Sell 2014 Model S before 8 Year warranty expires?

[No2DinosaurFuel]

Yeah I will be in the same boat soonish. I got mine in 2016. Right now I am really hoping by the time my warranty is up, the supply chain and shortage issues work itself out so I can jump ship. Teslas are definitely something you do not want to own out of warranty despite what Elon and his musketeers claims. If you factor in what you would get for you car now + the battery pack replacement cost of $20K, you can have yourself a pretty nice car.

As for your Tesla, it is a hard decision. You don't want to buy any car right now, new or use, gas or electric. If you have a back up, I would go back to driving that and selling your Tesla before warranty goes out. If you don't have a backup, then I would risk it a bit more and pray your car does not have HV battery issue and the supply chain and shortage issue solves itself soon so you can buy a new cars at normalish price again.

 

[davidc18]

Just sold my 2014 P85DL+ to Vroom. I was going to keep it but finally decided that the potential out of warranty costs were just to high. This was my 3rd Model S and I enjoyed them all. Next time I will lease if possible.

 

[airborne spoon]

Its a 2014 which means you very likely have free SC and free connectivity, those reasons alone are why I'll never sell my car. Well that and the amount of aftermarket parts and time I put into installing said parts. *sugar* my car is in my garage on a jackstand for the last 4 days while I've been working on it. Most of the maintenance can be done yourself.

My warranty expires in Dec of this year and if *sugar* goes tits up after that then so be it, I'll fix it and keep on driving. If a battery craps out and its $22k for a new on that is still a ****ton cheaper than a new model S that doesn't have any of my mods or free stuff, and I could just put the car up as collateral to my credit union for the loan easily since I've had the pink slip for quite a while now. If one of the drive units goes out then I'll repair it or buy a new one those are only like what $4-10k depending on big or small one and that's what savings accounts are for.

So no I cant support telling you to sell because its more worth it to keep it and fix it as necessary.

 

[Nepats]

Its a 2014 which means you very likely have free SC and free connectivity, those reasons alone are why I'll never sell my car. Well that and the amount of aftermarket parts and time I put into installing said parts. *sugar* my car is in my garage on a jackstand for the last 4 days while I've been working on it. Most of the maintenance can be done yourself.

My warranty expires in Dec of this year and if *sugar* goes tits up after that then so be it, I'll fix it and keep on driving. If a battery craps out and its $22k for a new on that is still a ****ton cheaper than a new model S that doesn't have any of my mods or free stuff, and I could just put the car up as collateral to my credit union for the loan easily since I've had the pink slip for quite a while now. If one of the drive units goes out then I'll repair it or buy a new one those are only like what $4-10k depending on big or small one and that's what savings accounts are for.

So no I cant support telling you to sell because its more worth it to keep it and fix it as necessary.

Yeah, my heart agrees with you I also have free Supercharging+ connectivity, though I don't use the supercharger frequently since the charging rates got nuked few years ago! Only have one drive unit which was replaced about 60K miles ago. So at this point, I am mainly worried about the battery. I am leaning towards keeping it but I am going to at least see what the market offers..

 

[Nepats]

Just sold my 2014 P85DL+ to Vroom. I was going to keep it but finally decided that the potential out of warranty costs were just to high. This was my 3rd Model S and I enjoyed them all. Next time I will lease if possible.

Curious to what you got from Vroom. I have 100K miles, typical scratches/dents for a 8 year old car, and their offer was 24K, which I though was low. I have not taken it to Carmax since I know they only wholesale cars over 100K, so their offer will be even lower.

 

[Nepats]

As of now I plan on keeping my 2015 P85D beyond warranty coverage. I considered trading it in plus cash for a new 3/Y but I just don't find them very compelling. I've test driven the performance model 3's and Y's several times but I just don’t enjoy the them as much. Ride quality is lacking, steering wheel feels like a toy, and they’re not as good looking as the S. It's an unpopular opinion but I prefer the boat-like feeling of an S/X. I'll probably reconsider this in 2023 when my S warranty expires and hopefully it can be replaced with a CT.

I also thought I would never sell the car few years ago! I wish CT or Rivian pickup were available now. That would have been an easier decision

 

[airborne spoon]

Yeah, my heart agrees with you I also have free Supercharging+ connectivity, though I don't use the supercharger frequently since the charging rates got nuked few years ago! Only have one drive unit which was replaced about 60K miles ago. So at this point, I am mainly worried about the battery. I am leaning towards keeping it but I am going to at least see what the market offers..

yeah it does charge slower but its still better than paying for gas especially now with CA prices. my average charge time increased 10-15 min every stop. And I travel a lot so its still important for me. I'm on track to save about $20k over the next 8 years from free Supercharging.

Also instead of making 3 separate posts you can click the quote button on each post you want to reply to then at the bottom click insert quotes and then they will all show up in one post which makes for easier reading and cleaner threads.

 

[loudog3114]

I just bought a 2015 with 53k on it and a warranty expiration looming in the next 1.5 years for 51 grand. That is a pile of money for a 7 year old EV. Why did I do it? To me, being in a Model S with a potential 11k cost looming is well worth it instead of driving around in one of those econo-boxes. None of those cars compare to the Model S. To me, the 3/Y are cars for people that would otherwise buy a camry; cheap and reliable (because its new), but completely uninteresting. The Mach-E is nicer then both, but also made by Ford, and hence guaranteed to have terrible post-purchase support. An S is the enthusiasts choice. So lets say in the next 3 years or so my S runs me 65k to own... that is worth every cent over driving one of those other cars.

 

[ravenk]

I just bought a 2015 with 53k on it and a warranty expiration looming in the next 1.5 years for 51 grand. That is a pile of money for a 7 year old EV. Why did I do it? To me, being in a Model S with a potential 11k cost looming is well worth it instead of driving around in one of those econo-boxes. None of those cars compare to the Model S. To me, the 3/Y are cars for people that would otherwise buy a camry; cheap and reliable (because its new), but completely uninteresting. The Mach-E is nicer then both, but also made by Ford, and hence guaranteed to have terrible post-purchase support. An S is the enthusiasts choice. So lets say in the next 3 years or so my S runs me 65k to own... that is worth every cent over driving one of those other cars.

Congrats on the purchase! I would just suggest that when you do get a chance, occasionally drive it from 100% to the low 10-20%. This is of course when you are at the lower %'s to be nearby home. That was when the battery issue actually became prominent in my car at least. This issue for me would've gone pretty undetected until I one day decided to do a day trip. Otherwise my daily activities would've been too short to drain it that low with nightly charging. I too have a 2015, and even though mine is in the service center right now to get the HV battery replaced (fortunately under warranty)...none of the other models or manufacturers are appealing at all. And there's no guarantee that they wouldn't have the same issue either.

 

[loudog3114]

Congrats on the purchase! I would just suggest that when you do get a chance, occasionally drive it from 100% to the low 10-20%. This is of course when you are at the lower %'s to be nearby home. That was when the battery issue actually became prominent in my car at least. This issue for me would've gone pretty undetected until I one day decided to do a day trip. Otherwise my daily activities would've been too short to drain it that low with nightly charging. I too have a 2015, and even though mine is in the service center right now to get the HV battery replaced (fortunately under warranty)...none of the other models or manufacturers are appealing at all. And there's no guarantee that they wouldn't have the same issue either.

Good to know. I have one of two hopes... it shits the bed in the next 1.5 years, or never. Electrified Garage is also somewhat near me in NH. So I hope to have plenty of options if/when the battery goes. I don't really expect to have this car more then 3 years so I am not too worried.

 

[Nepats]

I will just throw these numbers out there for folks that live in states that charge Personal property tax every year on cars like VA. Also, we do not get a tax break on trade ins. So, if I buy a new Model Y performance for 65K, I will end up paying around 8K in the next 4 years-

$5500 in personal property tax extra over my current car
$2700 in sales tax

If the battery fails the day after my warranty expires and I replace it with a refurb for about 13K, then I am only out about 5K over the next 4 years! I think I just convinced myself to keep the car

 

[loudog3114]

I will just throw these numbers out there for folks that live in states that charge Personal property tax every year on cars like VA. Also, we do not get a tax break on trade ins. So, if I buy a new Model Y performance for 65K, I will end up paying around 8K in the next 4 years-

$5500 in personal property tax extra over my current car
$2700 in sales tax

If the battery fails the day after my warranty expires and I replace it with a refurb for about 13K, then I am only out about 5K over the next 4 years! I think I just convinced myself to keep the car

...and you can adjust your vents like a normal person.

All jokes aside, there are a lot of EV specialists popping up these days saving people a lot of money on "failed" batteries. Where tesla will only replace the whole pack, a company like electrified garage will address the fault in your current pack. If you're a YouTuber hop over there and check out some of the videos about hoovies (hoovies garage) I think 2014 MS. He saved a pile of money going third party. And those third party specialists are just going to keep popping up.

 

[aseito]

My warranty expires 12/2022 and I don't want to shell out for a y, 62k+ at this point but I also don't want to get caught with a bad battery out of warranty. I wish we had some statistics on how many batteries have failed. I need the space otherwise I'd get a 3. Considered a used x but those are also pretty expensive and the range isn't great compared to my p85. I'd definitely need more range.

 

[Yurand]

All jokes aside, there are a lot of EV specialists popping up these days saving people a lot of money on "failed" batteries. Where tesla will only replace the whole pack, a company like electrified garage will address the fault in your current pack. If you're a YouTuber hop over there and check out some of the videos about hoovies (hoovies garage) I think 2014 MS. He saved a pile of money going third party. And those third party specialists are just going to keep popping up.

These so-called repairs come up in threads on a daily basis, but they are not long term repairs. Hoovies car shut down at 35 miles of range left after this fix. Replacing modules and removing a cell are not real fixes and the BMS will shut things down due to the imbalance. Jason Hughes (wk057) has stated this multiple times and he knows more about Tesla batteries and BMS than anyone else outside of Tesla.

 

[ravenk]

These so-called repairs come up in threads on a daily basis, but they are not long term repairs. Hoovies car shut down at 35 miles of range left after this fix. Replacing modules and removing a cell are not real fixes and the BMS will shut things down due to the imbalance. Jason Hughes (wk057) has stated this multiple times and he knows more about Tesla batteries and BMS than anyone else outside of Tesla.

Yeah I heard about this case, but do we have any data on among cars that got a module replaced, had it fail again and the time period? Probably too few days points to make a determination, but if they continue to work for a reasonable amount of time, it'll still be an option.

 

[Tomilett]

Yeah I heard about this case, but do we have any data on among cars that got a module replaced, had it fail again and the time period? Probably too few days points to make a determination, but if they continue to work for a reasonable amount of time, it'll still be an option.

From what I can tell, no-one ever "had a module replaced". it seems that when you have a battery fail in warranty:
1. Tesla replace it with a remanufactured pack - one which had a fault with a connector, or a BMS board, or a cooling hose or something "non-cell" related;
2. Tesla replace it with a new one (you win the battery lottery)

Your old battery either has one of those "non-cell" related issues which is repaired and your pack goes back into the remanufactured pool, or it's junk, and Tesla gets rid of it (I don't know where to). From mainly what @wk057 (Jason) says its unlikely even Tesla have enough modules to match ones together from different packs as they need to be so perfectly matched in a number of different metrics that it's basically impossible for any 2 modules that haven't lived their entire lives together.

If you take it to Jason he'll put in a battery from a salvage car (car written off but battery OK - you can buy these on ebay) and he'll take your current battery apart and sell all the good components (for DIY home battery storage most likely). That way you'll pay net $5k if you're doing a same-size swap or a bit more if you're upgrading (e.g. 85>90). It's not much different from what Tesla do, only Tesla don't sell off modules on Ebay so you don't see anything back, which is why it costs 2-4x as much (but you do get a warranty).

 

[ravenk]

From what I can tell, no-one ever "had a module replaced". it seems that when you have a battery fail in warranty:
1. Tesla replace it with a remanufactured pack - one which had a fault with a connector, or a BMS board, or a cooling hose or something "non-cell" related;
2. Tesla replace it with a new one (you win the battery lottery)

Your old battery either has one of those "non-cell" related issues which is repaired and your pack goes back into the remanufactured pool, or it's junk, and Tesla gets rid of it (I don't know where to). From mainly what @wk057 (Jason) says its unlikely even Tesla have enough modules to match ones together from different packs as they need to be so perfectly matched in a number of different metrics that it's basically impossible for any 2 modules that haven't lived their entire lives together.

If you take it to Jason he'll put in a battery from a salvage car (car written off but battery OK - you can buy these on ebay) and he'll take your current battery apart and sell all the good components (for DIY home battery storage most likely). That way you'll pay net $5k if you're doing a same-size swap or a bit more if you're upgrading (e.g. 85>90). It's not much different from what Tesla do, only Tesla don't sell off modules on Ebay so you don't see anything back, which is why it costs 2-4x as much (but you do get a warranty).

Thanks for the explanation.

I was more asking about the point once I do fall out of warranty, that I would like to take the data of cars that do get replaced under wk057's method where he replaces the entire pack vs those using Rich rebuilds module replacement. Likely there isn't a lot of public data and obviously we can surmise that the former is better, but I would like to see by which margin =\.

 

[rsg123]

A ton of people on here angling to get a great deal on all these dumped 2014 and 2015 Teslas? Lol
I am keeping my car. Free SC and connectivity, AP1 which works amazingly well for my use, and so far solid battery with 8% degradation with 128k miles. Current motor has 80k miles and is fine.

 

[wk057]

Thanks for the explanation.

I was more asking about the point once I do fall out of warranty, that I would like to take the data of cars that do get replaced under wk057's method where he replaces the entire pack vs those using Rich rebuilds module replacement. Likely there isn't a lot of public data and obviously we can surmise that the former is better, but I would like to see by which margin =\.

Considering the "repair" methods employed by others don't actually fix anything at all (and publicly proven not to last, see other posts), I'd say the margin between methods is infinite.

To that end, we've got a product launch at 057 Tech scheduled for this weekend (might be a little late depending on some last minute logistics, but that's the target for now) that will pretty much solve the issue of out of warranty Model S battery failures in a very cost effective way (as low as about 90% less than Tesla's replacement costs). I'll be doing a vendor post about it here on TMC around that time, as well as noting on Twitter and such. So, just keep an eye out.

 

[aseito]

I have your exact setup, and 80k miles as well. No issues but the problem is the what if? I'm not convinced or willing to drop 20k plus tax.

I'll keep an eye out for wk057 announcement, hopefully someone posts a link here so we can see as well. Unfortunately I'm in california so it would be difficult for me to get any work done without $1000-2000 for shipping? Maybe more. Also, I need to look into model 3 battery replacement, will this be a similar fix available for those models?

Thanks!