The used market is confusing

[Emaz]

So I’m in the market for a used Tesla and just joined this forum.

I’ve been nervous to buy private party because of the warranty expiring, (depending on mileage) but if you buy from Tesla, they offer a 2 year warranty correct? But I’ve read so many horror stories here about Tesla selling used lemons.

Plus, I keep reading that Tesla ended their CPO program and yet, they do sell used cars, with warranties.

The feature set is confusing too.

Starting to wonder if a used Tesla is even a good idea. I’ve read of a few good experiences here, but far more bad than good.

I guess my biggest question is this: I thought Teslas were far more simple than gas powered cars so far fewer things go wrong. Then I read about MCU issues, GPS issues, then there are the few crashes in the media... so what happens with a high mileage Tesla? What happens near the end of battery life, and what other things should I be careful of if buying used? I thought a used Tesla purchase would be a no brainer, but instead I’m overwhelmed, so thanks for any pointers.

 

[Yoitskenn]

I think if it has lower miles, it comes with a 4yr/50k warranty

and if it has higher miles, it’ll Come with a 2yr/100k (total mile) warranty.

I think the Tesla used inventories are priced competitively.

we bought one through tesla last month and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another one from them.

 

[Akikiki]

Buy low, sell high.
Don't take any wooden nickels.
The early bird...
You get what you paid for (or deserve)...
Take a look at the used Teslas on the forum under Tesla For Sale.
Folks on here pretty much generally love taking care of their Tesla's.
Meaning they are forthcoming with info about their cars. You can private message them for more info.
Ask about their mileage and warranty. Do your research. I am confident you will find the perfect car for yourself.

 

[dhrivnak]

Remember people with issues are FAR more likely to post. While I too read about all the issues, I and the dozens of other owners really do love the car and service. So not sure if the problems are a few trolls or some very rare cases.

 

[byeLT4]

So I've been looking for a Tesla for a few years now (I know, I know... mid next year should be the right time, finally!!) so I have had many of the same questions.

Personally.... I would only consider private party if it had a good chunk of warranty/extended warranty remaining. I'm really leaning to the previous CPO now just used directly from Tesla. The pattern seems to be anything over 50k miles gets a 2 year UP TO 100k miles warranty, but that gets overruled by year as cars older than 4 years (2015) get 2 years up to 100k regardless of mileage. Currently 2016 (and newer) models with less than 50k miles get the 4 year, 50k additional mile warranty (I wonder when that will change as going into 2020 will start to push those over 4 years). All cars should receive their original battery/drive warranty of 8 years unlimited miles with the exception of the smaller batteries that were up to 125k I believe. Anyone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, I feel like I am constantly learning something!

 

[Emaz]

So I've been looking for a Tesla for a few years now (I know, I know... mid next year should be the right time, finally!!) so I have had many of the same questions.

Personally.... I would only consider private party if it had a good chunk of warranty/extended warranty remaining. I'm really leaning to the previous CPO now just used directly from Tesla. The pattern seems to be anything over 50k miles gets a 2 year UP TO 100k miles warranty, but that gets overruled by year as cars older than 4 years (2015) get 2 years up to 100k regardless of mileage. Currently 2016 (and newer) models with less than 50k miles get the 4 year, 50k additional mile warranty (I wonder when that will change as going into 2020 will start to push those over 4 years). All cars should receive their original battery/drive warranty of 8 years unlimited miles with the exception of the smaller batteries that were up to 125k I believe. Anyone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, I feel like I am constantly learning something!

Good input, thanks. I also want to confirm what you said about warrantees.

I also want to understand what people mean about pre-refresh. What happened in the refresh? Does that mean stay away from the oldest models?

 

[BulldogsRus]

Remember people with issues are FAR more likely to post. While I too read about all the issues, I and the dozens of other owners really do love the car and service. So not sure if the problems are a few trolls or some very rare cases.

I wouldn't say rare if Elon himself acknowledges as much:
How Musk is Trying to Address Tesla's Service Issues - Market Realist

Definitely growing pains caused by Model 3 sales and expansion, hopefully they've learned from this and can apply that to the Model Y rollout.

 

[BulldogsRus]

Good input, thanks. I also want to confirm what you said about warrantees.

I also want to understand what people mean about pre-refresh. What happened in the refresh? Does that mean stay away from the oldest models?

Refresh was primarily the nosecone (frontend) fascia was updated.

 

[adaboost]

Tesla doesn't follow a traditional refresh cycle (e.g. yearly/mid-year). So its difficult to parse out what options a used car may have, it requires a bit of research in understanding what changed in the price range that you're looking at. There are some resources like Autopilot, Processors and Hardware – MCU & HW Demystified | TeslaTap to help, as well as https://ev-cpo.com/hunter/ (under option code lookup) once you have a VIN in mind.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Tesla leaves the QA to the owner. We had minor problems with both of our cars which would probably be caught in any other car company, but because Tesla is production constrained, they ship out as many vehicles as they can as long as they are mostly functioning/safe. Expect to be at the service center a few times after you get the car, and if you're really unlucky, expect to wait a few weeks if they don't stock a part and live with Uber credits (worse case if they don't have a loaner).

If you go in with this expectation, you'll know exactly what you're buying and you won't feel frustrated with the after-purchase process.

 

[Emaz]

Tesla doesn't follow a traditional refresh cycle (e.g. yearly/mid-year). So its difficult to parse out what options a used car may have, it requires a bit of research in understanding what changed in the price range that you're looking at. There are some resources like Autopilot, Processors and Hardware – MCU & HW Demystified | TeslaTap to help, as well as https://ev-cpo.com/hunter/ (under option code lookup) once you have a VIN in mind.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Tesla leaves the QA to the owner. We had minor problems with both of our cars which would probably be caught in any other car company, but because Tesla is production constrained, they ship out as many vehicles as they can as long as they are mostly functioning/safe. Expect to be at the service center a few times after you get the car, and if you're really unlucky, expect to wait a few weeks if they don't stock a part and live with Uber credits (worse case if they don't have a loaner).

If you go in with this expectation, you'll know exactly what you're buying and you won't feel frustrated with the after-purchase process.

I won't mind small fixes, assuming they're covered. Non-covered expenses seem like they could be costly. But with less moving parts, I'm hoping that's rare.

 

[Emaz]

Thanks for all the feedback.

When people say Tesla no longer has CPO, what do they mean? They sell used vehicles that have a warranty and have been inspected. How is that different than their prior CPO program?

 

[Ostrichsak]

Thanks for all the feedback.

When people say Tesla no longer has CPO, what do they mean? They sell used vehicles that have a warranty and have been inspected. How is that different than their prior CPO program?

Because Tesla removed ALL mention of CPO everywhere in their website intentionally once they stopped refurbishing the cars they took in and resold. CPO implies some sort of cosmetic guarantee which Tesla doesn't do. They also claim they do a 70-point inspection but if you read this forum as well as others on the internet you'll quickly realize that the likelihood of them actually inspecting the car before sale is next to zero.

In other words, it's a LOT easier to think of them of used cars sold by Tesla with a warranty since this is exactly what they are. Referring them to CPO will confuse those who expect something of a CPO based on what other manufacturers offer in terms of CPO program or what even Tesla used to offer.

This is exactly why most of us politely try to get others to stop incorrectly referring to them as CPO these days since Tesla hasn't had a CPO program in nearly a year now. They sell used cars with warranty coverage and as long as you approach the sale from this angle you won't get burned by thinking you're buying a car sight-unseen that has been inspected when it hasn't. However you take delivery of the car cosmetically is how you now own the car. Anything you want repaired as part of the deal MUST be in writing before you sign anything.

 

[Emaz]

I think if it has lower miles, it comes with a 4yr/50k warranty

and if it has higher miles, it’ll Come with a 2yr/100k (total mile) warranty.

I think the Tesla used inventories are priced competitively.

we bought one through tesla last month and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another one from them.

Good to hear of a good buying experience for a used model directly from Tesla. It was some the bad

Because Tesla removed ALL mention of CPO everywhere in their website intentionally once they stopped refurbishing the cars they took in and resold. CPO implies some sort of cosmetic guarantee which Tesla doesn't do. They also claim they do a 70-point inspection but if you read this forum as well as others on the internet you'll quickly realize that the likelihood of them actually inspecting the car before sale is next to zero.

In other words, it's a LOT easier to think of them of used cars sold by Tesla with a warranty since this is exactly what they are. Referring them to CPO will confuse those who expect something of a CPO based on what other manufacturers offer in terms of CPO program or what even Tesla used to offer.

This is exactly why most of us politely try to get others to stop incorrectly referring to them as CPO these days since Tesla hasn't had a CPO program in nearly a year now. They sell used cars with warranty coverage and as long as you approach the sale from this angle you won't get burned by thinking you're buying a car sight-unseen that has been inspected when it hasn't. However you take delivery of the car cosmetically is how you now own the car. Anything you want repaired as part of the deal MUST be in writing before you sign anything.

Great explanation, thanks! Their lack of truly doing that 70-point inspection is disappointing. And with private, you get to see if the car is cosmetically acceptable.

But I think the warranty is still a key reason to buy used from Tesla over private.

There sure is a lot to learn here. Good thing the car is appealing. You gotta really want it. Lol

 

[cucubits]

But I think the warranty is still a key reason to buy used from Tesla over private.

This is a good approach. Bumper to bumper warranty really offers piece of mind with these cars.
Buying private with little or no warranty left vs buying from Tesla with the full 4 years/50k miles warranty would make sense only if the price is really really good, which is hard to find around here. Most owners overvalue their cars and try to sell for the same or more than Tesla sells the used cars.

If you end up buying from Tesla, arm yourself with a lot of patience, a lot of radio silence from your delivery advisors, but other than that, you shouldn't run into any problems. The whole process can take a lot of time, fastest I've seen is 2-3 weeks since placing the order and the average seems to be around 4 weeks (if they have to ship the car too).

 

[Ostrichsak]

Good to hear of a good buying experience for a used model directly from Tesla. It was some the bad


Great explanation, thanks! Their lack of truly doing that 70-point inspection is disappointing. And with private, you get to see if the car is cosmetically acceptable.

But I think the warranty is still a key reason to buy used from Tesla over private.

There sure is a lot to learn here. Good thing the car is appealing. You gotta really want it. Lol

...That's not the only difference.

Tesla has been playing games lately with the Free Unlimited Super Charging (FUSC) and how it transfers as well, Previously, all cars that had it would transfer free from previous owner to new owner. Now, for whatever reason, they have been pulling this from used cars that they sell that previously had them. This means that most all used cars you find that have/had FUSC will transfer to you for free as long as it's NOT sold by Tesla. They've been adding it to some cars here and there (seems mostly like higher capacity cars) but for the current buyer only and it doesn't transfer to the next buyer. This means that, as of this post, you MAY get FUSC on a used Model S bought from Tesla so long as it specifically states it on the listing page for that exact car. You won't be able to transfer that to the next buyer though.

Confusing but Tesla really doesn't want to be in the used car business and does all sorts of senseless things on a whim to try to prevent it but people just seem hell-bent on trading their cars to Tesla even for pennies on the dollar of what they're actually worth. Tesla feels obligated to "steal" trade-ins if they offer insulting values and people still take them up on it. I'm not saying you can't find a good deal on a used car directly from Tesla but I am saying that it's become increasingly difficult and there are now tons of caveats that you need to be aware of before you buy.

 

[Emaz]

The whole process can take a lot of time, fastest I've seen is 2-3 weeks since placing the order and the average seems to be around 4 weeks (if they have to ship the car too).

This raises a really important question. I was almost put off by the $2K delivery charge. Ouch! But they're unclear about when it applies, since it says "may apply". Anyone know the rules?

I'm in Arizona and could drive to one of their 2 dealerships, but I never see a used listing from there. If I see one from Colorado is that an additional $2K?

 

[Emaz]

...That's not the only difference.

This means that most all used cars you find that have/had FUSC will transfer to you for free as long as it's NOT sold by Tesla. They've been adding it to some cars here and there (seems mostly like higher capacity cars) but for the current buyer only and it doesn't transfer to the next buyer.

I could live with that, as I don't drive a ton of miles (we're talking less than 120 per week). Seems like the warranty might be more important. But what I keep getting stuck on is that there should be very little maintenance anyhow so how much should I care? What are the most expensive risks? Getting a good deal privately, having that one on one, that is appealing but I have NO idea what repair risks I'm taking. So now I'm vacillating between private and Tesla.

I really need a better understanding of repair cost risk.

 

[cucubits]

This raises a really important question. I was almost put off by the $2K delivery charge. Ouch! But they're unclear about when it applies, since it says "may apply". Anyone know the rules?

I'm in Arizona and could drive to one of their 2 dealerships, but I never see a used listing from there. If I see one from Colorado is that an additional $2K?

Sadly the answer is "it depends". If the car is far from your location and you choose to have them deliver it to you, you may or may not get charged. While I had my order going, the 2k shipping fee kept appearing and disappearing from my account. In the end I had to pay it but I did hear about others who either had it waived without explanation or Tesla apparently just not adding it or having it waived because delivery took longer than 30 days.

No hard rule on this. You may get lucky or you may end up paying it.

The best option always seems to be just to go pick up the car yourself, if it's not too far or you are ok with a long roadtrip.

 

[Akikiki]

...but people just seem hell-bent on trading their cars to Tesla even for pennies on the dollar of what they're actually worth...

Exactly right. And don't forget. After they "give" their car over, they complain about the low trade-in price they got for it.

 

[Emaz]

No hard rule on this. You may get lucky or you may end up paying it.

Uhh, WOW. Another point in favor of private.

How come I never see any used in the TWO Arizona dealerships? I haven't been looking that long but it still seems kind of odd.