To Keep or Not to Keep...

[AnitaToronto]

So I am about 5 months away from the end of my original 4yr warranty on my beloved 2013 P85 with only 39,000km. It has given me very little trouble and dare I say I never even serviced it.

The problem is, it has had extensive front end damage TWICE (neither were my fault, but the latter accident required $17,000 CAD and four months to repair). Although it's been running great in the last week since I've gotten it back, I can't help wondering how well it will hold up in the future and whether structurally, it will become a safety issue if heaven forbid, I get hit AGAIN.

My options are:

Keep my very reliable car for another 4yrs and buy an ESA for $4000, but I have been reading that my ESA may not be valid if I have not been servicing it as scheduled? Also, I assume going forward, I will have to bring it in regularly to keep my extended warranty valid. I am a low mileage driver and one of the reasons I bought the Tesla is its low maintenance.

Keep my car and not buy an ESA. Although I have not had any major repairs yet, Murphy's law comes to mind...

Trade in my car and upgrade to a "D" with autopilot (two things I don't have but covet). I am very afraid of what my trade in value is with the two accidents. Even with buying a CPO, I think I will have to shell out a lot of money to upgrade, and my next car may bring me problems which my current one does not.

Normally I would make this decision closer to end of warranty, but I have been reading that Tesla may increase trade in values due to December being end of year. There is some CPO inventory that I would also be interested in right now.

Any thoughts? Advice?

 

[number12]

Don't keep your lease

 

[yak-55]

So I am about 5 months away from the end of my original 4yr warranty on my beloved 2013 P85 with only 39,000km. It has given me very little trouble and dare I say I never even serviced it.

The problem is, it has had extensive front end damage TWICE (neither were my fault, but the latter accident required $17,000 CAD and four months to repair). Although it's been running great in the last week since I've gotten it back, I can't help wondering how well it will hold up in the future and whether structurally, it will become a safety issue if heaven forbid, I get hit AGAIN.

My options are:

Keep my very reliable car for another 4yrs and buy an ESA for $4000, but I have been reading that my ESA may not be valid if I have not been servicing it as scheduled? Also, I assume going forward, I will have to bring it in regularly to keep my extended warranty valid. I am a low mileage driver and one of the reasons I bought the Tesla is its low maintenance.

Keep my car and not buy an ESA. Although I have not had any major repairs yet, Murphy's law comes to mind...

Trade in my car and upgrade to a "D" with autopilot (two things I don't have but covet). I am very afraid of what my trade in value is with the two accidents. Even with buying a CPO, I think I will have to shell out a lot of money to upgrade, and my next car may bring me problems which my current one does not.

Normally I would make this decision closer to end of warranty, but I have been reading that Tesla may increase trade in values due to December being end of year. There is some CPO inventory that I would also be interested in right now.

Any thoughts? Advice?

I would only upgrade to get dual motor. AP 1.0 is going backwards and 2.0 isn't here yet. I would suggest an inventory or CPO 60D. If not available now, I suspect you will see some interesting discounts next week. Tesla has numbers to hit ...

 

[hingisfan]

I'm guessing it will cost you 40 or 50k to upgrade to a CPO car with dual motors and autopilot.

I'd probably stick with the car and not bother with ESA. Drive unit and battery are still covered, and anything else that goes wrong you have to pay a $200 deductible as well. Also, as you said, you might have to start doing regular servicing, which isn't cheap. Add up ESA cost, deductibles, and servicing costs, and you have quite a budget to maintain your reliable car. Just my 2 cents, I'm not a big proponent of extended warranties or preventative maintenance.

I'm kind of in the same boat myself, except I'm a high mileage driver, my 80k km warranty will be gone in a few months, barely making it 2 years since I bought. I can't justify the huge cost to upgrade to a newer S, so it's either keep long term or trade in on a Model 3 with AP and maybe dual motors.

 

[Canuck]

I agree with @hingisfan. I'm coming up to 3 years and 50k km and while I still have time to decide, I'm leaning to no extended warranty. I did buy the four year service agreement but that was probably a waste of money. I still really like my large frunk, 80 amp "classic". I had an AP loaner for a week and did a lot of highway driving and it made me realize it's not something I miss having although 2.0 likely will change that since I don't trust 1.0's lack of hardware and slow processing power. I got a trade-in quote from Tesla -- low of course -- and it make me decide to just keep my vehicle and add a Model 3 with all the new bells and whistles whenever we get them in Canada. It will be nice to have a bit smaller of a car to zip around town in and I will still keep the S. But my Leaf will go and my kids can drive the old Model S. If I do get hit with expensive out of warranty repairs it's a gamble I could regret but it won't break the bank and I'd rather invest my money elsewhere.

 

[AnitaToronto]

@number12 I don't have a lease. I just bought it outright with cash.

@yak-55 I know it makes financial sense to have a smaller battery, and I'm a low mileage driver, but I don't know if I want to go smaller, coming from an 85. It's come in handy on the two trips from Toronto to Ottawa we took. I'm watching the inventory and CPO cars this week for changes.

@hingisfan At the miles you drive, I wouldn't even consider the ESA either. For me, it will certainly last another 4 full years. I'm getting close to my first 4 and I have less than 40,000km still.

@Canuk I am glad I never bought the service agreement. I have not paid for any service yet and have not had any problems. After the body work, Tesla did a mandatory full service on my car, but it cost me nothing. I certainly don't want to be forced to start servicing on a timetable just to keep my ESA. Reading more about autopilot 1.0, I think I will skip that. Can I ask which car you have and what Tesla Canada quoted you? Did you use the online form or talk to the service centre?

I just submitted the online form for a trade-in quote from Tesla. Just wanted to see how low they will go due to my 2 accidents. Anyone else got a quote for a 2013 P85 for comparison? You can PM me if you want.

I do really want the dual motors as I have a steep driveway and cannot get up it if there is any snow or ice on the surface right now.
I don't even use the frunk space and barely even the trunk as it is.

I had intended to keep my car for 8 years but the damage makes me nervous about its integrity going forward.

 

[JRMW]

I know nothing about cars.
But I do know that all accidents are not created equally

Perhaps you could bring it to a body shop to ask them what the likelihood of future structural failure would be given your specific accidents and repairs.

They might be able to reassure you and say "yeah, that was an easy fix that has a good outcome"
Or "yeah... this one'll be trouble"

I typically only buy used. There was a mechanic who used to do this for me on prospective purchases.

Maybe another expert could reassure you and keep you from spending all your hard earned cash?

 

[AnitaToronto]

Thanks everyone.

The trade-in quote I got was so horrible it was an easy decision not to upgrade yet. I'm still under warranty for another 4 months so I can decide again at that point.

 

[skilly]

I haven't seen the language in the Extended Warranty that ties to Service. How does Tesla get around the Magnusson Moss Warranty Act and accomplish this? Back in the 70s it was deemed illegal to force service through Warranty.

 

[Az_Rael]

I haven't seen the language in the Extended Warranty that ties to Service. How does Tesla get around the Magnusson Moss Warranty Act and accomplish this? Back in the 70s it was deemed illegal to force service through Warranty.

The extended warranty isnt a warranty. Its the extended "service agreement". I am guessing this gives them lots of leeway.

And it does require service within 30 days/1000 miles of the service requirements

 

[skilly]

So, is the $4,000.00 fee is prepaid service AND protection, or are you paying $4,000 and then another $4,000.00 at the rate of $1,000.00 for annual service?

 

[Az_Rael]

So, is the $4,000.00 fee is prepaid service AND protection, or are you paying $4,000 and then another $4,000.00 at the rate of $1,000.00 for annual service?

The 2nd one. The $4000 is the extended service agreement (better known as the extended warranty). The service visits are paid separately, so if you buy the service plan for 4 years during the extended warranty portion, you are in for another $2100. Plus $200/visit to use the extended warranty. Its very pricey.

 

[skilly]

So, really you have a $6,900.00 Extended Warranty....and that doesn't account for the 200.00 deductible for any claims. It seems like it would only make sense for a motor or suspension failure - and even a suspension failure shouldn't set you back as much as this. The trouble that I have with the service is there really isn't much to it outside of an inspection....big deal they replace wipers and brakes - who is going through brakes on these cars that drives them correctly??

I have another year under the guaranteed by back option that they extended in 2014. I suppose Ill see where Im at and the end of this year in terms of trading it in (against that guarantee, or taking my chances. Unless Im missing something thats one of the biggest cash grabs that I have ever seen in the auto industry.

 

[AnitaToronto]

So, really you have a $6,900.00 Extended Warranty....and that doesn't account for the 200.00 deductible for any claims. It seems like it would only make sense for a motor or suspension failure - and even a suspension failure shouldn't set you back as much as this. The trouble that I have with the service is there really isn't much to it outside of an inspection....big deal they replace wipers and brakes - who is going through brakes on these cars that drives them correctly??

I have another year under the guaranteed by back option that they extended in 2014. I suppose Ill see where Im at and the end of this year in terms of trading it in (against that guarantee, or taking my chances. Unless Im missing something thats one of the biggest cash grabs that I have ever seen in the auto industry.

And I think drivetrain and battery are covered for 8 years anyways. I think I'll pass on the ESA as well. It sounded good in theory but after thinking and reading other peoples' opinions, it's not worth it.

 

[skilly]

I know that the the battery is with unlimited mileage...if the drivetrain is covered hot damn!

 

[Az_Rael]

I have another year under the guaranteed by back option

I thought you had to do all the service visits to get the resale guarantee as well.

 

[skilly]

Its been in for service more than I care to mention. My local Tesla knows the car very well...

 

[skilly]

I should add that the guarantee price isn't all that impressive - its hardly a guarantee as much as a look into the dismiss future for buying a luxury sedan....for those wondering, its less than half of your purchase price in a window between 36 and 39 months later. They calculated it at 50% of the cost of a MS60 and then 43% of the costs for all upgrades thereafter to reach your purchase price.

 

[Az_Rael]

I should add that the guarantee price isn't all that impressive - its hardly a guarantee as much as a look into the dismiss future for buying a luxury sedan....for those wondering, its less than half of your purchase price in a window between 36 and 39 months later. They calculated it at 50% of the cost of a MS60 and then 43% of the costs for all upgrades thereafter to reach your purchase price.

Yeah, turns out Tesla's aren't immune to the standard luxury car depreciation curve. You can buy a 2013 CPO P85 in the low to mid 50s and an S60 in the low 40's directly from Tesla.

 

[skilly]

To your point regarding maintenance - other than the fluid changes for the battery and brakes, it seems like their service is "recommended" and managed very loosely all the way up to the higher levels of the org...which seems appropriate give the lack of wear parts; especially if you have a P car that doesn't allow for tire rotation.