Private sale vs third party dealer.

[U5EM3]

I am currently in the market for a used Model S with ap2. I have been monitoring this forum, OUT, Facebook, etc. I have also been checking out Tesla used inventory. When comparing all these vs vroom or Carvana, I am seeing that third party prices are lower across the board. What would I be risking with Vroom and Carvana versus forums and Tesla? Grim and Carvana will ship the car to you, offers a return period, and provides enough pictures to make educated guesses. Thanks in advance for any thoughts on this.

 

[blackoutRF]

With Tesla, if you buy a used car <50K miles, you'll get 4 year, 50K mile warranty; if you buy with >50K miles you'll get 2 years/up to 100K mile warranty. That's probably the biggest difference between the two. All carry whatever is remaining of the Battery and Drivetrain Warranty which is 8 years and 150K/unlimited.

 

[RoninAMG]

I learned the hard way is that if you purchase from a Dealer vs. Private Party then you will be NOT be able to purchase the Extended Warranty from Tesla. Once a car has traded hands through a Dealer they remove the ability to purchase the Extended Warranty from them. Another thing, I also learned the hard way, is if the ability to purchase the warranty is important to you then make sure that this vehicle wasn't purchased as CPO by original owner. I bought my P85D from a private seller about 3 years ago who bought it new from Tesla, but I guess it was a demo car so they sold it as CPO rather than new and he had the warranty through 52K miles as he purchased when it had 2K miles on it. According to him he had no idea exactly HOW it was being sold to him, he just knew that he was the first titled owner. But anyway, the short of this is purchasing from a Private Party that did not purchase as CPO will allow you to purchase the Extended Warranty if the vehicle has less than 50K miles on it if you choose to do so. On top of that your taxes will probably be much lower purchasing Private Party over Dealer. At least in IL it's notable cheaper. Once the vehicle is registered or passes through a dealer you then no longer have the option to purchase the Tesla Warranty. However, I know there is a private company out there selling Extended Warranties nearly identical to Teslas at nearly the same price and it makes no difference if it was purchased through a dealer. Good luck...

 

[CapeOne]

With Tesla, if you buy a used car <50K miles, you'll get 4 year, 50K mile warranty

It's not only miles that determine if a car gets the 4/50 warranty. The car also has to be less than 4 years old e.g., a 2015 MS with just 25k miles would still only have the 2 year warranty.

Otherwise, I agree with you that standard extended warranties are one of the biggest differences between Tesla and third party dealers.

 

[U5EM3]

Okay so Tesla has the warranty to justify higher prices. What does private sell have over third party dealers that may justify the higher price? I am thinking that private sell is more risky and then there’s the logistics issue. What am I over looking?

 

[Sadus671]

Might also matter if you have another vehicle you would want to trade in.

Here is Washington, your trade in value does offset the sales tax of your purchase.

Given the generally high value of Tesla's, that could definitely help offset a significant additional cost. Depending on the approximate value of your current vehicle.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Okay so Tesla has the warranty to justify higher prices. What does private sell have over third party dealers that may justify the higher price? I am thinking that private sell is more risky and then there’s the logistics issue. What am I over looking?

*sale

Private party sales mean that if the car had free unlimited Supercharging for life & premium data free for life this transfers to the new owner free of charge. This isn't the case if you buy used from a 3rd party dealership or even directly from Tesla.

 

[Chandu_732]

In addition to above, in some Cases Tesla removed FUSC, FSD, Premium connectivity when it sold cars to auctions.

 

[fallen888]

In addition to above, in some Cases Tesla removed FUSC, FSD, Premium connectivity when it sold cars to auctions.

Premium Connectivity is a subscription-based option, so it should never transfer to new owner. New owner has to subscribe.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Premium Connectivity is a subscription-based option, so it should never transfer to new owner. New owner has to subscribe.

Not true. Some cars made prior to January 2017 got both FUSC (Free Unlimited Supercharging for life) as well as premium data for life. These also transferred with the car. Well... that is up until about a year ago when Tesla started by removing it from the cars they took in on trade and resold. They also shortly thereafter (in a move I'm still note quite sure how they haven't been sued over by 3rd party dealerships) managed to remove it from cars sold by 3rd party dealerships. This means that, as of this post anyway, the ONLY way to get those (Tesla will still offer it to buyer on some used cars as an incentive here and there but it doesn't go with the car... only current buyer) is by buying a used Tesla Model S that has these features from a private party owner/seller. They've succeeded in making it more complex than most can understand but the bottom line is that as of the time of this post (subject to change on Tesla's whim) you can still get these two features if you find a car that has them and you buy it from a private party owner/seller.

This is why it's confusing which was an intentional move by Tesla. They want these gone and the more confusing they can make it and the more cars they can strip of it the easier it will be to eradicate it from the wild.

 

[Target]

Buying used cars from Tesla isn't like buying used cars from anyone else. It is slow and frustrating (maybe it has gotten better?). A year ago when I bought my current S from them it took over a week to take delivery (it was local, no shipping time) and the whole experience was annoying. The day of the delivery was OK, but plan to spend some time inspecting the car and making a list to negotiate any fixes that might need to be done. Have the pictures handy with any defects you can spot noted. Any defects that aren't shown in the pictures probably won't be fixed, but you can try...

Also make sure everything works on the car while you are there, and probably most important check/calculate the range the battery has and compare it to the expectations of that model for it's age. If possible do a full power run on a pre acceptance test drive to make sure it delivers full rated power. So many S's have been significantly detuned recently in the "battery-gate" and you would rather avoid those cars if you can.
Sudden Loss Of Range With 2019.16.x Software
I specifically call out the battery as your biggest risk on a Tesla purchase because it is not something they are going to replace unless it fails. It can supercharge dog slow, and have much lower than rated performance and it is still not going to be replaced. No matter who you are buying from do everything in your power to make sure you get a battery that isn't degraded substantially.

I would still buy from Tesla again though because of the warranty, just be prepared to walk if the condition is bad in some way. You will likely lose your deposit, but it is smaller now than it used to be. The warranty they provide is comprehensive and makes ownership a reasonably low risk for the older and cheaper cars that might normally break the bank with repairs. They don't even have a deductible.

Beyond all of that, if you don't yet have home charging, get started on that before you buy the car. Sometimes that takes time to sort out.

 

[Hblick48]

I purchased a 2016 MS 75 from Carvana, 40,000 miles. I then called them about purchasing an extended warranty. Answer was that they don't sell one on Teslas. I cancelled that order and purchased one from Tesla for about the same price WITH the 5 year/40,000 warranty. Thought Tesla's deal was much better because of the warranty.

I've since discovered that Xcelrate sells extended warranties for around $4,000. Taking that into account, it makes Teslas prices very reasonable.

 

[2101Guy]

You also MUST ensure you are comparing apples to apples when comparing one tesla to another. Ex: Two 2016 model S's may look alike, but one could have the ability to have FSD and the other, no.

Thats just one example. Also, if buying not from tesla, critical to know what will remain, and what may get yanked by tesla in a quarterly software audit

In the end? TO me? I found what I considered to be a good deal via Tesla. And of course their warranty was included.

 

[U5EM3]

In the end? TO me? I found what I considered to be a good deal via Tesla. And of course their warranty was included.

I am coming to the same realization. Paying for the shipping fee does suck. But with Tesla you get the warranty. You know what the car will come and stay with (FSD, free supercharging, etc). You don’t have to deal with out of state transactions.

The price difference between buying from Tesla vs others places isn’t that far off. It is a small premium to pay for piece of mind and convenience.

 

[Ostrichsak]

I am coming to the same realization. Paying for the shipping fee does suck. But with Tesla you get the warranty. You know what the car will come and stay with (FSD, free supercharging, etc). You don’t have to deal with out of state transactions.

The price difference between buying from Tesla vs others places isn’t that far off. It is a small premium to pay for piece of mind and convenience.

Saying that you pay a little more but you get more requires one to completely ignore the entire buying process itself and the experience. Buying a used car from Tesla is a nightmare. I've done it three time so I have first hand experience to draw from. I also bought two used Teslas from private party and those transactions were simple and carefree by comparison.

Do yourself a favor and research these differences as it would have to be a SIGNIFICANT deal for me to ever consider buying used from Tesla again knowing full well what that process looks like. Don't take my word for it, search this forum and Google and you will find countless stories of the the horror story that is the Tesla used car buying experience.

If you refuse to consider this aspect when determining where to buy a used Tesla you're comparing apples to aardvarks.

 

[Rmf1981]

Any defects that aren't shown in the pictures probably won't be fixed, but you can try...

I was under the impression they didn't fix cosmetic defects? Has that changed?

 

[Ostrichsak]

I was under the impression they didn't fix cosmetic defects? Has that changed?

Unless you bring them up before you sign paperwork, they verify that they're not expressly shown in photos which you saw and then you get it in writing. But no, this isn't a CPO program so you get the car as is other than mechanical defects/failures that are covered under warranty.

 

[Target]

With the basic understanding that it might be best to walk away if the car is significantly worse than what you thought when you clicked "buy it now"

Here is a checklist I found here on the forums and have added to.




1 2x key fobs
2 Supercharging enabled
3 Autopilot enabled NA
4 All tires match and clear of issues (unless photos showed otherwise)
5 Charging kit with all adapters (including J1722, NEMA 5-15, NEMA 14-50)
6 All lights work
7 All windows work
8 Wipers work
9 Speakers work
10 Parcel shelf present
11 Rear window glass pitting
12 Sunroof opens/closes
13 Power lift gate function
14 Frunk function
15 Steering wheel controls
16 Both seats function
17 All seat heaters
18 Wiper blade condition
19 Previous user settings/details wiped
20 Miles match what is advertised
21 No paint/panel issues beyond what was in photos
22 No rim issues beyond what was in photos
23 Front and rear floor mats
24 VIN matches paper work
25 Check mirrors work and fold in
26 Check charging port door opens (and closes / latches)
27 Rear seats fold up and down
28 Check rear lights for condensation
29 Front license plate holder
30 Check windscreen for chips
31 Take photos, notes and request due bill in writing for any damage noted
32 Request service history (they will likely decline due to privacy issues)
33 Check LTE connection
34 Connect phone to check Bluetooth
35 Check range on battery in % and miles
Calculate rated range at 100%
Sudden Loss Of Range With 2019.16.x Software
36 Run the HVAC
37 Check jack points and battery pack for damage
38 Check battery / car can get to full power acceleration
39 Rear defrost, if possible

If an earlier D model check the front suspension for wear / cracks / interference at full lock
Cracked forelink?


Obviously not all of these can be checked at all places and situations. I customized the list with expected values so I had them all close at hand when I was working through the list. For example I noted the mileage and marks on the car to check.

As discussed, these are used cars and "as is" to a large degree, the goal is to assess the car thoroughly and understand its actual condition before you sign the paperwork accepting the car. If things that they won't fix are bad enough, then you may need to walk to avoid being seriously upside down on the purchase price to real value.

 

[fallen888]

Not true. Some cars made prior to January 2017 got both FUSC (Free Unlimited Supercharging for life) as well as premium data for life. These also transferred with the car. Well... that is up until about a year ago ...

I had a 2016 S that I just sold privately. When I called Tesla yesterday to confirm, I was told that supercharging would transfer to new owner, but premium connectivity would not because it's a subscription-based service. I'm just repeating what Tesla told me after looking up my specific vehicle. So.. *shrug*

 

[Ostrichsak]

I had a 2016 S that I just sold privately. When I called Tesla yesterday to confirm, I was told that supercharging would transfer to new owner, but premium connectivity would not because it's a subscription-based service. I'm just repeating what Tesla told me after looking up my specific vehicle. So.. *shrug*

Just because someone @ Tesla said something doesn't make it so.