Used Plaid market... Are 2021 Model to avoid ?

[Nabush]

Hello,

Currently considering used Plaid or new Highland Performance (if the damn specs come at some point ! )

With the depreciation of those cars (though maybe not as bad as 3's) I'm kind of relunctant to put more than 60-65K

We can start to see 2021 model year around the 65K mark for around 40K miles

Is there a noticeable difference vs 2021 vs 2022 vs 2023 models ? Powertrain vibration issues seem to be all years and mainly solved by lowering so not super worried vs a 2021 in regards to that.

Would you buy a 40k miles Plaid personnaly ? I'm super maniac vs battery SOC on my 3 (65% daily) so my main concern is battery health on a used car with less maniac owners...

Use would be DD and AutoX with beefed up suspension and brakes / wheels, maybe a few track days a year when I want to run something else than my C7 Z06 race car.

Thanks

 

[TLLMRRJ]

If you want reliability and less trouble motoring, stick to the Model 3. I went from a 2020 M3 to a 2023 MS, and the MS is like owning an Italian supercar in terms of the headaches compared to the Model 3. Unfortunately, the chicks don't dig a Model S like they do an Italian supercar.

 

[Excaliber]

I bought a 2021 Plaid with 16k miles in August 2023 and have put 7k miles with no issues.
If a Tesla makes it to 2 years with no service issues then you got a good one.
The 21" wheels and steering are smooth and quiet.
It had some windshield wind noise on the highway so I filled the gap around the top and sides of the windshield
with black marine silicone and that fixed that.

 

[Caliboi707]

Came from a C7Z as well, i currently have a 21 plaid with over 62k miles and the track pack and its pretty solid. Ive probably launched the car well over 300 times, been to 5 going on 6 Half mile events, tons of quarter mile events, couple of road course events, and been over 160+ probably over 100 times and nothing too major. Only real issues i had was my left rear inverter went bad but was replaced under the 8 year 150k mile battery and powertrain warranty.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

nothing too major. Only real issues i had was my left rear inverter went bad but was replaced under the 8 year 150k mile battery and powertrain warranty.

I had that happen to me while driving at midnight. I would call that EXTREMELY MAJOR.

 

[Caliboi707]

I had that happen to me while driving at midnight. I would call that EXTREMELY MAJOR.

Mine went bad in my garage and even though the car was painfully slow it was still drivable. I do know some whos werent drivable though. But i did tow it to the tesla shop just in case.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Mine went bad in my garage and even though the car was painfully slow it was still drivable. I do know some whos werent drivable though. But i did tow it to the tesla shop just in case.

You got lucky. If it happens while driving, it can trigger the pyro fuse to blow, like it did for me. When the pyro fuse blows, there's no HV to any part of the car, so you are coasting to a stop wherever it happens with absolutely zero driveline power. Then within 10-15 mins, the tiny little low voltage lithium battery that powers the whole car will go dead, and now you're stuck where ever the car stopped without even hazards lights, much less access to the service manual on the screen, the doors, trunk, frunk, glovebox, lights, HVAC, etc. It's an a eerie experience being inside a completely dead car with zero sign of life at midnight on the side of the road, and then getting to deal with the most incompetent service in the world.

 

[Caliboi707]

You got lucky. If it happens while driving, it can trigger the pyro fuse to blow, like it did for me. When the pyro fuse blows, there's no HV to any part of the car, so you are coasting to a stop wherever it happens with absolutely zero driveline power. Then within 10-15 mins, the tiny little low voltage lithium battery that powers the whole car will go dead, and now you're stuck where ever the car stopped without even hazards lights, much less access to the service manual on the screen, the doors, trunk, frunk, glovebox, lights, HVAC, etc. It's an a eerie experience being inside a completely dead car with zero sign of life at midnight on the side of the road, and then getting to deal with the most incompetent service in the world.

Yea wow, i didnt have any of those issues all i got was the left motor disabled and power reduced when i backed out of the garage but said it was ok to drive. Drove it around town and was pretty normal just painfully slow.

 

[Nabush]

Came from a C7Z as well, i currently have a 21 plaid with over 62k miles and the track pack and its pretty solid. Ive probably launched the car well over 300 times, been to 5 going on 6 Half mile events, tons of quarter mile events, couple of road course events, and been over 160+ probably over 100 times and nothing too major. Only real issues i had was my left rear inverter went bad but was replaced under the 8 year 150k mile battery and powertrain warranty.

With 62K do you see any noticeable battery degradation/performance decrease ?

Are you running stock suspension or did you put some MPP/UP parts like solid bushings/adjustable control arms/camber arms etc ?

I'm not dead on on a 21', might take a 22' with low miles...

FYI I plan on keeping my C7Z, I spent years building it myself to semi race car spec (race suspension/solid bushings/slicks/full aero/NA built Katech swap with 74" wing etc etc) and it's a manual so gonna be a collector at some point, and Plaid won't give me this visceral experience or connection with the car

 

[Nabush]

If you want reliability and less trouble motoring, stick to the Model 3. I went from a 2020 M3 to a 2023 MS, and the MS is like owning an Italian supercar in terms of the headaches compared to the Model 3. Unfortunately, the chicks don't dig a Model S like they do an Italian supercar.

What kind of issues do you have with your 2023 ? I'm planning on changing wheels and most of the suspension + lowering so I'm expecting the vibration issues to be almost non existent...

 

[Caliboi707]

With 62K do you see any noticeable battery degradation/performance decrease ?

Are you running stock suspension or did you put some MPP/UP parts like solid bushings/adjustable control arms/camber arms etc ?

I'm not dead on on a 21', might take a 22' with low miles...

FYI I plan on keeping my C7Z, I spent years building it myself to semi race car spec (race suspension/solid bushings/slicks/full aero/NA built Katech swap with 74" wing etc etc) and it's a manual so gonna be a collector at some point, and Plaid won't give me this visceral experience or connection with the car

Yea If my z06 was an M7 i definitly would not have sold it lol. And im running the stock suspension still. Since my car is older the track pack also came with new knuckles but other than that im stock. Performance does look like it did go down slightly but im not sold on if its battery degredation or if it was software that did it. Was running low 9.3s and 4.6-4.8 60-130s on the street back in 2021. And more recently low 9.4s and 4.7-5.0 range now. so not too much of a difference but slighty slower.

 

[memo=[]]

Get full service records, test drive the car. If you want to buy sight unseen, stick to late 2023 build after the ultra red release.

 

[DukeofURL]

I've been driving my 2021 Plaid for the past 3 years, no issues to report. Only came back to the forums because I wanted to see if it was an upgrade or a downgrade to get a '24 Plaid with Tesla's new promotions hahaha.

 

[Izzyz28]

I bought a 2021 through Tesla a month ago. Fifteen thousand miles, $72K, and an extra 1yr/10k miles of warranty. Absolutely 0 issues, the car is pristine, drives like new, etc...... You can certainly save five to ten grand by getting a 40-50K mile example, but now you pretty much have 0 warranty. I charged my M3P to 90-100% every day and ended up with 3% degradation after 17K. I will do the same with the Plaid. The battery is covered until 2029, so who really gives a *sugar*, Tesla can deal with it if there's a problem. No reason to "save" your car for the next guy and drive it like a puss because you're afraid of some failure that's probably never going to happen.

 

[dmurphy]

It's not a Plaid, but I bought a '21 Long Range last year (January 2023 -- you know, right before the big price drops ... ugh.)

Bought it with 15,600 miles on it.
As of now (March 2024) - has 31,960 miles.

Only minor issues - mostly just my OCD-can't-stand-cabin-noises acting up.
- Bash plate needed to be cleaned; eliminated suspension clunks
- Driver's seat & headliner squeak - squeak silenced
- Frunk latch sensor error message - sensor replaced

Otherwise, it's been pretty flawless. And an absolute blast to drive.

 

[wornout]

I have a September 2021 Tesla Model S Long Range (not Plaid, just the peasant model). No real issues. I'm super OCD and a perfectionist so I do have Tesla fix random QA issues on the car; I don't think it's really specific to a 2021 model. I have 39K miles on it now. I don't track it but I do drive it pretty hard.

The only "major" issue that I had was the GPS antenna went bad. My GPS location kept showing up as a block away from my actual location. In terms of drivetrain, battery, suspension, brakes, HVAC, etc... no issues. Everything else was really just cosmetic and random QA issues because I'm anal.

 

[racerx2005]

Hello,

Currently considering used Plaid or new Highland Performance (if the damn specs come at some point ! )

With the depreciation of those cars (though maybe not as bad as 3's) I'm kind of relunctant to put more than 60-65K

We can start to see 2021 model year around the 65K mark for around 40K miles

Is there a noticeable difference vs 2021 vs 2022 vs 2023 models ? Powertrain vibration issues seem to be all years and mainly solved by lowering so not super worried vs a 2021 in regards to that.

Would you buy a 40k miles Plaid personnaly ? I'm super maniac vs battery SOC on my 3 (65% daily) so my main concern is battery health on a used car with less maniac owners...

Use would be DD and AutoX with beefed up suspension and brakes / wheels, maybe a few track days a year when I want to run something else than my C7 Z06 race car.

Thanks

Tesla Model S history of changes by year

Tesla Model S history of changes by year, we list all the hardware changes and major updates

tesla-info.com

 

[Nabush]

Tesla Model S history of changes by year

Tesla Model S history of changes by year, we list all the hardware changes and major updates

tesla-info.com

Update : Got my Plaid since last Friday

 

[blodg1]

Hello,

Currently considering used Plaid or new Highland Performance (if the damn specs come at some point ! )

With the depreciation of those cars (though maybe not as bad as 3's) I'm kind of relunctant to put more than 60-65K

We can start to see 2021 model year around the 65K mark for around 40K miles

Is there a noticeable difference vs 2021 vs 2022 vs 2023 models ? Powertrain vibration issues seem to be all years and mainly solved by lowering so not super worried vs a 2021 in regards to that.

Would you buy a 40k miles Plaid personnaly ? I'm super maniac vs battery SOC on my 3 (65% daily) so my main concern is battery health on a used car with less maniac owners...

Use would be DD and AutoX with beefed up suspension and brakes / wheels, maybe a few track days a year when I want to run something else than my C7 Z06 race car.

Thanks

All I can add is avoid '21 Plaid's with wood interior trim.

 

[Excaliber]

All I can add is avoid '21 Plaid's with wood interior trim.

For 950.00 you can get a Glossy or Matte Carbon Fiber overlay kit that is easy to install and looks like OEM.
Personally I like the gloss instead of the matte except for the front console piece in matte that I like better.
The front console piece is extra and not in the kit.

2021+ | Model S & X Interior Upgrade Kit

NOTE: Price Reduction, as our tooling is paid for with the sale of our 200 sets. Say goodbye to the wood interior decor in your Model S or X with our new the 100% Real Dry Molded Carbon Fiber Overlay Kit. When you purchased your Long Range Model S or X you may have wanted the carbon fiber...

www.rpmtesla.com

2021+ | Model S & X Charging Pad Frame Overlay - Real Molded Carbon Fiber

This is a great carbon fiber accent that frames your wireless charging pad in your Refreshed 2021+ Model S or X. Made from real dry molded carbon fiber and is available in a glossy or matte finish. Simple to install this overlay over the black vinyl frame. If you own a new Model S with the wood...

www.rpmtesla.com