Official Tesla Model S thread

[palmermd]

And a new price.

Tesla's ~$50,000 BEV now will cost you $72,700, before adding options and subtracting rebates.

Get over it. Tesla has not mentioned $50k starting price in over 3 years.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Funny the Tesla site says "timeless design" on the the model S page. Seems like it's anything but timeless: Either before or after 4/12/2016 :lol:

 

[sparky]

I like the new look but here's a specific reason to like the refreshed Model S nose:

Official EPA Ratings For Refreshed Tesla Model S - 90D Range Is 303.2 Miles Highway

So, now we have a 300 mile EV. Which for years seemed to be some kind of benchmark for BEV doubters.
Not sure why it was ever such a major milestone except "my ICE-car can go 300 miles", ergo.

Kudos Tesla.

 

[keydiver]

Yeh, but now the nay-sayers will have to raise the bar to 350 or 400 miles range. I don't know why some people just can't admit that, although the car might not meet their needs, it may be perfect for a lot of others, and just leave them alone. I'm really anxious to see the range of the Model 3 when they do Reveal #2.

 

[Valdemar]

Anyone else noticed the CPO listing no longer shows anything? I find it hard to believe they disposed of all the cars they had on hand, some were listed at close to MSRP minus the tax credit.

 

[sparky]

Anyone else noticed the CPO listing no longer shows anything? I find it hard to believe they disposed of all the cars they had on hand, some were listed at close to MSRP minus the tax credit.

According to the TMC forum, this seems to happen periodically.
Here's some alternate web-sites that claim to track CPO cars.

http://www.ev-cpo.com/
https://www.teslainventory.com/

 

[edatoakrun]

I expect the reality that model S is designed to be a money pit as it ages (and the Model X, even more so) will eventually sink in, as more and more reports like the one below surface:

2012 Tesla Model S Needs $8500 Brake Repair

May 21st, 2016 by Steve Hanley

A Tesla owner from the Toronto area purchased a Model S just before Christmas, 2012. That makes it one of the older Model S sedans out there, but it still only has a just over 60,000 miles on it. The car is long since out of warranty. Concerned about a rattle and softness in the brake pedal, he took his car to his local Tesla service center and was shocked to find that it would cost $8,500 to fix his car...

In the end, the service center decided not to charge the customer for the labor involved, which lowered his actual cost to “only” $5,824.75...

http://gas2.org/2016/05/21/2012-tesla-model-s-needs-8500-brake-repair/

https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/ouch-first-huge-repair-bill.70396/

 

[Valdemar]

I expect the reality that model S is designed to be a money pit as it ages (and the Model X, even more so) will eventually sink in, as more and more reports like the one below surface:

Hardly a surprise, stories like this leave one wondering how deep of dive will resale value take after all warranties expire.

 

[sparky]

Hardly a surprise, stories like this leave one wondering how deep of dive will resale value take after all warranties expire.

Looking at this story it appears to be a standard dealer-sized repair estimate for a brake overhaul. The brakes are Brembo and can be rebuilt by most shops for well under $1K per wheel. I wonder if Tesla did the brake fluid change regularly; sounds like it was moisture corrosion. Of course even $3500 for a brake job ain't cheap.
This guy had the extended warranty but I presume brakes are a "wear item".
Still not as bad as the "wear item" on my LEAF which will cost me $5800 to restore a measly 25 miles of range.
Of course I could just sell it for $6k and buy some other EV that will bleed value. I'm actually pleasantly surprised with how well the value of my S85 is holding up. Figured I'd be down near $40K by now. Still pretty close to 50.
Now wondering if I should bother buying the Extended Service Agreement. Decision time is coming up. Guess I'll forego any CPO Tesla that comes from a state with "winters".

 

[pkulak]

I'm actually pleasantly surprised with how well the value of my S85 is holding up. Figured I'd be down near $40K by now. Still pretty close to 50.

Yeah, I'd say resale is doing pretty well. Compare a Tesla to a 2012 BMW or Mercedes, for example. I planned on buying a used Model S for ever, but finally gave up earlier this year: those prices are just too sticky.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

$5800 for brakes on a four year old car isn't a big deal when you think of all the money you saved on gas.

 

[cwerdna]

$5800 for brakes on a four year old car isn't a big deal when you think of all the money you saved on gas.

I've spent $0 on anything brake related other than maybe a brake fluid change or two on my over 10 year old 06 Prius, which I've had since Jan 06. (And yes, I'm still on the original pads, but the car doesn't even have 80K miles on it...)

If someone charges a Model S at home exclusively on PG&E (Pacific Gouge and Extort) rates, it is not particularly cheap to drive a Model S due to the crap baselines and high rates. Someone else ran calculations for me ages ago: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=155519#p155519. http://www.pge.com/tariffs/tm2/pdf/ELEC_SCHEDS_E-1.pdf are our current non-TOU rates.

I'm in Area X, Code B of http://www.pge.com/en/myhome/saveenergymoney/financialassistance/medicalbaseline/understand/index.page, which means 10.1 kWh/day in "summer" is my daily baseline allotment and 10.9/kWh in winter. We're now in "summer", so for a 30 day billing period, every kWh beyond 303 is beyond the baseline. Every kWh beyond 606 is costs 36.389 cents. If one averaged 3.5 miles/kWh (not sure what typical efficiency from the wall a Model S is, but we know it's much less efficient than a Leaf), at those rates, each mile is 9.5 cents.

A Prius achieving only 40 mpg at $4/gal costs 10 cents/mile. We're not at $4/gal gas at the moment in CA.

Now, thinking about it, I don't think I've spent $5800 in total for maintenance, repairs or wear items on my Prius since I've had it.

 

[edatoakrun]

I'm actually pleasantly surprised with how well the value of my S85 is holding up. Figured I'd be down near $40K by now. Still pretty close to 50.

Yeah, I'd say resale is doing pretty well. Compare a Tesla to a 2012 BMW or Mercedes, for example. I planned on buying a used Model S for ever, but finally gave up earlier this year: those prices are just too sticky.

You can buy a highly optioned low-mile p85 for ~$50 k.

....lightly used 2013 Tesla S P85. The Tesla has Tech Package ($3500), Sound Studio Package($2500), Performance Package, Pano Sunroof, Air Suspension, and 21" wheels. Add all this together and you come up with a sticker price of almost $105,000 and with only around 10,000 miles.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-Tesla-Model-S-P85-/282045286547?forcerrptr=true&hash=item41ab358893%3Ag%3AiV4AAOSwbPxXQKxM&item=282045286547&nma=true&si=KgjQZYuZN7lFDORDfgYONZKohp4%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

And higher-mile S 60s are going for ~new-LEAF-SL (pre-incentive) money, ~$36 k.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-Tesla-Model-S-/301954358404?forcerrptr=true&hash=item464de1dc84%3Ag%3AhSUAAOSw-tNXH4y7&item=301954358404&nma=true&si=KgjQZYuZN7lFDORDfgYONZKohp4%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Just remember how much more you will have to pay in the future, just to keep them on the road...

 

[smkettner]

$5800 for brakes on a four year old car isn't a big deal when you think of all the money you saved on gas.

60,000 miles seems way too soon to need this expensive complete rebuild or replacement of major brake components.
This is a defect IMO.

 

[Firetruck41]

"Dealer" prices for repair are usually exorbitant. I got a quote for $3600 in repairs when I took my aging Acura MDX in for recall work last year. I did it the recommended items myself for $600 in parts (trans mount, struts/shocks, brake fluid exchange trans fluid R&R, and a few other minor items). Any independent shop would have been much less $ than the dealer also. So those kinds of stories don't frighten me, except, I am not aware of whether those common maintenance type items are exclusively Tesla parts, or whether there are aftermarket parts available, considering Tesla's (relatively) limited numbers.

 

[DaveEV]

"Dealer" prices for repair are usually exorbitant.

The biggest problem is that unless you are Tesla or a Tesla authorized body shop, you simply can not buy new replacement parts.

This significantly raises the cost of repairs for Tesla vehicles.

 

[Zythryn]

"Dealer" prices for repair are usually exorbitant.

The biggest problem is that unless you are Tesla or a Tesla authorized body shop, you simply can not buy new replacement parts.

This significantly raises the cost of repairs for Tesla vehicles.

The brakes are Brembo brakes and can be serviced anywhere that handles high performance brakes.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Was this so expensive because it was the "P" version?

 

[Zythryn]

Was this so expensive because it was the "P" version?

I'm unsure if the performance model has even bigger brakes or not.
Brembo brakes are very expensive and designed for very high performance vehicles.

I'm hoping that the Model 3 has much more reasonably priced brakes.
I'm at 66k miles on my 2012 myself with no issues around the brakes so far. We will see how it goes.

 

[redLEAF]

There are actually a few cars that have offered Brembo brakes as an option; of course you would not be typically paying and/or need all the components for a refresh but it gives you a general idea:

Porsche Boxster -- $7,400 Brembo brakes option (also its 2013 so a few years back)

http://therealcarsreviews.blogspot.com/2013/11/carbon-ceramic-brakes-vs-conventional.html

Of course this article goes on to say that some may have these last up to 100K miles so this owner may be considered as getting short changed and REALLY used them on a track, etc. a bit too much --- Tesla's aren't Boxster's so perhaps the cars weight had something to do with premature replacement need.