Please help I just bought a Roadster on Ebay and he say's its' a sports model, but not sure.

[bonnie]

FYI, Roadtrip Pro-Tip: It's near impossible to hold a phone conversation over the road/wind noise in a Roadster. Or it was. Until AirPods hit the market! If you have AirPods, pair those with your phone, not the car.

 

[bonnie]

Don't want to be a downer but on this forum is this link: Damaged #1207 which lists that vin has having been in a collision.. I couldn't find it myself on the crash website ....

Different car. This one is #394, that one is #1207.

 

[Tex EV]

Different car. This one is #394, that one is #1207.

At the bottom of page 1, TEG lists some total losses he has found:

5YJRE11B981000121 - 2010-12-28 - Cause of loss: Collision
5YJRE11B781000182 - 2010-01-22 - Cause of loss: Collision
5YJRE11B681000254 - 2010-01-22 - Cause of loss: Collision
5YJRE11B081000394 - 2011-09-15 - Cause of loss: Collision
5YJRE1A17A1000681 - 2011-02-28 - Cause of loss: Collision
5YJRE1A14A1000699 - 2010-05-19 - Cause of loss: Collision
5YJRE1A18A1000933 - 2010-06-26 - Cause of loss: Collision

Edit: Consistent with what is shown on the listing.
Vehicle Title: Rebuilt, Rebuildable & Reconstructed

 

[wiztecy]

Sounds like a great price on the 1.5, however the error in the listing with it noted as a sport and a 2.5 will shy people away from bidding I'm sure. The other part that may have lowered its selling price is that it may have been hit/damaged from an accident as the above poster's comment has pointed out. TEG is an excellent and very trusted source regarding Roadster info. We've seen many scams with Roadsters on ebay and other car selling sites in the past, so salvaged, damaged and scams are not a rare event.... As for the battery degradation, you can ask the seller about it but I wouldn't trust them since they messed up on the ad. You can pull the CAC from the logs as well as get the ideal mile charge stats, however that could climb higher if the battery is properly balanced. It gives you a rough estimate really if the car has been sitting for some time and never had a chance to balance the pack. Also check and look at the Roadster closely, the wheels are the standard cast wheels which black was never an option. Some have repainted them to black in the past. But the part that grabs my attention is the lack of the TESLA badging on the back. So ask if it was ever hit, inspect it and have someone inspect it, I recommend Tesla, and go from there. I honestly have to agree with the poster earlier, how and why did you purchase a car that costs quite some money still without doing any research before hand? Reason I / we say this is that we've seen many in the past get taken by unethical sellers, private and commercial as well as salvage dealers who want to capitalize on the Roadster name but behave as they know nothing about the past history, which some of that is true. They're buying to make a quick markup. However proper research of the car, especially with the TMC members here, and information from Tesla gives you the best insurance against being taken by a flipper or un-honest person. If the car checks out for you, I say you got a good buy, but I'd still have it inspected before purchasing. Just my own personal opinion from buying/owning/selling cars in the past.

Also if the Roadster has a 'salvaged' title, I'd steer as far as I can clear of that. There's many discussion on TMC about that mess, Tesla can and has blacklisted these cars and they are pretty much impossible to maintain after that since you get cut-off from the technical expertise and parts from Tesla. Salvaged cars typically are worth 50% less of the listed comparable non salvaged version. However being cut off from the sole manufacturer in order to maintain that car makes it worth a ton less! Its then only a parts car, which in turn makes it what the market will pay for the good parts on it. Given the battery could be degradation beyond worthy practical use, you get pretty limited good parts out of the car to make it recoop even a huge 50% discounted price. Most I'd personally pay for any Salvaged Roadster would be $10-$15k and I'd use it as a fun weekend track car if I did buy it or beater commuter where I don't care what happens to it. Some in the past have tried to argue that the Salvaged Roadster should bring $10k less than the market of a non-salvaged Roadster, their rational was that it was due to the car being rare. I disagree 100% with that. The only way it will bring in $10k less is if an uneducated buyer picks it up, and the seller failed to disclose the mess and headache of a salvage title black listed Roadster brings with it. ...which is exactly what happened, and the buyer was not pleased one bit and felt taken, wishing he never bought the car.... sad story. And the seller of the salvaged Roadster ended up buying a non-salvaged titled Roadster almost immediately after the sale of the salvaged one. Go figure, so in a sense, they didn't believe their logic would hold or was a very clear sign of how much trouble owning a salvaged Roadster was. Either way, its not good for the buyer.

You should be able to back out of the purchase from eBay due to the listing error if you don't feel comfortable.

I have found that if I see something that seems to be just too good to be true, there's usually a catch with it. And most times those in the market did their full research where I didn't due to time or just my pure impulse to buy.

 

[bonnie]

Do you think it might have been a good idea to do some research on the car before buying?

All electric bar batteries lose charge, and all Tesla's come with charging equipment like wall units and cables.

No, not all Teslas come with all the equipment. You don't have a Roadster, so you might not be aware of dwindling hardware choices for charging.

At the bottom of page 1, TEG lists some total losses he has found:



Edit: Consistent with what is shown on the listing.
Vehicle Title: Rebuilt, Rebuildable & Reconstructed

Ahh, you're right. Apologies!

 

[DeedWest]

It looks like that photo of the VDS shows "Estimated" range, not Ideal Range, which can be selected via a button on the main battery screen.

That being said, that number is based on previous driving habits, NOT the actual Ideal Range of the car. It is likely much higher than 120ish miles.

 

[medfly21]

Wow...That's a lot of information guys and thank you for all the support I really appreciate it. I really should have looked into it a little more but figured it was a Tesla so what could go wrong. I'm going to see if I can back out now but I'm extremely depressed now. Anyone selling a Roadster in Vegas? I'll be there this weekend! =)

 

[gregd]

Yeah, I suspect I'm out of balance, but the 142 is the rated range on odometer. The ideal range on the VDS is about 172. I should have specified that.

I drive the Roadster inconsistently and since it's summer in the desert (we're supposed to hit 120 F next week!) I'm keeping the SOC lower - around 50-60 percent. I haven't range charged in 2 years. I think I last did a full standard charge a month ago before our daily high temps here were 100 F.

I have my annual service next week. I'll do a full standard charge this weekend before the 120 day hits next week.

Sorry for getting off topic, OP.

Ah, ok. We were comparing Ideal Ranges, as that's more representative of battery health. 172 Ideal sounds about right for a CAC of 148. Thanks for clarifying.

 

[gregd]

Wow...That's a lot of information guys and thank you for all the support I really appreciate it. I really should have looked into it a little more but figured it was a Tesla so what could go wrong. I'm going to see if I can back out now but I'm extremely depressed now. Anyone selling a Roadster in Vegas? I'll be there this weekend! =)

No cause for depression! I believe Wiztecy is right, that you do have the right to back out if the car doesn't measure up to the eBay ad. Check out the eBay Auto terms, get a CarFax report, and go with your eyes open. There is a Tesla service center in Vegas (6260 W Badura Ave, (702) 914-6500); a call to them might confirm the car's overall status (clean, salvage, etc.), though I think they are being more tight-lipped these days due to privacy concerns.

If nothing else, you'll have a fun weekend in Vegas, and have learned a bunch about what to look for in a Roadster you will want to give a new home to. Each Roadster, possibly more than any other car, has a unique personality, and needs a matching owner. This one may not be the one for you.

 

[wiztecy]

...If you have time to have this Roadster checked out (as we mentioned), and you're ok with the findings which I'd recommend you post here so we can help, you just might have a good deal (granted that the title is indeed 100% clean). This will take time to check out, but this time is very much worth taking. If you do do indeed and committed you do want to purchase a Roadster which I personally and highly recommend ( I'm biased ), I'd just be patient, find the color / interior combination you do indeed enjoy and love or could fall in love with, do your research, and commit to it after you feel confident with the seller and it checks out to your liking. Its attractive and you feel like you really want to jump onto a deal when your eyes find one, but it does involve risk and in the end, would have been worth spending some more money you saved to selectively purchase you fully can depend on, be happy with, and enjoy for quite some time down the road.

 

[AEdennis]

...If you have time to have this Roadster checked out (as we mentioned), and you're ok with the findings which I'd recommend you post here so we can help, you just might have a good deal (granted that the title is indeed 100% clean). ....

The Vegas Service Center is closed on Sunday, but looks to have Saturday hours (9a-5p)...

You might want to give them a call now. If it's anything like Torrance, even if the service center is open, the guy that takes care of the Roadsters works M-F.

 

[Akikiki]

So Like I said I bought a Roadster in Vegas and he says it's a 2008 Tesla Roadster 2.5 sports model with 288 hp.
This is his vin number which makes me believe he has the 56C motor. I really can't find the differences between these motors anywhere but this is his vin number 5YJRE11B081000394. So is it possiable this model can have the 288 hp motor. Thank you for any help.

Digit 8: (Roadster) Motor/Drive Unit:

• B = Tesla 56C (2008)
• 1 = Tesla M6B (2010)
• 3 = Tesla M6S (2010)

You can decode your VIN here.
https://teslatap.com/vin-decoder/

 

[ecarfan]

Wow...That's a lot of information guys and thank you for all the support I really appreciate it. I really should have looked into it a little more but figured it was a Tesla so what could go wrong. I'm going to see if I can back out now but I'm extremely depressed now. Anyone selling a Roadster in Vegas? I'll be there this weekend! =)

I am just seeing this thread. I hope you take the helpful advice that has been offered here, and I recommend not going through with the purchase of this Roadster. It is possible the seller is simply ignorant, but as others have noted there have been many cases of shady Roadster sales. Keep looking, there are always a few for sale in the US. But before buying any Roadster, have it checked out by a Tesla service center or by a knowledgeable Roadster owner, and get the battery CAC value.

While I agree with others that the Roadster is a fantastic car and there is literally nothing else like it (but I'm biased I think you need to spend more time understanding its unique characteristics and its limitations. It is not just "a Tesla". It was made in very limited numbers at a time when Tesla was a tiny company and was constrained in many ways. The original battery is now old technology and is not comparable to the Model S and X batteries. The new Roadster 3.0 battery is a major improvement. Ir y ou want to be able to do drives of 150 miles in a Roadster without stopping to charge, and can afford the 3.0 battery, get it. You mentioned that the Roadster can go 200 to 240 miles, but that was only when the battery was new, and over 200 miles was only possible at much less than freeway speeds.

The Roadster cannot use the Tesla Superchargers (which are DC) and it charges at a maximum of 70 amps AC. But when you are looking for charging while traveling you may not find anything over 40 amps AC, so you will need to spend hours charging. It can be used for long distance travel but it is not as easy as a Model S or X.

I can't get the ebay ad to load so can't view it and comment. 2008 Tesla Roadster Base Convertible 2-Door | eBay

 

[ML Auto]

The Ebay listing shows the title as rebuilt (as it has the last several times it was listed) so I don't know what you were expecting. It is a rebuilt salvage car that was totaled. You will get zero service support from Tesla and can't buy any parts, including the 3.0 battery. So unless you are willing to fix the car yourself or can find a third party to do so, you should back out of the deal and apologize to the seller.

Today's Roadster Orphan

see post #37 and #38

 

[wiztecy]

To be fair, its only mentioned in the Ebay provided box for the description. In no way did the seller go out of their way to point to the buyer or potential buyer that this was a salvaged car other than the Ebay description that many overlook. But hey, they are a seller trying to offload something they can't sell onto a customer who is eager to buy, and this is a candidate who can easily overlook the "rebuilt" title in the Ebay description.

If you do talk to the seller I'd recommend you tell them to state in same part where they fluff up the car that it has a salvage title. Pass on that with that you may not be able to buy or maintain this car. You should be able to get out of the sale easy enough since it was mistakenly advertised as a Roadster 2.5 with the Sport package, which it is not.

Since it indeed is a salvaged title, get out of this thing ASAP.

 

[ML Auto]

Also discussed here:

Vin 394 salvage auction

Buying an $30K car without doing your homework is foolish.

The broker listing the car is in Nebraska, but the car is in Vegas and the pictures look like they were taken at somebody's house. So a call to the phone number is listed in the ad should have been a no-brainer.
Just searching the VIN on Google brings up the salvage history.

 

[shrink]

For reference:

eBay Motors - Purchase Protection - Overview

Purchases are covered by VPP in the situations below:

2C) The vehicle make, model or year is different than what was described in the seller's listing at the time you placed your bid or offer. Note, however, that VPP does not protect you if the seller's description was inaccurate with respect to the vehicle's sub-model, trim packages or special editions."

I wish you the best of luck with this and can join the Roadster community sooner than later.

 

[bonnie]

I love the Roadster owner community.

 

[Roadster]

No cause for depression! I believe Wiztecy is right, that you do have the right to back out if the car doesn't measure up to the eBay ad. Check out the eBay Auto terms, get a CarFax report, and go with your eyes open. There is a Tesla service center in Vegas (6260 W Badura Ave, (702) 914-6500); a call to them might confirm the car's overall status (clean, salvage, etc.), though I think they are being more tight-lipped these days due to privacy concerns.

If nothing else, you'll have a fun weekend in Vegas, and have learned a bunch about what to look for in a Roadster you will want to give a new home to. Each Roadster, possibly more than any other car, has a unique personality, and needs a matching owner. This one may not be the one for you.

Welcome to TMC, @medfly21! +1 to what @gregd stated above as well as the other sage advice folks have given you. Hoping the eBay terms are in your favor and you're able to back out. If not, since it seems you're still planning on flying to Vegas tomorrow, you have one roll of the dice left.

The eBay auction states that the car "...has had all scheduled maintenance..." which seems to intimate that its annual service has been performed regularly at a qualified Tesla SC. If this is indeed true and the recent service records show work performed by/at a Tesla SC in the past year, congrats, the car is not blacklisted! However, you'll need the actual records to know for sure. Was the seller able to provide any factory service documents? If so, let us know what they say and we'll help provide some addl. provenance on the car. If, however, there are no service records available...

...contact the Vegas SC ASAP as suggested and inform them that you've flown into town from out of state and have a Roadster that urgently needs a factory PPI and Annual Service performed on it. Chances are you'll be speaking with a Service Concierge who'll request the last four digits of the VIN. Politely ask him/her to do a quick check in the Tesla database to see if there's any past service history on it they can share with you. At this point, your fate will be in the hands of Lady Luck. Fingers crossed (a) the car's not blacklisted and, more importantly, (b) they can accommodate you to perform the work on such short notice. Ideally, the PPI will be rolled into the cost of the annual housekeeping which will set you back another $600+. However, for all the knowns and unknowns about the car, this will provide you the best peace of mind $$$ can buy.

As far as getting the car home to SLO, unless you have a few days, a full compliment of charging adapters, and the EVSE/Plugshare gods are feeling generous, it would be prudent not to push your luck any further than necessary. Even assuming everything checked out at the SC, a 400+ mile drive across the Central CA desert at the height of summer heat in an "old" EV isn't advised. Do yourself a favor and rent an ICE pickup + one of these for your journey home.

While it would have been better to have done your research before committing to the purchase, I truly hope everything works out for you! These are indeed very special cars so if the stars happen to align for you with this particular one, that's one less Roadster orphan in the world which is all right in my book

 

[supersnoop]

Wow...That's a lot of information guys and thank you for all the support I really appreciate it. I really should have looked into it a little more but figured it was a Tesla so what could go wrong. I'm going to see if I can back out now but I'm extremely depressed now. Anyone selling a Roadster in Vegas? I'll be there this weekend! =)

eBay auctions for anything that requires a title transfer are not legally binding. The sellers have a habit of stating that your bid enters you into a legally binding contract, but eBay's terms prevail. You can back out if you want. If you paid a deposit, you might have to fight to get it back. The winning bid is probably about right for a salvage-title Roadster. With only 1,400 of them in North America, pricing can be a guessing game. I think we've seen a rebuilt salvage go for maybe $5k-$7k more than that.