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Anyone NOT buying the extended warranty?

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Every time I've heard anyone talk about any repair not covered by warranty, the costs have been astronomical in comparison to any other car, so the question will be how reliable you think the car really is. Consumer Reports gave it an average rating for reliability, which isn't bad, but it's not excellent either, I'd probably pay for the warranty (and unless something changes in the near future about Tesla repair costs, get out before the warranty runs out!)
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't we usually end up NOT ahead in extended warrantees?

I too have heard that fixes are hugely expensive. My SC rep told me that just to replace a door handle is thousands! That being said, even if one went bad as well as other small things, I'd possible still be better without buying it.

I know that if I don't buy it and I wish to sell that my value might be killed as others don't want to take the same wish I did. Two definite pools of car buyers, those that only buy cars that are in warranty and those that do not. So if I want to be one that does want to own a car in warranty, does that mean I buy the extended and sell my car with 90,000 miles, still in warranty and buy another MS. I will be certainly contributing to the stock price increase if I do that.

Then again buying another car that is so similar to my own is not a "fun" idea. I'd like to wait for MS 2.0 with a completely refreshed interior and even exterior enhancements before buying another.... OK, I'm on a rant....

Anyone out there not planning on buying the extended warranty?

John
 
Green1, thanks for the feedback!

I'm not sure if this "not-for-profit"is a spin or not. I'm thinking Tesla is like any other company that is for-profit!

I stand corrected, the warranty is $4,000 plus taxes + $200 per incident deductible. Thats a lot less attractive than CPO'd BMW, etc. The CPO'd plans with other makes I've had in the past had $0 deductible. I knows that not the exact same as extended warranty but similar in a buyers eyes.

I'm leaning towards having the SC do a "once over" on the car before before it hits 50,000 miles the roll the dice.

I'd love to hear others experiences so I and others can make a more informed decision. Thanks in advance!

John
 
Normally yes, however Tesla has stated that service is not to be a profit centre, so things aren't exactly the same here.

I've never bought a car in warranty, but I don't think there's any possible way I could afford a Tesla that wasn't under warranty.

Yes they have said that but what does that mean? Any benefit of this has yet to be seen. Between the guy who was charged $15,000 for an out of warranty drive unit replacement (which since then has been added to warranty coverage) and the post today on the Tesla Motors forum Web site about someone being advised that if not for the warranty his door handle replacement would have cost about $1,000 I certainly would never consider owning one of these cars out of warranty.

Anything that goes wrong will likely be astronomically expensive to fix given that you have to source the parts from Tesla and essentially no one else will be available to service these cars for the foreseeable future.

As for people not coming ahead with warranties I beg to differ. At least that has been our experience with premium German cars (BMW and Mercedes). Both cases we've gotten back on average over twice what we paid in warranty fees. In the case of our Mercedes between the balance sprocket issue and the transmission issue and a bunch of other issues, over $12,000 in repairs have been covered by the warranty.

The other benefit of a warranty is peace of mind. It allows you to pay for the warranty and then not "worry" about a potentially astronomical repair bill. Tesla is likely to have fewer things to go wrong but when they do, they are going to be really expensive to fix. I'd rather pay the $4,000 than take my chances.

I find it especially odd that Tesla does not allow you to purchase an extended warranty for CPO cars and you are only left with the 4 year warranty they procide. With Mercedes and other brands the CPO warranty ADDs to the original factory warranty but does not replace it like the way the Tesla warranty is structured.
 
I have never been a fan of extended warranties, but I like working on my cars. Could I buy a replacement door handle or AC compressor from Tesla if the one on my car goes bad? I believe I've seen it here that Tesla does not sell their parts to individuals. If this is the case it means I could not save money by performing the work myself, I would be forced to take it to a service center and pay their labor rate. I don't like the lack of options.
 
The usefulness of an extended warranty is inversely proportional to the reliability of the car. Based on what I have read in this forum (plus I had an extended warranty with a Volkswagen Jetta Diesel on which I got back more than I spent), and also considering the newness & high complexity of the Tesla, I will be getting an extended warranty when I buy mine next year. I figure it will pay for itself if there is even one single repair incident.
 
I have never been a fan of extended warranties, but I like working on my cars. Could I buy a replacement door handle or AC compressor from Tesla if the one on my car goes bad? I believe I've seen it here that Tesla does not sell their parts to individuals. If this is the case it means I could not save money by performing the work myself, I would be forced to take it to a service center and pay their labor rate. I don't like the lack of options.
This is the part that worries me the most. I don't know enough about ICE engines to do much repair work on those (beyond replacing a few belts or filters) however I understand computers, electronics, and electricity quite well and thought that one of the great advantages to an EV is that it would finally be a vehicle that I understand and would feel comfortable working on. Unfortunately as long as Tesla refuses to let anyone work on their vehicles the cost of doing so will remain far too high.
 
Has anyone posted about getting repairs after they are over 50,000 miles? I am at 40,000 miles and plan to take the car in at 49,500 and get every little thing fixed. I probably will go without the extended warranty unless I hear some bad stories from others.
 
Has anyone posted about getting repairs after they are over 50,000 miles? I am at 40,000 miles and plan to take the car in at 49,500 and get every little thing fixed. I probably will go without the extended warranty unless I hear some bad stories from others.

Just remember to schedule your visit well in advance. My local service center is making appointments 5 weeks out!
 
So far, there doesn't seem to be one person who thinks rolling the dice is a good idea.

I haven't bought any warranties or service plans on the car. I think instead of getting the extended warranty, if something goes horribly wrong I'd consider trading in for a CPO. I'm not sure if this is a better move financially or not, but I have never been a big fan of extended warranties for any products.