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Mine comes up around the May/June timeframe, and I'm undecided.

Ideally I'd like to get a AWD Model 3 as that's what I intended on doing when I got my Model S 70D in 2015.

This is terribly difficult decision as I would be hard pressed to go without a Tesla for any significant amount of time. I could do maybe 2-3 months or so. A lot of what the car is fits me (being too lazy to go to the gas station in the morning, the heated steering wheel, the instant torque, etc). The way I drive and what I do with it is too well matched to give it up.

The car has been mostly troublefree, and the service center (Bellevue, WA) has been great at fixing anything I've pointed out.

Most of the attraction to the Model 3 has to do with a much better price point for the range, and the concern about the loss of value of my S once the Model 3 starts hitting production goals. The Model 3 will likely be significantly better in terms of long term reliability. At least with a 2nd or 3rd year Model 3 (similar to what my Model S was).

But, I'm concerned the Model 3 that I want will end up leaving me with the same car payments I already have.

So is it really worth bothering with? I might as well just get an extended warranty and keep it for another 3 years until there is something significantly better from Tesla/Porsche/Audi/etc.
 
So here is my latest Tesla drama.

Since taking possession of my Model S in October, 2015, I have taken the car in 9 times! 8 of those times I had requested they service the vehicle in addition to performing the things that needed repairing. That means on average the car was being effectively serviced once every 3-4 months.

So I decided to e-mail Tesla about my resale value guarantee. I was shocked to find out that I do not qualify as I have not taken my car in for its "Annual Service". Nobody at Tesla informed or reminded me about this so called annual service. So now I am in a battle to get this sorted out as I have all of the documentation that shows that on top of the repairs they had a section called "Concern: Perform courtesy inspection" where they perform tasks they normally do in a regular service. So in other words, I should have taken the car in 11 times instead of 9 in order to qualify. Honestly, it is unbelievable.

I am LIVID.
 
That’s terrible. My documentation explicitly noted the requirement to take the car in for annual service. It’s the only reason to do it. Hopefully your car value is higher than the RVG (are you at 55% or higher?) so you end up better off selling privately.
 
Here is what mine says. You can find this document under your My Tesla account on tesla.com. Mine seems to be about 60% RVG.

They are talking about "Recommended Service Schedule" - that is the annual service.

Is yours different?

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My documentation explicitly noted the requirement to take the car in for annual service. It’s the only reason to do it.

These are 5,000 - 6,000 lb vehicles, travelling in excess of 100kph. I think there are many good reasons to have a comprehensive annual check to ensure things are roadworthy (especially tyres, brakes, suspension, lights, safety equipment, etc). Sure, I think this should be able to be done at places other than Tesla Service Centres, but I also think it is essential that these be regularly done according to manufacturer specifications.
 
Mine comes up around the May/June timeframe, and I'm undecided.

Ideally I'd like to get a AWD Model 3 as that's what I intended on doing when I got my Model S 70D in 2015.

This is terribly difficult decision as I would be hard pressed to go without a Tesla for any significant amount of time. I could do maybe 2-3 months or so. A lot of what the car is fits me (being too lazy to go to the gas station in the morning, the heated steering wheel, the instant torque, etc). The way I drive and what I do with it is too well matched to give it up.

The car has been mostly troublefree, and the service center (Bellevue, WA) has been great at fixing anything I've pointed out.

Most of the attraction to the Model 3 has to do with a much better price point for the range, and the concern about the loss of value of my S once the Model 3 starts hitting production goals. The Model 3 will likely be significantly better in terms of long term reliability. At least with a 2nd or 3rd year Model 3 (similar to what my Model S was).

But, I'm concerned the Model 3 that I want will end up leaving me with the same car payments I already have.

So is it really worth bothering with? I might as well just get an extended warranty and keep it for another 3 years until there is something significantly better from Tesla/Porsche/Audi/etc.

That’s similar to mine. With the delay of model 3, I guess I will have 8-10 months without a Tesla, which is a hard time to justify
 
These are 5,000 - 6,000 lb vehicles, travelling in excess of 100kph. I think there are many good reasons to have a comprehensive annual check to ensure things are roadworthy (especially tyres, brakes, suspension, lights, safety equipment, etc). Sure, I think this should be able to be done at places other than Tesla Service Centres, but I also think it is essential that these be regularly done according to manufacturer specifications.

I use the car almost exclusively in HK island and have rarely made it above 100kph. With such low mileage on the car I would only take the car for service every couple of years if my choice. If I drove an ICE I’d only have to take it in for oil changes every blue moon.
 
I use the car almost exclusively in HK island and have rarely made it above 100kph. With such low mileage on the car I would only take the car for service every couple of years if my choice. If I drove an ICE I’d only have to take it in for oil changes every blue moon.

What about the brakes, steering and suspension? Just hope they are ok and don't deteriorate?

I guess it is a personal choice (if you don't need RVG); I have always taken my cars for annual services; petrol and electric.
 
What about the brakes, steering and suspension? Just hope they are ok and don't deteriorate?

To each his/ her own i guess.

but there's just too much at stake against the stance of not having a tesla serviced at the minimum suggested schedule.
Somthing breaks on a normal ICE, parts and labor are usually a plenty.
Something breaks on a tesla and you're likely waiting for parts or specialized labour (possbily even worse if tesla shrinks it's investment in HK).

While EV's in theory shouldn't require as much service, they age just like anything else. Even the sensors that are meant to detect problems can go faulty.
Catching something early might save you some time and trouble.
 
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So here is my latest Tesla drama.

Since taking possession of my Model S in October, 2015, I have taken the car in 9 times! 8 of those times I had requested they service the vehicle in addition to performing the things that needed repairing. That means on average the car was being effectively serviced once every 3-4 months.

So I decided to e-mail Tesla about my resale value guarantee. I was shocked to find out that I do not qualify as I have not taken my car in for its "Annual Service". Nobody at Tesla informed or reminded me about this so called annual service. So now I am in a battle to get this sorted out as I have all of the documentation that shows that on top of the repairs they had a section called "Concern: Perform courtesy inspection" where they perform tasks they normally do in a regular service. So in other words, I should have taken the car in 11 times instead of 9 in order to qualify. Honestly, it is unbelievable.

I am LIVID.

They pulled the same with me in Hong Kong
 
Completed my RVG today, i got back ~72%, which is much better and less hassle than going through the second hand market. I paid 1500 to fix 3 rims. And also repainted a door since it had a minor scratch. Overall, it was as expected for me. The bad thing was that they couldn't take the car 1 month early, which would have saved me on paying for insurance. Now I need the documents to come through to cancel my renewed insurance.
 
Completed my RVG today, i got back ~72%, which is much better and less hassle than going through the second hand market. I paid 1500 to fix 3 rims. And also repainted a door since it had a minor scratch. Overall, it was as expected for me. The bad thing was that they couldn't take the car 1 month early, which would have saved me on paying for insurance. Now I need the documents to come through to cancel my renewed insurance.

Thanks for the follow up and good to hear that Tesla held up their end of the deal.
Would be cool if you offered the below details as it might help others as their own RVG comes up.

What was the final mileage when you returned it?
Did you have all your minimum servicing all inline?
Why did you return (going back to an ICE, change in cost of insurance, waiting for model 3?)

Cheers,
 
What was the final mileage when you returned it? 12k, i actually had my S in storage after getting the X
Did you have all your minimum servicing all inline? yes serviced annually
Why did you return (going back to an ICE, change in cost of insurance, waiting for model 3?) Driving the X
 
So here is my latest Tesla drama.

Since taking possession of my Model S in October, 2015, I have taken the car in 9 times! 8 of those times I had requested they service the vehicle in addition to performing the things that needed repairing. That means on average the car was being effectively serviced once every 3-4 months.

So I decided to e-mail Tesla about my resale value guarantee. I was shocked to find out that I do not qualify as I have not taken my car in for its "Annual Service". Nobody at Tesla informed or reminded me about this so called annual service. So now I am in a battle to get this sorted out as I have all of the documentation that shows that on top of the repairs they had a section called "Concern: Perform courtesy inspection" where they perform tasks they normally do in a regular service. So in other words, I should have taken the car in 11 times instead of 9 in order to qualify. Honestly, it is unbelievable.

I am LIVID.

Just wondering, did Tesla end up changing their mind?

My RVG terms and conditions are worded slightly different: The Vehicle is maintained by Tesla or its affiliated companies according to Tesla’s recommended service schedule. You must not have taken any action that would void the New Vehicle Limited Warranty.

My Model S was brought back a couple of times (once for battery failure and the other time due to tire puncture) but i've not otherwise brought in the car for annual service.
 
Completed my RVG today, i got back ~72%, which is much better and less hassle than going through the second hand market. I paid 1500 to fix 3 rims. And also repainted a door since it had a minor scratch. Overall, it was as expected for me. The bad thing was that they couldn't take the car 1 month early, which would have saved me on paying for insurance. Now I need the documents to come through to cancel my renewed insurance.


Since you were successful to complete the RVG, could you give me advice? The RVG agreement says that the car can be returned between the 36-37 months. Does it mean that I can return my MS when it hits on the 36th month anniversary? Doing this can save the hassle of renewing the car license and insurance. Comments please.
 
Since you were successful to complete the RVG, could you give me advice? The RVG agreement says that the car can be returned between the 36-37 months. Does it mean that I can return my MS when it hits on the 36th month anniversary? Doing this can save the hassle of renewing the car license and insurance. Comments please.

Yes you can return on the day after the 36th month anniversary. I did that. But it will still be 1 day after your 36th month. Technically you do not need to renew insurance and licence if you arrange for the car to be towed back or if you are able to get a T-plate.