Used Model S Repairs/Service History

[TLLMRRJ]

If I could get the owner down to like....... 10K would that be worth it?

Not to me. Let's say you get it for $10K, but then over the next 2-3 years, it costs you $15K-20K for a new battery, and $6-8K for a new drive unit, and then maybe $5K in air suspension work, and $2-4K in A/C work, and then a bunch of other miscellaneous common things like door handles and infotainment systems issues, battery heater, rear frame breaking, etc for another $1K-10K, you have to ask yourself if it's worth $50K+ for a beat up, not that amazing car to begin with?

And don't be fooled into judging battery life based on miles or cycles or degradation. The real danger is the battery being done from age. Every single Lithium battery made today for any purpose is a ticking timebomb. It's just the way the chemistry works. Extremely well cared for batteries of this type are expected to last 10 years regardless of use, and many will live longer, but most not that much longer, so do you feel lucky?

And don't be fooled by the concept of 3rd parties making battery and drive unit repairs cheap. They aren't.

 

[samuelffrancis]

I don't know enough to be confident in making recommendations.
I've just read on here that the early version of the larger rear DU (Performance) is less reliable, prone to leaks.
And like you found in that video, if nothing has gone wrong with the battery within the first 50k-60k miles, it's probably good for the long haul, or at least until the age catches it. Mileage is less of an issue with the batteries. It's more about the SoC it was kept at that affects battery health and degradation over time. Which is nearly impossible to know from prior owners.
I keep mine mostly in the 40%-80% range. But I don't know what the previous owner(s) did.
I still get over 200 range, which isn't bad for an 8 yr old 70D.
My warranty just expired last month. I knew that when I bought her. I figured if I'm covered for the first 10 months, I felt better about buying without knowing the history. So I'm on the hook from here on out, but at least I knew I wouldn't be immediately after buying her.
Don't know if I would've bought without some kind of coverage initially. Just too many unknowns for me.
So far, I've just had a couple of minor fixes that I have done myself. (headlight bulbs, door handle, swapped the instrument cluster that was delaminating)

This is super insightful. Thanks, @ChooseFreedom. I appreciate sharing the experience you've had with your 15. And yeah, I appreciate you checking out Sean's video and confirming that with me. It's a tough one, for sure. The young, dumb, gambling part of me says go for it, because if I don't what if someone else does and don't have any issues with it........ then again, I could be hit with some sort of replacement in a few months when the EV grim reaper raises it's ugly head hahahaha. Definitely a big risk if I pull the trigger....... lot to think about. Something that's been slightly comforting (like you mentioned it's more about SoC than mileage) is that it rolled off the line with a top range of 265 ish and now on a full charge is still doing 236. So 11% degradation sound...... "normal" for a decade old car. Not the worst not the best but idk what the majority of other 2014 owners have seen.

 

[dwbv]

Here's what I would do... find $13k you can throw away and offer $13k cash for it. Consider it a small entry fee into the EV world. If it craps on you then it's only $13k gone, oh wells.

If this is not doable then don't buy it. Old MS are like old S-Class Mercedes. Looks cool but when it breaks, it's gonna hurt.

 

[samuelffrancis]

Here's what I would do... find $13k you can throw away and offer $13k cash for it. Consider it a small entry fee into the EV world. If it craps on you then it's only $13k gone, oh wells.

If this is not doable then don't buy it. Old MS are like old S-Class Mercedes. Looks cool but when it breaks, it's gonna hurt.

I assume that's without selling my current PHEV? haha

Word........ definitely the theme of this thread. I appreciate the advice!

 

[samuelffrancis]

Might be going to test drive it later today. Besides the stuff that @blodg1 mentioned is there anything else you guys think I should look out for or inquire?

 

[gaswalla]

check the battery label... inside of front passenger fenderwell...
also, you could go into service mode and pull the errors (don't get scared when you see them.. look them up and then decide)

 

[samuelffrancis]

check the battery label... inside of front passenger fenderwell...
also, you could go into service mode and pull the errors (don't get scared when you see them.. look them up and then decide)

Thanks! How do I put it into service mode? What would I look for? (I’ve never seen service mode’s interface before)

 

[gaswalla]

Service Mode – TeslaTap

teslatap.com

 

[brainhouston]

Search more here about LDU n battery
Look at fb group for 029/018 bms errors

All revisions of Large Drive Unit leak, none of them are good... Base one is like $5k at Tesla n Perf ~$7k
A lot of 85kw packs die... most ppl concluded its age n not miles...
If ur a DIYer then u'll save on repairs otherwise it'll get very expensive...
Better off get 2016+ 100D, it gets 4.1 sec 0-60
All performance models till Plaid have problematic LDU...

 

[gaswalla]

Yeah, get a 100 battery. Those are tanks. It been 7 years, and no threads with folks complaining about their 100 batteries failing

 

[brainhouston]

Yeah, get a 100 battery. Those are tanks. It been 7 years, and no threads with folks complaining about their 100 batteries failing

knock on wood

 

[samuelffrancis]

Alrighty, folks I just got back from the test drive and have some interesting insights. It has premium connectivity and free supercharging for life which was probably a given. Confirmed 230ish miles of range on a full charge. Overall condition of the vehicle itself was pretty great considering it's a 9 year old vehicle. I didn't find any suspension menus which made me realize this was a spring suspension? Would love it if someone could confirm that with me. Not a deal breaker, but was just a bit taken back/confused since I thought all 2014s had air. Put it into service mode and poked around a bit. Didn't see anything that stood out. The biggest things were that the drivetrain sticker DID end in an R1........ apparently that's not a good sign, right @blodg1? (see picture). I also found out that this is the 3rd owner. He is no longer driving it to save on miles and condition and only trickle charges it with a 110. He's never gone on any roadtrips or supercharged it within the year of his ownership. He said that the previous owner also used it to mainly commute and didn't supercharge almost ever (noting a single roadtrip to Wyoming from Salt Lake). He gave me all the service records that he had access to from the previous owner as well as his. I'll attach some screenshots below.

 

[blodg1]

My 2014 S60, 2014 P85, and 2017 90D are all on spring suspension which is more reliable and less expensive to maintain.

R1 pack is not a total dealbreaker. The T revision LDU is a huge plus.

 

[Gumball]

I would stay away from any early model S out of warranty.

 

[samuelffrancis]

Well everyone I can’t begin to thank you enough. This has been quite the journey and I appreciate all the support, advice, and shared experiences. That said, my wife shut this down pretty hard I don’t think it’s all bad though. It’s probably wise to stay away from a potential time bomb even if there’s an off chance it could be fine. I’m confident I’ll get into my dream car sometime in the near future, no matter what model. Cheers, everyone. Thank you!

 

[samuelffrancis]

My 2014 S60, 2014 P85, and 2017 90D are all on spring suspension which is more reliable and less expensive to maintain.

R1 pack is not a total dealbreaker. The T revision LDU is a huge plus.

Outta curiosity what does a T revision drive unit entail?

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Well everyone I can’t begin to thank you enough. This has been quite the journey and I appreciate all the support, advice, and shared experiences. That said, my wife shut this down pretty hard I don’t think it’s all bad though. It’s probably wise to stay away from a potential time bomb even if there’s an off chance it could be fine. I’m confident I’ll get into my dream car sometime in the near future, no matter what model. Cheers, everyone. Thank you!

Smart wife. Most of the people buying early Model S's are suckers. They don't understand the risks and have bought into the misinformation that EV's don't fail and need no maintenance.

The number of suckers will last for a while, but eventually it will be really hard to sell an old EV.

 

[Gumball]

On the bright side, the prives will go down, and aftermarket support will go up.
but still, this is not the time to get a S out of warranty.

 

[blodg1]

I would stay away from any early model S out of warranty.

What is your definition of early? Or are you referring to any out of warranty?