Roadster Extended Warranty

[daniel]

Agreed.... I don't think it will help the Model S sales much if 2,600 Roadster owners start complaining about Tesla warranty's :smile:

I've heard no complaints about the warranty. Three years and 36,000 miles is an industry standard, and everything I've read has said that Tesla has gone the extra mile where warranty and service work are concerned. At my one-year service, things were replaced just because they had a better-designed part available, even though there was nothing wrong with the old part. I've never heard of any company offering an extended warranty after the original warranty has expired. If Tesla does this they will be lauded for great customer service, and if they do not, nobody will think any the less of them.

The real question will be reliability. I have seen no figures on number, type, or seriousness of repairs on the Roadster compared to other cars. If Tesla's cars overall show poor reliability compared to the industry as a whole, it will hurt them with consumers already frightened of new technology including batteries. If the Model S turns out to be extremely reliable, few people will care about the Roadster, other than us owners. If the S has a lot of reliability problems, it will hurt Tesla big time.

I am optimistic. But this is a critical time and they need to get it right if they are to succeed.

 

[NigelM]

That sounds like a deal! I bet all roadster owners jump on this.

From my experience its worth the gamble.....

That seems like a bad bet to me.....

....I think the odds would favour the battery warranty being a better buy.

The more I think about it, the more expensive I think this warranty is.

Well the numbers quoted below are just not reasonable.

...too rich for my blood...

So that settles it then....? :wink:

Actually methinks you are reading that chart wrong - It looks like it's cumulative on the one hand ($3k for one yr, $5.5k for 2 yrs and $7.5k for 3 yrs) and that the battery column includes vehicle. So you can get 3yrs warranty including everything for $7,500 or vehicle only (excl battery) for $4,000. That's not bad compared to other manufacturers extended vehicle warranty plans.

 

[jordanthompson]

I've never heard of any company offering an extended warranty after the original warranty has expired.

That may be the case, but you can get after-market warranties from many sources for ICE cars that are out of warranty - not the case with the Tesla (yet.)

 

[smoothoperator]

This thread made me break out my Roadster metal manual holder and take a look at the terms of the original warranty...

It looks as if the Audio system is excluded from the bumper to bumper and only has a 1 year 12k mile warranty (Page 3 warranty guide)? So if our radios, bluetooth, speakers, etc become inoperable we are SOL?

It will be interesting to see if there will be any exclusions in the extended warranty.

 

[jerry33]

That may be the case, but you can get after-market warranties from many sources for ICE cars that are out of warranty - not the case with the Tesla (yet.)

And every one of them is a scam as far as I've been able to tell. Third party warranties are generally not worth the paper they are printed on.

 

[smoothoperator]

So that settles it then....? :wink:

Actually methinks you are reading that chart wrong - It looks like it's cumulative on the one hand ($3k for one yr, $5.5k for 2 yrs and $7.5k for 3 yrs) and that the battery column includes vehicle. So you can get 3yrs warranty including everything for $7,500 or vehicle only (excl battery) for $4,000. That's not bad compared to other manufacturers extended vehicle warranty plans.

you can get all this plus maintenance for that price (4k) from most manufacturers....

It would make sense to just keep doing the 1 year, so you cannot go over on the mileage.

If Tesla was going to improve the range of the Roadster, and it would be possible to get this increased range battery for 7,500 (if the battery were to go bad) then it may be worth the gamble... Chances are that Tesla will just replace it with a rebuilt battery of the same capacity.

 

[spatterso911]

I've never heard of any company offering an extended warranty after the original warranty has expired.

You are correct. BMW offers an Extended Vehicle Protection Plan, but you have to take advantage of it before the completion of the last day of your original 4 year/50K mile warranty coverage

http://cache.bmwusa.com/pdf_3927f5d...d.arox?v=cc1afc3a-f710-44c3-af22-dce774027bde

 

[NigelM]

It would make sense to just keep doing the 1 year, so you cannot go over on the mileage.

What's the mileage limit then?

 

[smoothoperator]

What's the mileage limit then?

There was no mileage parameters given from the OP just a chart that listed a time frame and a mileage limit within that time frame. Why would you just not do the 1 year/12k with no mileage penalty at the end of the warranty term (and just keep extending)? Until all Tesla stores have the ability to order this supposed extended warranty program, I am going to take this information as rumor.

 

[NigelM]

Why would you just not do the 1 year/12k with no mileage penalty at the end of the warranty term (and just keep extending)?

Because you would save $1,500 by buying 3 years at a time. I still don't understand why you think there's a mileage "penalty".

 

[smoothoperator]

Because you would save $1,500 by buying 3 years at a time. I still don't understand why you think there's a mileage "penalty".

I do not know how many cumulative miles I may or may not drive in the next year, for that matter in the next 3 years. If you surpass the requirement in 2 years instead of 3 then the $1500 savings really means nothing. I drive a lot and would rather have a warranty on a car when I am driving it rather than have a warranty on a car that may be sitting. Greater propensity for stuff to go wrong when you are putting miles on the car rather than it sitting?

 

[NigelM]

^ Aha, so what you really mean is that if you go over the (for example) 12k in 11 months, then there is a "penalty" in that you lose the 12th month of cover. Thing is, if you're driving 24k per year then your cover is for 6 months only and the argument for cover will disappear at some point as cost of cover outweighs average repair costs (if any).

 

[smoothoperator]

^ Aha, so what you really mean is that if you go over the (for example) 12k in 11 months, then there is a "penalty" in that you lose the 12th month of cover. Thing is, if you're driving 24k per year then your cover is for 6 months only and the argument for cover will disappear at some point as cost of cover outweighs average repair costs (if any).

Obviously you have not had any significant repairs with your roadster. I have and will do whatever I can do reduce my risk. I really do not want to risk a 16k repair or battery sheet malfunction. I can maximize my "cover" by doing it 1 year at a time with multiple roadsters, instead of being locked in for a mileage....If Tesla were to offer a 3 year unlimited mileage type of warranty I am all in.

There is nothing worse than walking up to your roadster in the morning and seeing a red light illuminated at the chargeport door.

How do you quantify peace of mind in warranty terms?

 

[frequencydip]

So that settles it then....? :wink:

Actually methinks you are reading that chart wrong - It looks like it's cumulative on the one hand ($3k for one yr, $5.5k for 2 yrs and $7.5k for 3 yrs) and that the battery column includes vehicle. So you can get 3yrs warranty including everything for $7,500 or vehicle only (excl battery) for $4,000. That's not bad compared to other manufacturers extended vehicle warranty plans.

If it is $7500 for full car including battery for 3 years then I'm interested to hear more, I was originally reading it as $7500 for the battery plus $4000 for the rest of the car...

 

[jordanthompson]

If it is $7500 for full car including battery for 3 years then I'm interested to hear more, I was originally reading it as $7500 for the battery plus $4000 for the rest of the car...

I would have to agree with you there. $11,500 is just not worth it. On the other hand, I bought a 5 year/100K mile extended warranty from Toyota (a real Toyota warranty) for my 2004 Sienna (the most advanced min-van at the time with adaptive radar, nav, etc) for only $2,000. It was bumper-to-bumper with no deductible and a short list of parts that weren't covered. I was very pleased with it and would do it again. I had a Tesla tech tell me he used to work for Toyota and the Sienna was one of the most advanced (electronically) automobiles of its time. For Toyota to have that inexpensive a warranty for something that complicated indicates they had a lot of faith in their cars and engineering. I am hoping that Tesla is going to feel the same way.

 

[daniel]

Actually methinks you are reading that chart wrong - It looks like it's cumulative on the one hand ($3k for one yr, $5.5k for 2 yrs and $7.5k for 3 yrs) and that the battery column includes vehicle. So you can get 3yrs warranty including everything for $7,500 or vehicle only (excl battery) for $4,000. That's not bad compared to other manufacturers extended vehicle warranty plans.

I don't read it that way. I read it as battery only, and then the rest of the car. We really won't know unless and until Tesla offers the warranty.

There was no mileage parameters given from the OP just a chart that listed a time frame and a mileage limit within that time frame. Why would you just not do the 1 year/12k with no mileage penalty at the end of the warranty term (and just keep extending)?

I assumed that this would not be an indefinitely renewable contract, but rather a one-time offer. Of course, until Tesla makes an announcement, we won't know.

I highly doubt that Tesla will ever offer a longer-range battery pack for the Roadster. The engineering and testing costs would be prohibitive. Even if Panasonic came out with a more powerful cell with exactly the same form factor, government regulations might require new safety testing including crash testing. As a rule, car companies do not offer upgrades to old models, especially discontinued models. And many Roadster owners never drive far enough to need an extended pack, so the market would be small, and the cost to Tesla per pack sold would be much higher as the development cost is shared by so few units.

 

[NigelM]

I don't read it that way. I read it as battery only, and then the rest of the car. We really won't know unless and until Tesla offers the warranty.

If you're right then it almost certainly wouldn't make rational sense to buy it (speaking as someone who has had no serious issues with his car). An extended warranty is just insurance. Insurance risk is relative to the frequency of the feared event - Example: the island I live on hasn't flooded since records began, but because we live in Florida every insurance company assumes we live in hurricane territory. Flood insurance cost for me has been quoted at >$24k per year but even the worst flood is unlikely to cause damage in excess of $250k. So the payback for self-insurance is 10 years to protect from a 100 year event - that's a gamble worth taking. In the Roadster case I'd have to make some assumptions on the worst case scenario and consider the risk, but based on my experience to date I'd say that $7,500 over 3 years to extend the warranty on a $40k battery makes no financial sense.

 

[smoothoperator]

If you're right then it almost certainly wouldn't make rational sense to buy it (speaking as someone who has had no serious issues with his car). An extended warranty is just insurance. Insurance risk is relative to the frequency of the feared event - Example: the island I live on hasn't flooded since records began, but because we live in Florida every insurance company assumes we live in hurricane territory. Flood insurance cost for me has been quoted at >$24k per year but even the worst flood is unlikely to cause damage in excess of $250k. So the payback for self-insurance is 10 years to protect from a 100 year event - that's a gamble worth taking. In the Roadster case I'd have to make some assumptions on the worst case scenario and consider the risk, but based on my experience to date I'd say that $7,500 over 3 years to extend the warranty on a $40k battery makes no financial sense.

It does not help that no one knows the cost of "replacing a sheet" and what Tesla's policy for out of warranty batteries may be (charge for just the replaced sheet or for a whole new battery)? A lot of unknowns with regards to how Tesla will handle and bill out of warranty power-train issues. If Tesla replaces the sheets and it only costs a few grand, then that may be another strike against the $7,500 battery warranty.

 

[hcsharp]

I highly doubt that Tesla will ever offer a longer-range battery pack for the Roadster. The engineering and testing costs would be prohibitive. Even if Panasonic came out with a more powerful cell with exactly the same form factor, government regulations might require new safety testing including crash testing. As a rule, car companies do not offer upgrades to old models, especially discontinued models. And many Roadster owners never drive far enough to need an extended pack, so the market would be small, and the cost to Tesla per pack sold would be much higher as the development cost is shared by so few units.

Tesla has not officially announced it but told a number of people that they expect to offer a larger capacity pack for the Roadster when a lot of the cars start needing new batteries. Panasonic already makes a much higher capacity cell in the same format with less internal resistance so it wouldn't require a lot of engineering. Max kW will stay the same, only the kWh will change. It would probably work right now without any software changes at all.

 

[smoothoperator]

Tesla has not officially announced it but told a number of people that they expect to offer a larger capacity pack for the Roadster when a lot of the cars start needing new batteries. Panasonic already makes a much higher capacity cell in the same format with less internal resistance so it wouldn't require a lot of engineering. Max kW will stay the same, only the kWh will change. It would probably work right now without any software changes at all.

The battery pack in the roadster is pretty modular as well, I also heard that the Panasonic is going to discontinue the cells used in the roadster. Purely speculative question, but if these new cells were to be used what do you think the kWh would increase to?