Potentially 1st Tesla

[samuelffrancis]

Hi, everyone! Kind of new to this, so I appreciate the patience. To cut to the chase, I'm a 25 yr old mechanical engineering student that LOVES these cars. My dad got one of the first 100 Model S's in Vegas (where I grew up) and on top of my already oozing love for good engineering I was in love. I was hooked.

Now I'm finally in a place to potentially pick up my first one. There is a used one about 30 minutes from me. 2016 70D with 142,000 miles on the odometer. It still gets around 241 miles on a full charge. Clean title (see CarFax below), autopilot, premium connectivity, etc. It has a couple of dents (something that 1. I think could be popped or fixed easily and 2. At this point, I don't care that much haha) but other than that, it looks pretty good/nice (see pictures below).

My wife and I live in an apartment complex, but there is a destination charger and 4 charge points across the street. However, we will most likely move halfway across the country a year from now and even live in an apartment for another year after that or so. POINT IS: I'm very nervous that even after getting into my first one (barely), I'd be hit with a motor or battery failure or HUGE repair that I simply can't afford. It doesn't have the lowest mileage, and even though I know that there is extremely confident data/studies of high mileage Model S builds, I still get really scared that mine might be...... "the one".

I would really appreciate any wisdom or insight from anyone who has a 2016 with similar or even more miles. Or even have had experience with some heavy or more expensive repairs. Please lemme know if you think it's worth it or if I'm being young, dumb, and setting myself up for failure in just a few years haha.

Cheers, everyone. Thank you for taking the time to read/help!

https://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory/ar20/Z1yDOH-QYNtcSAq-X_3oO1kRoCRGel43RQdyVo9NeO7zIF09NcohQ8PaZrkdcmwvx0q1jyVyq5zIA-43a-WpHloNlmWnUdON6j4

 

[dannycamps]

I believe the battery and drive unit for this car is an 8 year - unlimited warranty… meaning you have at least 1 year left under warranty on those big ticket items

Yes - based on the Carfax first registration date, battery/drivetrain warranty should still be active through March of 2024 which would be a little piece of mind. Also, no idea if either the battery or drive motors were replaced at any point or if they are original to the car.

That being said, it all comes down to cost. I don't recall the OP mentioning how much he'd be paying for the car. As he is currently driving a Ford Fusion plugin, here are a few other options to consider:

1. Used Chevy Volt (2nd Generation): ~53 miles all electric range

2. New or Used Chevy Bolt: ~240 miles all electric range

3. Used Model 3 (probably a stretch for the budget)

 

[D.E.]

I’ve got to go with ewoodrick on this one. Chances are that the car will be fine, it’s gone 142K miles so far, it’ll probably go much further. The thing is that it is a bet you cannot afford to lose. Battery life depends on how it has been treated. Ideally it hasn’t been continually charged to 100%. It’s better if it is charged slowly rather than at the maximum charge rate. It’s a 7 year old luxury car. It hasn’t been babied, it’s been driven hard, and even banged up a bit. You’ve no idea how it’s been otherwise treated. But you can guess.

I didn’t see how much they want for this car.

I knew someone once that bought an older but top of the line BMW 750 for a good price. He found he had the maintenance costs of the very expensive car that it once was. With a Tesla you’ll be able to use other shops for some work but it is Tesla for anything that involves what makes Tesla unique. Tesla has had a long standing supply problem should you have an accident with it, many have waited months and months and months for parts. When I bought mine, Tesla was very attentive to the needs of their customers. They lost sight of that goal.

You are 25, married, probably kids in the near future. You’ll want a house. There will be time later for luxury cars if you choose. Kids are expensive. Get a book with tables of future values of money. You should be saving early. $40 per month saved and invested will likely be worth a million when you are in your 60’s. A car isn’t an investment, it’s a wasting asset.

I’m over 70. And I can look back and see mistakes people made early affects them for life. I’ve had a lot of cars. A lot of used ones, later some new ones. The Tesla is the best of the bunch. Still it’s too early for you. Get a Civic. Used if you can. Drive the wheels off it. Keep it until it’s old enough to vote. The insurance will be cheaper, you’ll be able to buy fuel anywhere. If you maintain it, it’ll last forever. And all that money, you’ll have it for the important things.

I don’t expect you’ll do all this. People need to make mistakes. But you should avoid mistakes that are life changing, and buying expensive cars now will be life changing. Not just for you, you’re deciding for your wife and those future kids as well.

Good luck. My kids had to listen to this a lot. They save, they invest, they’re doing well.

They drive Civics.

2013 Civics.

 

[Krash]

Mostly just tires…There are also a handful of potential trouble spots in the $3-5k range to be aware of - AC compressor, onboard charger, sunroof, and DC-DC converter come to mind.

Heater core is my major purchase at 130,000 miles. $1700.

Some chance that this one owner car HAS been through auction from Tesla and free supercharging is pending removal. Buyer should get that in writing.

But yeah, better to wait. Save up enough, before you buy one, to replace at least the battery if it fails after next year. Cars like this will still be for sale later.

And if you do wait, watch for a late (AP2) 2016 75. I think those will age better.

An internet search on the VIN 5YJSA1E29GF129713 shows this car was listed for sale asking $19,741 in Salt Lake City.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Heater core is my major purchase at 130,000 miles. $1700.

How often did you change the coolant?

 

[BitJam]

I'm very nervous that even after getting into my first one (barely), I'd be hit with a motor or battery failure or HUGE repair that I simply can't afford.

Wait. You're young. The price of EVs is going to come down a lot. Buying this car now is a luxury, not a necessity, and, as you say, if something goes wrong then it will be a luxury you can't afford. The insurance alone could cost you an extra $900 or so per year. The insurance is expensive because they are expensive cars to repair. Also, BEVs are heavy and go through tires quickly.

The best possible outcome is that nothing goes wrong with it and you get the thrill of having a great car five or so years ahead of time. But even if nothing goes wrong, the downside is you lose a lot of financial flexibility. Remember it's happy wife, happy life, not the other way around.

 

[Krash]

How often did you change the coolant?

Never. Tesla doesn’t recommend changing coolant anymore. The heater core part number has been through a bunch of revisions, so hopefully with the last revision I can go more than 130,000 additional miles.

 

[Dualium]

I'll probably have to agree with the sentiment of waiting. If something big breaks and you can't afford it, the car will be unusable until you save enough for repairs. All the while you have to be comfortable with one less car in your household and taking money that could be used for savings/investments for repairs.
Not to mention the hassle of public charging. Sure, you have something maybe in place now, but when you move soon or have a kid, I doubt you're going to want to hit the supercharger for an hour of your day once/twice a week.

I get it though, no one wants to wait until they're 30 to finally get that car they've wanted. My advice? Start setting some money aside now, and see where things land after you both graduate and/or move. I think you'll be in a better position to see if you can stomach a luxury vehicle and associated costs.

Best of luck mate. You'll get your Model S soon enough, just don't be hasty!

 

[WallysRide]

Another recommendation to not buy a heavily used Tesla if you can barely afford the purchase price. Sure, you might be lucky and have no repair needs, but I wouldn't count on it if you are buying *a dented car* from a dealer.

I empathize with your love of the car, because it's a great driving experience. But if you are hoping to have a baby in the next couple of years, you and your wife will not want to be dealing with having to wait for appointments for $$$ and slow service at a Tesla service center if your car does need some repairs that require Tesla service.

In the first year of my used Tesla ownership, I ended up buying a third-party extended warranty because of the miscellaneous repairs I discovered the car needed after buying from a small dealer. I have NEVER done so before with other used luxury cars. And this warranty doesn't cover drivetrain, so I also have had to plan for what I will do if my battery or drive unit needs replacement (my car is out of warranty on those items).

 

[Watts_Up]

2016 70D with 142,000 miles It still gets around 241 miles on a full charge. autopilot, premium connectivity, etc.

I was looking at KKB, and such car price would be around $38,000, (You didn't provided the Carfax price).

Honestly, I like the Model S, especially the air suspension, but I doubt the 2016 Model S has it.

However, why not getting for that price a brand new 2023 Model 3 SR with 272 miles of range for ($43,000 - $7,500 IRA) = $35,300 ?

Getting a new car allow you taking advantage of the IRA tax discount, and you might even get additional EV Tax credits in your state.

Alternative Fuels Data Center: Utah Laws and Incentives

My decisive argument between getting used versus new is that in few years you might need to buy a different car,
but the value of the already used car will be much lower than the used value of a new car that you could buy today.

Also a new Model 3 will certainly be maintenace free, especially been under warranty, compared to an already 7 year old car.

 

[D.E.]

If you do get one, the year determines almost all of the value. Nice condition with low mileage adds little to the value. So look for someone’s undented, unscratched, low mileage garage queen. If it’s got a clear self healing wrap so much the better.

 

[D.E.]

More to know…

The 2016/2017 did offer the air suspension but not consistently. I’d have bought it had it been available when I ordered mine, so I got the standard suspension. It’s good and I’m happy with it. It was offered both before and after I got mine.

If buying one from this time period, I’d also check salvage prices. If paying $20K for the car, you probably won‘t pay $16K or so for a new battery, only to wind up with a $20K car, so if selling for salvage offers a way out, it’d be worth it to know what that path offers.

I’d still point you toward the Civic. What you need is basic transportation. Look through the posts here, going out to a dead Tesla isn’t likely but it isn’t impossible either. In that case you‘ll be looking at a flat bed transport, a rental car, and an unexpected repair. Or perhaps if lucky, a visit from a mobile technician, much cheaper but still very inconvenient.

Have a mechanic go over it. I’d try to hire a Tesla repair technician for a few hundred dollars. It’s money well spent, especially if he finds a problem. Sometimes repairs are made. Despite their claims, know that Carfax isn’t perfect.

Hammering out the dents… These cars are aluminum, not steel. In general it isn’t worthwhile to fix body panels, they replace them. If the dent can be filled with body putty and painted, that’s an option, but straightening out aluminum may not be an option. On the plus side, aluminum body panels don’t rust. On the minus side, a relatively minor rear end event by an inattentive teen at a stop light will likely total your car. Repairs are wickedly expensive and take a long time.

Travel… these cars are comfortable on trips but you hop from supercharger to supercharger with 45 minutes to an hour at each stop. It makes a trip more time consuming. I like it, a stop every couple of hours and a rest is fine with me. But if you are consuming your vacation time, or want to cover distance as quickly as possible, it isn’t ideal. And there are places off the supercharger route you can’t go. Well, you can but it takes planning. When we visit my wife’s parents, it involves charging from their 110V outlet, that adds 4 miles to the range for each hour plugged in. That’s ~72 miles/day, so not impossible but certainly not as convenient as just stopping in town for gas.

The 70D can be ”uncorked”. As delivered it had a 0-60 time of 5.2 seconds. Uncorking dropped that time to 4.2 seconds. They did it, I think, because the 3 was coming out at the time and they wanted to preserve the acceleration advantages of buying the S. I believe they’ll still uncork them but I don’t know if it is still free for a car out of warranty.

Believe nothing told to you by a dealer. Check on everything. Once you pay, the car is yours, warts and all. That’s not the time to go over it and find things that need fixing. Make sure anything that needs fixing gets fixed before you hand over the money because once the money changes hands nothing more will be done despite promises. Yup, I’m jaded. Experiences made me this way. Expensive experiences sometimes. In my experience, promised repairs to a used car have never been done after the money changed hands. I’m sure there are honest used car people out there, it’s just that I’ve just never run across them.

The Tesla is a hobby. A Civic is transportation.

It’s not all negative. You can run your air conditioning without running an engine. On a hot day you can cool the car while finishing up shopping in the mall or from inside your apartment. You can pretty much always get into a cooled car. That’s very nice. I ran my A/C all day with the car in a hot parking lot once. We were there to see a total solar eclipse, my daughter was breast feeding. It was in the 90’s, really hot. My car was 72F. It consumed about 8 miles of range per hour of cooling. That was great.

It used to be that all Tesla drivers were kindred spirits. At superchargers we’d always talk. When supercharging, non owners would sometimes pull off the road to ask about the Tesla. Not any more. Now Teslas are everywhere. I miss those days. It’s nice in that I’m now confident of Tesla’s future, my car won’t be orphaned by a company that went toes up. There were never lines at superchargers then. I’ve never waited at a supercharger but there are those that have.

All in all, a Tesla fits my retired lifestyle. But we also have a Kia, so we’re never solely dependent on the Tesla for transportation. I would never suggest someone have a Tesla as their only car. Maybe in the future, but not now.

 

[samuelffrancis]

Thank you so much to everyone that’s responded. I’ll try to get back to each one of you directly but just know how grateful I ame for everyone’s honest opinions and advice. It means a lot to my wife and I.

That said, I should probably confess that I irrationally left out pricing details because I was afraid someone in my area might see this and “snake” the opportunity from me on such a good deal before I had the time to finalize my decision. I know realize and hope that’s not the case.

It’s listed for a bit over $19K. Texting back and forth with the associate and discussing the dents I offered $17K. They said that might be doable and I should come in and talk in person and drive it. (Typical sleazy salesmen lol). My 2014 Ford Fusion Energi could optimistically be sold for $12K. At the end of the day, I’d be paying $5K out of pocket. However this is best case scenario. Please lemme know your thoughts on if this pricing is any good or if this changes anything.

Cheers, y’all. Thank you so much again for the wisdom and help.

 

[samuelffrancis]

If you do get one, the year determines almost all of the value. Nice condition with low mileage adds little to the value. So look for someone’s undented, unscratched, low mileage garage queen. If it’s got a clear self healing wrap so much the better.

Thanks for the advice! Is the one I’m looking at ok? I don’t really care too much about a couple of dents that I could maybe pop myself. The mileage is still definitely higher than I’d like…..

 

[dmurphy]

I've got to agree with most of the folks here .. I don't think this is the most practical thing.

Still in undergrad, want kids in the soon-ish timeframe, which leads to a home ...

Now is not the time to drive a "well loved" higher-end car. You're staring down the barrel of some of the biggest ticket items you'll ever have in your life (home? kids?) -- those are all going to be more important.

There's plenty of time to go get the fun stuff ... for now, focus on the future. Make sure you're investing fully in your retirement funds (pay yourself first!), gather cash for a down payment on a home, and take care of your family. That'll lead to all sorts of fun later, I assure you!

For now, I'd either stick it out with the Ford, or, if you are going to be having kids, look at something safe & reliable to transport them in. There's few bad choices on the market these days, really.

Thing is with Teslas ... I am much less concerned with mileage than I am age. We're used to using mileage as a gauge of wear; Teslas as a whole seem to wear by the calendar.

As an aside -- my son is getting his drivers' permit next month (terrifying!) ... We're an all electric household, so I wanted to start looking at cars for him to buy. I eyeballed up a 2013 Model S - was right in the budget - and rejected it. The age on the pack and its (honestly, lack of) repair record actually turned me away. A 10 year old Tesla - especially with those early-vintage battery packs - IS going to have a big repair; it's a when, not an if. The 2016 you're looking at is significantly better, but still a 7 year old vehicle. If you can't afford to drop $5-10k on a major repair for it, that's not really a viable car right now. (What I ended up doing was buying a '21 S for myself, and he will buy my '19 Model 3 from me at a very hefty discount. Big believer in having to have skin in the game, so yes, he's buying - it's not a gift ...)

 

[henderrj]

This was quite honestly probably the most helpful and contextual response. Thank you! According to another user's comment, I think it still might have the free supercharging! The stats on your similar build/era Model S were EXACTLY what I was looking for in this thread/post. I can't believe you've gone that high in a 2014! That's super good to hear and very comforting. Have you babied the battery? Supercharged often? Launched it often? What have have your costs and repairs looked like? How many years of ownership does your 265,000 mile adventure translate to? What was your original range, vs now? I apologize for all the questions haha.

I have been looking at 3rd party warranty options but haven't really found any that looked worthy of pursuing. I'll have to look them up! Would you mind proving a link if you have the chance? Do you use them yourself? Thank you again so much. Your reply truly helps!

We bought our Model S with 38,000 miles on it. It was a repaired unit. Supercharged it often, but usually at an urban supercharger, which has a lower total current draw. 70 kilowatt max. That's basically what Tesla restricts these guys to now in supercharging, for the very purpose of longevity on the battery.

By no means do we have the longest lived battery. I remember reading one guy with a Model S with over 400,000 miles on the original battery however people have also had their batteries die at under 100,000. The 70, of course will have more charge cycles per mile, since it can't go quite as far on the a single charge, so no telling on that.

Launched it a decent amount, but it's the standard not the performance version (and launching definitely shortens tire life!). I had about 264 mi range when I got it, which is quite good, it's down in the 230's now. I leave it on percentage so it doesn't bug me too much!

057 Technology

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I've had the normal repairs necessary on any car with a few hundred thousand miles on it, front end rear end, brakes and hubs, that sort of thing. Probably four or five thousand all told in the whole time I've owned it. And that probably includes the MCU to upgrade, something you really want to do. Really not bad for any car. On a Model S the only extended warranty I would consider would be on the battery. There's just not that much that can go wrong beyond that. Even the drive unit isn't that expensive to replace if you go to a third party shop.

By the way, the drive units haven't had a problem in a long time. I'm on my third one but the second was was installed with 75,000 miles on it. No problems at all.

Balance of life is a difficulty. On the one hand you want to enjoy life, and the other hand you want to enjoy life later. Getting in debt is, slavery, has the ancients said. So, I'm with you, I really wanted a Tesla and got in debt for it. It worked out for us, no telling whether or not it'll work out for you.

Oh, one other thing. Buying from a dealer, make sure you get in writing that it has free supercharging for life. Sometimes they buy them from auctions, and Tesla may have owned them in between. Therefore Tesla May strip the supercharging shortly after you buy it. You want them to give you money if that's the case!

 

[D.E.]

Thanks for the advice! Is the one I’m looking at ok? I don’t really care too much about a couple of dents that I could maybe pop myself. The mileage is still definitely higher than I’d like…..

That is something I cannot answer for you, nor would I if I could. It’s totally your decision. I can tell you what’s right for me but I don’t know you well enough to say what’s right for you. I don’t know your wife. I don’t know if there’s another car in the family. I don’t know how supportive your parents are, how far away they live, if they have spare money, or a car they might loan. I can tell you that the minute your first baby arrives, that car will be way down the list of priorities.

As for me I’d avoid a car that appears not to have been loved. There are too many that have been well cared for. Mine lives in the garage, sips power at 8 miles per hour of charging from a 240V outlet. It has no dents, no scratches, has about 16K miles, and still smells new. Mine isn’t worth much more than a high mileage car that seldom saw a hose, wasn’t parked where it was unlikely to be hit with doors, etc. There will be cars like mine but you’ll need to watch for them. Since you have a car, you have time to look. One will turn up. Perhaps not at the $17K, but perhaps something you’ll be happy to drive and enjoy for far longer than that banged up bargain bin relic you’re considering now. Your friends will be getting new cars. It’ll be nice if your car at least appears nearly new. That Ford you have, is it reliable? Is it worn out? Are there issues that make it unsuitable?

I keep cars for a long time. We had an ‘04 Honda. It was only worth about $800 trade in 2 years ago. It went to a family member. It’s reliable, just nearly worthless on the used car market. We had a ‘96 Honda Odessey. It went to college with one of the kids. She was horrified at the thought of taking it to college, it turns out it was one of the favorites, it would take all her friends out, they’d assign one person as designated so not drinking and that person would drive everyone home. That’s the story, anyway.

So I can give you the perspective of someone much closer to the end of life than the beginning. I know the decisions that are right for me. I can tell you what I think should be right for you but as far as actually deciding, that’s totally up to you. And that’s the way it should be.

 

[ewoodrick]

Ahhhhhhhhhhh gotcha. Unfortunately it is in the "clutches" of a dealer, so this does not surprise me in the slightest and I had a hunch that range was a bit too high haha. Thank you so much for bringing this up/pointing this out. I will have them check it and see what it truly is.

Even at 210-215 miles of range, do you think something like that would be worth it? I'm glad to hear that's somewhat normal for this model and year. Thank you again for helping me!

And I'll add that I'm an Electrical Engineer and that once I got my first real paycheck, which wasn't that much. I thought that I now had a lot of money.
Well, reality kicked in and the amount of money they I had descended into the red pretty quickly.
New house? Most people don't think about the extra $10k+ that you are going to spend pretty quickly on things like rugs, blinds, paint, lawn mowers, tools, etc.
Babies? Well, they are basically infinite money sinks. Not near parents? Think of the number of trips you are about to have to pay for. Baby rooms to outfit, cribs, baby seats, strollers, formula, diapers.

Save the money and look forward to the Tesla in the future.

 

[KalJoMoS]

I do understand that the decision to make is hard, so I will not add a new comment. Instead mine is from the same year and same model just few thousand cars older by the VIN number. Mine is with half the mileage, with coil suspension and not with the TechPack that was separate purchase back then (but the car do have some of the features and elements listed there) and on the photos it seems the interior does have some of the Alcantara accents as the premium interior would have. Mine has the non-UHFS sound system but is still remarkably good. I still have the MCU1 as it has not had the wildly known issue’s that majority is taking about (not planning to change as there is no issues).
My repairs out of pocket has been LF condenser core change (was punctured as of broken louvers on that side). Both side front louvers, two door handles - not from Tesla SeC; one rear electrical parking caliper and electrical battery heater. I was able to include to the new car warranty (that has now ended) one door handle, charge port door change, both rear-view mirrors as the photochromic function did stopped and some door and sunroof seals. The battery on your should at least be v.2 or newer so should be better than the year ‘14 or early ‘15 cars had. On the photos is also seen that two of the front parking sensors are missing or lost inside the wheel-well. If these are lost or broken then you will have constant alert on IC.
Good luck on the decision!
edit: forgot that I have change the 12V battery twice.

 

[Krash]

…Getting a new car allow you taking advantage of the IRA tax discount…

He may not be eligible for the full tax credit.

…the value of the already used car will be much lower than the used value of a new car that you could buy today.

Generally new cars depreciate more than used, although Teslas are better than most.

…look for someone’s undented, unscratched, low mileage garage queen. If it’s got a clear self healing wrap so much the better.

One not so obvious drawback of low mileage cars is some parts, like older performance rear motors, got much better over time and were frequently upgraded under warranty, for example motors with enough mileage to get the milling sound.

…I’d still point you toward the Civic…

+1 Civic

Hammering out the dents… These cars are aluminum, not steel. In general it isn’t worthwhile to fix body panels, they replace them. If the dent can be filled with body putty and painted, that’s an option, but straightening out aluminum may not be an option.

I’ve had great success with paintless dent repair.

…The 70D can be ”uncorked”. As delivered it had a 0-60 time of 5.2 seconds. Uncorking dropped that time to 4.2 seconds…

The car you are considering may be too old to be uncorked. Any 70D with true 70kWh battery cannot be uncorked. The 70D that is a software locked 75kWh can be uncorked but you’ll have to pay to remove the software limit first.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Never. Tesla doesn’t recommend changing coolant anymore. The heater core part number has been through a bunch of revisions, so hopefully with the last revision I can go more than 130,000 additional miles.

That's insane for a car company, that is the only one I have ever seen that recommends cracking open a sealed and pressurized A/C system every 3 years to change the desiccant, to pretend like coolant doesn't lose its corrosion properties over time while in contact with metals and going through heat cycles.