Rare Tesla ESA Opportunity

[RoninAMG]

So, I'm in a unique situation right now that I would appreciate your feedback on. And of course, time is of the essence here. I just purchased a 2015 P85D from the original owner. So far the transaction has gone pretty smooth in regards to the vehicle being shipped on schedule, and clean title following shortly after. I have not yet registered or titled the vehicle, nor officially transferred the vehicle ownership with Tesla for the following reason. He is giving me the opportunity to purchase the Extended Service Agreement via his Tesla portal before I officially transfer ownership which would then prohibit me the opportunity to purchase the ESA once it has been transferred because I would then be the official second owner. He has given me his Username & PW to purchase directly via the Tesla site with my credit card. I've been driving myself crazy here for many reasons. Once I purchase the ESA it follows the car, but the part that has me stalling is the fact the the ESA can be cancelled and refunded (prorated). One component of my dilemma is a matter of trust that this person will not simply contact Tesla a few months from now and request a refund. Being that it can ONLY be purchased by the original owner, disregarding the fact that it would be purchased with my credit card, and then disappearing with my $4,250. Not sure why it's showing $4,250 rather than $4,750 as it should be because this vehicle was purchased over the 180 day mark. Research has shown that if purchased within 180 days of ownership that the 4yr ESA would be $4,250. After 180 days it would be $4,750. But that's besides the point. Regardless of the price, I'm not going to be that guy with my junk in his hand while that guys getting lap dances at Pole Katz (famous Gentlemens Club in Chicago area) on me. I've spoken to Tesla Advisors regarding the situation and they've offered no real solution for Buyer Protection. And that leads me to the other dilemma. Do I really even need this nearly $5K ESA to begin with? I've spent countless hours, if not days researching this question and have yet to come up with sound rationalle regardless of which direction I go with this. I've asked my local Tesla Service Advisers their thoughts on the ESA, as they see these cars day in and day out, and the majority of them have said that chances are that I would not recoup the $5K over the 4yr/50K beyond the original In Service date. The vehicle has about 25K miles on it now and about 1.5 years left remaining on the original 4yr/50K warranty. I've had the car now for less than a week and I already have a checklist of about 15 things that need to be addressed. I'm very detail oriented and have been known to have original warranties squeezed beyond normal limits. And that leads me to yet another dilemma with this ESA. Within the original warranty it will address issues such as rattles, squeaks, noises, etc. As well as interior and exterior issues such as premature seat wear, panel discoloration, condensation within the light housings, etc. Whereas the ESA WILL NOT cover items such as the ones I've just listed. I've done lots of research on this particular Tesla Center and all roads lead down a favorable path and leads me to believe that I'll have no issues having these punch list items addressed. And having 1.5 years and 25K miles left to get everything buttoned up looks to be fairly reasonable. Has anyone had serious issues beyond $5K after the warranty expired with 2015 or newer. Of course, this would have to be mileage based and you being a high mileage driver to blow through the original 50K. But beyond that, does anyone have a fair argument in either direction for this ESA? I want to make sure I'm not overlooking something here. And need more data to tip the scale in either direction for this ESA opportunity. Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks...

 

[AEdennis]

Why not just write a contract that prohibits the Original owner from doing what you fear.

If they do "refund it" you at least have legal recourse to get your money back from the previous owner.

What the previous owner is offering you seems quite generous to me.

I bought the ESA and now close to 90,000 and the car just celebrated its 4th year.

 

[ev-now]

I cannot help with direct experience, but offer this thought. 5K does not go that far in fixing real issues on a MS. I bought CPO and cannot get ESA - I would have bought if I could. You are right the ESA (and CPO) do not officially cover much of the nit-picking you have, and that doesn't really matter because you should be able to cover it in the 1.5 years. The battery and motor have 8/unlimited. But there are a bunch of very expensive other systems, I'd want them covered.

Of course the warranty is only of value if the company is there to honor it - just sayin'.

Last thought. I cannot imagine that Tesla would really take a cancellation of ESA from anyone other than the current owner as the value explicitly transfers with the vehicle. If you use a credit card for payment, you can charge back if something happened in the window between purchase and ownership transfer as recognized by Tesla.

Good luck. Tough call. Perhaps a document signed by original owner would work as proof to Tesla if there were an issue in the future BUT I assume that would post-date the bill-of-sale, as would your purchase so Tesla themselves could cancel it because that sequence clearly demonstrated the original owner did not buy the ESA. I'm sure none of that helped, sorry

 

[John5396]

My understanding of Tesla's policy of offering ESA to 2nd owners is:
- ESA not available for a vehicle purchased from a 3rd party dealer
- ESA is available to 2nd owner who bought the car directly from 1st owner, car never titled to dealership.

 

[DrRa]

My understanding of Tesla's policy of offering ESA to 2nd owners is:
- ESA not available for a vehicle purchased from a 3rd party dealer
- ESA is available to 2nd owner who bought the car directly from 1st owner, car never titled to dealership.

+1

 

[deaddog]

My understanding of Tesla's policy of offering ESA to 2nd owners is:
- ESA not available for a vehicle purchased from a 3rd party dealer
- ESA is available to 2nd owner who bought the car directly from 1st owner, car never titled to dealership.

I believe that this is the correct answer based on Tesla's published FAQ, assuming "Owners" include non-original owners - although I can't find anything addressing the definition of "Owners," the context implies strongly that it includes original and non-original owners:

Can anyone purchase an Extended Service Agreement?
Owners (excluding 3rd party dealers and vehicles purchased from a 3rd party dealer) with Model S or X vehicles subject to the New Vehicle Limited Warranty which are still within the eligible purchase period can purchase the Extended Service Agreement.

Vehicle Warranty

 

[HankLloydRight]

Being that it can ONLY be purchased by the original owner,

As pointed out above, this hasn't been true for almost two years now. Any 2nd+ owner can now buy the ESA as long as it hasn't passed through a car dealer.

As far as the need, I bought a used P85D earlier this year and bought the ESA. I like knowing my repair expenses (for the most part) are capped, regardless of what happens between 50k and 100k miles.

 

[RoninAMG]

As pointed out above, this hasn't been true for almost two years now. Any 2nd+ owner can now buy the ESA as long as it hasn't passed through a car dealer.

I have yet to come across a Tesla representative that has confirmed that I could, being the 2nd owner, purchase the ESA as long as it wasn't purchased from a dealer. If you have a Tesla contact that could confirm otherwise, via tangible documentation, then this would no longer be a concern for me. This was purchased through a dealer, but it was never titled through the dealership. The owner of the dealership purchased this as his personal car, but purchased it through the business tax id. Although the title that's currently in my hands states the dealers name as the "Registered Owner" it should still be the equivalent as me purchasing this vehicle from a business owned entity IE: ABC Heating & Cooling, inc. At least that is my current understanding on this. On the CarFax it's listing the original Registered Owner as a Corporate Fleet vehicle. Could anyone shed some light on this? If indeed I would be able to purchase directly from Tesla after ownership is officially transferred then I would have no concerns. This window of opportunity is quickly coming to a close. I have a week, tops, to get this done. Please advise. Thanks...

 

[RoninAMG]

Owners (excluding 3rd party dealers and vehicles purchased from a 3rd party dealer) with Model S or X vehicles subject to the New Vehicle Limited Warranty which are still within the eligible purchase period can purchase the Extended Service Agreement.

So "Owners" being plural, and not having purchased this from a dealer, but rather from the owner of the dealer would perhaps fall into this category? The way I'm looking at this purchase is the same way I would be looking at it if I purchased from a dealer via a Consignment from a private party. I may just transfer the vehicle over and take my chances on the ESA being available to me directly after the fact. I'm not 100% sold on the ESA anyway, especially having had "Off the Record" conversations with Tesla SA's stating they don't believe this is necessary, nor would they purchase if they were in my position.

But I also agree with Hank in the idea of having a "cap" on service expenditures between 50K/100K miles. Here I go again...

 

[HankLloydRight]

Answer:

Can anyone purchase an Extended Service Agreement?
Owners (excluding 3rd party dealers and vehicles purchased from a 3rd party dealer) with Model S or X vehicles subject to the New Vehicle Limited Warranty which are still within the eligible purchase period can purchase the Extended Service Agreement.

Documentation: Vehicle Warranty

The 'buying from the owner of a dealer" puts this into a grey area I haven't seen before.

If the owner is willing, have them buy the ESA before hand, and then just increase the sale price of the car to you by that amount. And if you don't buy the car, he can get a 100% refund on the ESA. No risk on either side. Under no circumstances would I purchase the ESA while the car is titled to someone else.

 

[RoninAMG]

If the owner is willing, have them buy the ESA before hand, and then just increase the sale price of the car to you by that amount. And if you don't buy the car, he can get a 100% refund on the ESA. No risk on either side. Under no circumstances would I purchase the ESA while the car is titled to someone else.

I already purchased the vehicle. Haven't completed vehicle transfer via the DMV nor Tesla yet. I have access to his Tesla portal to purchase ESA before completing transfer. Trying to put all the pieces in place to make sure this ESA transfer (which has not yet been purchased) is completed and done by the books to ensure Buyer Protection on my end. And looking at the current Poll Results. It's a 50/50 split. Which I figured it would be. This is driving me nuts.

 

[HankLloydRight]

If you already bought it, change the password on the account and buy the ESA. I don't see how the previous owner could cancel it and get your money. If anything, tesla would just refund back to the same CC.

Disclaimer: this is Internet advice.

 

[deaddog]

To be clear, this isn't legal advice and so you should give it no value greater than anything else you see on the internet:

You now say: "Although the title that's currently in my hands states the dealers name as the "Registered Owner"..."

If you mean by this that the title has the business name of the dealer - for example, "Lucky Motors" - on the title, then you likely are out of luck -- it appears that the ESA is not available as neither he (as a 3rd Party Dealer) nor you (as a purchaser from a 3rd Party Dealer) are eligible.

Of course, you also state that his mytesla page still provides the option to buy the ESA so either your facts are being reported incorrectly or Tesla isn't enforcing its written policies or what we all see on the internet isn't true....

Good luck....

 

[RoninAMG]

Of course, you also state that his mytesla page still provides the option to buy the ESA so either your facts are being reported incorrectly or Tesla isn't enforcing its written policies or what we all see on the internet isn't true....

Wait.... Are you telling me that everything on the Internet isn't true???

And yes, when I log onto his Tesla Portal I can see that the 4yr/50K is still available for purchase for $4,250. A tad over $4,500 with tax.

 

[JPUConn]

I purchased my 2015 private party and have the option to buy the esa like stated above - no need to hang onto the prior owners account.

Is a $200 per visit deductible and $4,500 worth it to you? I’m on the self warranty camp but will decide in ~18 months when the factory warranty nears expiration.

 

[Pentium2004]

Honestly if he were to cancel the coverage they would just refund back to the card that made the purchase. I really don't think they would just cut him a check for the refund.