Should I upgrade to Plaid or keep my 2014 P85D w MCU2 and Ludicrous upgrade

[randompersonx]

As many of you know, Tesla is now offering a transfer of the Free Unlimited Supercharging for grandfathered owners to new vehicles.

I've looked at the eBay value of my car (120K miles), and it's about $15,000 give or take -- there don't seem to be any with the Ludicrous upgrade or MCU2 mentioned, so I guess I'm just losing any value I put into those upgrades - it's a rare upgrade, but I guess most people don't even know about it or care to provide a value to it.

The estimate on Tesla.com for trade-in is $10,000. I'd hope they would give more considering I have the transferrable free supercharging, MCU2, and Ludicrous -- all of which should be useful for them [eg: they can void the supercharging, and resell it to someone else with MCU2 and Ludicrous] ... but I suspect they won't.

The newer cars will have significantly more range both because of better specs, and also zero degradation since it's brand new (mine probably has about 85% of it's original capacity). The newer cars also have significantly better Autopilot (Full Self Drive) with HW3/4... but, it's going to be like $110,000 plus taxes.

As some of you may know, the rear motor has a defect which causes a high risk of the coolant liquid leaking into the electronics. There is a 3rd party maintenance that you can have done for about $700 to avoid that, but I haven't done that yet. I also assume that it's only a matter of time until the battery fails.

Fortunately I do live about 75 miles away from Electrified Garage, so I can just go there for this work.

I guess the question is ... should I just spend the $700 for the motor 'fix' and drive this thing until it stops working, or upgrade? The interior on mine still looks brand new, but the exterior paint has a ton of rock chips, unfortunately.

 

[beatle]

If you're considering shelling out $100k for a new car, it doesn't sound like money is a factor. In that case, whether you get $15k or $10k seems mostly immaterial. The smarter financial decision is probably to continue to drive your car into the ground. Having EG nearby also makes the proposition of keeping an older Tesla a lot more palatable.

I replaced my P85DL with a 2019 MSP in December of 2022. It's not a plaid, but it was still a significant upgrade in many ways, and it was a much less expensive way to move on. I also don't have to deal with the screen shifter, stalkless interface, or a car without ultrasonic sensors. At the time, Tesla only offered the yoke Look for one of the raven platform cars Aug 2019 or later.

I still miss AP1 on my 2015. HW3/4 may be technically superior, but Tesla has really screwed up the software and I find it worse in almost all ways. The sunroof was also a nice feature from the P85D that is no longer available.

 

[krsgio]

It's really on you if you feel like spending the money for a new car. Do you need FSD? AFAIK HW4 still isn't fully functional. Do you care if you have no stalks? Do you want to pay $100/yr for your data plan that yours probably has grandfathered in. Do you want more phantom braking than you'd likely experience on AP1? If you opt to not buy FSD or EAP are you prepared to lose features your legacy vehicle already could do like autopark/summon. No more parking sensors. Most of these are factors that I consider in why I haven't got a plaid.

 

[randompersonx]

If you're considering shelling out $100k for a new car, it doesn't sound like money is a factor. In that case, whether you get $15k or $10k seems mostly immaterial. The smarter financial decision is probably to continue to drive your car into the ground. Having EG nearby also makes the proposition of keeping an older Tesla a lot more palatable.

I replaced my P85DL with a 2019 MSP in December of 2022. It's not a plaid, but it was still a significant upgrade in many ways, and it was a much less expensive way to move on. I also don't have to deal with the screen shifter, stalkless interface, or a car without ultrasonic sensors. At the time, Tesla only offered the yoke Look for one of the raven platform cars Aug 2019 or later.

I still miss AP1 on my 2015. HW3/4 may be technically superior, but Tesla has really screwed up the software and I find it worse in almost all ways. The sunroof was also a nice feature from the P85D that is no longer available.

I'd say that if I could get 25K out of the existing car, it'd be much more palatable... 10K is just a very bitter pill to swallow.

Also, I've heard that the v12 autopilot is a huge upgrade, and the youtube videos I've seen of it look far more impressive than what my car can do. Do you not have v12?

 

[randompersonx]

It's really on you if you feel like spending the money for a new car. Do you need FSD? AFAIK HW4 still isn't fully functional. Do you care if you have no stalks? Do you want to pay $100/yr for your data plan that yours probably has grandfathered in. Do you want more phantom braking than you'd likely experience on AP1? If you opt to not buy FSD or EAP are you prepared to lose features your legacy vehicle already could do like autopark/summon. No more parking sensors. Most of these are factors that I consider in why I haven't got a plaid.

Thanks for all of these points.

Do the new cars not 'simulate' the parking sensors with the camera to provide the same functionality with warning if you get too close?

I will miss the stalks, yes ... but I can live with it.

The $100/year for the data plan ... I'd imagine I will just stream music from my iPhone going forward - and I assume the free data will at least provide the maps and support for the app remote controlling the car(which is all I really care about). I can also use Tethering from my iPhone if I really want to use Tesla's music streaming.

Correct me if any of my assumptions are wrong.

 

[krsgio]

The vision only system is attempting to simulate what the ultrasonic sensors were doing but I wouldn't trust them especially at this point. I believe without the data plan you're unable to use some features of sentry mode, navigation/live traffic features.

 

[beatle]

I'd say that if I could get 25K out of the existing car, it'd be much more palatable... 10K is just a very bitter pill to swallow.

Also, I've heard that the v12 autopilot is a huge upgrade, and the youtube videos I've seen of it look far more impressive than what my car can do. Do you not have v12?

I have EAP. I expected it to be on par with AP1, but it's worse in almost all ways. Lane changes are quicker as long as the car doesn't freak out and swerve back into the original lane. I don't find FSD to be very useful since it is still level 2. I only use ADAS on divided highways anyway and AP1 was pretty predictable.

Tesla vision is supposed to approximate the same data as USS, but it's half-baked and doesn't work for summon or autopark.

Free connectivity gets you navigation and app control, but it won't display satellite maps or traffic visualization.

 

[randompersonx]

I'm honestly really surprised how negative everyone is on the newer cars even when compared to 2014.

I've got a test drive scheduled for later on today, and will see my own opinion (and take all of this commentary to see how much those things bother me)... but I think this is the first car I've ever owned where it's not absolutely clear that the newer version was objectively better (albeit, more expensive).

 

[bkcyk]

I'm honestly really surprised how negative everyone is on the newer cars even when compared to 2014.

Same. Respect to the Model S OGs, but I recently drove my cousin's enthusiast owned, 1 owner, always garaged, 30K mile 2015. It looked & felt like an absolute shtbox relic compared to my 2023. Bicycle tires. Narrow hips. Early 2000s rear LED lights off the Toys R Us shelf. And I haven't even started talking about the driving experience.

Does my rear parking camera work? Yes. Do I have any problems or hassles signaling? No. Does EAP switch lanes with ease for me? Yes. Does the yoke keep me from posting track lap PBs? NA, don't care.

Is the current Model S Plaid the performance EV bargain on the market today? Still a resounding yes and I bought mine before the latest price cuts.

 

[adl320]

Same. Respect to the Model S OGs, but I recently drove my cousin's enthusiast owned, 1 owner, always garaged, 30K mile 2015. It looked & felt like an absolute shtbox relic compared to my 2023. Bicycle tires. Narrow hips. Early 2000s rear LED lights off the Toys R Us shelf. And I haven't even started talking about the driving experience.

Does my rear parking camera work? Yes. Do I have any problems or hassles signaling? No. Does EAP switch lanes with ease for me? Yes. Does the yoke keep me from posting track lap PBs? NA, don't care.

Is the current Model S Plaid the performance EV bargain on the market today? Still a resounding yes and I bought mine before the latest price cuts

I’ve thought about the same thing but between different years. I bought a 2020 Raven Performance in September. Then the bottom fell out of the plaid market and the price differences from what I paid for my 2020 and prices for a 2021-2022 Plaid is now about +$20k. I just ticked over 50k miles.

My concern is yes the performance will be great but I feel I have a well sorted Raven. I’d hate to trade up and inherit issues but the vehicle would most likely be under warranty still. Most of the plaids I’m seeing in the 2021-2022 range are between high 20s to 30ish K miles.

For the OP, do you have any similar concerns about buying something with more issues than a known and sorted older model?

 

[bkcyk]

My concern is yes the performance will be great but I feel I have a well sorted Raven. I’d hate to trade up and inherit issues but the vehicle would most likely be under warranty still. Most of the plaids I’m seeing in the 2021-2022 range are between high 20s to 30ish K miles.

The only concern I had buying my first Tesla/EV was inherting another person's problem so I bought a new MSP and there's $10K more money in my pocket to do the same thing all over again today.

I also only decided to pull the trigger when I learned about these 3 things: 1) Tesla widened the body; 2) optioned with 295 PS4S rears; and 3) announced Track Pack availability.

World class looks, power, grip and braking for a daily commuter sedan with bulletproof charging experience. No Raven can ever dream of being this sorted let alone any other EV on the market including the refreshed Taycan.

Bye ICE daily. Hello, Plaid world.

 

[randompersonx]

For the OP, do you have any similar concerns about buying something with more issues than a known and sorted older model?

It's absolutely a concern ... but I'm also concerned about the issues with the rear drive motor potentially failing. Dealing with having Electrified Garage modify it is time that I currently don't have ... and I assume the battery will fail at some point in the next two years.

Having extra range and better autopilot and a warranty are the main (potential) winning factors for me.

 

[beatle]

When you actually crunch the numbers, you can buy a looot of repairs for the depreciation of a new model S. But cars (especially a plaid) aren't really rational decisions made with a spreadsheet, so you have to consider everything a new(er) car gets you and try to add those into the equation. (Hint: you really can't.)

 

[randompersonx]

So, after a test drive… IMHO the new car is certainly much nicer in many ways.

The autopilot is much better…


But the $10k trade in offer is insultingly low, and hard to get past psychologically.

 

[SO16]

So, after a test drive… IMHO the new car is certainly much nicer in many ways.

The autopilot is much better…


But the $10k trade in offer is insultingly low, and hard to get past psychologically.

Tesla does not want trade ins.

Try carmax or similar.

 

[sorka]

So, after a test drive… IMHO the new car is certainly much nicer in many ways.

The autopilot is much better…


But the $10k trade in offer is insultingly low, and hard to get past psychologically.

Obviously don't trade it in. Your P85D is a bit of a unicorn. Not that many with the Plus suspension and Ludicrous left.

Have you considered an MSLR for $75K? It's still faster than your P85D in nearly every performance measurement.

 

[adl320]

It's absolutely a concern ... but I'm also concerned about the issues with the rear drive motor potentially failing. Dealing with having Electrified Garage modify it is time that I currently don't have ... and I assume the battery will fail at some point in the next two years.

Having extra range and better autopilot and a warranty are the main (potential) winning factors for me.

This is a valid concern for sure. I’ve thought about it too now that I’m at 50k miles and out of warranty. I’m still toying with the idea of the move to Plaid. Gotta start convincing the CFO.

 

[blodg1]

The estimate on Tesla.com for trade-in is $10,000. I'd hope they would give more considering I have the transferrable free supercharging, MCU2, and Ludicrous -- all of which should be useful for them [eg: they can void the supercharging, and resell it to someone else with MCU2 and Ludicrous] ... but I suspect they won't.

Tesla does not resell cars that are over 6 years old, or have over 100k miles, via their site. Those cars are sent to Adessa, Carmax, Carvana or Vroom for exactly what they offer you.

 

[Yillbs]

Tesla does not want trade ins.

Try carmax or similar.

Tell me about it, They offered me 23K for a 2022 Ford F350 with 30k miles, and the 6.7L. I thought it was a joke, they then called me to ask when I'd like to place my order and use my trade in credit.

 

[treowx]

As many of you know, Tesla is now offering a transfer of the Free Unlimited Supercharging for grandfathered owners to new vehicles.

I've looked at the eBay value of my car (120K miles), and it's about $15,000 give or take -- there don't seem to be any with the Ludicrous upgrade or MCU2 mentioned, so I guess I'm just losing any value I put into those upgrades - it's a rare upgrade, but I guess most people don't even know about it or care to provide a value to it.

The estimate on Tesla.com for trade-in is $10,000. I'd hope they would give more considering I have the transferrable free supercharging, MCU2, and Ludicrous -- all of which should be useful for them [eg: they can void the supercharging, and resell it to someone else with MCU2 and Ludicrous] ... but I suspect they won't.

The newer cars will have significantly more range both because of better specs, and also zero degradation since it's brand new (mine probably has about 85% of it's original capacity). The newer cars also have significantly better Autopilot (Full Self Drive) with HW3/4... but, it's going to be like $110,000 plus taxes.

As some of you may know, the rear motor has a defect which causes a high risk of the coolant liquid leaking into the electronics. There is a 3rd party maintenance that you can have done for about $700 to avoid that, but I haven't done that yet. I also assume that it's only a matter of time until the battery fails.

Fortunately I do live about 75 miles away from Electrified Garage, so I can just go there for this work.

I guess the question is ... should I just spend the $700 for the motor 'fix' and drive this thing until it stops working, or upgrade? The interior on mine still looks brand new, but the exterior paint has a ton of rock chips, unfortunately.

If you haven’t looked into it and you want to experience something similar to HW3 on your AP1 check out Comma Ai Open Pilot using the custom software designed by Tinkla. Night and day difference actually makes AP1 usable.