Used Tesla Purchase - advice / warranty
Discussion
As the title says, as prices are looking a little more reasonable I'm toying with the idea of a Tesla Model 3.
I'm comfortable with the pros/cons of EV ownership, but the things that worry me are the parts/maintenance side of things. I'm not thinking of the battery so much as the other odds and ends that go can wrong on any car, but on Tesla might end up with a rather eyewatering repair bill
Reading a few PH posts there are various mentions extremely high priced / complicated repairs for simple things (e.g. £1400 to replace a faulty headlight unit, which then has to be programmed to the car by Tesla) - which are a bit of a concern. This is possibly made worse by the fact that there don't seem to be many EV/Tesla specialists out there, so I'd be stuck with Tesla Main Dealers and the prices that that carries.
So, does anyone have any thoughts/pointers on a decent warranty cover (I'd probably buy from a non Tesla dealer). The obvious ones seem either extremely expensive and/or don't really tailor for EVs.
It may well be that this is one of the potential pitfalls of EV/Tesla ownership and something I'd just need to suck-up - but I thought I'd get some thoughts from those more knowledgeable than myself!
I could of course buy from Tesla and get a warranty with it - but there's a steep premium for this option. Also, Tesla seem to have withdrawn their own extended warranty offerings in the UK, so I'd still be stuck in the same position in 12 months times
Thanks in advance for the help. Current EV prices are tempting, and I tend do keep cars a decent length of time - but want to go in with my eyes wide open.
I'm comfortable with the pros/cons of EV ownership, but the things that worry me are the parts/maintenance side of things. I'm not thinking of the battery so much as the other odds and ends that go can wrong on any car, but on Tesla might end up with a rather eyewatering repair bill
Reading a few PH posts there are various mentions extremely high priced / complicated repairs for simple things (e.g. £1400 to replace a faulty headlight unit, which then has to be programmed to the car by Tesla) - which are a bit of a concern. This is possibly made worse by the fact that there don't seem to be many EV/Tesla specialists out there, so I'd be stuck with Tesla Main Dealers and the prices that that carries.
So, does anyone have any thoughts/pointers on a decent warranty cover (I'd probably buy from a non Tesla dealer). The obvious ones seem either extremely expensive and/or don't really tailor for EVs.
It may well be that this is one of the potential pitfalls of EV/Tesla ownership and something I'd just need to suck-up - but I thought I'd get some thoughts from those more knowledgeable than myself!
I could of course buy from Tesla and get a warranty with it - but there's a steep premium for this option. Also, Tesla seem to have withdrawn their own extended warranty offerings in the UK, so I'd still be stuck in the same position in 12 months times
Thanks in advance for the help. Current EV prices are tempting, and I tend do keep cars a decent length of time - but want to go in with my eyes wide open.
Just bought a 2019 Model 3 LR with 65k miles from a private seller. No warranty besides the battery/motor 8 yr/120k mile one.
For background i've mostly had cars out of warranty so i'm reasonably comfortable with it. Only car i wanted to keep under warranty due to potential for very large drivetrain bills was an M2 i owned for a bit, but the warranty was £2k/year, which was one reason why i sold it.
I did plenty of research and concluded that yes there are some expensive parts (headlights as you say, the large screen, roof glass if that cracks, a/c system) but the likelihood of them going wrong vs the warranty/excess cost meant i would be ok with dipping into savings should the worst happen.
I looked at 3rd party warranties and decided they were pointless.
A) they specifically excluded things i wanted covered - infotainmemt, door catches, trim, etc
B) they covered items the car doesn't even have - block, head, turbo, gearbox, flywheel, etc.
So far it's all going well. 1500 miles in 3.5 weeks. Nothing has fallen off. Everything works.
The driver's door clicks a bit when it opens and closes. Probably the hinge. Will just ignore it.
A little condensation in one rear light. Will keep an eye on it. If it gets worse i'll pop it out and stick it in the airing cupboard to dry out. Or look for one on ebay.
That's it though.
Build quality is mixed. The doors don't "thunk" and the door handles are annoying (by design). The panel gaps are a little off in places. On mine where the boot lid meets the sides of the roof looks a bit out. My dad is convinced it's been in a smash! But i looked at a few and they're all like it.
It drives fine. More than fine actually. It's genuinely great. Lovely low driving position (similar to a BMW) with legs out in front. Chunky steering wheel. It feels "sporty" from that point of view. But it's no hot hatch or M2, though it wouldn't be left behind unless the road was very tight/twisty. It fires out of bends at a comical rate and chews up any straight.
Ride is pretty average. Mine's on 18" aero wheels. It feels no worse to me than my previous ioniq hybrid. It lacks the quality of damping of an M2 but is less crashy too. It actually feels similar to an M135i - firm but not harsh, and not the best quality feel to it. I'm not sure where the "hard ride" reviews come from. It's not like a renaultsport cup clio or leon cupra or FN2 civic - now they're hard!
Costs wise, insurance has gone up vs my ioniq. £500 vs £750, but tax is down £150 vs free. I charged at home on a 3 pin for two weeks which worked well, but now have an ohme charger which seems to have a mind of its own, but works fine once given a kick. On intelligent octopus it's 2.2p/mile so far. Commute of 160 miles has gone from £16-£18 to about £3.50.
Kids love it. Heated rear seats (an option the prev owner added and one reason NOT to buy from tesla as they reset each car) and netflix are a big win.
One other thing. I have never had a car that was universally loved by everyone that's been in it. Nor have i had a car that so many people are eager to try. So far i've taken about 1/2 doz people out in it and all are blown away by it. All come out saying they want an EV "at some point".
I don't love it like i have some of my prev cars though. I'm not going to spend ages in halfords deciding which oil to put in it - the posh expensive stuff or the halfords own brand. I won't be carefully considering which tyres to go for. I've cleaned it once but probably won't bother much. It does just feel like a tool, but a massively effective and fun one.
I have an Elise in the garage, which i can lavish attention on. I think without that i might feel i'm missing out. But the tesla as the daily is brilliant.
For background i've mostly had cars out of warranty so i'm reasonably comfortable with it. Only car i wanted to keep under warranty due to potential for very large drivetrain bills was an M2 i owned for a bit, but the warranty was £2k/year, which was one reason why i sold it.
I did plenty of research and concluded that yes there are some expensive parts (headlights as you say, the large screen, roof glass if that cracks, a/c system) but the likelihood of them going wrong vs the warranty/excess cost meant i would be ok with dipping into savings should the worst happen.
I looked at 3rd party warranties and decided they were pointless.
A) they specifically excluded things i wanted covered - infotainmemt, door catches, trim, etc
B) they covered items the car doesn't even have - block, head, turbo, gearbox, flywheel, etc.
So far it's all going well. 1500 miles in 3.5 weeks. Nothing has fallen off. Everything works.
The driver's door clicks a bit when it opens and closes. Probably the hinge. Will just ignore it.
A little condensation in one rear light. Will keep an eye on it. If it gets worse i'll pop it out and stick it in the airing cupboard to dry out. Or look for one on ebay.
That's it though.
Build quality is mixed. The doors don't "thunk" and the door handles are annoying (by design). The panel gaps are a little off in places. On mine where the boot lid meets the sides of the roof looks a bit out. My dad is convinced it's been in a smash! But i looked at a few and they're all like it.
It drives fine. More than fine actually. It's genuinely great. Lovely low driving position (similar to a BMW) with legs out in front. Chunky steering wheel. It feels "sporty" from that point of view. But it's no hot hatch or M2, though it wouldn't be left behind unless the road was very tight/twisty. It fires out of bends at a comical rate and chews up any straight.
Ride is pretty average. Mine's on 18" aero wheels. It feels no worse to me than my previous ioniq hybrid. It lacks the quality of damping of an M2 but is less crashy too. It actually feels similar to an M135i - firm but not harsh, and not the best quality feel to it. I'm not sure where the "hard ride" reviews come from. It's not like a renaultsport cup clio or leon cupra or FN2 civic - now they're hard!
Costs wise, insurance has gone up vs my ioniq. £500 vs £750, but tax is down £150 vs free. I charged at home on a 3 pin for two weeks which worked well, but now have an ohme charger which seems to have a mind of its own, but works fine once given a kick. On intelligent octopus it's 2.2p/mile so far. Commute of 160 miles has gone from £16-£18 to about £3.50.
Kids love it. Heated rear seats (an option the prev owner added and one reason NOT to buy from tesla as they reset each car) and netflix are a big win.
One other thing. I have never had a car that was universally loved by everyone that's been in it. Nor have i had a car that so many people are eager to try. So far i've taken about 1/2 doz people out in it and all are blown away by it. All come out saying they want an EV "at some point".
I don't love it like i have some of my prev cars though. I'm not going to spend ages in halfords deciding which oil to put in it - the posh expensive stuff or the halfords own brand. I won't be carefully considering which tyres to go for. I've cleaned it once but probably won't bother much. It does just feel like a tool, but a massively effective and fun one.
I have an Elise in the garage, which i can lavish attention on. I think without that i might feel i'm missing out. But the tesla as the daily is brilliant.
Edited by LowTread on Wednesday 28th February 04:44
Edited by LowTread on Wednesday 28th February 04:44
jonflat2 said:
Reading a few PH posts there are various mentions extremely high priced / complicated repairs for simple things (e.g. £1400 to replace a faulty headlight unit, which then has to be programmed to the car by Tesla) - which are a bit of a concern. This is possibly made worse by the fact that there don't seem to be many EV/Tesla specialists out there, so I'd be stuck with Tesla Main Dealers and the prices that that carries.
Headlights are expensive for all cars, and even Tesla’s own insured warranty didn’t cover it. The 3 is actually very simple mechanically, there is much less to go wrong compared to our X which has air suspension, powered doors all round, two screens, 4 powered/moving seats, and lots of seals around glazing everywhere. Our X was incredibly unreliable for the first 3 years of ownership, and at one point spent more time at the dealer to fix issues than on the road, but nearly all the issues that occurred should have been fixed prior to delivery. I think Tesla has learnt that with the 3, and a used one should have had any factory delivered issues sorted.
At 6.5 years old and 75k miles, the last 30K/2.5 years have been very unexciting. None of the motors/sensor have broken, and its only gone through 1 set of brake pads since new. The main issues now will hopefully be just age/mileage related suspension stuff, which luckily our local garage can sort out.
These are the guys I use, you can see the work they are able to do on the car - DC-DC converter repair. I suspect in the next couple of years the air suspension will need attention but that's pretty normal for all cars with complex suspension at a decade old, the local garage has no problems sorting it when the time comes.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/RgZKrTMww8k9RLfu8?g_st=ic
A few years ago Tesla dealer costs were actually surprisingly cheap, I did this to the wheel arch trim when arguing with a wall
. I nearly fell off my chair when the Tesla invoice came in for the total cost of part+fitting+VAT!!! I suspect the next 'big job' I'll go to Tesla for will be a new traction battery, but hopefully not for another 4-5 years. 
Edited by gangzoom on Wednesday 28th February 08:02
Thanks for the replies. Encouraging info here.
Tbh, I probably wouldn’t have considered a Tesla until now - but with prices at current levels they are a tempting proposition.
I’m not too worried about further depreciation either, as I tend to drive cars into the ground and don’t expect to get much back from them anyway!
Tbh, I probably wouldn’t have considered a Tesla until now - but with prices at current levels they are a tempting proposition.
I’m not too worried about further depreciation either, as I tend to drive cars into the ground and don’t expect to get much back from them anyway!
gangzoom said:
Headlights are expensive for all cars, and even Tesla’s own insured warranty didn’t cover it.
The 3 is actually very simple mechanically, there is much less to go wrong compared to our X which has air suspension, powered doors all round, two screens, 4 powered/moving seats, and lots of seals around glazing everywhere. Our X was incredibly unreliable for the first 3 years of ownership, and at one point spent more time at the dealer to fix issues than on the road, but nearly all the issues that occurred should have been fixed prior to delivery. I think Tesla has learnt that with the 3, and a used one should have had any factory delivered issues sorted.
At 6.5 years old and 75k miles, the last 30K/2.5 years have been very unexciting. None of the motors/sensor have broken, and its only gone through 1 set of brake pads since new. The main issues now will hopefully be just age/mileage related suspension stuff, which luckily our local garage can sort out.
These are the guys I use, you can see the work they are able to do on the car - DC-DC converter repair. I suspect in the next couple of years the air suspension will need attention but that's pretty normal for all cars with complex suspension at a decade old, the local garage has no problems sorting it when the time comes.
A few years ago Tesla dealer costs were actually surprisingly cheap, I did this to the wheel arch trim when arguing with a wall. I nearly fell off my chair when the Tesla invoice came in for the total cost of part+fitting+VAT!!! I suspect the next 'big job' I'll go to Tesla for will be a new traction battery, but hopefully not for another 4-5 years.
Why the traction battery change in 8 9 years? Any specific reason plsThe 3 is actually very simple mechanically, there is much less to go wrong compared to our X which has air suspension, powered doors all round, two screens, 4 powered/moving seats, and lots of seals around glazing everywhere. Our X was incredibly unreliable for the first 3 years of ownership, and at one point spent more time at the dealer to fix issues than on the road, but nearly all the issues that occurred should have been fixed prior to delivery. I think Tesla has learnt that with the 3, and a used one should have had any factory delivered issues sorted.
At 6.5 years old and 75k miles, the last 30K/2.5 years have been very unexciting. None of the motors/sensor have broken, and its only gone through 1 set of brake pads since new. The main issues now will hopefully be just age/mileage related suspension stuff, which luckily our local garage can sort out.
These are the guys I use, you can see the work they are able to do on the car - DC-DC converter repair. I suspect in the next couple of years the air suspension will need attention but that's pretty normal for all cars with complex suspension at a decade old, the local garage has no problems sorting it when the time comes.
A few years ago Tesla dealer costs were actually surprisingly cheap, I did this to the wheel arch trim when arguing with a wall
. I nearly fell off my chair when the Tesla invoice came in for the total cost of part+fitting+VAT!!! I suspect the next 'big job' I'll go to Tesla for will be a new traction battery, but hopefully not for another 4-5 years. Edited by gangzoom on Wednesday 28th February 08:02
Caramaze said:
Why the traction battery change in 8 9 years? Any specific reason pls
All batteries degrade over time, at 6.5 years old the pack on our car is showing 6% degredation. This is no impact on our use.In another 5-6 years, with another 50-70k on the battery it'll be closer to 10% degredation when it may impact on usage. A new traction battery would than essentially 'restore' the car to its new factory range. In fact Tesla are now supplying 90kWh packs as replacements for all S/Xs, my car has a 75kWh pack, so a new 90kWh pack would be an 'upgrade' compared to new spec.
The cost I'm estimating to be around £15k, sometime in 2030.
jonflat2 said:
Thanks for the replies. Encouraging info here.
Tbh, I probably wouldn’t have considered a Tesla until now - but with prices at current levels they are a tempting proposition.
I’m not too worried about further depreciation either, as I tend to drive cars into the ground and don’t expect to get much back from them anyway!
A used P Model 3 for under £30k will give you all the performance of a 340i for a fraction of the running costs. I use to have a modded N54 335i tunned to about 400whp with Quaife LSD and Birds B3 suspension. Our 'basic' cheapo spec X is essentially as quick in the real world up to UK legal speeds. Tbh, I probably wouldn’t have considered a Tesla until now - but with prices at current levels they are a tempting proposition.
I’m not too worried about further depreciation either, as I tend to drive cars into the ground and don’t expect to get much back from them anyway!
Tiglon said:
fflump said:
I’d be wary of any car maker that doesn’t back their product by offering extended warranties.
Extended warranties aren't about backing a product, their about making more profit by selling an insurance product.gangzoom said:
A used P Model 3 for under £30k will give you all the performance of a 340i for a fraction of the running costs. I use to have a modded N54 335i tunned to about 400whp with Quaife LSD and Birds B3 suspension. Our 'basic' cheapo spec X is essentially as quick in the real world up to UK legal speeds.
Yeah, looks like a lot of oomph for the cash.Although, for under 20k it looks like I can pick -up a 'Standard Range Plus', which would likely be more than enough for me on my 'dad taxi' duties. Under 6secs for 0-60 will be more than ample for me!
jonflat2 said:
Yeah, looks like a lot of oomph for the cash.
Although, for under 20k it looks like I can pick -up a 'Standard Range Plus', which would likely be more than enough for me on my 'dad taxi' duties. Under 6secs for 0-60 will be more than ample for me!
The 'unicorn' car Tesla never sold here in the UK was the LR RWD that you could buy for a short time in the US. Bigger battery (more power), RWD, more range, less weight......It would be closest EV to my old 335i. Although, for under 20k it looks like I can pick -up a 'Standard Range Plus', which would likely be more than enough for me on my 'dad taxi' duties. Under 6secs for 0-60 will be more than ample for me!
The biggest complaint of our X is simply 'too easy' to drive fast, the TC is so good you can literally stamp on the pedal, any weather/road condition and it'll just go. Frankly its scary how it makes near 3 figure speeds on B road feel 'controlled' with very little effort or thought. Compare that to the 335i, where if you attempted to go WOT in 1/2nd gear on anything on but baby bottom smooth tarmac in the dry and you will end up facing the wrong way on the road regardless of the flashing TC light.
I believe can do some nuts things to these cars (it involves disabling the speed sensor), but you need to be very brave or stupid to think you have the skills to control lots of instant BHP/torque of these things with no help from the computer!
https://youtu.be/MW1X8yd3xoc?si=TFtHK8lb91Z6rYSO
gangzoom said:
jonflat2 said:
Yeah, looks like a lot of oomph for the cash.
Although, for under 20k it looks like I can pick -up a 'Standard Range Plus', which would likely be more than enough for me on my 'dad taxi' duties. Under 6secs for 0-60 will be more than ample for me!
The 'unicorn' car Tesla never sold here in the UK was the LR RWD that you could buy for a short time in the US. Bigger battery (more power), RWD, more range, less weight......It would be closest EV to my old 335i. Although, for under 20k it looks like I can pick -up a 'Standard Range Plus', which would likely be more than enough for me on my 'dad taxi' duties. Under 6secs for 0-60 will be more than ample for me!
The biggest complaint of our X is simply 'too easy' to drive fast, the TC is so good you can literally stamp on the pedal, any weather/road condition and it'll just go. Frankly its scary how it makes near 3 figure speeds on B road feel 'controlled' with very little effort or thought. Compare that to the 335i, where if you attempted to go WOT in 1/2nd gear on anything on but baby bottom smooth tarmac in the dry and you will end up facing the wrong way on the road regardless of the flashing TC light.
I believe can do some nuts things to these cars (it involves disabling the speed sensor), but you need to be very brave or stupid to think you have the skills to control lots of instant BHP/torque of these things with no help from the computer!
https://youtu.be/MW1X8yd3xoc?si=TFtHK8lb91Z6rYSO
Modern ICE cars are already too easy to go too fast. EVs are taking it to the next level, but I suppose at least they tail off at silly speeds.
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