Model S warranty after factory expiration

[MercedesClassic]

Hi folks,
As the username suggests I'm in older Merc models but have had an interest in going electric for some time. I'm pretty sold on a model S and have seen a 2016 facelift with all the trimmings at nearly 200k mileage. Therefore due to age it's out of its factory warranty period. To add to the mix it has free supercharging so would that have potentially harmed the battery being regularly rapid charged?

It's for sale at a reputable luxury car dealership so I assume it will come with some some of protection but will it cover battery or motor issues if they arise? I'll ask but do you guys know of aftermarket warranties that would provide comprehensive protection?

[LHRFlightman]

Google Cleevly EV.

[MercedesClassic]

Will do thanks.

[RobbyJ]

I had a 2016 Model S P90D. The battery had around 20-25% degradation which I think is known for the 90 pack, I supercharged around 50% of it's charging in total and was trying but failed to break the battery prior to the warranty running out. I still treated it well in the sense that I only charged to daily limits etc, I just tried to supercharge as much as possible. So at 110,000 the battery degradation didn't seem to be getting any worse, nor could I get it to fail.

I loved the car but also had a bit of love hate relationship due to the sheer number of issues I had with it over my 3 years of ownership and 60,000 miles.

Multiple door handle failures
Mirror fold failures
3 coolant valve failures (all basically a breakdown)
Active cooling flap system in the front bumper replaced (around £1000)
Headlight replaced (£1700) and the drl in the other on the way out
Boot latch failure (annoyingly is basically a breakdown!)
Replaced the main display screen myself due to delamination (£400 for the screen)
Multiple welded 21" wheels, I ran 19's in winter
Main rear drive motor replaced under factory drivetrain warranty (think this was a £6000 bill if I would have paid)
Air suspension compressor and multiple air springs replaced (£4800, the straw the broke the camels back)

There's probably more I'm forgetting but in short it was not a reliable car. It was nice to drive, had a load of space, good family car and great on the commute but the free supercharging doesn't come close to scratching the surface of the repair costs.

[RobbyJ]

Oh yes and the wiper mechanism wore out and the drivers side wiper cut a big notch in the bonnet, can't remember how much that one was but probably £1k including the body work repair. The whole wiper motor system was replaced plus the wiper arm.

[MercedesClassic]

RobbyJ said:

Oh yes and the wiper mechanism wore out and the drivers side wiper cut a big notch in the bonnet, can't remember how much that one was but probably £1k including the body work repair. The whole wiper motor system was replaced plus the wiper arm.

Thanks for your detailed response. I've heard mixed reviews about reliability hence why I was wondering about which warranty providers would take on such a car. Just out of curiosity, is P90D a preface lift model? I have been under the impression the facelifts like I was considering are more reliable. Although I could be completely wrong in that regard.

The car I had shortlisted sold quickly as most seem to do if good spec, price and SC01 option. However as you say big bills will wipe out any fuel savings.

I think I'll hold onto my 18 year old E class estate a while longer, it's running a treat and currently using it to help someone move house. It's got a big load capacity but the S is probably bigger again, especially in the boot width. Thanks.

[RobbyJ]

Yes mine was a facelift model. Not sure how many 2016's had SC01, an early 100D might have it.

No idea about warranties sorry.

I spent quite a bit of time taking mine apart, whole dash out, frunk out, suspension out. They aren't built like other modern cars I've worked on, it's like a kit car rather than a well thought out German car. Makes them easy to work on but not very well built.

Edited by RobbyJ on Friday 17th January 08:24

[MercedesClassic]

Thanks for your response. I think I'll look for a different brand altogether
I thought Mercedes was bad enough and Tesla couldn't be any worse but.......

Have a good weekend

[Gone fishing]

MS P90D spans both pre and post facelift

SC01 will be on all P90Ds (unless Tesla have removed it which is a possibility) as the P90D was replaced by the P100D before April 2017 when they stopped SC01. Just be mindful it won’t charge that quickly by current standards, you’ll add about 150 real world miles in 45mins to an hour of supercharging. It gets tedious very quickly whereas is you’ve the ability to charge at home and hav3 a smart meter, those 150 miles would cost you msybe £5.

The early 90 batteries did suffer but they’d fixed it by the facelift.

[RobbyJ]

MercedesClassic said:

Thanks for your response. I think I'll look for a different brand altogether
I thought Mercedes was bad enough and Tesla couldn't be any worse but.......

Have a good weekend

Ironically lots of the switch gear is straight out of an old E class.

[Gone fishing]

RobbyJ said:

Ironically lots of the switch gear is straight out of an old E class.

Mercedes had a share holding in Tesla back in the day which if they’d kept would have been larger than the market cap of Merc. One of life’s weird facts

[MercedesClassic]

Gone fishing said:

RobbyJ said:

Ironically lots of the switch gear is straight out of an old E class.

Mercedes had a share holding in Tesla back in the day which if they’d kept would have been larger than the market cap of Merc. One of life’s weird facts

Yes I knew it had Merc switchgear, that's one of the things that appealed to me the familiarity, the ease of use. Also the instrument cluster behind the wheel which also has volume controls etc, everything to your hand and familiar.

Tesla gave me a weekend loan of a model Y about 18 months ago. I'd want something with a tailgate as my main car, I have 2 SLs so need a loader as main car. I didn't like the elevated seating position, I felt I was sitting on a bar stool not snuggled in a SUV type car. No instrument cluster in front, which would be ok if they had head's up display on the windscreen. Instead everything is through the massive screen. I know I'd get used to it but I felt I shouldn't have to get used to a solution to a problem that didn't exist.

Things I liked about the Y, I liked the LED lights, it had an electric tailgate, my E didn't have it optioned. That's about all. It was black with black handles that didn't illuminate so in the dark you had to grope the side of a dirty wet car to find a pop out blade to pull. Because it was a demo it defaulted to the key card settings so each time I had to readjust everything.

In a Merc you press a memory button on the door, to adjust the seat you twiddle the seat controls in full view on the door, so easy to do. Oh my Merc wouldn't be that quiet so was looking forward to the silence of the Y. Instead I heard so much road rumble and wind noise instead of the lovely V6 turbo so it wasn't quiet nor a pleasant sound.

Anyway, 😉 I'm not anti Tesla or electric, was just somewhat disappointed that my preconceptions were higher than reality.

[RobbyJ]

You can get very good aftermarket integrated drivers displays specifically for the Y, some of which come with Apple CarPlay.

[smn159]

I bought a 2016 Model S 75D last year and it's been faultless so far. 8% battery degradation, giving 220 miles, huge hatchback boot area and a really nice thing to drive.

Been all over the country in it as well - if you get a good one (and most seem to be) they're great cars.

[MercedesClassic]

Thanks for your replies, I've heard really good reports and really bad ones. I suppose it's like any car. Range Rovers seem to have a similar following. Heck I'm a Mercedes owner I know about reliability haha. Although thankfully my bus has been pretty good in the six years and 80000 miles I've added, now on 206k. Spent a bit of money on parts and labour recently so now she's purring like kitten again until I stomp the pedal.

I'll keep looking and see if I can find a decent one but they tend to sell quickly. Another car on my radar is an S class of the W222 variety, this will be diesel, non hatchback and rear wheel drive only, four wheel drive not essential but handy.

Just on models, I originally was looking at 75Ds as they were more plentiful but now think I want the more powerful 90D or 100D. Does anyone know if there's much in it in reality?

[MercedesClassic]

Gone fishing said:

MS P90D spans both pre and post facelift

SC01 will be on all P90Ds (unless Tesla have removed it which is a possibility) as the P90D was replaced by the P100D before April 2017 when they stopped SC01. Just be mindful it won’t charge that quickly by current standards, you’ll add about 150 real world miles in 45mins to an hour of supercharging. It gets tedious very quickly whereas is you’ve the ability to charge at home and hav3 a smart meter, those 150 miles would cost you msybe £5.

The early 90 batteries did suffer but they’d fixed it by the facelift.

Thanks for your reply. Yes I'd heard something about the Supercharger speed is throttled back for SC01 specced cars that seems like a sly move. I don't have a home charger at least not yet. Also being in Northern Ireland we don't get the very cheap off peak rates my colleagues in England enjoy. The charging network here is pathetic too.

The only Superchargers are at Tesla's Belfast site. I drive past them at rush hour and they are usually empty or one or two of the four spaces is free. However on Thursday evening all four were occupied. They looked parked and locked, I think they might have been Tesla stock they had on for an overnight charge. If so I'd not have been able to charge n go. Worrying.