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Tesla wants to sell you a used Model S

techcrunch.com

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Re: Tesla wants to sell you a used Model S

#11

Post by hcho »

pkorzeniewski wrote: post #7
arenaninja wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm excited for the advancements in battery technology. Personally, I upvoted this one because it could put it in my price range

Affordable to buy, but to maintain? It's not like you can go to the first mechanic around the corner to fix something in Tesla, and I'm quite sure original parts are ridiculously expensive. It's the same thing as with luxury, old cars - you can buy, for example, an old Porsche 911 quite cheap, but you will pay twice the price for repairs.

There's very little that can go wrong in an electric vehicle. The only thing which can go terribly wrong is the battery pack; any damage there would mean a write off anyway.

Re: Tesla wants to sell you a used Model S

#12

Post by pkorzeniewski »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #8
pkorzeniewski wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Affordable to buy, but to maintain? It's not like you can go to the first mechanic around the corner to fix something in Tesla, and I'm quite sure original parts are ridiculously expensive. It's the same thing as with luxury, old cars - you can buy, for example, an old Porsche 911 quite cheap, but you will pay twice the price for repairs.

Tesla has an 8 year, infinite mile warranty on the power train (not sure what the rest of the vehicle is covered by). It also requires very little, if any, maintenance (tire rotations every 5K miles, brakes every 100K miles, battery replacement every 150-200K miles). For battery replacements, they just drop the pack and lift a new one in. For motor replacements, they just lift the 80 lbs motor out and drop a new one…

Model S has been around for 2 years, it's their first model (not counting the Roadster, which was rather exotic, not mass produced) and you assume nothing will ever brake? There are so many little things that are not covered by warranty and may be really expensive to fix - and just like any other car, things will brake with time. Let's be honest, Model S, new or used, is a luxury car for the rich - I would rather wait for a new model targeted at the middle class.

Re: Tesla wants to sell you a used Model S

#13

Post by hnnewguy »

>who want to forgo gas and buy a Tesla but cannot afford the high price of a new Model S

I love the idea of someone concerned about costs and prices buying a $50,000 used luxury vehicle with an unproven long-term reliability track record.

Edit: Wow, downvoted twice before I could even fix my typos. What a community.

Re: Tesla wants to sell you a used Model S

#14

Post by grecy »

larrys wrote: post #3

I want someone to explain HN's obsession with anything Tesla related. Is it the technology, the disruption or just Elon Musk's involvement? I understand articles appear that get upvoted I'm just wondering why this type of news would get upvoted.

I genuinely believe everything Musk is currently involved in (Tesla, Space X, Solar City, Hyperloop) is changing the world.

Re: Tesla wants to sell you a used Model S

#15

Post by larrys »

pkorzeniewski wrote: post #7
arenaninja wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm excited for the advancements in battery technology. Personally, I upvoted this one because it could put it in my price range

Affordable to buy, but to maintain? It's not like you can go to the first mechanic around the corner to fix something in Tesla, and I'm quite sure original parts are ridiculously expensive. It's the same thing as with luxury, old cars - you can buy, for example, an old Porsche 911 quite cheap, but you will pay twice the price for repairs.

On a new Porsche 911 (had two of them recently) snow tires cost me $1800 [1] (it actually does a nice job in the snow with them) and the first oil change was something like $400 or so at the dealer. I sold the second one recently (got a Porsche Suv) and it actually retained a fair amount of it's value after 2 years of use. I was surprised.

On a model that I sold I was able to get $450 approx for the snow tires. That said I didn't drive it much if I did I would have hit other maintenance windows.

Personally I would never keep a luxury or high performance car past warranty.

[1] Not only that but they are so large only certain places can even change them because of the width. Since the Porsche dealer is about an hour away I had to go to the BMW dealer to swap the summer tires at the end of the season. (There was a company that had a tire changing service that comes to you but they went out of business that was the best convenience.)

Re: Tesla wants to sell you a used Model S

#16

Post by bennyg »

hcho wrote: post #11
pkorzeniewski wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Affordable to buy, but to maintain? It's not like you can go to the first mechanic around the corner to fix something in Tesla, and I'm quite sure original parts are ridiculously expensive. It's the same thing as with luxury, old cars - you can buy, for example, an old Porsche 911 quite cheap, but you will pay twice the price for repairs.

There's very little that can go wrong in an electric vehicle. The only thing which can go terribly wrong is the battery pack; any damage there would mean a write off anyway.

Which would be awesome if it were true.

Re: Tesla wants to sell you a used Model S

#17

Post by toomuchtodo »

pkorzeniewski wrote: post #12
toomuchtodo wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tesla has an 8 year, infinite mile warranty on the power train (not sure what the rest of the vehicle is covered by). It also requires very little, if any, maintenance (tire rotations every 5K miles, brakes every 100K miles, battery replacement every 150-200K miles). For battery replacements, they just drop the pack and lift a new one in. For motor replacements, they just lift the 80 lbs motor out and drop a new one…

Model S has been around for 2 years, it's their first model (not counting the Roadster, which was rather exotic, not mass produced) and you assume nothing will ever brake? There are so many little things that are not covered by warranty and may be really expensive to fix - and just like any other car, things will brake with time. Let's be honest, Model S, new or used, is a luxury car for the rich - I would rather wai…

Why would their "new model targeted at the middle class" be cheaper to fix? Tesla/Elon has shown that they'll make good on vehicle upgrades/substandard parts if needed (battery shield and debris bar upgrades at no charge).

Re: Tesla wants to sell you a used Model S

#19

Post by bdamm »

hcho wrote: post #11
pkorzeniewski wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Affordable to buy, but to maintain? It's not like you can go to the first mechanic around the corner to fix something in Tesla, and I'm quite sure original parts are ridiculously expensive. It's the same thing as with luxury, old cars - you can buy, for example, an old Porsche 911 quite cheap, but you will pay twice the price for repairs.

There's very little that can go wrong in an electric vehicle. The only thing which can go terribly wrong is the battery pack; any damage there would mean a write off anyway.

Firmware errors. Loose wiring. Rotor overheating + damage. Brake sensors and control units. Steering component damage (e.g. from bumping up against a curb too violently.) Fried caps, just like everyone else. Damaged charging control units from poorly behaving charging stations. Distortions in the touch screens from heat. Damage to switches and doors from de-icing fluid. Damage to the underbody from road salt. Rusted connections in tail light fixtures. Damaged and/or leaking suspension seals. Air conditioning unit leaks/damage.

Dog hair, child puke, vomit entering electrical panels, jamming seatbelt mechanisms.

Light collision damage.

Etc.

Re: Tesla wants to sell you a used Model S

#20

Post by funkyy »

larrys wrote: post #3

I want someone to explain HN's obsession with anything Tesla related. Is it the technology, the disruption or just Elon Musk's involvement? I understand articles appear that get upvoted I'm just wondering why this type of news would get upvoted.

The company that changes one of the oldest and most established industries.

People were hating them and here is change.

Old companies protected by government just for a reason that there is no alternative got in people nerves.

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