The used market is confusing

[Iceh8r]

Id not worry about options too much. Here is what was important to me;
Autopilot
Best warranty available

free super charging, wheels and colors are more of unnecessary extras for me. Any car from end of 2014 and up should have autopilot. Also build quality went way up (handles, body work, screens and mirrors) at end of 2014.

you’re next to Cali, so can find a good Cpo from Tesla there. Get the paid Ev cpo membership so you can get texts about cars that match your criteria when available. At this point I’d say any model s with autopilot under $35k and less then 75k miles would be fair deal. If you can snag one for 30 ish then it’s worth an immediate flight.
Maybe a facelift car from June 2016 and up with under 50k miles and longer warranty can be had for $42-40 range. That would be a decent option.

Arizona is not overcrowded with Tesla’s so you’ll have reasonable Service. So cal is becoming overwhelmed with everything from the traffic, to service...
FYI my liability only insurance in Virginia is only $24 per month per car through Allstate. Ask your agent, your one sided coverage may be same price. If something happens eBay and third party shops can do easy stuff like replace bumper, hood and light fast and for a reasonable price.

I had a motor and axles and the 12v battery replaced in one car, and headlight in another.
Everything was fast and I didn’t pay a penny. They didn’t have free snacks in lobby like Lexus and Mercedes do but hopefully I will not be there again for years to come.

Use the alerts and you’ll be grabbing a new car and enjoying the drive home in no time

 

[Emaz]

Id not worry about options too much. Here is what was important to me;
Autopilot
Best warranty available

free super charging, wheels and colors are more of unnecessary extras for me. Any car from end of 2014 and up should have autopilot. Also build quality went way up (handles, body work, screens and mirrors) at end of 2014.

you’re next to Cali, so can find a good Cpo from Tesla there. Get the paid Ev cpo membership so you can get texts about cars that match your criteria when available. At this point I’d say any model s with autopilot under $35k and less then 75k miles would be fair deal. If you can snag one for 30 ish then it’s worth an immediate flight.
Maybe a facelift car from June 2016 and up with under 50k miles and longer warranty can be had for $42-40 range. That would be a decent option.

Arizona is not overcrowded with Tesla’s so you’ll have reasonable Service. So cal is becoming overwhelmed with everything from the traffic, to service...
FYI my liability only insurance in Virginia is only $24 per month per car through Allstate. Ask your agent, your one sided coverage may be same price. If something happens eBay and third party shops can do easy stuff like replace bumper, hood and light fast and for a reasonable price.

I had a motor and axles and the 12v battery replaced in one car, and headlight in another.
Everything was fast and I didn’t pay a penny. They didn’t have free snacks in lobby like Lexus and Mercedes do but hopefully I will not be there again for years to come.

Use the alerts and you’ll be grabbing a new car and enjoying the drive home in no time

Great feedback, thanks!

Sounds like 2014 and later is key, due to build quality?

What about mileage? At what level do I need to be concerned about the battery? And what about batterygate, do I have to be at a 75+ or is that whole thing overblown?

 

[Ostrichsak]

Id not worry about options too much. Here is what was important to me;
Autopilot
Best warranty available

free super charging, wheels and colors are more of unnecessary extras for me. Any car from end of 2014 and up should have autopilot. Also build quality went way up (handles, body work, screens and mirrors) at end of 2014.

you’re next to Cali, so can find a good Cpo from Tesla there. Get the paid Ev cpo membership so you can get texts about cars that match your criteria when available. At this point I’d say any model s with autopilot under $35k and less then 75k miles would be fair deal. If you can snag one for 30 ish then it’s worth an immediate flight.
Maybe a facelift car from June 2016 and up with under 50k miles and longer warranty can be had for $42-40 range. That would be a decent option.

Arizona is not overcrowded with Tesla’s so you’ll have reasonable Service. So cal is becoming overwhelmed with everything from the traffic, to service...
FYI my liability only insurance in Virginia is only $24 per month per car through Allstate. Ask your agent, your one sided coverage may be same price. If something happens eBay and third party shops can do easy stuff like replace bumper, hood and light fast and for a reasonable price.

I had a motor and axles and the 12v battery replaced in one car, and headlight in another.
Everything was fast and I didn’t pay a penny. They didn’t have free snacks in lobby like Lexus and Mercedes do but hopefully I will not be there again for years to come.

Use the alerts and you’ll be grabbing a new car and enjoying the drive home in no time

Important distinction: Tesla no longer sells CPO cars. They sell used with a warranty.

The CPO program was discontinued about a year ago and you should know that you're buying a used car that likely hasn't even seen the 70-point inspection they claim let alone any cosmetic refurbishment they did during the CPO program.

I'm not saying to not buy a used car from Tesla now because they're no longer CPO I just want people to know the difference and make an informed decision rather than buying a car sight-unseen because they were lead to believe it was a CPO.

 

[Emaz]

you're buying a used car that likely hasn't even seen the 70-point inspection they claim let alone any cosmetic refurbishment

This is super disappointing. But isn't there still an advantage over private because at least Tesla will tack on some warranty? And how can they do that without inspection?

 

[Emaz]

This is super disappointing. But isn't there still an advantage over private because at least Tesla will tack on some warranty? And how can they do that without inspection?

I think we had this discussion. LOL, sorry, too much research, it's getting jumbled together.

 

[Ostrichsak]

This is super disappointing. But isn't there still an advantage over private because at least Tesla will tack on some warranty? And how can they do that without inspection?

Like I said, I'm not saying to NOT buy from Tesla based on this fact alone. Reading what I posted as me telling you to buy or not buy would be inaccurate based on that information alone. This is why I included that wording with the post because the intent was not to steer you towards or away but to educate on the differences so you can make the proper decision for you based on ALL of the facts.

They do tack on either a "2-year up to 100k on odo" OR a "4-year/50k mile" warranty so this is a key selling point (if you overlook the nightmarish experiences reported from trying to actually use that warranty... another topic entirely and well-documented on these forums if you wish to research further) so that is a plus to buying used from Tesla. Another negative to offset that though is that not all cars will include Free Unlimited Supercharging (FUSC) that you buy from Tesla. Those that do will NOT transfer free-of-charge to the next buyer. That same car sold to you from a 3rd party instead would keep the FUSC to you and the following buyers as well.

All important things that need to be considered on an individual basis depending on what is most important to you, not me.

 

[Emaz]

...experiences reported from trying to actually use that warranty...

THAT I was not aware of, so thank you. Wow, there sure is a lot to take in as a potential buyer.

 

[cucubits]

THAT I was not aware of, so thank you. Wow, there sure is a lot to take in as a potential buyer.

But don't base your decision on all the "nightmare" stories you read here. For every horror warranty story you read about, there's 10 good experiences who just don't spend their time writing about it on the forums. (of course these numbers are not based on anything but common sense. People will jump to complain way faster than telling a story of a good experience)

It's not that bad in reality.

 

[Ostrichsak]

But don't base your decision on all the "nightmare" stories you read here. For every horror warranty story you read about, there's 10 good experiences who just don't spend their time writing about it on the forums. (of course these numbers are not based on anything but common sense. People will jump to complain way faster than telling a story of a good experience)

It's not that bad in reality.

From the guy who's literally owned a Tesla about a week now...

People keep wanting to debate the #'s which is nearly impossible w/o the data that Tesla doesn't make public. It's also entirely irrelevant to the conversation. It's a simple misdirection to make it seem like it's only a vocal minority in an effort to make it seem like Tesla is like every other car manufacturer in this respect. It's not. They don't do car service like anyone else and while they market it as a positive it's actually proven to be quite negative by those who have needed it within the last 12-months or so. It's trending worse, not better, in that same period.

What's more important than how many issues have come up is how they're handled and what location they're handled poorly in. If you read about a lot of horror stories from the service center that you would have to go to... run, don't walk, away. Also know that even if your local service center is better at handling problems, Tesla as a company is transitioning to less hands-on and human interaction. Thus far this has produced a terrible customer experience from those who have needed it.

The people challenging those who are having legitimate issues w/o recourse are currently living in bliss (like the person posting here as a great example) because they've never actually needed service yet. It's really easy to act like there's not a problem with customer service when you've never experienced it yourself for an issue that is keeping your car out-of-commission.

It's important that anyone who is contemplating this very real issue before making a buying decision. Trying to make them think the issue doesn't exist does them a disservice. If they still decide to buy anyway well at least they arrived at that decision taking into account ALL of the information that may affect them.

 

[cucubits]

because they've never actually needed service yet

But I did. Had both headlights with the half burnt DRLs on delivery. Scheduled service from the app the next day, a mobile tech came about 10 days later and swapped in new headlights in about 2 hours.

I understand there are a lot of problems, but really not all experiences are bad.

 

[Ostrichsak]

But I did. Had both headlights with the half burnt DRLs on delivery. Scheduled service from the app the next day, a mobile tech came about 10 days later and swapped in new headlights in about 2 hours.

I understand there are a lot of problems, but really not all experiences are bad.

So what you experienced was mobile service. I have ZERO complaints with mobile service (other than the scheduling of said mobile service can be difficult at times) so you can't speak to Tesla service centers. They're two separate entities in form and function. One hand does not know what the other one is doing. I've had numerous mobile service experiences and almost all were positive. The smaller issues are easily overlooked and I consider it to be a valuable resource when it works properly.

The service center, however, is an absolute nightmare. I think many of the people defending Tesla service do not draw that distinction and claim to have had good customer service interactions. These distinctions are quite important to the conversation. Service Centers also tend to be where the larger issues have to go which means they SHOULD be better at their job since most of their interactions are people who are probably w/o transportation while they're delaying and causing more issues. Not good.

TBH, I see you often having a strong opinion on conversations you yourself don't fully understand and it's confusing to me. You literally had one experience with mobile service for a cosmetic issue in your one-week of ownership and now you're an expert and telling others to ignore those who have had much, much, MUCH more experience to draw data from? I especially love how you felt that I was misguiding someone SO much that you felt the need to specifically call me out with your mountains of experience to the contrary. As if you're not misguiding them by simply not posting.

 

[adaboost]

I've had great experiences with Bay area service centers (Sunnyvale). They usually are reasonable and try to work with you to make sure that they can fix whatever comes up in a reasonable amount of time.

However, I would reconsider buying a Tesla if it was the only car we had. Loaners are inconsistent and sometimes Uber doesn't cut it if your livelihood depends on having your own transportation. I do notice this comes as a surprise to other people who end up arguing with the SA in the shared lobby, but as long as you understand that things like loaners and cosmetic issues aren't guaranteed to be covered, I think they deliver a reasonable service experience.

 

[Emaz]

It would be my only vehicle.

 

[cucubits]

However, I would reconsider buying a Tesla if it was the only car we had

Yes, I agree with this. Most likely I wouldn't have considered buying one if it was the only car we had.

 

[dabbler]

My first "used" 2013 Model S85 was a CPO purchased back in 2015. Only issues I had over the 185,000 miles driven were; door handle, 12 vt battery replacement, upper control arm replacement and contactor replacement all under warranty. Sold to a private party last May 2019 for $27,500. Tesla offered $17,000 for trade in. Ouch!

Purchased another "used" 2015 Model S85D from used car dealer in Dayton OH with 73000 miles for under $40K. Car still has the 8/yr-100,000 mile warranty on the battery and drive train and charges full to 260 miles of range. Only spent $1700 on some needed suspension work to make the car perfect.

I have been a "car guy" all of my nearly 50 years of car ownership. Always worked on my cars. The Tesla Model S's very low maintenance has allowed my to enjoy the drive and not worry about the mechanics.

Buy used from a private owner that has had multiple Tesla's. You will have the 1-on-1 purchasing experience, a resource as to the true history of the car and if you can find one with low mileage even better.

 

[dabbler]

Yes, I agree with this. Most likely I wouldn't have considered buying one if it was the only car we had.

The Tesla Model S has been my only car since early 2015. 5 years and almost 150,000 miles of no gas purchases and little maintenance, just 3 sets of tires.

 

[dabbler]

Not knowing what part of AZ you reside but there are 31 used Tesla's with a 30 mile radius of Phoenix Az. starting in the low $30k range.

 

[Emaz]

Not knowing what part of AZ you reside but there are 31 used Tesla's with a 30 mile radius of Phoenix Az. starting in the low $30k range.

Wait, where? I've been looking on Tesla's site and on Only Used Tesla | A Place Exclusively Dedicated To Buying And Selling Used Teslas

When I look on Autotrader it's so overstocked with Caravan that are NOT local, maybe I missed local ones.

 

[dabbler]

Here is the link:

Check out these Phoenix, AZ Tesla deals on Auto.com.

 

[dabbler]

I located mine on Carguru.com.