Thinking about pulling the trigger on a warranty extension Now that Tesla offers one

[drjerryk]

The motor is covered under the drive unit and battery warranty for 8 years/120,000 miles.

 

[dhrivnak]

Well, I've got about a month before my 4yr 50k bumper to bumper warranty ends, so if I want an ESA, I have to pull the trigger soon. I thought a discussion of pros and cons and people's feeling on the subject in general was in order. I might as well say up front, that a lot of people, myself included at times, firmly believe that all extended warranties are a sucker bet, otherwise they would not be offered. Looked at as raw statistics, it's undoubtedly true, but we all nonetheless buy various kinds of insurance because we all have differing levels of acceptable risk.

My biggest concern is the on-board charger, which a lot of 2018 model year owners (I've got a 2019) have reported having failures of here. The cost of that repair is pretty close to the $1800 price tag of the ESA, so by itself isn't a good enough reason to pull the trigger. Add to that the fact that the most expensive items, the battery and motors already have extended coverage and it's far from an easy choice. I do find it interesting that Tesla waited until all the 2018 model year cars were safely out of warranty before offering this, suggesting that Tesla either knew they were problematic, or Tesla could have just been slow to this party.

Up to about a year ago, I was convinced I'd buy in a heartbeat if/when Tesla offered one. Now I'm balanced right on the fence. How about the rest of you?

I have an early 2018. And just passed 107,000 miles that said just after the warranty I had to replace the control arm bushings and a seat belt harness and if $1800 is for the extended warranty I am $1500 to the good.

 

[al-capone]

OP, have you done the math on trading in for a new RWD M3 with the $3,750 rebate and any additional your local state rebates? Granted your out of pocket will be more than just the cost of buying extended warranty but in return you get another 4 years bumper 2 bumper warranty and all the new car goodness. (octo valve, LFP, new tires, less squeaks rattles, power trunk, better window insulation and what not).

 

[jjrandorin]

OP, have you done the math on trading in for a new RWD M3 with the $3,750 rebate and any additional your local state rebates? Granted your out of pocket will be more than just the cost of buying extended warranty but in return you get another 4 years bumper 2 bumper warranty and all the new car goodness. (octo valve, LFP, new tires, less squeaks rattles, power trunk, better window insulation and what not).

I dont know if this OP has, but I briefly looked at this for myself. I have a model 3 performance. If I were to just buy the same car again (I actually love my car and the only things I would want to change would be having the heat pump, new 12V battery and rizen processor), it would be over 60k with taxes, destination, etc.

My car is worth about 30-35k ish. Tesla offered me 31k for it about two weeks ago. If I ignore what I paid for it, and only look at what this would cost me if I trade my car in, would be the difference between 31k and roughly 61k or 30k, for the same car, just 4 years newer, with a new battery warranty and slightly longer range. My car charges to 282 or so at 100% charge (down from 299 basically), but this doesnt effect my day to day usage at all.

As I said in another thread, I evaluate this type of thing based on "would I pay cash for this?" meaning, "would I pay 30k cash to install the differences between a 2018 and a 2023 in my car right now, and refresh the warranty? The answer is a resounding "no" and I doubt anyone else would either if they looked at it like that, especially since I am looking at the same basic car.

I also considered trading in and getting a model S, but its the same calculation just with more money, and again this is ignoring what I paid for it in 2018. I like my car though, and its been good to me, so knock on wood I decided to ride it out.

 

[davewill]

OP, have you done the math on trading in for a new RWD M3 with the $3,750 rebate and any additional your local state rebates? Granted your out of pocket will be more than just the cost of buying extended warranty but in return you get another 4 years bumper 2 bumper warranty and all the new car goodness. (octo valve, LFP, new tires, less squeaks rattles, power trunk, better window insulation and what not).

Yeah. A year ago when the used prices were insane it made more sense. Now it just doesn't add up, especially when I love my car. I just need to decide whether another two years of no worry ownership is worth the dough.

Part of the reason it's hard is that I don't really have much to worry about. The car is great. I have had two warranty repairs, one was my LV battery, which is no big deal. The other was the occupancy sensor in my driver's seat went out, causing some very annoying symptoms.

Not exactly the stuff of nightmares.

 

[ucmndd]

The guy was comparing cell phone warranties versus an expensive car. NO eqivalency

The economics are precisely the same. The house always wins. Are you feeling lucky? Gonna be the one to beat the odds?

 

[one2many]

The house always wins. Are you feeling lucky?

Yes and yet lots of folks go to Vegas. The advantage may be towing, mobile service, time (which is money)
A flat ? Yes maybe its not really a dollar vs dollar, but a much more complex issue. There are simple
things that can go wrong and if you are in strage place, it may be more value to have the service
than pay nights in a hotel, miss work (for those who still do) or making it to that rock concert on time.
I did not buy the car to repair it, I did it to drive it. I will let others fix it, so what if it cost a bit more.

 

[tangible1]

Yes and yet lots of folks go to Vegas. The advantage may be towing, mobile service, time (which is money)
A flat ? Yes maybe its not really a dollar vs dollar, but a much more complex issue. There are simple
things that can go wrong and if you are in strage place, it may be more value to have the service
than pay nights in a hotel, miss work (for those who still do) or making it to that rock concert on time.
I did not buy the car to repair it, I did it to drive it. I will let others fix it, so what if it cost a bit more.

AAA Membership, even without an insurance policy, buys you 24/7 towing and roadside support.
55-75 bucks.

 

[bhsf]

The economics are precisely the same. The house always wins. Are you feeling lucky? Gonna be the one to beat the odds?

In the case of Tesla, the house always wins even if you choose the out of warranty option, because Tesla sets the prices. They have a monopoly on service, there are only a small number of independent shops who work on Teslas.

Plus, there are many well documented issues for Model 3. Control arms. PCS board. Resistive heater. Super bottle. Restraint System. Tesla charges far more for these repairs than it probably costs them.

 

[one2many]

Wow, AAA replaces Tesla computers now, what a great deal.

Plus, there are many well documented issues for Model 3. Control arms. PCS board. Resistive heater. Super bottle. Restraint System. Tesla charges far more for these repairs than it probably costs them.

This is why people get extended protection. Good gref folks it be around for 50 years. We all have are ways
of dealing with aging cars. As I respect all of you it does not make one side good or bad, just different.
I think I will buy a model 3 as a backup, have a beer on me.

 

[tangible1]

Wow, AAA replaces Tesla computers now, what a great deal.

This is why people get extended protection. Good gref folks it be around for 50 years. We all have are ways
of dealing with aging cars. As I respect all of you it does not make one side good or bad, just different.
I think I will buy a model 3 as a backup, have a beer on me.

AAA roadside support means tire fixes and towing
not computer repairs
wow, must be lost in translation somehow

 

[Knightshade]

Tesla charges far more for these repairs than it probably costs them.

This claim is not reflected in their financial statements FWIW- outside of profit on used cars during the recent surge in pricing, the financial bucket service/repairs goes into has generally run even or at a slight loss throughout the history of the company.

 

[vickh]

I would be much more comfortable going it alone if there were abundant independent repair shops who would work on these cars. Right now the choice is limited and Tesla basically has a monopoly on the price of repairs. If your motor goes bad, you're taking it to tesla and paying whatever they want to charge. You have no other option.

This claim is not reflected in their financial statements FWIW- outside of profit on used cars during the recent surge in pricing, the financial bucket service/repairs goes into has generally run even or at a slight loss throughout the history of the company.

I happen to be in an area with some 3rd party options eg Services | Black Screen | Roadster Battery | Gruber Motors but like @Knightshade says TSLA has not made service a profit center (per Elon atleast)

 

[bhsf]

This claim is not reflected in their financial statements FWIW- outside of profit on used cars during the recent surge in pricing, the financial bucket service/repairs goes into has generally run even or at a slight loss throughout the history of the company.

Where did you isolate this information? The only financial data Tesla has for out of warranty services is in the category "Services and Other" which includes services but also used car sales. Tesla does not isolate services revenue. They made a combined 250 million dollars of gross profit the past 3 years.

 

[Knightshade]

Where did you isolate this information? The only financial data Tesla has for out of warranty services is in the category "Services and Other" which includes services but also used car sales.

I mean, I literally said that it included used cars.

Tesla does not isolate services revenue. They made a combined 250 million dollars of gross profit the past 3 years.

Yes, almost all that profit entirely coinciding with the surge in used car prices, while nothing about service has changed.

In the Q1 2023 summary they call this out:

Within this business division, growth of used vehicle sales remained strong YoY
and had healthy margins

Attached is a chart showing revenue gross margins in services and other for Tesla.

As I said the first time, gross margin was basically 0 (or a loss) for pretty much the entire modern history of the company except for the 2022 spike from used car prices.

 

[Lindenwood]

Self-funded warranties are objectively a bet against yourself.

 

[holeydonut]

Sure, but there's a difference between what it costs to repair something and what service charges for it. For example, lets say you need your MCU replaced. Service will charge you 2k for it. But you buy the part for $500 on ebay, add two hours of labor ($250/hr) and it is probably $1000 cost to Tesla Service.

Consider that the likelihood of the MCU needing replacement during the extended warranty period. I don't know if the MCU is covered under the extended EV drive unit warranty, but let's assume the MCU is only covered by the base warranty of 4/50k.

The extended warranty would be through 6/75k. During those extra 24 months of 25k miles, let's assume there's 1/1000 chance a MCU needs to be replaced. Based on the volume of reported MCU SNAFU's here on TMC, it's unlikely it's even close to 1/1000 in that narrow time window.

Even if the repair itself were $5,000, that's $5 of expected warranty cost.

But, I agree with you. The piece of absolute dog *sugar* 2023 Model X that I paid for seems to have electrical gremlins. But don't use my garbage vehicle example as proof an extended warranty makes sense to purchase to protect a MCU or any other warranty work during the thin window of time these extended warranties are in effect.

Simply, Tesla's products shouldn't be failing at such a large clip that you as a buyer should be using an extended warranty as a solution to feeling confident in what you're driving. Save up your own money to cover your own expected vehicle repairs.

 

[P3dStealth]

My M3 warranty ends within months. I just had my control arms fail. Has anyone paid for this issue out of warranty?

If it had failed in a few months I'd be paying... It might make sense for 2018-2020 M3 owners to buy the warranty if your control arms are the early version.

 

[mjwojtukiewicz]

I have an early 2018. And just passed 107,000 miles that said just after the warranty I had to replace the control arm bushings and a seat belt harness and if $1800 is for the extended warranty I am $1500 to the good.

Maybe my English is a bit off but please explain $1500 for the good. You paid $300 for the job? or $1500?

 

[vickh]

My M3 warranty ends within months. I just had my control arms fail. Has anyone paid for this issue out of warranty?

If it had failed in a few months I'd be paying... It might make sense for 2018-2020 M3 owners to buy the warranty if your control arms are the early version.

how can you tell? I have '19 SR (are the batteries lighter?)