SO WHATS with the extended warranty?

[mswlogo]

Sorry, but after eight MS's since 2013, I think having the ESA is a no-brainer for nearly all owners, and ESPECIALLY so with the Model X, the Faberge Egg of automobiles.

The cost is nothing compared to one or two visits for major work, and too many of these cars require major work post-50k miles of use. MCU's die too easily and too often, and there are those door handles as well, at about $1k each . . . unless you learn to watch YouTube videos and get to have the fun of working on them yourself.

Also, you can't go to just any old shop for Tesla repairs--at least not yet. Thus, you're looking at full price repairs for anything out of warranty.

Lastly, as others have written, if I recall correctly, you can get a refund for the amount you've not used if you change your mind. (And selling a used Tesla without an ESA is very difficult/value losing.)

GET THE ESA! (It's for a good cause.)

A friend has a 2013 Model S. He did not get extended warranty and regrets it. He has spent around $10K in repairs. 4 Door Handles, Main Display, 12V Battery, Something with suspension and some other stuff (that was all after it went out of warranty). He's also on his 3rd drive unit (which was covered). He still loves the car and plans to buy another. But he said he will buy ESA next time.

Of my last 4 ICE cars since 2011, I've spent $0 on repairs (and not one under warranty repair). Only tires, oil etc. and other maintenance.

 

[Drax]

New door handles are $1000+ per door handle. A new MCU is $4000+.

I’d probably get it if only for protection from all of the bad screens I’ve seen over the last few years.

 

[FlatSix911]

I purchased the ESA for peace of mind... priceless.

 

[brkaus]

New door handles are $1000+ per door handle. A new MCU is $4000+.

Handles can be repaired for around $250.

MCU is now around $2k (some have said as low as $1300).

 

[ucmndd]

New door handles are $1000+ per door handle. A new MCU is $4000+.

Those quoted prices are both about 50-100% higher than current reality.

 

[Tam]

...should i...

Put it in another way, I've never heard anyone feel sorry for paying thousands of dollars for ESA when they didn't even have to make any ESA claims at all.

On the other hand, I've heard lots of people got very angry when their cars need repairs when they didn't buy ESA:

Outrageous $5000 repair bill after warranty expire!

Popular items that can go bad after your new warranty expires are:

1) $4,500 heater
2) $3,800 Air Conditioner
3) MCU: Do-It-Yourself can cost around $399 but if you let Tesla do it, it'll cost you about $1,800 in the US or Can$4,000 in Canada.
4) $2800 On-board Charger

I've got 3 Tesla cars so far and they have been trouble-free during the new warranty period. After the new warranty ran out, my former 2012 Model S had several services that were worth much more than the premium that I paid.

 

[brkaus]

I've got 3 Tesla cars so far and they have been trouble-free during the new warranty period. After the new warranty ran out, my former 2012 Model S had several services that were worth much more than the premium that I paid.

Are the other two out of warranty yet?

 

[Tam]

Are the other two out of warranty yet?

No.

2017 Model X and 2018 Model 3 are still young and trouble-free and still under the new warranty.

 

[whitex]

Put it in another way, I've never heard anyone feel sorry for paying thousands of dollars for ESA when they didn't even have to make any ESA claims at all.

On the other hand, I've heard lots of people got very angry when their cars need repairs when they didn't buy ESA:

Outrageous $5000 repair bill after warranty expire!

Popular items that can go bad after your new warranty expires are:

1) $4,500 heater
2) $3,800 Air Conditioner
3) MCU: Do-It-Yourself can cost around $399 but if you let Tesla do it, it'll cost you about $1,800 in the US or Can$4,000 in Canada.
4) $2800 On-board Charger

I've got 3 Tesla cars so far and they have been trouble-free during the new warranty period. After the new warranty ran out, my former 2012 Model S had several services that were worth much more than the premium that I paid.

So you have paid for 3 ESA's, $15K. How would have the 2012 repairs cost to date vs. how much did you pay at $200 per incident? What were the other cars and did they also require ESA coverage?

 

[T.R.T.e.s.l.a.]

I bought 2 years or 40.000km of extended warranty for my late 2014 S85 and i sure am glad i did.
It was the very first time i got extended warranty for any of my cars and, in my case, it payed off big time, because i have had about (a bit more i think) 10.000 euro in repairs made under extended warranty and i payed less the 2.000 euro for it.

 

[TheFro]

I agree, I'd likely spring for it with an X.

Recent Model S though are quite well sorted. MCU is a solved problem with MCU2 or out of warranty eMMC replacement. The new door handle mechanisms are quite reliable - 100k miles on my car and I've replaced zero. The stuff that broke a lot on the early cars really isn't much of a problem any more.

But to each their own. As I said, for me, it would have been $5k wasted. I had zero out-of-pocket expenses between 50k and 100k miles that would have been covered by the ESA. YMMV.

Confirmed for the X; I bought my wife a used X and I was insistent about buying it from Tesla for the warranty. With the MCU, falcon wing doors, auto front doors, and motorized second row seats, I feel there are plenty of issues that could crop up in the next four years and worth the premium of a Tesla used warranty.

My wife is not a heavy driver and we've barely had the car a month and I already have an appointment to replace the steering wheel, one or both interior FWD switches, and a some door gasket/trim that is causing a ton of wind noise when driving. Can't wait to see what other issues come up with the car but that warranty has already worked wonders for me.

I've owned a 2013 P85 for three years now and have 122k miles on it. The MCU and TMPS system were replaced after 100k miles, so no extended warranty would have covered that. Other than that, my Model S has been remarkably reliable.

 

[kkillebrew]

There is no deductible on mine. Terms state that the original factory warranty is extended to 75k miles or 72 months.

 

[Tam]

So you have paid for 3 ESA's, $15K. How would have the 2012 repairs cost to date vs. how much did you pay at $200 per incident? What were the other cars and did they also require ESA coverage?

I paid ESA for 2012 Model S and 2017 Model X. I am still waiting to pay ESA for Model 3 but there is no hint that will happen from Tesla.

My 2012 Model S was very reliable and it was trouble-free so it was illogical for me to pay for ESA but I still did because it's not cheap to have Tesla do the repairs.

The 3 repairs during ESA would have cost $9,000.

Tesla did not enforce the $200 x 3 = $600 deductible (last repair done in 2017). I did offer to pay the $200 deductible each time but they refuse to enforce that clause each time.

However, with the current profit-driven policy, I do expect that the deductibles will be enforced.

Don't get me wrong! I do realize that the house always wins and my case might be an exception.

But the principle is still the same: I've been paying premiums on home insurance and car insurance that I have not made any claims at all but I am fine with that.

 

[whitex]

I paid ESA for 2012 Model S and 2017 Model X. I am still waiting to pay ESA for Model 3 but there is no hint that will happen from Tesla.

My 2012 Model S was very reliable and it was trouble-free so it was illogical for me to pay for ESA but I still did because it's not cheap to have Tesla do the repairs.

The 3 repairs during ESA would have cost $9,000.

Tesla did not enforce the $200 x 3 = $600 deductible (last repair done in 2017). I did offer to pay the $200 deductible each time but they refuse to enforce that clause each time.

However, with the current profit-driven policy, I do expect that the deductibles will be enforced.

Don't get me wrong! I do realize that the house always wins and my case might be an exception.

But the principle is still the same: I've been paying premiums on home insurance and car insurance that I have not made any claims at all but I am fine with that.

It sounds like you paid $10K and saved $9K at this point. So you're still $1K behind?

Given latest Tesla focus on profits, I would not be totally shocked if they audited the ESA billing and presented you with a bill for $600. Reportedly they have recently moved on beyond just stripping lifetime FUSC from resold cars: Tesla takes away Autopilot from used Model S sold through dealer - Electrek. Elon is pushing the car salesman stereotype to extreme and updating it to 21st century tech (like anything he does, unfortunately he chose "car salesman" as one of his careers).

I was just curious how your math worked for you specifically. I am no way saying you should or should not buy ESA. Everyone needs to make that decision for themselves, like any other risk based decision such as investments, casino games, playing the lottery, etc. Any lottery grand prize winner would tell you they are very happy they didn't listen to mathematicians about how playing the lottery is a bad decision.

Personally I believe in paying only for catastrophic insurance, i.e, only insure myself against things which would be a large financial strain (or things I simply cannot afford). I hope to lose money on all those insurances I pay for (meaning I don't want to have any claims against any of those catastrophic insurance premiums).

 

[2101Guy]

finamcially, better for most to take the money destined for ESA and place into a fund that mirrors s&p 500

 

[PhilDavid]

finamcially, better for most to take the money destined for ESA and place into a fund that mirrors s&p 500

Depends on what happens with the S&P in the future...

That's like gambling your car will have a major repair with what will happen to the stock market..

 

[jgs]

I would not be totally shocked if they audited the ESA billing and presented you with a bill for $600.

I would. You may not think the ESA is a good buy, fine — but the above is just fearmongering.

 

[Tam]

...audited the ESA billing and presented you with a bill for $600...

Well, there's a lot of money if the audit is expanded.

Many early adopters got free tows when they ran out of battery in the early days but not anymore.

I could owe some good money because Tesla did some stuff that was not under warranty but they still did for free:

When I came in for my first-year annual maintenance in 2013, my 2 fobs cosmetically looked terrible but fully functional and they should be treated as wears and tears but Tesla replaced them for free. Due to the early days, at that time, each would cost $350 for part + $175 for labor! Now the fobs are cheaper and they don't need to replace the whole fob because they can change the skin instead.

They also replaced my front underbody shield for free at that time because I didn't know how to use my smart suspension properly and I had severe scrapes down under. That would be several hundred dollars.

I guess I would owe a little over $2,000 worth of free services and free ESA deductibles if Tesla does an audit on me.

The good thing about the audit is: Tesla doesn't go after the past owner, it only goes after the current owner and I no longer own 2012 Model S.

So, the moral of the audit when you read about it in the news is: Be an early adopter and sell it off quickly like a hot potato and pass the buck to a new owner who will be held responsible for the free stuff that I enjoyed in the past!

 

[ucmndd]

I would. You may not think the ESA is a good buy, fine — but the above is just fearmongering.

It was super obvious @whitex was being facetious.

Or, you know, I thought so anyway.

 

[roblab]

Thanx....anyone with cars for 3-6 yrs let me know what your maintenence has been like...took it in today and they said they would cover the screen border issue(8 hrs on the machine) and the noise from strut flutter..when they figure out an engineer fix they said.

Two Model Ses, one with 82,000 miles, the other with 98,000 miles, both sold, waiting on new S.

I had virtually ZERO maintenance on these two cars. Oh, yeah, there were windshield wipers and tires. Nothing relating to driving. Standard battery losses. Drove like dreams for eight years. I take it back. Door handle was replaced, and an inverter, warranty at the nearest dealer. That was on the first one, nothing on second one.

No comparison to any gas engine car. Fuel costs (from my garage outlets, not some "service station") were about one eighth what gas and oil costs. And filters. And smogging every year. And time sitting at dealers waiting on the above. No comparison.

I cannot see why people are so enamored with gasoline. Except followed a pickup truck yesterday who floored it down the road for no reason, didn't even know I was near, went spewing clouds of black smoke down the road, slowed, gunned it, slowed, gunned it. I figured it was a statement of his intelligence. Smoke and noise equal unmitigated power! And as the saying goes, POWER corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. I guess there's a lot of that going around these days. I was IMPRESSED!