Used Tesla Model S

[Norseman]

On the fence between new MS 70D, or used 85.

My Volt lease is running out in 4-5 months.
Got the itch for something new, even if it is a bit early.
For the right deal I will turn it in early and pay off the Volt lease.

Been surfing eBay and cars.com, Autotrader, etc for a few days.
Prices on used Model S cars are all over. Some junk dealer with a salvaged title are trying to cash in
on the name. Another guy advertising a clean Model S refuse to disclose the battery. Hoping Joe Sixpack won't know the difference between a 60 and an 85.

I am in Fort Lauderdale. 58 year old airline pilot. Not a dreamer.
Cash in pocket.
Looking for a nice clean car at the right price.
PM or bigdagus (at) yahoo
bigdagus also eBay name. 100% positive feedback on cars, yachts, trinkets, whatever.

 

[patrick40363]

I turned in my Volt in March and bought a 85D. If you are considering a used 85 I would run out your lease and hope a 85D pops up in the CPO program.

 

[CA_Fabien]

Try both.

We had a 85S and now a 70D.

The 85 RWD is not faster but it feels faster and sportier.

The 70D is like on rails, almost boring to drive but the interior finition is better, many details have been improved compared to older 85, less wiper noise, more standard cruise command location, auto-pilot sensors....

I would understand someone chosing a RWD 85 over a 70D.

We did the upgrade because of the autopilot and and the AWD that is nice during our long winter. interior improvements came as a bonus.

 

[Norseman]

.I turned in my Volt in March and bought a 85D. If you are considering a used 85 I would run out your lease and hope a 85D pops up in the CPO program.

yeah, but got the itch for a Tesla now.
the difference between a CPO and a cash deal on this forum seems to be $15k.
would rather get the cheaper car than paying $15k for 50k miles of extended warranty.

 

[ww73]

You'll probably want the auto pilot hardware. Try calling your local Tesla galleries and see if they have any inventory 85Ds. Think of them as used cars but you still qualify for the $7500 tax credit and get the full warranty.

 

[Shortmanz]

You can also get a CPO car from Tesla with a 4 Yr, 50K warranty. You lose the tax credits, but can still come out ahead.
Here is a site that tracks the CPO cars: http://logmysc.com/cpo-reports.php

 

[Jgint]

You'll probably want the auto pilot hardware. Try calling your local Tesla galleries and see if they have any inventory 85Ds. Think of them as used cars but you still qualify for the $7500 tax credit and get the full warranty.

+ 1

Do this. I got my 70D with about an 8k discount. Plus 7.5k in tax credits. Only had 300 miles.

 

[Norseman]

Wow, good info here.
thx gents. (And Ladies)

Tax credit is important. Had to pay the taxman $6k this year. More next year

 

[GeekLad]

As the others have stated, I would also recommend either looking at buying a showroom/service loaner or buying a CPO directly from Tesla. I've done both.

If you can find an inventory car that's old enough with enough miles, it could result in a pretty good discount. At the time I purchased mine, they were discounting @$1/mi. and 1% per month of age of the vehicle. The showroom discount on my inventory car was about $9K. It had about 4,600 miles and was about 6 months old. Feel free to do the math to figure out how much I paid. :biggrin:

The inventory route is a bit of a double-edged sword if you're looking to save money. They're all very well-equipped, so even though you may land a big break with the showroom discount, you'll be discounting from a higher build cost. If there are only a handful of features you really want, it could end up costing you about the same or even more than a new custom build, and you'll end up with superfluous features. The good thing is that an inventory car will get you autopilot and AWD. On the other hand, you may not really save all that much and may even end up paying more if you don't need a lot of bells & whistles.

The reason I ended up getting a CPO was that I wanted to upgrade to an 85kWh model from an S60. When the CPO site went live, I saw there were some really good deals on 85's, so I got the bright idea to see what I'd get on a trade-in for my S60. My S60 didn't have autopilot, so I didn't have much to lose on trading for an 85, even if it was an older car.

Tesla offered me $61K on my trade and I managed to steal a P85 for $63K. The P85 was about a year older, so I lost parking sensors and automatic folding mirrors. It was worth it to gain the additional range, performance motor, bumper-to-bumper warranty, and unlimited miles on the battery/drivetrain warranty. It only had about 2k miles more than I had on my S60. It was a pretty easy decision to upgrade, and I'm glad I pulled the trigger.

I wouldn't go third party, because you can get a much better price on a CPO and you get the same warranty as a new car. I definitely wouldn't buy a salvage title, because you can forget about Tesla performing any warranty work. In fact, they may not activate it or service it for you. If they would service it for you, you'd have to pay out of pocket on all repairs. If they won't service it for you, you'll have a very hard time finding someone that would.

If you're okay with a car that doesn't have autopilot and AWD, then I'd say CPO is definitely the way to go. Even without autopilot, the Model S is a phenomenal car. Hope this helps, and good luck in your search!

 

[Norseman]

. If you're okay with a car that doesn't have autopilot and AWD, then I'd say CPO is definitely the way to go. Even without autopilot, the Model S is a phenomenal car. Hope this helps, and good luck in your search!

Cool, will consider all of the above.
Don't have much need for 4-wheel drive in flat Florida, not sure I need autopilot either.
How is the standard seats? Everybody happy with them on long trips?
Test drove a 70 with the new seats, they felt rather claustrophobic. Guess they are for "sporty" driving rather than highway cruising.

 

[GeekLad]

I'm good with the standard seats. We took the S60 up to Gainesville a few months back for the Orange & Blue Debut (I'm in the Fort Lauderdale area as well). It was a smooth and comfortable ride, no complaints. The second gen seats are definitely more snug than the first gen, but I'm sure they'd be okay on a long trip as well.

 

[Norseman]

. I'm good with the standard seats. We took the S60 up to Gainesville a few months back for the Orange & Blue Debut (I'm in the Fort Lauderdale area as well). It was a smooth and comfortable ride, no complaints. The second gen seats are definitely more snug than the first gen, but I'm sure they'd be okay on a long trip as well.

Good, I need the standard seats.
Where in Fort Lauderdale? I am in the Citrus Isles, within walking distance of the Old Heiedelbelrg German Restaurant.

Since I started this thread about buying a used Model S, I heard from my accountant.
Going to have huge tax liabilities as I am putting a couple of rental properties on the market, the Capital Gains Tax
will be over $40k, maybe $50k :-((
Need to buy new for sure. Plus a new Volt for the wife, not sure she wants no Telsa Model S
probably too big for her.
2 new electric cars will be $15k in tax credits, that should help some.

 

[GeekLad]

Where in Fort Lauderdale?

I'm in West Davie (practically Weston). West of I-75, between Griffin and Sheridan.

Since I started this thread about buying a used Model S, I heard from my accountant.
Going to have huge tax liabilities as I am putting a couple of rental properties on the market, the Capital Gains Tax
will be over $40k, maybe $50k :-((
Need to buy new for sure. Plus a new Volt for the wife, not sure she wants no Telsa Model S
probably too big for her.

The Model S is a lot of car, that's for sure. The new Volt is a great alternative, especially if she doesn't drive more than 50 mi a day.

2 new electric cars will be $15k in tax credits, that should help some.

Spending $120K on two cars to reduce your tax liability by $15K will cost more in the long run than spending $95K on two cars with no tax credits. Granted it may help your cash flow if you have a big tax liability in one year, but overall buying two new EVs is probably a more expensive proposition.

 

[Norseman]

.
Spending $120K on two cars to reduce your tax liability by $15K will cost more in the long run than spending $95K on two cars with no tax credits. Granted it may help your cash flow if you have a big tax liability in one year, but overall buying two new EVs is probably a more expensive proposition.

Yeah, but we already have 2 Volts and can't go back to ICE cars and saving $15k in tax credits "feels" better than paying it
to the Tax Man. Doubt we will end up with 2 Teslas, got to build a garage first, then Tesla # 1, then next April when the last Volt lease is over, purchase another EV. Maybe a Volt, also looking at the eGolf.

 

[GeekLad]

Yeah, but we already have 2 Volts and can't go back to ICE cars and saving $15k in tax credits "feels" better than paying it
to the Tax Man. Doubt we will end up with 2 Teslas, got to build a garage first, then Tesla # 1, then next April when the last Volt lease is over, purchase another EV. Maybe a Volt, also looking at the eGolf.

The new Volt, eGolf, or even the Kia Soul EV are all good options. It's too bad they don't sell the Kia Soul EV in Florida. I think they could sell a lot of units in other markets if they opened it up beyond the limited markets where they're currently selling them.

You may be interested to hear that I recently came to learn of someone that bought a used S85 from Tesla for $45K! It had 77k miles on it, so Tesla did not offer the CPO warranty. It was sold as-is. At least he'll still have the unlimited mile 8-yr battery/drive train warranty (from date of manufacture) since it is transferable. If you're patient enough, you may be able to steal one for a similar price. A handful have shown up on the CPO site for around $50K, but disappeared quickly.

You may want to take a stroll down to the Dania Beach service center, and speak with one of the owner advisors there. The owner advisors at the service centers tend to be more knowledgeable than the product specialists in the mall showrooms. They can keep an eye on all the inventory for you, and let you if anything comes in within your budget. I've heard that they give owner advisors first dibs on new CPO cars for prospective clients before they hit the main website, so there are probably quite a few good deals happening behind the scenes of the CPO site.

 

[EchoDelta]

Yeah, but we already have 2 Volts and can't go back to ICE cars and saving $15k in tax credits "feels" better than paying it
to the Tax Man. Doubt we will end up with 2 Teslas, got to build a garage first, then Tesla # 1, then next April when the last Volt lease is over, purchase another EV. Maybe a Volt, also looking at the eGolf.

Also consider the Mercedes B class if you're looking at other BEVs. Tesla battery and motor. happy w ours while waiting for MX

 

[allan817]

Hi Norseman, I just posted my P85 on the TMC market place.