Buying a Older Tesla / Anyone done it ?
Discussion
Hi All,
With the ever creasing fuel prices, I'm considering buying an EV, with limited budget I'm restricted to a small range of vehicles. The one that suits me would be a Tesla Model S, I could get a Kona / Niro, but I have Zero interest I SUV's.
I've seen a few Model S with less than 70 / 80k , 2014-2016 . just wondering if anyone has one is it a big risk or should I just stick to a E Class diesel.
what are the running cost ( not electric) services, etc.
With the ever creasing fuel prices, I'm considering buying an EV, with limited budget I'm restricted to a small range of vehicles. The one that suits me would be a Tesla Model S, I could get a Kona / Niro, but I have Zero interest I SUV's.
I've seen a few Model S with less than 70 / 80k , 2014-2016 . just wondering if anyone has one is it a big risk or should I just stick to a E Class diesel.
what are the running cost ( not electric) services, etc.
Danm1les said:
What is your budget? I bought a 2020 90k, model 3 standard range for £10k last summer, and has been trouble free the whole way.
Budget £10k ish a little higher if needed. I've not seen a model 3 inside, worried its a little small with a 6'2" teenager needing to be in the back regularly.
djt100 said:
Budget £10k ish a little higher if needed.
I've not seen a model 3 inside, worried its a little small with a 6'2" teenager needing to be in the back regularly.
Don't think a Model S will be cheap, I saw an ad for one that had £16k spent on it since new. And the Model 3 can have its own issues outside of body warranty. An early one will probably suffer foil failure on the door handles, £1k to fix all 4. Mine had it on one door and my wife of course cut her hand. Prepare to spend money on suspension rebuilds on both models. In my opinion the PCH offer from Tesla is a better deal, any Tesla is going to be hard to shift in a few years you might as well spend your hard earned on a warrantied brand new car with no tax to pay or tyres to replace. Your son will struggle in the back of a 3, a Y is more suitable £400 on PCH for the standard.I've not seen a model 3 inside, worried its a little small with a 6'2" teenager needing to be in the back regularly.
djt100 said:
Hi All,
With the ever creasing fuel prices, I'm considering buying an EV, with limited budget I'm restricted to a small range of vehicles. The one that suits me would be a Tesla Model S, I could get a Kona / Niro, but I have Zero interest I SUV's.
I've seen a few Model S with less than 70 / 80k , 2014-2016 . just wondering if anyone has one is it a big risk or should I just stick to a E Class diesel.
what are the running cost ( not electric) services, etc.
Depending on the mileage you are doing, a Model S with the SC01 option (Free unlimited Supercharging) could be very cheap motoring.With the ever creasing fuel prices, I'm considering buying an EV, with limited budget I'm restricted to a small range of vehicles. The one that suits me would be a Tesla Model S, I could get a Kona / Niro, but I have Zero interest I SUV's.
I've seen a few Model S with less than 70 / 80k , 2014-2016 . just wondering if anyone has one is it a big risk or should I just stick to a E Class diesel.
what are the running cost ( not electric) services, etc.
There's plenty of youtube videos of folk buying these as some sort of financial hack
I sold my 2024 Model Y performance with all the latest features and HW4, 5 months ago for £40k and bought a 10 year old Model S 90d for £20k.
It’s a much much nicer drive, nothing has faulted on it…… yet!!. If it does, I’ve a few ££ to repair it. It does have SC01 hence paid a bit more for it. We have used it to travel all over the country this summer, beaches, weekends away all free to charge. Wife is also happy as it’s a lot more comfortable ride than the Y. At the moment I can’t see anything that would put me off. Every time I drive away from a supercharger I have a small chuckle at the cost. It does help I have a Tesla Supercharger location literally 5 minutes from home where I plug in once a week and take the dog for a 45 minute walk.
Very pleased so far and if something goes wrong I’ve got AA cover and a few £s to repair it if needed.
.
It’s a much much nicer drive, nothing has faulted on it…… yet!!. If it does, I’ve a few ££ to repair it. It does have SC01 hence paid a bit more for it. We have used it to travel all over the country this summer, beaches, weekends away all free to charge. Wife is also happy as it’s a lot more comfortable ride than the Y. At the moment I can’t see anything that would put me off. Every time I drive away from a supercharger I have a small chuckle at the cost. It does help I have a Tesla Supercharger location literally 5 minutes from home where I plug in once a week and take the dog for a 45 minute walk.
Very pleased so far and if something goes wrong I’ve got AA cover and a few £s to repair it if needed.
.
BishBosh said:
I sold my 2024 Model Y performance with all the latest features and HW4, 5 months ago for £40k and bought a 10 year old Model S 90d for £20k.
It s a much much nicer drive, nothing has faulted on it yet!!. If it does, I ve a few ££ to repair it. It does have SC01 hence paid a bit more for it. We have used it to travel all over the country this summer, beaches, weekends away all free to charge. Wife is also happy as it s a lot more comfortable ride than the Y. At the moment I can t see anything that would put me off. Every time I drive away from a supercharger I have a small chuckle at the cost. It does help I have a Tesla Supercharger location literally 5 minutes from home where I plug in once a week and take the dog for a 45 minute walk.
Very pleased so far and if something goes wrong I ve got AA cover and a few £s to repair it if needed.
.
That's a really good colour scheme, I'm still on the fence about getting a Tesla and whether its a new 3 or an older S, but your post is definitely making me lean towards the latter. Such a different prospect to the stream of soulless white model Ys that seem to be everywhere now.It s a much much nicer drive, nothing has faulted on it yet!!. If it does, I ve a few ££ to repair it. It does have SC01 hence paid a bit more for it. We have used it to travel all over the country this summer, beaches, weekends away all free to charge. Wife is also happy as it s a lot more comfortable ride than the Y. At the moment I can t see anything that would put me off. Every time I drive away from a supercharger I have a small chuckle at the cost. It does help I have a Tesla Supercharger location literally 5 minutes from home where I plug in once a week and take the dog for a 45 minute walk.
Very pleased so far and if something goes wrong I ve got AA cover and a few £s to repair it if needed.
.
A friend of mine owned a very early Model-S which he took up to about 150-160k. He only sold it for a newer model as he fancied something else. He did used to panic that the battery/range would suddenly plummet but it never did.
The only thing he found was that it required yearly repairs on various parts, it leaked but to replace the seal in the sunroof required the whole kit and various other bits failed. I'm not convinced from his reports that they are brilliantly made but that said it was still going fine when he sold up.
The only thing he found was that it required yearly repairs on various parts, it leaked but to replace the seal in the sunroof required the whole kit and various other bits failed. I'm not convinced from his reports that they are brilliantly made but that said it was still going fine when he sold up.
I purchased a high mileage 90D for £7k a couple of year ago, with over 500 bhp it was very quick and had a battery at 95% giving a real world 240mile range most months.
Nothing really went wrong apart from worn wiper spindles which was a £140 new rack and 20 minutes to replace on a Saturday morning. It only has 3 easy bolts.
I bought a new Model 3, my friend wanted it so I sold it to him for what it owed me. He still has it and has clocked up 12,000 trouble free miles so far. I still looks and drives superbly. It must have 160,000 miles on it now.
The secret seems to be to avoid the "LDU" (large drive unit) fitted to the early rear wheel drive and performance models, as they have a coolant seal that can leak water inside the motor, writing off the drive unit. Some LDU cars have had this seal/manifold deleted which means they are probably fine now.
If you can find one running coil springs it will save the worry about air suspension, however the air suspension has a pretty good robust reputation.
If you can find one that still has the SC01 option turned on, you have free supercharging for life! Tesla turned it off when the cars were traded in.
I find them easy to work on and the parts supply on Ebay is not bad these days. The small drive unit dual motor non performance models seem to just go on and on.
Nothing really went wrong apart from worn wiper spindles which was a £140 new rack and 20 minutes to replace on a Saturday morning. It only has 3 easy bolts.
I bought a new Model 3, my friend wanted it so I sold it to him for what it owed me. He still has it and has clocked up 12,000 trouble free miles so far. I still looks and drives superbly. It must have 160,000 miles on it now.
The secret seems to be to avoid the "LDU" (large drive unit) fitted to the early rear wheel drive and performance models, as they have a coolant seal that can leak water inside the motor, writing off the drive unit. Some LDU cars have had this seal/manifold deleted which means they are probably fine now.
If you can find one running coil springs it will save the worry about air suspension, however the air suspension has a pretty good robust reputation.
If you can find one that still has the SC01 option turned on, you have free supercharging for life! Tesla turned it off when the cars were traded in.
I find them easy to work on and the parts supply on Ebay is not bad these days. The small drive unit dual motor non performance models seem to just go on and on.
I bought a 23 plate Model Y Performance from Tesla approved used just before the fuel crisis so March time, paid £25k for it, it was fully equipped with all options so white interior and tow hitch, its now done 74k, costs me pennies to do my 60 mile commute every day compared to £70 a week equivalent in diesel nowadays.
I'd say other than a few rattles here and there then its been perfect, warranty sorted a new niggles (loose mirror, door card loose and re greased half shaft).
I cant see myself ever going back to ICE, got the wife a model 3 on the cheap lease too. Have a home charger so that helps with costs.
I'd say other than a few rattles here and there then its been perfect, warranty sorted a new niggles (loose mirror, door card loose and re greased half shaft).
I cant see myself ever going back to ICE, got the wife a model 3 on the cheap lease too. Have a home charger so that helps with costs.
Any car can go wrong, of course, but bills for battery or drivetrain work when out of warranty aren't cheap.
New HV battery pack bill (fortunately in warranty) was £16k. That's on a 2021 Model 3 performance.
Like I say, every car can have big bills, but go into it with eyes open; EVs are cheap when they go out of warranty for a reason!
New HV battery pack bill (fortunately in warranty) was £16k. That's on a 2021 Model 3 performance.
Like I say, every car can have big bills, but go into it with eyes open; EVs are cheap when they go out of warranty for a reason!
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