- So you're ready to buy a Tesla.
Awesome.
But as someone that's bought and sold a few,
I can tell you there are some important things
to focus on and some other things
to not worry about as much.
Specifically, I wanna focus on buying a used Tesla
because this is what I recommend to almost everyone.
So it will be saving a lot on depreciation
and you still get a car that's about 99% same
as a brand new one.
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So before we get into the tips,
there's something critical that Tesla does different
that I think you need to understand,
and that is that they do not update
their cars year after year.
So, unlike Honda or anyone else that has a 2020 model
versus a 2019 model,
with Tesla it doesn't really work that way.
They don't make that distinction.
So, essentially a 2020 model is the exact same
as a 2019 model.
The main differences are in the trim levels
and the features that are included in each individual car.
So the first kind of pre-tip is to not worry
about the year of the car as much as the features
that it has that you might be wanting.
Okay, first official thing that I recommend
is to focus on the range that you're gonna need.
Having enough range to meet your needs
is the single most distinguishing quality
of picking an EV.
In my view it is the most important thing to think about.
And with that, you should really get the longest range EV
that you can afford above all else.
I say this as someone that's owned four different Teslas now
going all the way back to 2016
and even with their longer range compared
to other EVs on market, it still stands out
as the most important aspect of owning an EV
from my perspective.
So if you're looking back at older models like model S,
or model X, you'll see some with miles just over 200.
Now for me in my lifestyle, that's not really enough.
I go to LA on a regular basis from San Diego
where I live and having to charge two times
just for that one trip just made it not ideal for me.
So, you'll kind of wanna take stock
of the trips that you regularly do,
exclude longer road trips for now,
but just think about on a day-to-day basis
or month to month basis
how often are you going above
a certain number of miles
and make sure that the car you get
will fit within those budgets.
Now 200 miles might be totally enough for you,
but if you just wanna have a baseline
then I would recommend, I wouldn't buy a car
with less than 250 miles of range.
I just wouldn't do it.
The next thing I would focus on specific to Tesla
and buying used is the warranty.
When the cars are new they get usually a four year bumper
to bumper warranty that covers anything that goes wrong.
And then an eight year 100,000 mile battery warranty
in case any problems arise.
with the battery, which are pretty rare.
So depending on how old the car is that you're looking at
you're likely going to find them
with some kind of warranty left.
If you purchase directly from Tesla
you'll get an additional two year warranty
for that bumper to bumper one, since when they certified
and take the car they kinda add that back on
for when they resell it.
So let's talk about that quick.
Since I've owned all four, I can give you some tips
about things that may go wrong and how much those may cost.
My first Tesla was a 2013 Tesla Model S 60.
And over the years
that I had it, it had two issues.
One was a windshield wiper arm that broke
and they had to come replace that.
And the other one was a 12 volt battery that died
which I guess, you know was an issue they had to fix.
It wasn't really like a problem.
Now, both of these were fixed onsite at my house
via their mobile tech support.
And they covered the cost entirely.
So no problems there, had a great experience
with my Tesla Model S.
Now my Tesla Model 3 had loads of issues
that all stem from the production of the car
and it being one of the early units that Tesla made.
And again, Tesla replaced everything themselves.
They really took great care of me with that
and I didn't have to come out of pocket whatsoever
because again, it was under that full warranty.
Now this is with the exception
of one time I hit a pothole and something they said,
damage the radiator inside of the front area
which didn't make sense to me
but they asked me to pay $500 to repair it
since they said I caused that damage.
So other than that, no issues at all
with the model 3.
My next Tesla was the Tesla Model X.
This is the SUV with the crazy doors.
And this one has actually been decent for me.
The one thing though that I have had to do
on that car is replaced the air conditioning
which costs about $2,000
and quiet instantly it went out
just after the warranty expired,
not saying that's how they designed it, but you know
that's just how things happen.
Now at $2,000, it seemed like a lot to me, and it is a 2016.
So I am concerned that the AC went out
just four years after the car was built.
And that's not something that I would expect,
especially in San Diego
where it doesn't really get super hot.
So we don't use the air conditioning a lot.
So something to think about
if you're looking at older model Xs.
And lastly, that brings us to my Tesla Model Y
which is still very new at this point
but has had numerous issues related to body panel statement
and the alignment of things like the charge port.
Of course Tesla has covered the cost of fixing these
but it is really concerning that a brand new car
would have so many issues
that honestly Tesla doesn't really seem to be able to fix.
Honestly, a lot of those are still outstanding
because they just can't fix them.
So with all that said,
I would highly recommend getting a Tesla
with a warranty and also extending that warranty
if you're able to.
Now this brings up the question
as to where to buy your used Tesla.
My recommendation is to buy from Tesla directly
as they will provide that added two year warranty
but there are some other websites out there
that allow you to search through Tesla's warranty
like this one here, this EV-CPO site.
And they'll allow you to kinda do a much broader search
with some different filters and stuff
then going to Tesla's website directly.
So there are a few websites you can check out there
but in the end, I would highly recommend buying
your Tesla directly from the company themselves.
And one added note here about warranty and service.
After owning a few tells those one thing I came to learn is
that they burn through tires really quickly.
So be prepared to replace them every 20 to 25,000 miles
depending on which ones you get.
And I believe this is
because electric cars have so much torque
that they just basically shred through these tires
about twice as fast as a regular car.
Now, this brings us to a big feature
that you need to consider
one you've probably been thinking about a lot,
and that is autopilot.
If you're unfamiliar with autopilot,
basically it is what it sounds like.
It's Tesla's driver assist technology
that will help keep you in your lane.
And it will automatically speed up and slow down
with traffic kind of driving itself in a given conditions.
That Tesla has released several versions of autopilot
going all the way back to the first version in 2014,
which did the things that I just mentioned.
It was really basic.
And you can kind of think of it like cruise control plus.
Fast forward to 2016, and Tesla's ambitions grew a bit here
to include additional cameras and an updated processors
that they said would one day enable the car
to drive entirely on its own.
This is known as full self-driving or FSD.
And since this announcement,
there has been sort of a problem around this for Tesla.
Notably they were sued by the people
that had bought that version
for not delivering on their promise.
And Tesla agreed to pay them a settlement of $5 million
essentially giving them all a refund.
And since that version of autopilot
which was known as autopilot two has been released,
Tesla has upped the ante promising more and more features
as part of the full self-driving package.
And when it ever finally comes out,
but along the way they've introduced another version 2.5
that does include some of these newer features bundled
into something called enhanced autopilot
which they released in 2017.
This version enabled some new features like summon
which lets you drive the car remotely
through your phone to have it come pick you
up in a parking lot.
It'll literally pull out of a parking space
and drive to you wherever you are.
And it also will now park itself.
So this self-park feature
which I've honestly never been able to get right
will park in parking spaces when it to text them.
And of course, Elon repeatedly claims
that the cars will be fully autonomous any day now.
Now he's actually been promising this for years
and I do believe one day it will come
and it will become a reality.
But the main message here
is that having every version of this myself,
I can attest that that very first version
still works the best and is very similar
to the latest edition that you can buy.
As well as it's the most reliable version in my experience.
And even with the newer ones that I have,
like in my model Y, I don't use any of those newer features
because I don't trust them yet.
I've had a lot of close calls with me
and my family and the car, and it's just not worth it.
The first version giving this kind
of cruise control plus experience is plenty in my book.
Now people might argue this and tell you something
like your car is gonna be worth a million dollars
in five years because it can become a robot taxi for you.
But definitely when it comes to used Tesla,
I would pick any version of autopilot
and not worry about it
and really consider them basically all the same.
And that's especially true if this is your first Tesla.
I'm telling you, it'll be amazing.
And you will not know the difference
between that and a newer version.
So for the last tip, I just wanna mention that
there are a few hidden gems that these older models have
and you can see them when they're listed
on the Tesla website.
Notably some of these older models come
with free unlimited supercharging for life.
That means that you'll never have to pay to charge
at a supercharger, whether you're on a road trip
or whether you're just charging in town.
And another good one that some
of these older models have is free premium connectivity
which gives you things like built-in music streaming,
navigation and live traffic visualizations.
Whereas the newer cars,
you actually have to pay $10 a month for all that access.
So if you were to add that up for five years
which I'm guessing how long you'll probably keep your car
it's about another 600 bucks.
So you'd have to pay for a newer one versus the older one.
So you get a deal there.
So with all that knowledge at your disposal
you're ready to go shopping.
And I can say honestly, after having a bunch of these
that no matter which option you pick you're gonna be happy.
That's why I have no reservations
about always recommending Tesla to someone
that hasn't ever had one before.
It will completely blow you away.
I mean, even go take one for a test drive
if you wanna see what it's like
and then go buy the used one to save some money
not a bad plan on it.
And if you wanna hear which one is my overall favorite
check out this video I did over here with my wife
where we reviewed each one side by side
to give you our kind of true thoughts
about owning each different Tesla.
And that's it for this one, guys,
please like share subscribe.
And don't forget when you feed the data
your mind will follow up.
I'll see you back here in the next one.