Unsure what to do

[rDunivin]

So I bought a used Model S in another state (Florida). I live in MA.
Took care of title before leaving.
Asked very specific questions about condition and photos.

I was told the tires were a month old, they were instead well worn.

A big portion of one of the DRL “Eyebrows” is out, the other is partially yellow.

Corrosion on the door locks and on the rear liftgate struts.

Rear passenger door handle is finicky.

some torn weather stripping.

car might have a leak, noticed fluid under the car but hoping that’s just A/C.

Obviously this was a lesson learned and will only buy local from now on. It has the extended service agreement on it so hoping that takes care of a lot of it.

anyone who can chime in with advice would be very welcome

 

[David.85D]

The one issue that worries me is the dripping fluid. Put some cardboard under the car and catch some - is it clear with no odor? Thick and oily (drive unit oil)? Blue (Coolant )? I’d get it checked by Tesla ASAP if it’s not just water.

The rest will get fixed. Maybe under warranty. Maybe not.

Tires aren’t that expensive compared to the price of the car...

 

[whitex]

If the seller lied so bad, I'd run away from the deal, or at least make them lower the price by many thousands. You tell me tires are a month old but they are all worn, that's $5,000 off, not for tires, but for lying and as insurance against other things you probably lied about. I'd also go thought the car with a fine toothed comb. Walk away from a deal if you have to.

 

[Evoforce]

Probably just A/C condensation. Door handle is an easy fix. Tires are an expendable item and easily replace. It is unfortunate that you were mislead on tire condition. You have a warranty, that is good. Not sure what you mean by corrosion. Pitting, rust, discolored? Can it be cleaned? Weatherstripping can be replaced. Your concerns seem like minor issues. Take it to the Service Center if you need some piece of mind...

 

[exxer]

For a car that retails for over $100k, I would be disappointed with all those issues.

Thank you for being a beta tester for the future generations.

 

[rDunivin]

If the seller lied so bad, I'd run away from the deal, or at least make them lower the price by many thousands. You tell me tires are a month old but they are all worn, that's $5,000 off, not for tires, but for lying and as insurance against other things you probably lied about. I'd also go thought the car with a fine toothed comb. Walk away from a deal if you have to.

Probably just A/C condensation. Door handle is an easy fix. Tires are an expendable item and easily replace. It is unfortunate that you were mislead on tire condition. You have a warranty, that is good. Not sure what you mean by corrosion. Pitting, rust, discolored? Can it be cleaned? Weatherstripping can be replaced. Your concerns seem like minor issues. Take it to the Service Center if you need some piece of mind...

I honestly would want to run away from the deal. The problem I have is making the mistake to title it first, as I needed get a plate for it.

Sure, tires aren’t that bad - but I worry about unknown things based on being lied to. Plus, if tires are $1k, each headlight $1k since I don’t think those are covered that’s $3k there.

The rear trunk hinge and weather stripping who knows but I read that Tesla will deject using ESA on noise complaints. Hopefully the leak just condensation.

 

[kevindamen]

Costco sells the tires for 350 each.

 

[cucubits]

The lights should be covered by Tesla warranty. They will replace the whole units.

 

[PWlakewood]

For a car that retails for over $100k, I would be disappointed with all those issues.

Thank you for being a beta tester for the future generations.

What part of used did you miss?

 

[whitex]

I honestly would want to run away from the deal. The problem I have is making the mistake to title it first, as I needed get a plate for it.

Sure, tires aren’t that bad - but I worry about unknown things based on being lied to. Plus, if tires are $1k, each headlight $1k since I don’t think those are covered that’s $3k there.

The rear trunk hinge and weather stripping who knows but I read that Tesla will deject using ESA on noise complaints. Hopefully the leak just condensation.

What's undoing the title worth to you? Then apply that amount to the deal, and see if it's worth proceeding, or figure out the necessary discount to make it worth while (if there even is a reasonable amount, some deals are just too much risk and even at half price would not make sense).

 

[Evoforce]

I am gathering that you may not be mechanically inclined. Take it to a Service Center and see what they have to say and go from there.

As others have pointed out, headlights with condensate i believe are a warranty item. I personally have had very good service with Tesla. Items that weren't covered under warranty I repaired myself. There are repair threads all over TMC and YouTube.

The things that you mentioned are a piece of cake. Can you get the repair history from the previous owner? I can agree that the owner was misleading on the tires and that is frustrating. Tires wear out fairly fast on Tesla's compared to many vehicles because of added weight and lead foot. Also if you allow the car to ride in LOW position it will wear the inboard side of the rear tires. I installed a cam bushing set in the rear of my car so I can ride it in low and not have as much wear.

Good luck! To me they are all minor issues and hopefully you bought the car at a good used price...

Just to add, I live in Arizona and bought my car in an eBay auction out of Michigan. I would do it again! Yep, had to have some things repaired under warranty too!

 

[whitex]

I can agree that the owner was misleading on the tires and that is frustrating. Tires wear out fairly fast on Tesla's compared to many vehicles because of added weight and lead foot.

Well, the owner said the tires were a month old. So, either they lied, which means they have likely lied about other things too, or they drove car so hard that they wore out the tires in a month. Either way doesn't bode well for the car.

 

[David.85D]

Well, the owner said the tires were a month old. So, either they lied, which means they have likely lied about other things too, or they drove car so hard that they wore out the tires in a month. Either way doesn't bode well for the car.

or someone ripped them off, or the car needs suspension work and/or an alignment and wore out the tires real quick.

tires do have date codes molded in. Easy to check. It’s normal to see manufacturing dates 3 to 6 months earlier than the install date...

 

[Evoforce]

Personally I speculate that the seller may have put a used set on a month ago and kept or sold the good ones. Yep, they only have been on the car a month! If it were me in that situation, I would have yelled foul before taking the car to try and get a discount for being mislead. But now that you have it, just cough up some money for new tires and enjoy your new (to you) car. Quit having buyers remorse and have fun with your Tesla. Chances are the normal things that break have been replaced. You are sitting good to have an extended warranty. Work hard on getting the service history from your seller. Someone had the foresight and the bucks to put on an ESA so my belief is the car has been generally well maintained by some former owner. Was the seller a private party or car dealer? What year is the car?

 

[rDunivin]

Car is 2016.

got the history.

all that had been done is a fix of a rattle, a window that was leaking water in, and the first year service.

the service center told me to just schedule service through the app - which I would then describe each issue and they would then come look at only those issues and charge a $200 deductible.

instead, my current plan then is to take it to electricgarage.com in NH to have a post purchase inspection done. Then when I have a full list have the service center hopefully replace stuff.

 

[Battpower]

Quit having buyers remorse and have fun with your Tesla.

Yes. There are loads of things that can and do go wrong. That's a leap of faith you make when you buy a Tesla imo. No way around it. Obviously newer cars should be warranty, but still a potential headache.

take it to electricgarage.com in NH to have a post purchase inspection done.

That's probably a smart move. And whatever they find, take a moment to decide which are the ones worth trying to get Tesla to take care of. From the history, it sounds like a relatively trouble free ride so far.

 

[ahkahn]

Well, the owner said the tires were a month old. So, either they lied, which means they have likely lied about other things too, or they drove car so hard that they wore out the tires in a month. Either way doesn't bode well for the car.

Well, it's possible they were a month old... but purchased used. Used tires are the oldest trick in the book. Used car dealers always do that.

 

[whitex]

Well, it's possible they were a month old... but purchased used. Used tires are the oldest trick in the book. Used car dealers always do that.

Ok, so another set of possibilities - the owner got tricked or tricked you. Neither bodes well for the car - what else did they get tricked on or are tricking you?

PS> Strictly speaking, saying something is a month old means it's a month old, no matter when you purchased or installed it. If you married someone a month ago, you would never say your spouse is one month old. You might say the marriage is a month old though - so in this case the tire installation may be a month old but not the tires.

 

[Battpower]

Not knowing all the details, but words often say what we want to hear:

I just put brand new tires all round (could be cr*p tires)
I had Tesla put new tires all round the other month (got too much money? Which other month? drag races the car?)
I swapped all the tires / replaced all the tires / had different tires fitted / just had tires fixed (could have swapped with older tires and kept the good ones off the car before selling it.)

 

[whitex]

Not knowing all the details, but words often say what we want to hear:

I just put brand new tires all round (could be cr*p tires)
I had Tesla put new tires all round the other month (got too much money? Which other month? drag races the car?)
I swapped all the tires / replaced all the tires / had different tires fitted / just had tires fixed (could have swapped with older tires and kept the good ones of the car before selling it.)

Absolutely, that is one big aspect of what tricking people in sales relies on. Remember this?

In case you are new to Tesla, they finally admitted a couple of years later that the battery limits the motor power to 463hp (would need a 50% boost to hit the advertised spec). Here are actual spec which it took a lawsuit from some European owner to get Tesla to release (first they tried to hand wave their way into how EV power is different, special).