Used 2018 Model X Getting Nervous! Should I Be?

[Dlandfan]

I am scheduled to pick up a “new to me” Model X on Saturday! I typically buy new cars, so a little nervous to buy something used.
It is a 2018 MX 100D with 23,000 miles. Looks to be in great shape … I’m excited but reading some forums and now I’m nervous! (Reading about axles having issues and screens going completely blank) LOL
Should I be worried?? I can still back out til Saturday!!

 

[Harvey Danger]

Its a car. A used car. Things will break. You will have them fixed. You're going to be ok. Deep breaths.

I'm quite sure you will enjoy your first few days with the new ride!

 

[Dlandfan]

Its a car. A used car. Things will break. You will have them fixed. You're going to be ok. Deep breaths.

I'm quite sure you will enjoy your first few days with the new ride!

Thank you LOL 1st Tesla too! Everyone that I know loves them so I’m hoping it will all be good!

 

[wyvern]

I just bought a 2018 Model X 100D with 17k miles. It is my first Tesla, my first EV, and far more than I've ever spent on a car.

I was nervous. I clicked "buy now" on a car I had never even sat in much less driven, and I hadn't even seen a pic of the actual vehicle I was purchasing. I had some frustrations with the app and became more nervous. I called Tesla a few different times, and every time I spoke with a real human who was very friendly and helpful. When I showed up at Tesla I was happy to find more of the same. The rep had plenty of time to answer questions about the car and seemed genuinely interested to show me some of the features. I had time to check out the car on my own during the short while he was inside finalizing transaction details.

My X was even more beautiful than I thought it would be. The rep was walking toward several. One in particular caught my eye and I thought "that's probably not mine but I will be thrilled with any of them matching the features". But no, the one I picked as my favorite was mine! I was ecstatic but tried to remain calm, make sure I could inspect it and not accept if there were big issues. I had driver profiles set up, my stuff connected, and lots of fun features enabled before he even came back to finish everything up.

I've had it two days now. Bought probably too many accessories. Drove everywhere. Went to a Supercharger. Played with the karaoke, "romance", and of course the "emissions test" app while there with my wife. I was ready to take it camping and sleep in the back. As you've probably guessed, I absolutely love it. Hands down favorite vehicle I've ever owned.

Relax if you can, or read the manual if you can't sleep. I did, on the phone in bed, which I think drove my wife a little nuts. It will be amazing!

 

[Dlandfan]

I just bought a 2018 Model X 100D with 17k miles. It is my first Tesla, my first EV, and far more than I've ever spent on a car.

I was nervous. I clicked "buy now" on a car I had never even sat in much less driven, and I hadn't even seen a pic of the actual vehicle I was purchasing. I had some frustrations with the app and became more nervous. I called Tesla a few different times, and every time I spoke with a real human who was very friendly and helpful. When I showed up at Tesla I was happy to find more of the same. The rep had plenty of time to answer questions about the car and seemed genuinely interested to show me some of the features. I had time to check out the car on my own during the short while he was inside finalizing transaction details.

My X was even more beautiful than I thought it would be. The rep was walking toward several. One in particular caught my eye and I thought "that's probably not mine but I will be thrilled with any of them matching the features". But no, the one I picked as my favorite was mine! I was ecstatic but tried to remain calm, make sure I could inspect it and not accept if there were big issues. I had driver profiles set up, my stuff connected, and lots of fun features enabled before he even came back to finish everything up.

I've had it two days now. Bought probably too many accessories. Drove everywhere. Went to a Supercharger. Played with the karaoke, "romance", and of course the "emissions test" app while there with my wife. I was ready to take it camping and sleep in the back. As you've probably guessed, I absolutely love it. Hands down favorite vehicle I've ever owned.

Relax if you can, or read the manual if you can't sleep. I did, on the phone in bed, which I think drove my wife a little nuts. It will be amazing!

OMG Lol Thank you so much. I am in the same spot! My wife just had to have the model with the ‘wings’ and I was like holy no way can I buy new, so we looked at 2 they had on the lot that were used last Saturday and the one we are buying was so nice! I know that the ‘financial’ gurus always say never buy new (but I never listened to that and have lost sooo much money in taxes because I tend to want all the new bells and whistles) this seems to have any bell or whistle I could want and more! Including fart sounds lmao..the kids (teenage boys) are gonna die!

 

[wyvern]

OMG Lol Thank you so much. I am in the same spot! My wife just had to have the model with the ‘wings’ and I was like holy no way can I buy new, so we looked at 2 they had on the lot that were used last Saturday and the one we are buying was so nice! I know that the ‘financial’ gurus always say never buy new (but I never listened to that and have lost sooo much money in taxes because I tend to want all the new bells and whistles) this seems to have any bell or whistle I could want and more! Including fart sounds lmao..the kids (teenage boys) are gonna die!

I was the same way. Wanted an X ever since I saw one. I love the doors! I considered looking for a P100D but they were more expensive and I couldn't find one anywhere close by with low miles and the rest of the features I wanted. Friends with performance and Plaid editions said don't worry about it, they're all great. They were right. I love the roominess and storage space inside, yet it doesn't feel "huge" to drive. The air suspension can raise to give 8.9" ground clearance, or drop as low as 6.1". Not sure if all have that but I think so? It will remember where you raised it, and do the same if you return to the same spot, unless you tell it not to. Mine will go skiing, mountain biking, camping so it's a great feature for me.

I am excited for you! Will check back in a few days, definitely post back when you get it!

 

[Les236]

Looks like you have received a lot of good advice and nice stories. I bought my 2018 MX 100D new in 2018, and have never regretted it. I have read all the stories too, and hopefully not all of us have had the same issues. Mine was an early 2018, so had MCU1 which I upgraded to MCU2. That is a big deal, so check to see if it is MCU1 or MCU2. I have made many highway trips with mine, now up to 55,000 miles. That's several trips between MA and FL, FL and OK, and one FL to Sacramento and back. Love the drive and the features. The only major thing I had done was the upper control arms were replaced yesterday. Sounds like you may be buying from Tesla. If so, see if you can purchase an extended warranty just to give you peace of mind.

 

[Dlandfan]

I was the same way. Wanted an X ever since I saw one. I love the doors! I considered looking for a P100D but they were more expensive and I couldn't find one anywhere close by with low miles and the rest of the features I wanted. Friends with performance and Plaid editions said don't worry about it, they're all great. They were right. I love the roominess and storage space inside, yet it doesn't feel "huge" to drive. The air suspension can raise to give 8.9" ground clearance, or drop as low as 6.1". Not sure if all have that but I think so? It will remember where you raised it, and do the same if you return to the same spot, unless you tell it not to. Mine will go skiing, mountain biking, camping so it's a great feature for me.

I am excited for you! Will check back in a few days, definitely post back when you get it!

Thank you! I will let you know

 

[Dlandfan]

Looks like you have received a lot of good advice and nice stories. I bought my 2018 MX 100D new in 2018, and have never regretted it. I have read all the stories too, and hopefully not all of us have had the same issues. Mine was an early 2018, so had MCU1 which I upgraded to MCU2. That is a big deal, so check to see if it is MCU1 or MCU2. I have made many highway trips with mine, now up to 55,000 miles. That's several trips between MA and FL, FL and OK, and one FL to Sacramento and back. Love the drive and the features. The only major thing I had done was the upper control arms were replaced yesterday. Sounds like you may be buying from Tesla. If so, see if you can purchase an extended warranty just to give you peace of mind.

Thank you ! Is that the infotainment upgrade? It does have that

 

[guicane]

I recently bought a 2017 MX100D with 110k miles. It's out of warranty and at first I was a bit worried but have had the car for 2 months and it's been brilliant. Obviously I'll feel differently if it ever breaks and costs a lot to fix but I have only spent around £1000 to get the car up to a nice condition with a few things done by Tesla themselves.

My point here is that since yours is quite low mileage you'll be looking at many years of happy motoring even if it costs a bit to fix now and then.

The front suspension shudder issue is a thing and mine does very little when under fast acceleration but it's not that noticeable.

I'm switching from this to the Y whenever the Y arrives due to the mrs hating the falcon wing doors and it been too big to live with in the UK.

 

[EbS-P]

I have had 2017 P100d for 2 months now. Private party sale where we knew the previous owner. The first thing I did was look at the tires yep need replacements ASAP 24k miles don’t know if they were the original tires. And then see if has the shudder. Yep it does. It will need addressed. I found a tire shop that would align it and sell me tires. 1500$ out the door. Get your home charging now. I got the wall connector with 20A 240v. It is fine and will charge a 10-12 miles per hour. It can be plugged in for 10 hours a day.

I bang my head in to the falcon doors every week getting littl kids in and out. They are cool. As the guy in the parking told me as I was rubbing the bump i just got and he witnessed. It’s not a minivan. It’s not an SUV. It’s a Model X. What other vehicle can it really compare to?

Get it for what it is, a used luxury BEV. Things will need fixed software updates will happen for better or worse.

Evan

 

[Dlandfan]

I just bought a 2018 Model X 100D with 17k miles. It is my first Tesla, my first EV, and far more than I've ever spent on a car.

I was nervous. I clicked "buy now" on a car I had never even sat in much less driven, and I hadn't even seen a pic of the actual vehicle I was purchasing. I had some frustrations with the app and became more nervous. I called Tesla a few different times, and every time I spoke with a real human who was very friendly and helpful. When I showed up at Tesla I was happy to find more of the same. The rep had plenty of time to answer questions about the car and seemed genuinely interested to show me some of the features. I had time to check out the car on my own during the short while he was inside finalizing transaction details.

My X was even more beautiful than I thought it would be. The rep was walking toward several. One in particular caught my eye and I thought "that's probably not mine but I will be thrilled with any of them matching the features". But no, the one I picked as my favorite was mine! I was ecstatic but tried to remain calm, make sure I could inspect it and not accept if there were big issues. I had driver profiles set up, my stuff connected, and lots of fun features enabled before he even came back to finish everything up.

I've had it two days now. Bought probably too many accessories. Drove everywhere. Went to a Supercharger. Played with the karaoke, "romance", and of course the "emissions test" app while there with my wife. I was ready to take it camping and sleep in the back. As you've probably guessed, I absolutely love it. Hands down favorite vehicle I've ever owned.

Relax if you can, or read the manual if you can't sleep. I did, on the phone in bed, which I think drove my wife a little nuts. It will be amazing!

Love this!

 

[futron]

I had the opposite experience. Placed the $500 deposit on a 2018 MS described as having no accident history and flew to Socal (Irvine) to pick up the car. No pics were available before purchase. Immediately noticed that the color of the rear bumper appeared off, but I attributed it to the sunlight and the inherent difficulty of matching pearl white between panels. Also noted a bunch of other things that weren't mentioned by the used Tesla guy, including the yellowed MCU screen border (despite him claiming that the MCU computer AND screen were replaced previously) and a large fisheye crack in the windshield. At this time, I was already tired from the trip and just needed a car. Big mistake. Drove it back to Norcal along I5 and noticed a strong vibration on acceleration (known problems with the front halfshafts) and a loud buzzing noise coming from the rear (either suspension linkage related or unsecured wiring harness in the C-pillar). Got back home and noticed in the garage that BOTH front and rear bumpers had been repainted and there were paint blobs all over the place. Three months later, some stuff was fixed after multiple trips to the SC (and I had to get arbitration involved), but I ultimately got fed up and sold the car for a little over purchase price due to the crazy market. This is not a knock on Tesla cars in general but it I definitely caution you to closely examine the car on delivery and do not believe anything they say about used car refurbishments unless it's in writing. I am now looking at a 2020 MX at CarMax as no way I'm buying sight unseen again.

 

[Dlandfan]

I had the opposite experience. Placed the $500 deposit on a 2018 MS described as having no accident history and flew to Socal (Irvine) to pick up the car. No pics were available before purchase. Immediately noticed that the color of the rear bumper appeared off, but I attributed it to the sunlight and the inherent difficulty of matching pearl white between panels. Also noted a bunch of other things that weren't mentioned by the used Tesla guy, including the yellowed MCU screen border (despite him claiming that the MCU computer AND screen were replaced previously) and a large fisheye crack in the windshield. At this time, I was already tired from the trip and just needed a car. Big mistake. Drove it back to Norcal along I5 and noticed a strong vibration on acceleration (known problems with the front halfshafts) and a loud buzzing noise coming from the rear (either suspension linkage related or unsecured wiring harness in the C-pillar). Got back home and noticed in the garage that BOTH front and rear bumpers had been repainted and there were paint blobs all over the place. Three months later, some stuff was fixed after multiple trips to the SC (and I had to get arbitration involved), but I ultimately got fed up and sold the car for a little over purchase price due to the crazy market. This is not a knock on Tesla cars in general but it I definitely caution you to closely examine the car on delivery and do not believe anything they say about used car refurbishments unless it's in writing. I am now looking at a 2020 MX at CarMax as no way I'm buying sight unseen again.

oh my gosh! we did at least see the car and it does seem to be in really good shape. I will drive it one more time tomorrow before I sign on the dotted line though!!

 

[Hoosierdaddi]

Bought a used 2017 Model X 90D with 55k miles on it about 1.5 years ago. Drove 9 hours to get it and it was worth it. Buying used through Tesla was great experience for me. You will lose some range in the winter but the car does a good job when estimating range and supercharger stops. Mine has the shudder like everyone else’s. They fixed it once before it was out of used warranty. Coming back slightly now if accelerate hard but not a big deal. Did the infotainment upgrade to MCU2 about 5 months ago and feels like a new car. Just replaced tires today with Pirelli scorpion all seasons and they are great so far and have 70k warranty. Def get charging figured out. I added a NEMA 14-50 outlet to my garage and use mobile charger. Works great.

Range degradation on 90D’s is pretty well known. I rarely charge over 90% except for road trips and try not to go below 20% unless on road trips. I know have 88k miles. I have lost 8 miles compared to when I purchased it. When I bought it, 100% was 238. Not it’s 230 so it levels out over time. Enjoy your car!

 

[Dlandfan]

Bought a used 2017 Model X 90D with 55k miles on it about 1.5 years ago. Drove 9 hours to get it and it was worth it. Buying used through Tesla was great experience for me. You will lose some range in the winter but the car does a good job when estimating range and supercharger stops. Mine has the shudder like everyone else’s. They fixed it once before it was out of used warranty. Coming back slightly now if accelerate hard but not a big deal. Did the infotainment upgrade to MCU2 about 5 months ago and feels like a new car. Just replaced tires today with Pirelli scorpion all seasons and they are great so far and have 70k warranty. Def get charging figured out. I added a NEMA 14-50 outlet to my garage and use mobile charger. Works great.

Range degradation on 90D’s is pretty well known. I rarely charge over 90% except for road trips and try not to go below 20% unless on road trips. I know have 88k miles. I have lost 8 miles compared to when I purchased it. When I bought it, 100% was 238. Not it’s 230 so it levels out over time. Enjoy your car!

Thank you! Speaking of charging, we have a 30 amp plug that we use at home for our RV (we plug it in on occasionally at home) will that work for charging?

 

[3Volts2aTes]

Thank you ! Is that the infotainment upgrade? It does have that

No…it is actually the computer for the autopilot and entertainment. When you look at the screen on about the vehicle it should tell you what it has. I am sure someone here can post a picture of an x showing you what to look for. Do a little reading this evening here on the MCU differences, as it could matter to you…or not. Definitely enjoy what you get…once you get it, and ignore the “newer has…” you can drive yourself crazy with that.

 

[3Volts2aTes]

Thank you! Speaking of charging, we have a 30 amp plug that we use at home for our RV (we plug it in on occasionally at home) will that work for charging?

Yes, with the right adapter for the charger.

 

[E90M3Jerez]

I am scheduled to pick up a “new to me” Model X on Saturday! I typically buy new cars, so a little nervous to buy something used.
It is a 2018 MX 100D with 23,000 miles. Looks to be in great shape … I’m excited but reading some forums and now I’m nervous! (Reading about axles having issues and screens going completely blank) LOL
Should I be worried?? I can still back out til Saturday!!

I am nearing this situation. Have been researching used model X's and have been on this forum reading some horror stories but also reading about some great experiences as well. Bought a 2022 Kia Telluride SX prestige in Nov 2021 with the thought of "this is the last ICE vehicle" and going to be selling the second car (an 08 BMW six speed wagon). With the market the way that it is right now, I can get more for the Kia now than when I overpaid for it in November of 21. I think I just need to walk through the fear of all the unknowns and take the plunge when the Bimmer sells. As I am writing this, I'm thinking about how I have to stop for gas before I take the kids to their one of three soccer games this weekend. To be able to "refuel" every night before bed sounds very appealing to me. Time is our most precious commodity nowadays. Also, to have instant power and acceleration that I have been lusting after for years is quite appealing. Don't get me wrong, the Telluride is a great vehicle, but it just doesn't excite me while I'm driving it, like some of my other vehicles have (BMW X5M, BMW M3 competition pkg, and a tuned Audi S3). It seems like I can have my cake and eat it too with the X. I can enjoy spirited driving or can allow the tech in the X to assist me on a road trip. If I could just stop trying to solve all the problems that I think the X may have before I even own it, I think I'll be ok. It will be ok. Tell me it's going to be ok. OK!

 

[Dlandfan]

I am nearing this situation. Have been researching used model X's and have been on this forum reading some horror stories but also reading about some great experiences as well. Bought a 2022 Kia Telluride SX prestige in Nov 2021 with the thought of "this is the last ICE vehicle" and going to be selling the second car (an 08 BMW six speed wagon). With the market the way that it is right now, I can get more for the Kia now than when I overpaid for it in November of 21. I think I just need to walk through the fear of all the unknowns and take the plunge when the Bimmer sells. As I am writing this, I'm thinking about how I have to stop for gas before I take the kids to their one of three soccer games this weekend. To be able to "refuel" every night before bed sounds very appealing to me. Time is our most precious commodity nowadays. Also, to have instant power and acceleration that I have been lusting after for years is quite appealing. Don't get me wrong, the Telluride is a great vehicle, but it just doesn't excite me while I'm driving it, like some of my other vehicles have (BMW X5M, BMW M3 competition pkg, and a tuned Audi S3). It seems like I can have my cake and eat it too with the X. I can enjoy spirited driving or can allow the tech in the X to assist me on a road trip. If I could just stop trying to solve all the problems that I think the X may have before I even own it, I think I'll be ok. It will be ok. Tell me it's going to be ok. OK!

I am much calmer today than I was a few days ago! We are super excited to pick up our X this morning! I’m gonna say it will all be OK!