Buy a used Tesla

[Robert Adams]

Ok, question.
After reading about the patent giveaway and the issues Tesla is having with their sell direct way of doing business, decided to see if any cars had hit the used market yet....excuse me, PRE-OWNED.

Wondering what the down side is to buying one of these cars pre-owned? Extended service contract probably a given?

Found one or two, but this one looks pretty cool but still quite a chunk of $$$. I saw one at our local C&C and I have to say it's a pretty awesome looking car in person. Just wondering in two years with maybe 24k miles on it, if it will be worth anything?

Tesla Roadster 2.0 Sport

Tesla Roadster 2.0 Sport - $79000 (Midtown West)
There are about 1000 of these in the US today, and the last production run ended in 2011.

0-60 in 3.7 seconds. Tested and Verified.
Max Range: 245 miles or more.
Fuel Economy: 120mpg
Autocheck Score: 95

[LWJ]

No tax credit for used I suspect.

[RF5BPilot]

I can only think of positives:
- Rated highly/reliable
- Minimal maintenance -- so hard for someone to get behind the curve; you also have fewer issues from ham-fisted mechanics who've been screwing with the car
- Not a kids car - so unlikely to have been thrashed
- Automatic - so you're not having to repair damage/wear on a manual from someone with poor technique
- Web Updates - so it's less likely to have systems be dated over time.

Probably would want to check with the company to make sure there are no features or services that are only offered to the original owner.

[Steve Carlton]

Here's some negatives:
- 4 year old car selling for extremely high percentage of original price
- high risk factor of Tesla going out of business or falling out of favor (Fisker, Karma) resulting in value free fall and parts availability issues

Downside potential enormous, IMHO. Does Telsa lease used cars?

[Scott R]

Four year old luxury car out of warranty? no way.

[cairns]

Go to Carmax and check out what kind of Porsche you can buy for $79K- most still under warranty.

No contest.

[widgeon13]

What's is cost to full charge one of those things?

[TheMentat]

My understanding is that the Tesla Roadsters are generally regarded as a prototype. They are a converted Lotus, and the "fit and finish" are nowhere near that of the Model S. I'm not sure what the range is on those things, but I'd venture a guess that they are pretty useless. As said before, you could do a lot better for that kind of money.

If you really want a Tesla (or any other electric), keep saving your pennies and get a Model S.

[porsche4life]

Who in this thread has actually driven one?

I have, and it's a very impressive car. It's extremely quick, and it handles a corner with ease. Awesome little car. They are not just a "converted lotus" schumi posted once about all the difference between the two chassis and it was enormous. Yes lotus built the chassis, but it was built to be a tesla from the start. I'd say the risk of tesla going under is no less than any other specialty make at this point. And as far as service? What service. They really don't need much or have much to break. If I had 80k to spend and wanted a roadster with a short range, I'd be all over it.

[95avblm3]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

Who in this thread has actually driven one?

I have, and it's a very impressive car. It's extremely quick, and it handles a corner with ease. Awesome little car. They are not just a "converted lotus" schumi posted once about all the difference between the two chassis and it was enormous. Yes lotus built the chassis, but it was built to be a tesla from the start. I'd say the risk of tesla going under is no less than any other specialty make at this point. And as far as service? What service. They really don't need much or have much to break. If I had 80k to spend and wanted a roadster with a short range, I'd be all over it.

I have too!!!

When they were in production, I took my dad to a test-drive event here in Tampa. It was the fastest accelerating car I have ever been in and was an absolute hoot to drive. At times, on a whim, I will do exactly what the OP did and go search for used ones but at $79k, still a little rich for my blood. Call me an early adopter (I'm hardly one, really), but given an increase in my financial status or a decrease in the asking prices of either a roadster or a Model S, I would have no qualms about adding one to my stable.

[Steve Carlton]

I bet if you had 80-large you'd be looking at other stuff. Or you could risk having a car worth 20-large in five years.

[porsche4life]

Uhhh. 996s were trading for 80 large at some point too? 997s are headed there now too. Arguing purely on depreciation is invalid in this segment.

[gtc]

I'd be looking for a GT3 or a Ferrari if I had 80 grand to blow on a sports car. Shouldn't be too much depreciation with those. (996 GT3s seemed to level out a while ago)

The Tesla, however impressive, just seems like a toy to me - even more than an Elise.

[shoemakj]

Originally Posted by widgeon13

What's is cost to full charge one of those things?

Depends on the cost of your local electricity of course. I pay $0.13/kWh. The Roadster has a 53kWh battery according to Wikipedia. Assuming 10% charging loss, it would take about 58 kWh for a full charge, or in my case, $7.54.

[Steve Carlton]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

Uhhh. 996s were trading for 80 large at some point too? 997s are headed there now too. Arguing purely on depreciation is invalid in this segment.

Not following you point. I guess 996s were $80K+ when new, now not so much. Are you saying 997s are going up or down to $80K?

I'm not arguing purely on depreciation, but in general when you pay $80K for a car that listed for what, $109K brand new 4 years ago is top top dollar in my mind. I'm only predicting that such a Tesla would be $20K later, assuming that Tesla took a dump. There's a lot more downside risk than upside potential, I would say. Especially with a company I'd like to see stay in business, can't really be a solid bet. I think Tesla is going to be in trouble when a large manufacturer or three starts building their own electric cars that compete with Teslas. The track record for such companies hasn't been that good. Bricklin, DeLorean, Corbin, Fisker, Karma. I'm sure I'm missing a few, let alone Saturn, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saab, and Daewoo that come to mind. I see a lot less downside than in a well thought out purchase of a blue-chip car.

[legion]

Those batteries have a short life and are expensive to replace. Using the "superchargers" can half the battery life. I bet they are all but worthless at 5 years old.

[slodave]

"Those" batteries have a 8 year warranty (On the Model S). The Roadster batteries were estimated to drop to 70% capacity after 5 years. They have not. They dropped to 80-85%.

Tesla Roadster Batteries Aging Well - Popular Mechanics

[porsche4life]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

Not following you point. I guess 996s were $80K+ when new, now not so much. Are you saying 997s are going up or down to $80K?

I'm not arguing purely on depreciation, but in general when you pay $80K for a car that listed for what, $109K brand new 4 years ago is top top dollar in my mind. I'm only predicting that such a Tesla would be $20K later, assuming that Tesla took a dump. There's a lot more downside risk than upside potential, I would say. Especially with a company I'd like to see stay in business, can't really be a solid bet. I think Tesla is going to be in trouble when a large manufacturer or three starts building their own electric cars that compete with Teslas. The track record for such companies hasn't been that good. Bricklin, DeLorean, Corbin, Fisker, Karma. I'm sure I'm missing a few, let alone Saturn, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saab, and Daewoo that come to mind. I see a lot less downside than in a well thought out purchase of a blue-chip car.

My point was, that not buying a sports car because it *might depreciate like a rock* is pretty damned asinine. We could probably come up with a whole bunch of cars that have depreciated more than 60k in 5 years. Its not uncommon amongst sports or specialty cars. Look at M6s or S Class mercs for example...

If you can afford to spend 80k on a toy car and you want a tesla, buy a damn tesla. Buy what you want and will enjoy.

[FastCarFan]

Here is what a car-nut friend, who has owned a Tesla Roadster he bought new for several years, recently told me about the experience.

"...I have been very impressed with both the car and the company's service...I have had zero problems with (the) car, which is absolutely amazing for an early-edition, hand-built car from a bunch of computer nerds. lol...I have about 23,000 miles on my Roadster...It really has been a pleasant surprise -- and I have lost surprisingly little battery capacity (originally got 192, now get about 182 "real world" miles range on 80% charge), despite the fact that it has been used for 4+ years. Trust me -- the first time you leave a Viper or Porsche fading in your rearview mirror (at least for the first quarter mile - lol), you figure you can live without the V8 burble for awhile."

I sent him a link to this thread - maybe he will chime in.

[Steve Carlton]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

My point was, that not buying a sports car because it *might depreciate like a rock* is pretty damned asinine. We could probably come up with a whole bunch of cars that have depreciated more than 60k in 5 years. Its not uncommon amongst sports or specialty cars. Look at M6s or S Class mercs for example...

If you can afford to spend 80k on a toy car and you want a tesla, buy a damn tesla. Buy what you want and will enjoy.

Then I guess my point is, buying a car that might lose 75% of its value in 5 years is asinine. I can't afford that, but I guess if you could, you'd "be all over it." I wouldn't expect the Tesla roadster to depreciate like a rock unless something went south with the company. Otherwise, I'd expect them to hold their value well, as they've been well received and they're not making them anymore.

How would you feel if you had purchased a Fisker or a Karma, Sid?