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Potentially buying a 2008: Battery questions.

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I'm looking at buying a roadster. It is a 2008 model that is reporting 169-171 mile range in standard mode. It has about 20k miles on it. That range seems low to me, based on the study. The owner says part or all of the battery was replaced within the last year. Should I be concerned about that range being so low?

I asked about logs, but I don't think the current owner knows anything about how to get them. Is it something that can be done easily without OVMS?

One more question... Is there anything else to inspect or be concerned with when buying a roadster? It seems like the battery state is really the big one and if everything else looks and feels mechanically sound, it will likely be ok.
 
Logfiles can be downloaded to a USB stick. If you search in the forum you should be able to dig up the protocol do dump them on the stick. The stick needs to be a certain capacity and there has to be a directory made on the stick that tells the Roadster to dump the logs. Then lookup how to run the VMSParser to view the CAC of the pack, that'll show you the true health of the pack. Here's the link that shows you how to dump the logfiles: https://upload.teslamotors.com/

As for the battery, ask the owner if the previous pack had the same range as this one. Usually Tesla tries to put in a pack that's equivalent in Range. Most likely they swapped out the packs and sent the old one out to be refurbished. As for the range being low, it could be low for that the pack needs to be driven and re-calibrated such as the CAC & Ideal miles. You'll need to ask the owner about his driving habits. Also if the pack is out of balance that can cause the range to be low. However if the Roadster is plugged in all the time it should be properly balanced.

Battery pack is the main thing to ensure is healthy. I'd also see if you can get the maintenance records on the Roadster just to know what was worked on if any.
 
Take it to a service center

I'm looking at buying a roadster. It is a 2008 model that is reporting 169-171 mile range in standard mode. It has about 20k miles on it. That range seems low to me, based on the study. The owner says part or all of the battery was replaced within the last year. Should I be concerned about that range being so low?

I asked about logs, but I don't think the current owner knows anything about how to get them. Is it something that can be done easily without OVMS?

One more question... Is there anything else to inspect or be concerned with when buying a roadster? It seems like the battery state is really the big one and if everything else looks and feels mechanically sound, it will likely be ok.
I suggest that you take it to a service center. For a couple of hundred dollars they will go over the entire car, not just the battery.
 
I'm looking at buying a roadster. It is a 2008 model that is reporting 169-171 mile range in standard mode. It has about 20k miles on it. That range seems low to me, based on the study. The owner says part or all of the battery was replaced within the last year. Should I be concerned about that range being so low?

I asked about logs, but I don't think the current owner knows anything about how to get them. Is it something that can be done easily without OVMS?

One more question... Is there anything else to inspect or be concerned with when buying a roadster? It seems like the battery state is really the big one and if everything else looks and feels mechanically sound, it will likely be ok.

Mine reports 171 (in winter) with almost 17K miles on it. Mine is not the best out there (who knows how previous owners treated it?) - but checks out as healthy. It does 3-5 miles better in warm weather.

I wouldn't be concerned.
 
I'm looking at buying a roadster. It is a 2008 model that is reporting 169-171 mile range in standard mode. It has about 20k miles on it. That range seems low to me, based on the study. The owner says part or all of the battery was replaced within the last year. Should I be concerned about that range being so low?

I have a 2008 with 29,000 miles and get a standard charge of 170 ideal miles so it appears to be right in line.
 
Hi,

One more quick question. If the car was previously in performance mode and then switched to standard mode during or after charging, is it possible to have charged to a range charge?

In one picture, the car shows 196 ideal miles in standard mode, but it is possible the car was previously ran in performance mode before that charge. Is that accurate?
 
It's possible they could have done a range mode charge, but then switched it back into standard driving mode. That would charge up the top 10% of the battery that normally wouldn't be charged in a standard mode charge. 196 miles minus 10% is about 176 miles, so that's not too far off from the 171 miles you originally mentioned.
 
Does that seem fishy to anyone else? Maybe they charged in range mode, then put it back into standard mode and initiated another charge? That would make it show a standard charge as complete, but the extra range would be there from the prior range charge that never got run down. I think???
 
Yeah, strange. Well, I guess I'll find out. I'm going to go ahead with the purchase. I'll bring a flash drive and dump the logs. I didn't read too closely, but it looks like I can get the CAC with just a USB drive and some software. That should give the real answer...