Used Tesla S issues?

[vickh]

Hey folks, I'm doing a wider search on cars and found some others that seem like a good deal. One question I had, if I buy a used Tesla from a non-Telsa used dealer and it has remaining powertrain warranty from the factory, is it still transferable to the new owner?

8yr remaining drive unit and battery warranty from the factory is it still transferable to the new owner.

 

[vickh]

It isn't a powertrain warranty. It is just the drive unit that is warrantied. The battery is also just the battery, not the charging system, etc.

this is why I'm only looking @ 4yr CPOs

 

[vickh]

Yes. I had a coil P85 and hated getting the floaty air suspension loaners. Only exception are the plus suspensions and the 2014/2015 thru May P85Ds

will stick to coils then, the P adds too much to price though

 

[stakker]

Hey folks, I'm doing a wider search on cars and found some others that seem like a good deal. One question I had, if I buy a used Tesla from a non-Telsa used dealer and it has remaining powertrain warranty from the factory, is it still transferable to the new owner?

I got my 2015 S 85 last month from a non-Tesla dealer and the 8-year motor and battery warranty transfers to the new owner. I also found out the previous owner purchased the 4-year maintenance plan and there was 1 service left and It got transferred to me as well.

I had the milling sound on the motor when I purchased the Model S but I already knew it was under warranty and will be replaced for free. Got the car for a really good price and got the motor replaced last week and used the 1 last service remaining. Car is quiet again and drives even better when I got her last month.

Definitely get 2015 or newer as I've read on my months of research that a lot of improvements/fixes have been done that year.

 

[bart_dood]

Thanks for all the advice folks. We can't justify the cost of a 2015 right now, so 2013 seems to be the sweet spot for us. I have been through more of the potential issues that we might face assuming we have a warranty on the motor and battery but nothing else; and once that warranty runs out.

I think the big deal breaker for repair for me would be the battery. I could imagine fixing almost everything else based off what I know about the cars. The door handles, charging module, MCU, brakes even the motor bearings would be a pain but I think I could do it (or worst case pull the motor and get an Ebay replacement).

The battery is so big it would be hard for me to drop it and then have the time and space to peel it open to swap a battery module out, assuming I got an Ebay replacement module.

So at the moment I'm focusing my searching on any cars that have a replacement battery pack that is newer than the car, or a car with extended warranty on the battery (although I think this rules out non-Tesla dealer cars).

I did find one at a vegas dealer that seems to have a replacement 90kwh battery. As far as I know 90kwh wasn't available in 2013 so seems to be a replacement. Trying to get a pic of the battery pack sticker to confirm. The guy also claimed warranty until 2024 but I take that with a large pinch of salt unless I could verify that properly.

 

[stakker]

Thanks for all the advice folks. We can't justify the cost of a 2015 right now, so 2013 seems to be the sweet spot for us. I have been through more of the potential issues that we might face assuming we have a warranty on the motor and battery but nothing else; and once that warranty runs out.

I think the big deal breaker for repair for me would be the battery. I could imagine fixing almost everything else based off what I know about the cars. The door handles, charging module, MCU, brakes even the motor bearings would be a pain but I think I could do it (or worst case pull the motor and get an Ebay replacement).

The battery is so big it would be hard for me to drop it and then have the time and space to peel it open to swap a battery module out, assuming I got an Ebay replacement module.

So at the moment I'm focusing my searching on any cars that have a replacement battery pack that is newer than the car, or a car with extended warranty on the battery (although I think this rules out non-Tesla dealer cars).

I did find one at a vegas dealer that seems to have a replacement 90kwh battery. As far as I know 90kwh wasn't available in 2013 so seems to be a replacement. Trying to get a pic of the battery pack sticker to confirm. The guy also claimed warranty until 2024 but I take that with a large pinch of salt unless I could verify that properly.

My S 85 was listed online as a 75 and no mention of Autopilot yet I saw in the photos that it was an 85 so I quickly went to the dealer and confirmed it was an 85 and have autopilot activated.. For sure there are a lot of non-Tesla dealers out there that does not really know what they got and just want to move cars and patient buyers like us ending up getting a great deal.

 

[bart_dood]

That's interesting. Certainly looks from the pic of the dash that it is a 90. And 90kwh wasn't around until 2016? I think?

 

[Az_Rael]

Thanks for all the advice folks. We can't justify the cost of a 2015 right now, so 2013 seems to be the sweet spot for us. I have been through more of the potential issues that we might face assuming we have a warranty on the motor and battery but nothing else; and once that warranty runs out.

Just make sure you are looking at 85s and not the 60. The 60s from that era did not have unlimited mile battery warranties.

Otherwise the 2013 cars are great ones if you dont care about AP. I had a 2013 P85 that was way less problematic than our 2015 P85D. It ended up totalled in an accident unfortunately.

That's interesting. Certainly looks from the pic of the dash that it is a 90. And 90kwh wasn't around until 2016? I think?

Tesla has started replacing bad packs with newer larger ones recently. I am guessing because they are out of the 85s or they are too expensive to repair. So a 2013 90 is now a possibility.

 

[vickh]

I got my 2015 S 85 last month from a non-Tesla dealer and the 8-year motor and battery warranty transfers to the new owner. I also found out the previous owner purchased the 4-year maintenance plan and there was 1 service left and It got transferred to me as well.

I had the milling sound on the motor when I purchased the Model S but I already knew it was under warranty and will be replaced for free. Got the car for a really good price and got the motor replaced last week and used the 1 last service remaining. Car is quiet again and drives even better when I got her last month.

Definitely get 2015 or newer as I've read on my months of research that a lot of improvements/fixes have been done that year.

is there a sweet spot month in 2015?

 

[vickh]

Tesla has started replacing bad packs with newer larger ones recently. I am guessing because they are out of the 85s or they are too expensive to repair. So a 2013 90 is now a possibility.

is that true for 2015 70 replacement. My advisor made a comment about the car being unable to "handle" higher battery capacities?

 

[Az_Rael]

is there a sweet spot month in 2015?

One data point: my before May built 2015 has had tons of problems. So it wasn't early 2015.

Frankly, you are rolling the reliability dice no matter what year you buy. Every year Tesla goes through end of quarter rushes where the cars are being thrown out the doors as fast as they can.

is that true for 2015 70 replacement. My advisor made a comment about the car being unable to "handle" higher battery capacities?

I don't know enough about the technicals to answer that. I would take anything Tesla sales tells you with a giant grain of salt, though. Was the salesperson possibly referring to the fact that the 70 you are looking at is not a software locked 75?

 

[bart_dood]

Hey guys, I got the sticker photo back. The pack Serial is 1102980-01-A

This looks like a new battery pack, according to:

Decoding Your Tesla Battery Pack Version

says:

• 1071941 is the 90 kWh pack from a Model X P90D(L)
• 1063792 is a new 90 kWh pack
• 1014114 is a new 85 kWh pack
• 1020422 is a new 60 kWh pack

I think the 01 means its a refurb pack but newer Serial # looks very new. Can someone help? I think this is a good sign

 

[bart_dood]

Here is the sticker, can't see the kwh number at the top as its blocked off. I asked the dealer for another photo. I also read that there was an option for a software update to go from 85 to 90? I never heard of this before, I'd only heard of 60 to 75kwh?

 

[mspohr]

I wouldn't worry about the battery in whatever you get. I haven't heard of any battery failures or even accelerated loss of capacity. There have been charger failures, contactor failures but the batteries themselves seem to be solid.

 

[Cheburashka]

I wouldn't worry about the battery in whatever you get. I haven't heard of any battery failures or even accelerated loss of capacity. There have been charger failures, contactor failures but the batteries themselves seem to be solid.

Literally a thread from this week... My MS is headed to the shop this morning because ?????

 

[bart_dood]

Yeah I've heard of pack fails, but its not clear *what* has failed in them, coolant leaks, contactor fails, fuses or actual pack cell problems from weak cells. I ordered the OBD and wire adapter for the S to read the pack voltages on Android which I think will be useful.

 

[Az_Rael]

I wouldn't worry about the battery in whatever you get. I haven't heard of any battery failures or even accelerated loss of capacity. There have been charger failures, contactor failures but the batteries themselves seem to be solid.

Main pack failures do occur, and I wouldn't call them rare. Hence all the folks with "loaner batteries" for months on end that you hear about here on the forums. Should be interesting once the packs go out of warranty to see how much replacement from Tesla costs.

 

[mspohr]

Main pack failures do occur, and I wouldn't call them rare. Hence all the folks with "loaner batteries" for months on end that you hear about here on the forums. Should be interesting once the packs go out of warranty to see how much replacement from Tesla costs.

Most of the battery failures are contactors, coolant, fuses, etc. and not the batteries themselves.

 

[ac_power]

I ordered the OBD and wire adapter for the S to read the pack voltages on Android which I think will be useful.

What are you running on Android side ? I've been using ELM327 + Torque on ICE cars, but I don't think it can show any EV-specific data

 

[Az_Rael]

Most of the battery failures are contactors, coolant, fuses, etc. and not the batteries themselves.

Well, OK. But the practical reality of those failures is a non-operational battery. And unless you are really handy with high voltage systems, well out of the range of repairs for many regular mechanics or DIYers.