Hi y'all, IMO Tesla seems to be a great car to drive. I don't have one yet but will aim for one when my pocket is deep enough. My concern is why so many of them are reselling with less than 10k miles, is there somethig wrong with it or is it just not reliable enough to keep as normal gasoline vehicles? by the way, I'm new here so please welcome me :biggrin::biggrin:
Welcome Jasvo! I'm not sure what you mean by "so many." Occasionally, you'll see low-mileage Model S cars at non-Tesla dealers, often with every available option on them. This, to me, says one thing: buyer's remorse. Probably bought by someone who did no research and bought the car on a whim. Car-flippers are common to luxury brands.
Right now, the issue is that many people are selling off their Teslas (especially the performance versions) to get the new P85D, announced on thursday. Over here in Norway, the number of Model S being sold on the largest car buying/selling site has increased from 58 to 104 in the last three days! That's an increase of 80%, probably almost exclusively because of the S85D/P85D. I assume the situation is similar in the US - people need to clear out their garages in anticipation of their new P85Ds.
I guess that's what happening here is in U.S. most of the are on sale with really low mileage and it concerns me a bit. I did test drive a model S last month and I actually liked it but not sure how many miles you can get exactly out of the battery with Max use while music and other electrical devices turned on
The only power draws that affect mileage are heat and air conditioning, 7kW and 2kW respectively. All the others are inconsequential. Range is a function of speed influenced by elevation changes and headwinds. Achieving EPA estimates is readily doable unless you're forced to drive faster than 65MPH.
I've never gotten less than 220 miles on a full charge on mine, even driving 70 mph in 34F rainy weather. Also, reliability here has been great. Nearly two years with my Model S and it's never had a mechanical or electrical problem, never failed to start, never left me stranded. I can't say that for the first two years of every gas car I've had. However, this Model S will also be going up for sale with low mileage (14,000) in December when I, too, trade up for a P85D.
The OP is failing to understand a basic truth to most of the Model S buyers to date: we are early adopters, we are unhappy if we don't have the latest gizmo available, and our cars have just been 1-upped by the company, that is the reason for most of the recent sales / listings you've seen since Thursday nights announcement of the "D".
As has been stated, everyone is trading up to a new Tesla. AWD was just released and a feature that many have wanted, me included. There is nothing to worry about long term reliability.
Yeah, now is a particularly good time to buy a used Model S. And given Tesla's drivetrain and battery warranty, you really don't have much of a concern about a pervious owner abusing their car. It isn't much of an issue.
not yet, the news has been out less than a week. many will be sold in December as the P85D's are delivered, the remaining will be in February of 2015, as the S85D and S60D's are delivered
Asking prices seem about 5% off of sticker for low mileage 2013. Kelly Blue Book has not recorded enough used car transactions on the Model S to establish a fair price.
I think most people are looking for an S to be as reliable as a mid-range (Non-VW group ) car. Or better yet, more reliable than a hybrid (Prius, etc...) since it's far less complicated (with the exception of the BMS). I'm still on the fence about purchasing a Tesla because of this. If it's as reliable as a high end Audi and an owner can't DIY, there might be some substantial repair bills as it ages. If they at least get close to hybrid reliability, that's pretty good IMO. They should be more reliable since it's an EV, but the company is still young.
I expect the Model S to be far more reliable than anything with an internal combustion engine and to last much, much longer. Perhaps, indefinitely.
It might also be that a lot of people are very much emotionally involved in Tesla. They perceive Tesla as something different and the car as being a total game changer. They buy into the believe that it is much cheaper to operate and therefore justify themselves in buying this expensive car. The price could probably well be many times over of what they used to pay for af car. Though, there might be some truth that the car is different, at the end it is still is a very expensive car. People might find out after the purchase that they can't really afford the car (monthly payments) and they just need to get rid of it.
It will be interesting to see what the centralized CPO group is going to use to generate trade in offers. This will set the wholesale price for the vehicle as Tesla sees it. Part of the company will want to keep this number high to keep the car from being a depreciating pig (I'm thinking Seven Series of years back that fell like a stone) while part of the company will want to see the CPO program become a profit center. If the goal is to get more cars in the hands of more people then having a vibrant secondary market as people upgrade is not a bad thing. I'll post my trade in quote..... We should probably start a separate thread for that one.