SC01 changed to time-based which removed FUSC

[bmah]

Does the SC01 code not change to something else like SC05 or SC04 if/when the previous owner turns it to a time-limited option? ie- If I can confirm that a vehicle has SC01, is that not enough to know that it will be there for the lifetime of the vehicle?

So if the owner of an S/X exercises the offer to get N years of free Supercharging on a new S/X, SC01 goes away altogether on the old S/X. It's not replaced by SC05. As I understand things (caveat: haven't done this myself), this happens at the time of taking delivery on the new vehicle, and it can only happen while they still own the car.

Hypothetically, let's say I sell you my Model S (with its lifetime FUSC) as a private party sale. It should in theory keep its SC01 option code and you should have this for the remaining life of the vehicle. Once ownership has been transferred to you, I can't retroactively "use" that to get 6 years of FUSC on a new S/X and take it away from you, because that old Model S is no longer my vehicle. And there is no time limit on SC01.

This is something I've probably said before...many owners (and prospective owners) think that free unlimited Supercharging is more valuable than it actually turns out to be.

Hope this helps!

Bruce.

 

[Rukairi]

I apologize if I'm reviving this thread, but I have an update with good and bad news.

The good news is that my dad ended up installing a level 2 home charger since last month! He said that he found it much more convenient and got over the free supercharging loss.

The bad news is that recently for some reason Tesla disabled supercharging on it... After reviewing threads on here, I found that the error we got is when the car is reported to be salvage. I bought a carfax report and found that the state of Indiana issued a junk title on it just last month. This has me perplexed it's a clean title from the previous owner and upon registering it to our California DMV showed that it was a clean title.

I'll be calling Tesla tomorrow to see if they can reinstate us, but in the mean time... does anyone have any idea how I can approach this? I don't know if we can remove that record from the reports either.

Oh boy. You are never going to hear the end of it from dad if he gets hit with a $20K HV battery or $6K Drive Unit out of warranty replacement. How much longer is the warranty?

The battery and drivetrain is until January 2025... so here's hoping!

 

[brkaus]

Tesla will likely void the warranty if salvaged.

Sounds like someone pulled a fast one on you. Transferred the title to a different state before the salvage brand caught up

 

[Rukairi]

Tesla will likely void the warranty if salvaged.

Sounds like someone pulled a fast one on you. Transferred the title to a different state before the salvage brand caught up

I'm willing to share the carfax report if anyone want to make sense of what's going on.

What is weird to me is that the previous owner is listed as a clean title on the report. When we registered it in California, we were issued a clean title. It's just odd that the state we bought it from would now register it as salvage/junk. We had this since August with no issues until a new record reporting it as a salvage from Indiana in October.

 

[brkaus]

You purchased with an Indiana title?

You might be able to contact motor vehicles in Indiana and find out more.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Here’s info on title washing from Carfax themselves. Worth a read. Several different ways you could have been scammed.

What Is Title Washing?

Title washing can hide important information about a vehicle's history, including flood damage, liens, and more. Find out how.

www.carfax.com

 

[v.william]

If you got a CarFax on it and the CarFax didn't show the titling issues, then I believe CarFax honors a guarantee to buy your vehicle back from you. If this isn't all some big mistake, then you should definitely look into that because CarFax prides themselves on providing all of the information without missing the big stuff. Best of luck! Keep us posted.

 

[MP3Mike]

If you got a CarFax on it and the CarFax didn't show the titling issues, then I believe CarFax honors a guarantee to buy your vehicle back from you. If this isn't all some big mistake, then you should definitely look into that because CarFax prides themselves on providing all of the information without missing the big stuff. Best of luck! Keep us posted.

I think that only applies if the information was already in the state's systems and CarFax missed it. This sounds like someone delayed the processing such that it wasn't listed as salvage at the time they sold the vehicle.

 

[brkaus]

The guarantee is pretty limited -

CARFAX Buyback Guarantee Terms and Conditions

CARFAX Buyback Guarantee Terms and Conditions Definitions Applicant is the person or entity that submits a Claim. Brand is a word or symbol indicating that the Vehicle was junked, salvaged, dismantled, rebuilt, reconstructed, flood damaged, fire damaged, hail damaged, bought back by its...

www.carfax.com

I think it also only applies if a carfax was purchased when the car was purchased.

 

[MP3Mike]

If you got a CarFax on it and the CarFax didn't show the titling issues, then I believe CarFax honors a guarantee to buy your vehicle back from you. If this isn't all some big mistake, then you should definitely look into that because CarFax prides themselves on providing all of the information without missing the big stuff. Best of luck! Keep us posted.

On of the conditions:

1. The Branded Title was issued at least 60 days prior to the date of the Report.

They need 2 months to be able to get it in their system? Since they said the branded title was issued after they bought it CarFax isn't going to be of any help.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Carfax spent a ton of money on lawyers to come up with the perfect fine print to make sure your never get a penny out of their claimed “guarantee.”

 

[jjrandorin]

I'm willing to share the carfax report if anyone want to make sense of what's going on.

What is weird to me is that the previous owner is listed as a clean title on the report. When we registered it in California, we were issued a clean title. It's just odd that the state we bought it from would now register it as salvage/junk. We had this since August with no issues until a new record reporting it as a salvage from Indiana in October.

Im not an expert on this, but it sounds like the car is a victim of "Title Washing" (google that term). In laymans terms, its the act of taking a salvage vehicle, moving it to a different state, registering it, then moving it to another state to sell it.

The "goal" of "washing a title" is exactly what appears to have happened to you... that is, an unscrupulous individual sells the car as "Clean title, honest!", and title in the state being sold shows clean (because the salvage title has not caught up with it yet). Person buys vehicle, then "later" salvage title catches up with the car, and new owner is shafted.

Sometimes a person can sell a car like this not knowing its title washed, as they are not the ones that did it, Other times they do know. Hard to point blame, but in this case, since the seller already duped you out of FUSC with "yeah it has SC01, not sure why its not free for you (ghost....)", it leans toward them also knowing about this.

Basically, it sounds like you got hosed twice. This "could" be a case of Tesla making a mistake, but I am betting it isnt. The simplest answer is "title washed". The way out (so to speak) is to pay for supercharging reinstatement from Tesla, but thats not free, and not guaranteed to pass either since you have no idea of the state of repairs.

If it were me, I might attempt to go after the seller at this point, but again these things are hard to prove intent. Unless they represented this to you in writing as a single owner vehicle or something traceable in writing, you might be out of luck. All speculation on my part though, I am not a lawyer in any way shape or form.

 

[Rukairi]

Thank you everyone for your help!

I did end up reaching out to Indiana DMV, California DMV, and then lastly Tesla. Likewise, I have good and bad news once again! This has been such a crazy back and forth as no one has seen this situation ever happen before. Although, I have some worries that the title might be washed.

Apparently, the title in Indiana is under a different VIN off by 1 digit. It's confirmed to be registered under a different owner and was sold at a dealership. That is why it showed up in the report as a junk title. I reached out to Tesla to get this corrected with a submission of an Experian Autocheck report (listed as a clean title) and the current title.

However, I was told that I will still need to do a battery re-inspection and that reimbursements for it will not be covered. This is pretty frustrating since it seems like it was never a salvaged vehicle to begin with...

 

[brkaus]

Hopefully they grow a brain cell and figure this out without an inspection... or they inspect and cover the cost.

 

[jjrandorin]

Hopefully they grow a brain cell and figure this out without an inspection... or they inspect and cover the cost.

Yeah it really sounds weird.... To sum up what I read it as, it sounds like Tesla is saying.....

==========================
"We now know the vin number doesnt quite match the one we put as salvage, but we are still going to make you go through with a salvage vehicle inspection, at your cost"
==========================

"vin off by 1 digit" means either a data entry error somewhere (either accidently or accidently on purpose) or a different vehicle entirely.

A couple of years ago I switched insurance companies, because I got a quote from one of the companies that offers discounts to employees of the company I work for (there is a point to this, honest). Anyway, when I called to get a quote from this company, the sales rep gathered all the information, and gave me a quote which was lower than the other 3 companies I was checking by a few hundred dollars a year (home, auto, umbrella).

After I went through all the hassle of switching companies, I started getting emails / letters from my new insurance company about "we have increased your premium because you didnt tell us you had a fireplace" (I had specifically answered this question "yes I have a fireplace" during the verbal quote from the sales rep). Then, I got "we cant find your vin in our system, please re submit your vin". The vin was off by 1 digit, and when I submitted the vin, the insurance company then raised my rates.

All in all, the quote ended up being like $100 a year more expensive than the other quotes, instead of a few hundred dollars cheaper, and I am virtually positive that the sales rep did those things on purpose, to make a sale. I switched away from them after only 1 year, and paid a bit more in insurance costs to do so, because I was so upset about how I had been duped by that sales rep.

Anyway, thats why I said "vin off by 1 digit" = either data entry or done on purpose... could be either, but given the FUSC issue, the seller doesnt have the benefit of the doubt any longer to me.

 

[brkaus]

Just to be clear, the title you have in hand that is clear matches the vin stamped on the car in many places, on the screen, and in the app?

 

[Rukairi]

Yeah it really sounds weird.... To sum up what I read it as, it sounds like Tesla is saying.....

==========================
"We now know the vin number doesnt quite match the one we put as salvage, but we are still going to make you go through with a salvage vehicle inspection, at your cost"
==========================

"vin off by 1 digit" means either a data entry error somewhere (either accidently or accidently on purpose) or a different vehicle entirely.

Anyway, thats why I said "vin off by 1 digit" = either data entry or done on purpose... could be either, but given the FUSC issue, the seller doesnt have the benefit of the doubt any longer to me.

Oh my, what a headache... Once, I get an update on my case on it getting corrected. I'll see if I can fight for any reimbursements and hopefully for them to also reinstate my remaining warranty we had on it. It really seems like I got duped, but I'm not sure if we're even up to pursue the seller at this stage.

Just to be clear, the title you have in hand that is clear matches the vin stamped on the car in many places, on the screen, and in the app?

Yes, the title we have on hand clearly matches the VIN on the door pillar, the screen, and in the app.

 

[brkaus]

Oh my, what a headache... Once, I get an update on my case on it getting corrected. I'll see if I can fight for any reimbursements and hopefully for them to also reinstate my remaining warranty we had on it. It really seems like I got duped, but I'm not sure if we're even up to pursue the seller at this stage.

I'm not sure the seller is at fault at this point. At least for all of the mess.

 

[Rukairi]

This will be my last update to this saga as the back and forth with Tesla resulted in an unfortunate outcome.

Their higher department confirmed that the car is indeed previously damaged no matter what my current title or the car report they asked for says since October 2023. Basically, they just told me to go away and do the battery re-inspection . The warranty until 2025 will not be reinstated as well.

Therefore, we cannot escalate this and the decision is final.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

This will be my last update to this saga as the back and forth with Tesla resulted in an unfortunate outcome.

Their higher department confirmed that the car is indeed previously damaged no matter what my current title or the car report they asked for says since October 2023. Basically, they just told me to go away and do the battery re-inspection . The warranty until 2025 will not be reinstated as well.

Therefore, we cannot escalate this and the decision is final.

My worst car decision in my life was to buy a Model S, and the best decision was to sell it quickly even at a massive loss. The car sucks, but Tesla sucks even harder. Do what you have to do to get rid of that car asap.