Tesla: The real out of warranty costs

[AmpedRealtor]

Remember, there are two CPO warranty tiers now...

I don't think either one would require you to eat a warranty repair in the first year, let alone the next month. The two tiers are 4-year and 50,000 miles or 2 years and 100,000 miles.

 

[Lukez]

The referral program rewards makes out of warranty costs a non issue for me.

 

[demundus]

Just a data point. I have owned 2 Model S, a 3, and our daughter has an X. Body work is done by our local body shop, and I understand one of the men there has worked on Teslas. As far as warranty work, after the door handle replacement on our Signature S 5 1/2 years ago, there has been nothing. I do not go to a Service Center except for owner gatherings. I don't pay for any service or warranty plan. Daughter whanged front tire and broke something, but it gets fixed at local body shop.

You folk with all the problems I would guess are in the vast minority. All the Tesla owners around here (Northern CA) hardly have problems enough to mention. I myself have accrued over 150,000 miles on Tesla, no problems other than a screen reboot as needed. Both the Ss were/are out of warranty. Never went to Service.

Interesting that my local body shop has access to the repair manuals, too.

Just the other side of the coin.

All body shops have access to the repair manuals. As do owners who live in Mass. or know how to google around a bit.

I personally think Sig's got alot of attention and love, even in the later years. The build quality on the Sigs seemed to be higher than the S's that rolled off the line after them.

I have accrued 125k on ONE Tesla, with 3 motor failures, 2 MCU failures, all four door handles went bad at some point, TPMS system replaced, and various other minor things that added up to a few hundred bucks.

These are not cheap repairs, and I was out of warranty for all of them but the motors and one door handle. I don't think the issues are the minority, and there are plenty of owners here who (by this thread and a hundred others) agree.

 

[KidDoc]

All body shops have access to the repair manuals. As do owners who live in Mass. or know how to google around a bit.

I personally think Sig's got alot of attention and love, even in the later years. The build quality on the Sigs seemed to be higher than the S's that rolled off the line after them.

I have accrued 125k on ONE Tesla, with 3 motor failures, 2 MCU failures, all four door handles went bad at some point, TPMS system replaced, and various other minor things that added up to a few hundred bucks.

These are not cheap repairs, and I was out of warranty for all of them but the motors and one door handle. I don't think the issues are the minority, and there are plenty of owners here who (by this thread and a hundred others) agree.

I've talked to two shops here in Texas that were interested in working on a Tesla and they both contacted Tesla and could not get the manuals. I know about the ebay copies and I am considering getting one and donating it to a local shop but there is no way to prove they are legitimate manuals and why should I have to go through that hassle anyway? It is just a bizarre policy for Tesla to continue to enforce.

 

[roblab]

I've talked to two shops here in Texas that were interested in working on a Tesla and they both contacted Tesla and could not get the manuals. I know about the ebay copies and I am considering getting one and donating it to a local shop but there is no way to prove they are legitimate manuals and why should I have to go through that hassle anyway? It is just a bizarre policy for Tesla to continue to enforce.

Didn't Texas have some sort of policy against Tesla? Like no sales or something? Texas may have banned Tesla from servicing or repairing in Texas, for all I know, and Tesla may legally be hindered from getting manuals to shops. If the shop only needs a manual, why can't they get one from eBay, just like you could? This all sounds bizarre, but I tend to think it's Texas more than Tesla. I have never heard (though it's possible) of Tesla being petty. They are usually above that.

 

[P85Dave]

Tesla can clearly do better on repair costs. But having owned a Roadster out of warranty for 4 years, and a Model S for 3, the extended warranty prices were nowhere near justified by the modest expenses that I had.

Which, really, should not be a surprise - there are a LOT of people in my shoes. Tesla is not selling extended warranties to lose money. They know average repair costs better than anybody, and they set their warranty prices accordingly. The extended warranty is just insurance. Most people will not need it (not the full amount, anyway). A few people (lucky or unlucky, depending on whether they got the warranty) will have expensive repairs and for them an extended warranty will be worth it. Too bad there is no way to know which camp you are in until it is too late to decide whether or not to buy the warranty.

A lot of people get peace of mind from buying an extended warranty. That is great, I absolutely do not want to discourage you (and by getting the money up front, it helps Tesla too; plus customers stay happier with their cars when something does go wrong). But it's not a sure bet that you will come out better financially by buying one, no matter how many anecdotes people post. Investing the warranty cost is a better financial bet (though also not a sure thing, nothing about the future is).

But the Extended Warranty cost is not going to break even for EVERYONE and your situation is just anecdotal evidence of one. It's like saying I don't need to insure my house or buy health insurance because I have not had any issues.

Tesla repairs are tremendously expensive. So if you can stomach thousands of repairs in a year and that is okay with you, skip the warranty. I bet for many the peace of mind is worth it.

Also by having the extended warranty, you will have a MUCH easier time selling your Tesla.

 

[Petra]

I don't think either one would require you to eat a warranty repair in the first year, let alone the next month. The two tiers are 4-year and 50,000 miles or 2 years and 100,000 miles.

4 years/50k miles & 2 years/100k total odo. OP's target is people on a budget and some of the cheapest cars I've seen on the CPO site had 75-90k miles... someone could easily hit 100k inside a year on these cars.

 

[KidDoc]

Didn't Texas have some sort of policy against Tesla? Like no sales or something? Texas may have banned Tesla from servicing or repairing in Texas, for all I know, and Tesla may legally be hindered from getting manuals to shops. If the shop only needs a manual, why can't they get one from eBay, just like you could? This all sounds bizarre, but I tend to think it's Texas more than Tesla. I have never heard (though it's possible) of Tesla being petty. They are usually above that.

That could be correct. Texas law is you have to buy a car through a dealership so when you go to a Tesla learning center they are legally restricted from discussing price with the customer, they can just direct them to the website and walk them through the ordering process. I think I'll contact Tesla and ask them about the repair manual issue.

 

[sakimano]

I find this hard to believe or you got a lemon. My Leaf along with pretty much all of the “original” 2011and early adopters had zero issues with the car

speaking of hard to believe...

 

[demundus]

Didn't Texas have some sort of policy against Tesla? Like no sales or something? Texas may have banned Tesla from servicing or repairing in Texas, for all I know, and Tesla may legally be hindered from getting manuals to shops. If the shop only needs a manual, why can't they get one from eBay, just like you could? This all sounds bizarre, but I tend to think it's Texas more than Tesla. I have never heard (though it's possible) of Tesla being petty. They are usually above that.

Guess would be they don't want to take the liability of an outdated manual... a bootleg copy ensures nothing about update practices, really rough to hang your hat on

 

[dhanson865]

.

4 years/50k miles & 2 years/100k total odo. OP's target is people on a budget and some of the cheapest cars I've seen on the CPO site had 75-90k miles... someone could easily hit 100k inside a year on these cars.

I've seen people say that before but https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/model-s-preowned-warranty.pdf says

Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty
Subject to separate coverage for certain parts and the exclusions and limitations described in this Pre-Owned Vehicle Limited Warranty, the Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty covers the repair or
replacement necessary to correct defects in the materials or workmanship of any parts manufactured or supplied by Tesla that occur under normal use for an incremental period of 4
years or 50,000 miles (80,000 km) from the first day and at the mileage a Pre-Owned Vehicle is delivered to the first Pre-Owned purchaser, whichever comes first, irrespective of the expiration date or mileage of the Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty specified in the original New Vehicle Limited Warranty for the Pre-Owned vehicle.

I'm reading that to mean odometer use as a new first owner car isn't part of that mileage because it didn't happen after the car was sold as a CPO.

So it appears that the CPO warranty can expire before or after the regular warranty. As in even a 99,000 mile car still could get additional years and miles from the CPO warranty.

 

[hurjio]

So it appears that the CPO warranty can expire before or after the regular warranty. As in even a 99,000 mile car still could get additional years and miles from the CPO warranty.

I don't think CPO warranty can ever expire before the New Vehicle Limited Warranty since it's the same 4yr/50k miles (if CPO is under 50k odometer miles). In you 99k mile car example, the buyer would only have CPO warranty for 1000 miles because I believe CPOs with over 50k odometer miles only come with the 2yr/100k max odometer miles warranty.

 

[JayyyDeee]

I've had mine four years and my service center experience has been nothing short of exceptional. The car has also been rock solid. I'm knocking wood now that it's out of warranty so if costly repairs hit me I'll report back.



The only Japanese car I've owned is my Nissan Leaf and mine has required a lot more service than my Tesla. To top it off, I was just quoted $1,200 to upgrade from 2G to 3G. Tesla charged me $500 to go from 3G to LTE.

I would love to hear what went wrong with your leaf... if anything it is an outlier and you got unlucky. I think the fact that every major youtuber who owns a Tesla has had to had their car hauled away on a flat bed speaks volumes about Tesla's bad quality control(its not a concidence that they all had major mechanical issues). My Model S 2017 was delivered with a obviously cracked B Pillar, a vibrating speaker and a faulty door handle before developing many squeaks,pops and rattles through out the car. Where as my I have owned 3 japanese cars and my family has probably owned 20+ all together and there was only one 600 CAD repair needed outside of regular maintenance on my Accord that I owned before my model S.

 

[Gixx1300R]

If a Tesla is out of warranty, can you not have it re-certified through Tesla and purchase an extended warranty?

 

[ChadS]

But the Extended Warranty cost is not going to break even for EVERYONE and your situation is just anecdotal evidence of one. It's like saying I don't need to insure my house or buy health insurance because I have not had any issues.

Agree it will not break even for everyone, in fact I pointed that out.

Agreed my data was just an anecdote, but my anecdote was not the point of my post. My point was that all we can get are anecdotes, while Tesla has data. That data is reflected in the warranty price.

So your analogy is not at all similar to my point.

 

[Petra]

.


I've seen people say that before but https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/model-s-preowned-warranty.pdf says

Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty
Subject to separate coverage for certain parts and the exclusions and limitations described in this Pre-Owned Vehicle Limited Warranty, the Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty covers the repair or
replacement necessary to correct defects in the materials or workmanship of any parts manufactured or supplied by Tesla that occur under normal use for an incremental period of 4
years or 50,000 miles (80,000 km) from the first day and at the mileage a Pre-Owned Vehicle is delivered to the first Pre-Owned purchaser, whichever comes first, irrespective of the expiration date or mileage of the Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty specified in the original New Vehicle Limited Warranty for the Pre-Owned vehicle.

I'm reading that to mean odometer use as a new first owner car isn't part of that mileage because it didn't happen after the car was sold as a CPO.

So it appears that the CPO warranty can expire before or after the regular warranty. As in even a 99,000 mile car still could get additional years and miles from the CPO warranty.

Yes, some CPO cars have a conventional 4 year/50k mile warranty, where the warranty is good for 4 years or the odometer reading when delivered + 50k miles (whichever comes first). However, some other CPO cars (typically higher mileage/older/cheaper ones) only include a 2 year/100k mile max odometer warranty. This second class of CPO cars with the reduced warranty coverage was introduced around mid-2017.

Here are a few examples of reduced warranty coverage cars currently on Tesla's site (if on desktop, scroll down to the block of text below the images):
- 85 kWh Performance Model S 5YJSA1H24EFP68171 | Tesla
- Model S 85D 5YJSA1H24FF087641 | Tesla
- 60 kWh Model S 5YJSA1DG2DFP14531 | Tesla

For comparison, here are some with the standard CPO warranty:
- 85 kWh Performance Model S 5YJSA1H15EFP50866 | Tesla
- 85 kWh Model S 5YJSA1H18EFP60713 | Tesla

 

[dhanson865]

Yes, some CPO cars have a conventional 4 year/50k mile warranty, where the warranty is good for 4 years or the odometer reading when delivered + 50k miles (whichever comes first). However, some other CPO cars (typically higher mileage/older/cheaper ones) only include a 2 year/100k mile max odometer warranty. This second class of CPO cars with the reduced warranty coverage was introduced around mid-2017.

Here are a few examples of reduced warranty coverage cars currently on Tesla's site (if on desktop, scroll down to the block of text below the images):
- 85 kWh Performance Model S 5YJSA1H24EFP68171 | Tesla
- Model S 85D 5YJSA1H24FF087641 | Tesla
- 60 kWh Model S 5YJSA1DG2DFP14531 | Tesla

For comparison, here are some with the standard CPO warranty:
- 85 kWh Performance Model S 5YJSA1H15EFP50866 | Tesla
- 85 kWh Model S 5YJSA1H18EFP60713 | Tesla

My prior link was to https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/model-s-preowned-warranty.pdf
the new link base on your examples goes to https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/northamerica-preowned-extended-warranty.pdf

from the new link coming from 85 kWh Performance Model S 5YJSA1H24EFP68171 | Tesla to https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/northamerica-preowned-extended-warranty.pdf

Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty
Subject to separate coverage for certain parts and the exclusions and limitations described in this Tesla Used Vehicle Extended Limited Warranty, the Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty covers the
repair or replacement necessary to correct defects in the materials or workmanship of any parts manufactured or supplied by Tesla that occur under normal use for an incremental period of 2
years or up to 100,000 miles (160,000 km), whichever comes first, from the first day and at the mileage a used vehicle is delivered to the purchaser, irrespective of the expiration date or mileage of the Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty specified in the original New Vehicle Limited Warranty.

Again I say it appears to be in addition to any miles put on by the first owner. Such that a 73,660 mile car would have coverage for 2 years after the sale and up to 173,660 miles on the odometer.

Seriously click on a link you provided scroll to the phrase "limited warranty" and click on that link it will take you to the PDF.

Can you tell me you interpret that PDF differently?

 

[sundaymorning]

I have a MS, brought it to the shop a couple of times for repairs. They have never charged me a penny for services, however, the previous time they charged me $200 (while the car is still under warranty). Which is fine, I support the company and it looks like they are pulling on levers to become profitable. The answer I got from them for the repair was “Tesla has always waived your warranty fees.”

For those who are complaining about repairs, how do you think all the dealers in the world stay in business?

 

[suwaneedad]

speaking of hard to believe...

I got my LEAF on 12/31/11 and have driven it 72k miles and counting with zero problems. Zero. If I have complaints, there are two: the annoying fake sounds that I'm too lazy to watch YouTube to learn how to kill them off; and it seems to consume tires quickly due to the weight of the vehicle but since Michelin puts treadwear warranties on their tires this problem is largely eaten by Michelin not me. The car has been astoundingly reliable and impossible to spend money on. Still not sure what I'll do with it when Model 3 arrives this month (allegedly)...my LEAF is 'worthless' in the marketplace but seems a shame to get rid of an incredibly reliable first generation Nissan EV so I will probably just use it to go to the gym and back until a better use for it presents itself (i.e., when someone in the family next crashes their ICE vehicle). I'm hopeful that Tesla has similarly over-built the Model 3 to ensure high customer sat on Gen1 of Model 3, but it looks not to be the case. Time to brace myself for critiques from wife re why the brand new car (not to mention the most expensive we've ever bought) is having to go to the SC a lot.

 

[KidDoc]

I have a MS, brought it to the shop a couple of times for repairs. They have never charged me a penny for services, however, the previous time they charged me $200 (while the car is still under warranty). Which is fine, I support the company and it looks like they are pulling on levers to become profitable. The answer I got from them for the repair was “Tesla has always waived your warranty fees.”

For those who are complaining about repairs, how do you think all the dealers in the world stay in business?

Because Musk SPECIFICALLY said over three years ago they were not going to be profit centers.
Watch Elon Musk Make An Emotional Speech About How Auto Dealers Are 'Perverting Democracy' To Destroy Tesla And Hurt Customers

"Our philosophy with respect to service is not to make a profit on service. I think it's terrible to make a profit on service," says Musk. "And, unfortunately the way the auto dealer association is set up is that they make most of their money on service. So, obviously, this would no be a good outcome."