Tesla now selling "Used" (non-CPO) cars

mrjedistud said:

Hey folks, before you go ahead and start calling me names like "Captain Obvious", I wanted to point out something that I noticed.
A sales advisor has been helping me out with CPO cars. In the process, he has been sending me a number of pre-release cars (not yet on the CPO site). Most of these will state CPO or certified in the description, but every now and then he will send me one that simply says "used". These used vehicles tend to have higher miles or come with a story. One had cosmetic damage that Tesla didn't want to fix, one had accidents, etc. As I asked more about these, I was told that they would not be certified and that the refresh on the warranty would not apply. As a result, they only had the balance of the original warranty left. I was told that if I were interested in any of them I could buy the ESA, but I know that there are other threads out there that discuss the issues with the ESA. I've seen some deeply discounted cars noted as "used".
Apologies if there is already a thread on this, but from my searching I have not seen anyone discuss this before.

I just want to make sure that anyone else looking into CPO cars like me is aware of the difference.

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This is actually really useful information to know. Thanks for sharing. So it seems cars that don't meet their CPO criteria are sold as "used" cars with the added benefit of being able to buy an extended warranty (ESA) for 4 additional years after the factory warranty runs out rather that auction off at a lower price. It makes sense that they do this as otherwise they'll be selling these cars at auction for a lower price.

This is actually great news in that it is an indication they are being selective in what cars that they "certify."

Good news for CPO buyers as it means more likely they will indeed get a great car without issues or a history that might not be comfortable to some. Presumably cars with a poor service history or substandard condition/repairs may now be sold as just "used" cars.

The only thing I find seriously ironic and nonsensical about this situation has to do with the ability to purchase an Extended Warranty. So unless I am mistaken, Tesla will sell you a 2014 "used" car that for whatever reason isn't up to snuff to qualify as a Certified Car. Even though the car's history prevents it from being sold as a CPO car, they will happily sell you an Extended Warranty (ESA) that will cover that car until 2022 (2014-2018 factory warranty + 2018-2022 Extended Warranty)!!! Whereas if you buy a CPO car, that has presumably gone through a multi point check list, validation, and certification process to qualify Tesla's highest standards, that car's warranty will expire in 2019 with no way to extend it.

It's quite a bizarro world where the Tesla with not so perfect circumstances can have a warranty up to 2022 but a thoroughly checked out and certified Tesla can have a warranty only up to 2019. Who comes up with these policies?

MsElectric said:

... Even though the car's history prevents it from being sold as a CPO car, they will happily sell you an Extended Warranty (ESA) that will cover that car until 2022 (2014-2018 factory warranty + 2018-2022 Extended Warranty)!!! Whereas if you buy a CPO car, that has presumably gone through a multi point check list, validation, and certification process to qualify Tesla's highest standards, that car's warranty will expire in 2019 with no way to extend it.

It's quite a bizarro world where the Tesla with not so perfect circumstances can have a warranty up to 2022 but a thoroughly checked out and certified Tesla can have a warranty only up to 2019. Who comes up with these policies?

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Well, they know what was wrong, so anything related the car's "story" wouldn't be covered, where on a CPO car it should be. Also, as the OP hinted at, the ESA isn't as nice as the factory (or CPO) warranty in that it has a per issue charge.

davewill said:

Well, they know what was wrong, so anything related the car's "story" wouldn't be covered, where on a CPO car it should be. Also, as the OP hinted at, the ESA isn't as nice as the factory (or CPO) warranty in that it has a per issue charge.

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The OP said the car's come with the original factory bumper to bumper warranty and that coverage is comprehensive. I can't imagine them selling a car with mechanical faults so severe that it voids portions of the warranty the car is sold with even if were sold as a "used" car. My interpretation based on what the OP mentioned is that the "used" cars may have cosmetic or other issues but that the factory warranty is intact in full and that the cars can be purchased with the Extended Warranty ESA for additional peace of mind.

I can see people not wanting to buy CPO cars with paint issues and crazy high mileage but I doubt many daredevil Tesla customers will buy cars sold by Tesla if they came with portions of the warranty voided!

Still the point I made is valid in that you have a car that is worse condition than a CPO car that is apparently eligible for longer term warranty coverage than a CPO car.

This is great news! I think it is fair to say a solution, between not wanting to let cars go to the general (auction) market and not having them destroy the potential reputation of "Tesla CPO", needed to be something exactly like this. Otherwise, it was as if you couldn't figure out where cars that shouldn't be CPO were going, and you didn't want to go "sight, unseen".

If you get to buy a longer ESA, I would call that gravy. Yes, it costs more per incident, but I'd bet Tesla won't charge for repeat visits, and the price on some multi-thousand dollar repairs, like the MCU, could pay for it in one visit.

MsElectric said:

The OP said the car's come with the original factory bumper to bumper warranty and that coverage is comprehensive. I can't imagine them selling a car with mechanical faults so severe that it voids portions of the warranty the car is sold with even if were sold as a "used" car. ...

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Void is too strong a word. Imagine a car that had a rear-end collision, so Tesla decides not to certify it. After you purchase it, a crack develops in a structural member near the impact site. They could argue that it was the result of collision damage, not a manufacturing defect and refuse to repair it.

Anyway, they are not giving anything a buyer wouldn't have gotten if they had bought the car used from a third-party. If Tesla were to strip away the factory warranty or the ability to purchase the ESA, nobody in their right mind would ever buy a "used" car direct from Tesla!

Many thanks for this information! A car with some cosmetic damage will be ideal for my family, as we are not easy on cars from a cosmetic standpoint. We do a lot of tent camping, live in the mountains, park outdoors, and would feel pretty uneasy about buying an expensive vehicle in "pristine" condition. At the same time, I refuse to buy another gasoline vehicle and Tesla offers the only vehicle that can really replace an ICE for us.

So, based on what you mentioned, it seems like the only way to access information about this inventory is to talk to a sales advisor. So no searching the website for used units.

Based on the large number of used units they seem to have on hand (based on pictures and heresay) and the small number of CPO listings, this could really be a lot of units. Very exciting.

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Ok, so this has me really excited now. A used car that was never registered in Colorado is still eligible for our state's tax rebate of up to $6000, which a used S85 in the price range you are mentioning would easily qualify for. A 2+ year old car would also not be subject to our state's extremely high Own Tax that is weighted in years 1 and 2. My estimate is that tags for a 70D I'd like to buy next year would be nearly $2k per year for years 1 and 2.

Add to that the idea that I could have a ModelS that I wouldn't worry about letting the dogs ride in...sounds like a winner to me.

Previously I had no interest in CPO because the loss of tax incentive made little sense in CO compared to buying new, but an S85 for $40k - $6k tax break is getting into impulse buy territory as an option to replace our current SUV that we were going to keep along with the new S just to carry the dogs around.

Might be time to accelerate the timeline.