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Pros and Cons of CPO Signature
- Thread starter RockinWithKids
- Start date
Drucifer
Active Member
No folding mirrors or parking sensors. Sometimes early builds have less consistent body seams etc.
IMHO the only plus in buying a Signature is when the car first comes out and you are the first in the world o experience it. Apart from that benefit to the original owner and the Sig red color I personally see nothing special about buying a used Sig and in fact see it as a drawback as you are buying the first production versions of the car.
I would much rather buy a later build non sig car that is likely to have more features and better build quality. The caveat is Sig cars that have had many components replaced but I would always buy the newest build possible.
I would much rather buy a later build non sig car that is likely to have more features and better build quality. The caveat is Sig cars that have had many components replaced but I would always buy the newest build possible.
SebastianR
Active Member
That to me is the distinguishing factor. You can't have the signature red unless you buy a signature car. Everything else you can buy with other cars, too.
AMPd
Well-Known Member
pros: Unique color, cheaper
Cons: Revision A battery pack supercharges at 90kwh max, vehicle build could be less than perfect
Cons: Revision A battery pack supercharges at 90kwh max, vehicle build could be less than perfect
The number one compliment about my car when shown at events is the color of it. I then have to deliver the bad news. I agree on most of the other points, and think that if Tesla were to introduce this same darker red into its mix, it would likely generate some sales that it wouldn't normally have. They won't do that for a while, of course - because of promises to the Model S and X Signature buyers - but it is such a gorgeous color.
Unless the pack has been replaced... Mine sports a rev-D 85 kWh single-motor pack that charges at up to 120 kW, and after 50,000 miles still charges to 265 miles in the summer (261ish in winter). It's a good idea to ask what a 90% / 100% charge is on such a vehicle.
Olle
Active Member
...and you can get the white signature leather and the shiny cf spoiler (rather than matte on newer cars)
Ok, I am biased here, but it feels pretty cool to have one of the early cars, one of those that made history. In my experience, once it had been a few times to the service center in the beginning, it has been pretty darn reliable, knock no wood!
Ok, I am biased here, but it feels pretty cool to have one of the early cars, one of those that made history. In my experience, once it had been a few times to the service center in the beginning, it has been pretty darn reliable, knock no wood!
My car feels like it fits me well, like a good leather glove after wear-in... whenever I get a loaner it kinda feels foreign to me. Probably just a psychological thing, but I rather like my car.
(For what it's worth I don't have the white leather, and my spoiler is the matte one... mine was not originally installed, added later as a due-bill item.)
Olle
Active Member
I feel the same way. As a side note, I am willing to bet that the Sigs will be worth a lot more than production cars once Model S becomes a classic.
One factor is if the buyer, personally, wants to own a small peice of history.
Yes, there are 1200 or so, and its collectors value likely won't be a premium for some time yet.
But there is something, for some, to owning one of the first cars completely designed by Tesla.
Yes, there are 1200 or so, and its collectors value likely won't be a premium for some time yet.
But there is something, for some, to owning one of the first cars completely designed by Tesla.
Jool
Member
The Signature Red paint color is gorgeous. But they lack some features that come with the 2013/2014+ models. If you care more about the electric drivetrain and the driving experience associated with it, instead of all the fancy Autopilot sensors and other newer goodies, then go for it - the prices tend to be really good compared to newer models!
SmartElectric
Active Member
We bought an early (see VIN in my sig) 2013 CPO Tesla S85 this past summer and have >70,000 km on it. Looks and drives amazing. I posted my (very positive) experiences with Tesla on this forum, just look at my posts in the July/Aug 2015 timeframe for details.
The early cars supercharge at 90kW with the "A" revision battery pack. Anything made late 2013 and beyond will supercharge at 120kW.
That said, we find 90kW supercharging is perfectly acceptable and we've done so a dozen or more times in 6 months. The difference in charging time is on the order of a few minutes most times. However, since we usually eat food and charge completely at the superchargers, we've not noticed any difference in charging time!
As for fit/finish, we came out of a nicely equipped (AMG exterior/interior package) Mercedes and are actually happier and more comfortable with the Tesla interior, of course, this is a matter of taste.
dailydriver
Member
You're probably right, but that will be more than 20 years from now and I couldn't justify hanging on to mine for that long! :wink:
Olle
Active Member
Ok surely a Classic in 20 years :smile:. The price difference will probably start to build gradually though long before that time. There should be a marginal difference already now. I would easily pick a Sig if I were shopping for an early S now, provided everything else equal.
I know we are obsessing over small improvements month to month right now but on the used car market 10 years from now few people will care if the car is 2012, -13 or even -14. When you shop for a 10 year old used car (which I for one have done many times) you rarely look at old reviews saying that the 2002 is better than the 2001 and so on, as long as it is the same body style. Electronic extras are surely outdated and make no difference. The overall condition, number of owners and perhaps mileage are all that matters. But Sig is one of those few things that will always stand out IMO.
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Here's the problem with that... it's going to be very, very difficult to keep any car post 1990 as a classic in a few decades, unless manufacturers make it a practice to open up their information on ECM's, BCM's, etc. My 1965 GTO? Everything is basic and mechancal with no software...
So what happens in 50 years, when 2/3's of the subsystem suppliers for Model S are out of business? When the TPMS module fails and leaves you with a rather permanent error message on the IC? Or the caps in the MCU fail and the touchscreen is stuck in an endless reboot loop? I'm sure there will be some parts cars around, but without Tesla's service software, it may not be possible to do swaps.
Based on this, I'm figuring that any car I own now will have no value as a "classic"... it's merely a stationary museum piece at best, IMO.
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