Charviolon said:
I am also looking at a 2014 Tessa S85 74k miles, in the mid $40k range. It is out of warranty, but it would be excellent for extended trips. Would you anticipate post-warranty problems in either car? Thanks.
You should budget for stuff like
- MCU: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/2700-to-fix-mcu-might-diy-but-how-much-to-reprogram-new-unit.94391/
- half-shafts: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/clunking-sound-is-costing-me-a-bundle-to-fix-out-of-warranty.93857/
- door handles: IIRC, they're at least $800 a piece to replace, unless you can perform the repairs yourself.
I would consider dumping it after its 8 year/unlimited mileage drive unit and battery pack warranty are over. I question Tesla's long-term durability and reliability testing (or it could be their manufacturing or validation of running changes). Oddly, https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/automotive-reliability-and-durability-testing.56176/ is crickets. Some folks w/Model S are on their 7th or 8th drive unit (see https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/drive-unit-replacement-poll.29834/page-27#post-1603011, https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/6th-drive-unit-replacement-and-more.72974/page-2#post-1619754, and https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/drive-unit-replacement-poll.29834/page-27#post-1653580). Drive unit is the assembly that includes the motor, inverter and gearbox.
Be careful to look at people's prior posts if they claim their Model S (that has been several years) is very reliable or even "100% reliable" and "Model S is as good as it gets IMHO". You'll note that at https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/how-reliable-is-your-model-s.117032/page-2#post-2788639, I pointed out the above 8th drive unit guy made those statements! :roll:
Although https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/acceleration-shudder.74184/ is on the X, w/folks getting their half-shafts being replaced multiple times under warranty already + the number of folks who had trouble both the front doors and/or falcon wing doors (FWD) on the X, I think you can see why I raise the above questions.
Can you update your location info via your user name in the upper right > User Control Panel > Profile tab? That way, we don't need to ask in future posts/threads or do sleuthing to deduce it.
What are your daily driving needs in terms of miles? How much city vs. highway? Will you have the ability to charge at your work/destinations?