Tesla CPO value?

[Ev43]

Hi All,

I am searching for a pre-owned S and I have a question about the value of the Tesla extended warranty.
I know that the battery and drive train are already covered for 8 years, but what other costly items might fail that would justify the need for the CPO extended warranty coverage?

Regards,

Ev

 

[dgpcolorado]

Hi All,

I am searching for a pre-owned S and I have a question about the value of the Tesla extended warranty.
I know that the battery and drive train are already covered for 8 years, but what other costly items might fail that would justify the need for the CPO extended warranty coverage?

Regards,

Ev

One of the most commonly reported problems on older cars is the door handles; they are quite expensive to repair. Other things that might need fixing, if the car you buy has them (mine doesn't), would be air suspension and the pano roof. Some owners have decided that the cost of the extended warranty plus the service visit fees make it not a good deal and have chosen to "self-insure" for any problems that develop after the 4 year, 50,000 mile full warranty expires. Up to you.

 

[Ev43]

One of the most commonly reported problems on older cars is the door handles; they are quite expensive to repair. Other things that might need fixing, if the car you buy has them (mine doesn't), would be air suspension and the pano roof. Some owners have decided that the cost of the extended warranty plus the service visit fees make it not a good deal and have chosen to "self-insure" for any problems that develop after the 4 year, 50,000 mile full warranty expires. Up to you.

Thanks "dgp". That is the kind of information I was looking for. I am considering buying a 2012 P85 with low miles [23k] and an original warranty that expires this December. The car appears to be very well taken care of, but I'm trying to decide whether to add an extended warranty or "self insure", as you say.

 

[JPUConn]

I wouldn't own this car without a warranty CPO has no deductible and very rich coverage. The extended warranty u can get privately is not bad but had a deductible with a price tag of $4k.

With this I valued the CPO aspect of my car at $5k due to the lack of deductible and restoration of any cosmetic or wear items prior to delivery. I will sell before the warranty runs out.

 

[dgpcolorado]

Thanks "dgp". That is the kind of information I was looking for. I am considering buying a 2012 P85 with low miles [23k] and an original warranty that expires this December. The car appears to be very well taken care of, but I'm trying to decide whether to add an extended warranty or "self insure", as you say.

My understanding is that the extended warranty can only be added by the original owner. I presume that is the path that you are considering: pay extra to have the original owner sign up for the extended warranty. Unless you can see the future, there is no definitive answer as to whether or not the extended warranty would pay for itself.

In general, one "insures" against costs that would be difficult or impossible to absorb if the worst happened (house insurance in case the house burns down). And one self insures against the little stuff. While it wouldn't be fun to have to pay for replacing a door handle, at $800-$1200, many of us could afford it if we really had to or we wouldn't be buying such an expensive car in the first place. Trying to "get one's money's worth" out of an extended warranty — a type of insurance policy — is often a losing game. This is the reason it is often best to go with high deductibles on insurance policies: insurance is for catastrophes, not the little stuff. If you feel more comfortable with an extended warranty, given that Tesla cars are of uncertain reliability and expensive to repair, fine. It might well be worth it just for the peace of mind. JMHO.

Depending on how much you save buying this car versus an equivalent CPO, it could be a good deal. If you save $10,000, say, that difference would pay for a lot of non drive train repairs, if any are needed.

 

[NewCow]

One of the most commonly reported problems on older cars is the door handles; they are quite expensive to repair. Other things that might need fixing, if the car you buy has them (mine doesn't), would be air suspension and the pano roof. Some owners have decided that the cost of the extended warranty plus the service visit fees make it not a good deal and have chosen to "self-insure" for any problems that develop after the 4 year, 50,000 mile full warranty expires. Up to you.

FWIW, when I took delivery of my CPO in Jan, I asked if it had the 1st or 2nd gen handles, and they said they replaced with 2nd gen as part of CPO process. There's a way to verify which gen you have by if the handle sits flush when the door is closed. I can't find the link now, but basically 1st gen sits flush, while 2nd gen is a tiny bit recessed.

 

[hsglia]

i bought a 2014 CPO with autopilot in January. i am very comforted by the Tesla warranty which essentially gives me the same full 4 years 50,000 miles i would get on a new car. unfortunately i dont see many CPOs around anymore. i think Tesla quickly withdrew from the used market. they primarily list imvemtory cars now and these are not much reduced in price.

 

[CapeOne]

I think Tesla quickly withdrew from the used market. they primarily list imvemtory cars now and these are not much reduced in price.

Although Tesla only lists a couple dozen or so CPOs online right now, there are various others available that aren't appearing online. As far as new inventory cars go, a number of them have nice discounts of $10K or more.

This car is priced about $15K below 'sticker': Model S P90D 134898 | Tesla Motors

 

[hybridbear]

i bought a 2014 CPO with autopilot in January. i am very comforted by the Tesla warranty which essentially gives me the same full 4 years 50,000 miles i would get on a new car. unfortunately i dont see many CPOs around anymore. i think Tesla quickly withdrew from the used market. they primarily list imvemtory cars now and these are not much reduced in price.

I wanted to buy a CPO Model S with Autopilot. I talked to the local store & they said that right now all trade-ins with Autopilot hardware are going into the Service Loaner fleet. Tesla is then selling the older cars from the Service Loaner fleet as CPO cars. The only way to get Autopilot is to buy new or buy an inventory car. I would expect that once Autopilot 2.0 comes out that the Autopilot 1.0 cars will be removed from the Service Loaner fleet & sold as CPO.

 

[Superloud]

Take a look at my post history if you're really interested.

But my take is that the ESA is a good value at $1000/yr. my last car was a BMW X3 that cost me about $1-$2k per year in repairs. And not everything was ICE related. My power windows died, HVAC blower motor, radio head unit just died one day, etc.

I'm usually not lucky with this stuff. Sure, I may end up wasting some money if nothing ever breaks on my S. But, for what it's worth, I just had a bunch of things fixed (under original factory warranty). I'm totally happy to essentially cap my costs at around $1k/yr (plus deductible). And I always say, I'll then be able to sell my car privately while still under warranty. At which time, I think having the warranty will really help me out, and I think I'll be able to sell at a higher price because of it - thereby recouping some of that $4k.

 

[BEEZR]

I think Tesla quickly withdrew from the used market.

I think they just can't keep the CPOs -- too much interest. It does seem they have held back and then dropped a large qty into the CPO inventory pool, but then many are snapped up. As another poster said, and I discovered recently, there are CPO cars available that are not listed on the website. I think this is partly due to Tesla prioritizing new car delivery over CPO through their service centers and delivery processes. And partly due to holding more of them back to use as loaners.