Really Confused on Extending the 4 year/50,000 Warranty Coverage

[ScottR]

We are seriously thinking about purchasing a 2014 Model S from a car dealer in Indiana.
The vehicle has about 15,000 miles on it and it was purchased from Tesla by the original
owner in April, 2014.

As I understand it, the balance of the original 4 years/50,000 mile warranty (about 2 years/35000
miles) will transfer to me as the new, second owner once I register the vehicle with Tesla under
my name.

We want to keep the vehicle longer than two years, but we also really want to have coverage
for the electronics and other expensive things on the car. I realize the battery/drivetrain is
covered by a different 8 year/unlimited miles warranty.

We looked at buying a used car from Tesla, but though their prices were too high when compared
to what we can get from current owners or dealers.

I am also aware that many have said that you can have the previous owner add the extended
coverage to the car, which I would pay for, and then it transfers to the new owner (me). The dealer
knows who the previous owner is (it was a trade-in) but they don't believe he can still access his
Tesla account and add the additional coverage (which I would pay for -- hopefully with a credit
card give him to make the transaction).

The dealer told me this afternoon that they spoke with Tesla and that after my name is on
the Tesla account as the owner, I will then be able to add the additional 4 year/50,000 miles
of coverage for $4,000. I was previously told this was not possible by others on this forum.

The quote from the dealer is below.....
"Good news! I did some more research into the Tesla warranty and also contacted them over the phone to verify my info. The original warranty of 4 year 50000 mile warranty transfers to new owners. Additionally you can purchase an extended warranty on top of the original warranty for another 4 years and 50000 miles. This extended warranty requires you to register ownership of the vehicle at tesla and then costs $4000."

I'm looking for input from "experts" on this board who might be able to settle this question for me.

Thanks very much!!

 

[Maaz]

When I first purchased my car used about a year ago and got the tesla registered under my name and account from tesla I was told that I can purchase the warranty anytime before 4 years or 50k miles. I asked recently and they are telling me only the original owner can purchase the extended warranty. So a lot of confusion for sure. Unfortunate, everything with my tesla experience has been great except for this one issue.

 

[AB4EJ]

If the "dealer" is telling you this, you would be well advised to get it in writing as a part of the contract to buy the car. There are too many conflicting data points on this question.

 

[Diavel]

Call tesla yourself. My understanding is that ONLY the original owner can get extended warranty. The car's title has been transferred to the dealer. Hence the extended warranty can no longer be purchased.

 

[CHG-ON]

The dealer is completely wrong, unfortunately. Why am I not surprised? And forget about getting it in writing. It'll be worthless. Go straight to the source so that you feel confident in the info you are getting. Tesla is quite clear about this policy now.

One thing to consider about the Tesla CPO program is that you start off fresh with four years out the door from them. Double check on if you can also get the ext warr with a CPO. I am not positive about that. FWIW, fours years should do you well on a 4-14 car. You'll be set until 2020 and you may well be onto a snazzier version by then!

Good luck and welcome to the family. You will love it more than you can imagine.

 

[markn455]

From Tesla's website:

You may purchase Extended Service up to 30 days prior to the expiration of your New Vehicle Limited Warranty. Extended Service provides an additional 4 years or 50,000 miles (whichever comes first), of coverage after the expiration of your New Vehicle Limited Warranty to cover the repair or replacement of Model S parts due to defects in materials or workmanship provided by Tesla, excluding the vehicle’s lithium-ion battery. Extended Service is not dependent on purchasing a Tesla Service Plan.

 

[tonglaji]

From Tesla's website:

You may purchase Extended Service up to 30 days prior to the expiration of your New Vehicle Limited Warranty. Extended Service provides an additional 4 years or 50,000 miles (whichever comes first), of coverage after the expiration of your New Vehicle Limited Warranty to cover the repair or replacement of Model S parts due to defects in materials or workmanship provided by Tesla, excluding the vehicle’s lithium-ion battery. Extended Service is not dependent on purchasing a Tesla Service Plan.

This is really vague and no wonder people are confused. Tesla should really clarify and add it in writing. This could sway a lot of purchase decisions.

 

[cgiGuy]

Digging into the agreement a little more, this statement is present:

"These Tesla Motors, Inc.1 (“Tesla”) Vehicle Extended Service Terms and Conditions (“Vehicle ESA”) cover the repair or replacement necessary to correct defects in the materials or workmanship of any parts manufactured or supplied by Tesla of the subject Vehicle that occur under normal use in the event of a Failure for the selected period of time or mileage (whichever occurs first), with coverage becoming available on and retroactive to the date that Your New Vehicle Limited Warranty expires (the “Effective Date”), provided that You are the initial purchaser of the Vehicle directly from Tesla and purchase this Vehicle ESA no later than 30 days after such expiration date, or are the recipient of a valid transfer of this ESA pursuant to this Vehicle ESA. "

Furthermore:

"

1. The following conditions are required for the valid transfer of this Vehicle ESA:
   • The Vehicle is subject to inspection by Tesla.
   • Transfer must take place within 30 days of change of ownership or at least 10 days prior to the delivery of a new or CPO Tesla vehicle.
   • You may not transfer this Vehicle ESA to a vehicle dealer or to the customer of a vehicle dealer.
   • All remaining underlying warranties and documentation must be transferred to the new owner. "

 

[markn455]

This is really vague and no wonder people are confused. Tesla should really clarify and add it in writing. This could sway a lot of purchase decisions.

Agreed, it's not very clear. cgiGuy's post above clears it up. Interestingly, this goes against what they told me about mine and I am the second owner. I expect that if I decide to purchase and go into the process they would come back and tell me no since I am not the original owner.

Personally, I think purchasing the Vehicle ESA might be a waste of money. By the time the car hits 4 years and 50,000 miles I believe it would be unlikely that any "warranty" items would be remaining. If I think of the 10+ new cars I have purchased over the years and considering the ones that I purchased the Extended coverage...I would have been better off keeping the money in my pocket.

 

[Maaz]

Agreed, it's not very clear. cgiGuy's post above clears it up. Interestingly, this goes against what they told me about mine and I am the second owner. I expect that if I decide to purchase and go into the process they would come back and tell me no since I am not the original owner.

Personally, I think purchasing the Vehicle ESA might be a waste of money. By the time the car hits 4 years and 50,000 miles I believe it would be unlikely that any "warranty" items would be remaining. If I think of the 10+ new cars I have purchased over the years and considering the ones that I purchased the Extended coverage...I would have been better off keeping the money in my pocket.

Agreed. It's funny, at first when I thought I would be able to actually purchase the warranty. I actually made the decision not to because I don't think I'll have over $4k worth of repairs for the remaining 1-2 years that I do keep the car after warranty expires.

 

[Superloud]

I very recently bought a used 2013 P85 on craigslist, from the original owner.
I plan on updating this thread once it's all said and done:
Buying Used: How to have seller purchase the ESA before sale?

I currently own the car. Tesla has transferred ownership to me (in their eyes). However, my extended warranty (ESA) is still not showing up in my account. When I call Tesla tech-support, they do see it, and have assured me that it will show up in a matter of 2 weeks or so. The service folks at the Tesla dealership (still don't know, am I allowed to use the word 'dealership'?), don't see the ESA yet. This is just to let you know that even in what was supposed to be a very premeditated and planned purchase from a private party, there can be hiccups along the way and I'm still a little bit nervous about it all working out.

That said, my 2 cents is stay away from Teslas sold by 3rd party dealers.

They're probably going to expect you to pay some sort of "dealer markup" - yet, what are you even getting from that??
Usually, the thought (or sales pitch) is that the dealer has gone over the car with a fine tooth comb and you can be confident it's solid. Well, in the case of a Tesla, the dealer has probably done nothing to it! And, you're totally giving up the option to buy the ESA.

I feel like I was able to get a much better deal by buying directly from the owner. And sure, I kicked some of those proceeds into the ESA. But now I know that I've pretty much capped my repair costs (there is a $200 per visit deductible during the ESA period). I can drive this car worry free for 5.25 years / 67k miles and be super nit picky about whatever goes wrong and simply bring it in to be fixed rather than live with it.

As a matter of fact, my plan is pretty much to drive it for 5 years, and then sell it with 0.25years warranty remaining. I feel like I'm really going to be glad at that time that I spent the extra $4k. Who knows, it may even cause the car to fetch an extra $1k asking price, in which case, it will have only cost me $3k. And at the very least, I figure it will allow me to liquidate the car quicker. I really hate spending weeks trying to sell a car.

As for the Tesla CPO vehicles. I was told that Tesla will spiffy up those cars. Meaning, they will refinish the wheels and even send it to the body shop to make it look really nice. Plus there's the 4 year "like new" warranty which is nice (but not extendable). Some real reasons why you should value those cars more than the one from a 3rd party dealer.

But by being really patient, I feel like I got a better car, for a bunch less money, and actually more total warranty peace of mind.