.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Also, check out the pricing on a new long range Raven. New prices have come down and with the tax credits and rebates for buying new, the financial incentive to buy used is not that great.

New Raven comes with smoother suspension, faster motors, longer range and that all important V3 chip. Comes standard with Autopilot. Upgrade to FSD currently $6,000 but may be going up.

 

[MajorKook]

Thanks guys. Extremely helpful.

I am buying from a BMW dealer most likely. I asked the dealer about which version of autopilot it had, and they definitely did not give me a convincing answer. I'll have to check on the build date.

I did look into a new Raven, but I thought the best tax credits have started to get phased out...

 

[D.E.]

Be careful. All 2018 cars are FSD hardware enabled. That doesn’t mean the software has been purchased.

There is little to be gained with FSD software at present. Actual full self driving is a long way off.

Which car are you considering and how many miles? Do you know about the used Tesla listings? If not, have a look at EV-CPO.COM A lot of the federal tax credit has gone away but the cars have dropped in price more than the loss of tax credit so buying new now will be more cost effective for you than for those of us that bought when the tax credit was in full swing.

That car may have had free supercharging. That does not transfer to a new owner.

There are a number of advantages to a new purchase, hardware changes mostly. You’ll want to get a very good idea of the used market for the car you are considering. Pay no attention to what the new price was when that one was originally purchased, dealers like to quote that as if it makes a difference, but the cars have changed prices quite a bit so if you are valuing the car as if the new car prices haven’t significantly changed, you’ll get burned.

 

[ucmndd]

I’d be wary of buying a car from a non-Tesla dealer. You can safely assume they know nothing about the car, which means you’re gonna have to do all the homework yourself.

If none of the original paperwork exists, there really is no way right no to know if the car had the FSD option or not (because no features exist to test and verify). Tesla won’t tell you. Nothing in the car itself will tell you.

If you think you’re getting an exceptional deal and are cool with a little risk, go for it I suppose. Otherwise...

 

[MichaelP90DL]

I’d be wary of buying a car from a non-Tesla dealer. You can safely assume they know nothing about the car, which means you’re gonna have to do all the homework yourself.

If none of the original paperwork exists, there really is no way right no to know if the car had the FSD option or not (because no features exist to test and verify). Tesla won’t tell you. Nothing in the car itself will tell you.

If you think you’re getting an exceptional deal and are cool with a little risk, go for it I suppose. Otherwise...

There really needs to be a way to document what features are in the car, probably embedded in the software, so it can be called up on the touchscreen. Silence is ridiculous.

 

[Wol747]

>>Hi everyone, I'm new here. I've been researching to be a used 2018 Tesla S and am pretty confused about the autopilot features and all the info out there.<<

Frankly, given the number of threads and post here and elsewhere, you aren't the only one!

 

[MajorKook]

Thanks again for the info everyone. I didn't end up pulling the trigger because the dealer tried to charge me for "extras". But it was a 2018 with 15K miles for approx $54K. No enhanced autopilot or FSD. The search contines...

 

[BPeter]

2018 for 54K? What model was it specifically? 75D?

 

[MajorKook]

Yes 75D.