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Buying a used tesla

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If you are buying from a private party, and want Tesla to inspect the car, they will for about $200-300. I've done this... hardest part, wait time to get an appointment at the service center.
 
What if you are buying from tesla? Though certifications have no legal definition and they are pretty much worthless.

mon, I don't know current policy re Roadsters, but, when they had significant Roadster CPO inventory (they had 50 or more in 2013), they added on several years and tens of thousands of miles of warranty covering just about everything as an assurance on the quality of their CPO vehicles.
 
If you are buying from a private party, and want Tesla to inspect the car, they will for about $200-300. I've done this... hardest part, wait time to get an appointment at the service center.

I had the same thing done when I purchased my Roadster back in October of last year. Had the same issue...was WEEKS to get an appointment.

And, for the record, Tesla told me that the Pre-Purchase Inspection (PPI) went great. They found no issues with the car.

It's going in for unscheduled service tomorrow morning. This is the 3rd trip in the 8 months(and 5K miles) I've had the car (and the 2nd trip in a week). FYI, one of the trips to the service center was because the car totally died on me. Left me on the side of the road; car had to be flat-beded to Tesla...and that repair was in the $5K neighborhood.

A PPI is nice but, it's not a warranty.
 
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Hi Roadster enthusiasts, I was with TESLA for 8.5yrs, left due to family issues, but still have an open door to come back. I've been entertaining the idea of doing independent inspections of used Roadsters, and Model-S. I was there for the launch of both models, in England twice at the Lotus factory for the Roadster 2.0 production, and Menlo Park where the Roadsters had the drive train and batteries installed. I worked on many well known folks vehicles, and contributed to mods turned into Service info bulletins. I was at the factory before the first Model-S was released, it's been the best experience in my 40+ years in the automotive industry.
I'm looking for feedback, thanks for your replies,
Original Amps
 
Also, I'll post a pic now and then, as a former employee I have to be careful what I say and do-I have an original IPO bottle of wine with a Roadster label, and had Elon sign it when the last U.S. Roadster was finalized in Menlo Park.....I had the honor of putting the belly pan on it at Deer Creek HQ, and asked the customer to help install the emblem on the front.
Stay tuned, there's more to come,
Original Amps
 
Just got an email from Gruber Power about a PEM shorting problem - the more independent shops the better! I don't think Tesla would do this, they'd just make you buy a new PEM.

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Would enjoy seeing those pics. I think you should start an independent service shop. It's hard to know if the techs working on our cars these days have much experience with Roadsters.
I appreciate the feedback, but wouldn't open a shop at this point in life. We are moving from the SF Bay area to California's Central Coast in the next couple of months-looking for a far less hectic area and lifestyle. Palo Alto Ca. is one of the better shops for Roadsters, I helped bring some quality Techs up to speed, and they enjoy working on the Roadsters. My thoughts are to give honest findings on used vehicles out of warranty, minor repairs at my discretion. There are many Roadsters over the 75k mile mark, it's been quite the accomplishment, and not just a flash in the pan.
Thanks so much,
Original Amps
 
I too am considering a Roadster and this thread seemed as good as any other to ask a couple of questions. Thanks in advance.

1- In researching differences between the various models I saw a reference to the "VDS was moved to the center console." No clue with the VDS is. Yes, I searched the forum but did not find.
2- I know the Roadster is "quirky." Anyone care to be specific?
3- Any rumors of updates past 3.0? Is _any_ Roadster a 3.0 upgrade candidate? What is a clear indicator that the 3.0 upgrade has been done? Just looking at the guess-o-meter (indicated range)?

I currently have a BMW i3 and a Miata conversion I did myself. The Miata lately has been like an abusive girlfriend and has an intermittent electrical problem in the BMS that I am ready to give up trying to find; ergo, am thinking of replacing the Miata with a Roadster.
 
VDS is vehicle display screen. Just a smaller version of the big touch screen that is in the Model S. They would have have put a bigger screen in the Roadster but then they would have had to make the car bigger ;). The 2.5s have the screen in the center face of the dash below the radio. In a 1.5 it is to the outside of the steering wheel. Not sure what others might mean by quirky but our Roadster has plenty of squeaks and rattles and sometimes the software that runs everything can be a little 'sensitive' but the thing to remember is this: It is very very fun to drive.
 
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I too am considering a Roadster and this thread seemed as good as any other to ask a couple of questions. Thanks in advance.

1- In researching differences between the various models I saw a reference to the "VDS was moved to the center console." No clue with the VDS is. Yes, I searched the forum but did not find.
2- I know the Roadster is "quirky." Anyone care to be specific?
3- Any rumors of updates past 3.0? Is _any_ Roadster a 3.0 upgrade candidate? What is a clear indicator that the 3.0 upgrade has been done? Just looking at the guess-o-meter (indicated range)?

I currently have a BMW i3 and a Miata conversion I did myself. The Miata lately has been like an abusive girlfriend and has an intermittent electrical problem in the BMS the at I am ready to give up trying to find; ergo, am thinking of replacing the Miata with a Roadster.

On the VDS it is a small 3" touch screen computer that shows, power, power usage, power graphs and a host of other useful information. On the 1.5 is is by the driver's left knee and is handy when changing charging parameters. But the 2.x has it in the center so a passenger can see the fun.

on 2, squeaks and rattles are common but with sound reduction 1 and 2 like my car they are minimized. To me the quirkiest is the getting in and out. The Roadster is more of a car you put on like tight jeans rather than get in. Very much like a Lotus Elise which is it's base. A friend who has a Miata said he liked parking next to me as I was the ONLY car that made his feel big.

And nothing likely past the 3.0 battery upgrade. It should have an R80 badge on the rear and the VDS should show 260 - 345 miles miles on a full charge depending on the settings. A normal Roadster would not be above 240 and more likely 215 miles on a full range charge. And the range I found quite accurate and thus far from guesing.
 
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On the VDS it is a small 3" touch screen computer that shows, power, power usage, power graphs and a host of other useful information. On the 1.5 is is by the driver's left knee and is handy when changing charging parameters. But the 2.x has it in the center so a passenger can see the fun.

on 2, squeaks and rattles are common but with sound reduction 1 and 2 like my car they are minimized. To me the quirkiest is the getting in and out. The Roadster is more of a car you put on like tight jeans rather than get in. Very much like a Lotus Elise which is it's base. A friend who has a Miata said he liked parking next to me as I was the ONLY car that made his feel big.

And nothing likely past the 3.0 battery upgrade. It should have an R80 badge on the rear and the VDS should show 260 - 345 miles miles on a full charge depending on the settings. A normal Roadster would not be above 240 and more likely 215 miles on a full range charge. And the range I found quite accurate and thus far from guesing.


Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated. IN the BMW "i" groups the range gauge is derisively referred to as the GOM or guess-o-meter.