Is a signature MS CPO vehicle worth it

Love my Sig. There were some wide-spread issues off the bat (door handles, defroster vents, AC shrouding, sunroof leaks/creaks) but those were fixed early on and the car is great now. We have over 50k and almost 3 years on ours.

You are right about features. No autopilot, AWD, parking sensors, etc. If those are important you are better off with a later car; but if they are not, the Sigs are great.

Hi MrJediStud,

I bought a CPO Signature (to be used in my business), and I don't know if I'd do it again.

The Signature Red, is a gorgeous color. Being a P85 I had a battery contactor squeal that was very loud. At first Tesla dismissed it, but after pressing quite hard, they have decided to send the battery back to Fremont to get the contactors checked out and to figure out why it is squealing so loud.

I never thought I'd say this, but if you don't care for the color, then buy the newest one you can. The fit and finish and overall quality of my 2014 P85D (P67544) is significantly better than the CPO Sig imho.

Ask me anything

We were trying to buy a CPO Signature in May, but we didn't act fast enough and it got away from us. We ended up with a low number VIN 2013 P85 (P064xx, manufactured Feb 2013). We tend to keep our cars a very long time, and in excellent condition, so we ride that depreciation roller coaster down into the trough and hopefully back up the other side, and getting something "special" would be key to that for us. The Signature would have been nice, but we're very happy with what we got.

Our P85 is pretty much fully loaded (there's just a few options it didn't have checked), but there are features it simply doesn't have the hardware for:
- folding mirrors
- parking sensors
- TACC hardware
- Autopilot (lane holding, etc)
but it does have fog lights!

The parking sensors would have been nice, but I'm fine without the folding mirrors and the TACC. For some reason, I just really don't like cruise control, and until full autonomous driving becomes possible, I'll continue to enjoy doing all of the driving myself.

I love my Sig red and the white leather interior. But if the colors are not important to you, I'd buy a newer version. Almost three years, 26,000 miles and not any mechanical issues. Some initial issues solved by software, like ChadS says above. I don't miss any of the "newer features", and wouldn't pay extra for them even if offered.

While I don't have a Signature, I do have an early 2013 Model S (VIN 5875) and it had many of the common problems for early VIN cars. But at this point I have a new drive unit, new 85 kWh battery, new 12V battery, new windshield, four new door handles, new frunk latch, various anti creak enhancements in the dash and A-pillar, and bunch of other new parts that Tesla proactively replaced. The car is now running great and I'm still extremely happy with it. As long as the original parts that tended to cause issues (contacter in 85 kWh battery pack, 12 V battery, drive unit, door handles, etc.) have been replaced, it's probably a pretty good car. Basically if the previous owner kept bringing the car back to Tesla service until it was perfect, everything should be in good shape now. Of course, if you really want parking sensors, auto folding mirrors, and the various other new features then a new car or newer CPO is probably what you want.

spentan said:

The fit and finish and overall quality of my 2014 P85D (P67544) is significantly better than the CPO Sig imho.

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I find this interesting. I have heard others say it before; and it makes sense that quality would improve over time (on average - it's clear there have been some backwards motions as they try to save money or increase production speed, especially at the end of quarters). But I just spent 3 weeks in June helping deliver brand-new Teslas, and inspected them in great detail. They looked and felt...really, really similar to my 3-year-old car, aside from one small gap near my hood (they have changed the latch mechanism). A couple had paint issues that mine doesn't have.

Do I have an extraordinarily good Sig (a possibility as Musk was supposedly personally inspecting cars at the time)? Or have some people like spentan gotten exceptionally good newer cars? Do I have a perception issue? I am not sure how to explain the difference in experiences.

Incidentally, we also sold quite a few CPOs and/or inventory cars. Some of them were indistinguishable from new; I had to see the VIN or paperwork to see that they weren't new. A couple were VERY obviously used; Tesla replaced some things (like a worn interior panel) but did not, say, repaint. No surprise, there seems to be quite a bit of variation, especially in used cars. As has been noted in other threads, it is best to examine any used car carefully before taking delivery. This may mean losing your deposit if you buy a remote CPO and don't fly out to see it first, which is unfortunate (though I certainly understand the policy). It's hard to examine carefully far in advance as they generally don't detail the car until right before it's delivered, simply because they don't have a clean place to store it.

I went for a Silver Sig, P85.....It had all of the "options" that were important to me. I was also worried initially about early production issues. After 90 days and 4000 miles I can say that I am tickled pink with the car overall. No faults worth mentioning and it was in great shape when I took delivery. The newer features were not deal killers for me since I know that when my lease runs out in 3 years I will get those in the next CPO car! The price was right for this one and I am in a Tesla a lot faster than otherwise!

I didn't notice that the Sig CPO was any higher than others. I chose my CPO not even knowing it was a Sig.

Buy the highest VIN number (production date) you can afford. Personally I'd never consider a signature Model S for purchase unless it was a crazy good deal that was priced substantially less than a newer VIN car.

MsElectric said:

Buy the highest VIN number (production date) you can afford. Personally I'd never consider a signature Model S for purchase unless it was a crazy good deal that was priced substantially less than a newer VIN car.

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I tend to agree with this statement; however, based on some people's interest in Sig cars, can somebody explain what is the reason why you would seek one out? Any reason besides unique colors?

AB4EJ said:

I tend to agree with this statement; however, based on some people's interest in Sig cars, can somebody explain what is the reason why you would seek one out? Any reason besides unique colors?

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Apart from the beautiful shade of red (wow what a nice color!), I personally see absolutely nothing special about a signature car as I care a lot more about the better quality and features of higher VIN cars. If I were advising a friend or family member on a Model S, my advise would be to buy a model S with the newest production date you can afford...

I so want to buy this 2012 Sig in Black. it's my 2013 CPO twin, except with rear seats. If i had the means today, I'd pick this one up with serial # 705. Ahh but for the CPO I bought in May, the solar, and the home improvements...damn... I wonder if it's an A or B pack, suspect an A, but maybe swappable to a B pack?

85 kWh Signature Performance Model S S00705 | Tesla Motors

seclinton said:

I so want to buy this 2012 Sig in Black. it's my 2013 CPO twin, except with rear seats. If i had the means today, I'd pick this one up with serial # 705. Ahh but for the CPO I bought in May, the solar, and the home improvements...damn... I wonder if it's an A or B pack, suspect an A, but maybe swappable to a B pack?

85 kWh Signature Performance Model S S00705 | Tesla Motors

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For "just" $7K more, I feel the following 2014 P85 is a better value and a better car (granted no RFS). And the 2014 prices might further drop to the lower $70Ks if you wait a bit. Given that the 2012 Sig you are looking at is "only" $7K less than a 2014 car I am inclined to say that it is a bad value/deal. Given annual depreciation of at least about $10-12K, that 2012 car IMHO is worth less. If it were me, I would not want to pay more than the mid to late $50Ks for a 2012 Sig.

http://www.teslamotors.com/models/preowned/P40323

There's a few things that older cars have that new ones don't, like
- springy cup holder cinchers
- chrome trim in trunk and frunk (that you can buy separately now)
- lower back seat headrests that don't block vision as much
- old style steering column with cruise control up top and turn signals down lower
- original style fog lights
There's probably many other little things too.
Hardware changes

but generally, I agree with MsElectric - get the highest VIN you can afford and remember there will always be newer models with more advanced features, but they are all still Teslas and all awesome!

Yes you are both right. But the highest VIN you can afford to. But I'll be honest, I personally would love a new P90DL, but am happy enough to not have that. You are right about value and the Sig being overpriced. Still traditionally, lower VIN numbers on ICE cars have held some higher residual value, and there's something to be said about having such a low VIN for such an awesome industry changing company. YMMV.