Is there a generalized VIN # where improved fit and finish could be seen?

I wish I knew. Given the "continuous improvement" system at Tesla and the amount of discussions about such things on this forum and Tesla's, I thought for sure there would be a website somewhere that had rough VIN estimates of when various improvements happened and when various other changes took place (availability and cessation of options, colors, etc.).

There was a lot of variation from car to car on the early cars. Cars built in the middle of a quarter could be better than ones built the last week of a quarter. Also depending on how picky the original owner was and how many issues they had worked on by Tesla Service there could have been many updates and tweaks to a specific car.

I would recommend making a list of specific features or price range that you can use to find a car. Make sure to test drive it and see for yourself how it feels.

My 60's VIN is in the 19,000 and I just had the car in for service. I was given a loaner in the VIN 29,000 and it wasn't in as good of shape as mine. I have any lots of minor issues addressed over the 2+ years and so my car is in great shape, feels very tight, is very quite inside and looks almost new with 53k miles on it. The loaner I had with 27k miles on it was louder, and wasn't as nice to drive. I favor 19 vs 21 in wheels as well, but even other than that.

A long test drive should give you the info you need about a specific car, also Tesla Service will take good care of you no matter what car you end up with.

BigAirHarper said:

Mods feel free to move if not in the appropriate place, but I'm shopping for a CPO on Hanks website (fantastic btw Hank) and was curious if the was a generalized VIN that I should stay beyond, like anything after 30xxx? I know it's hard to make these types of broad statements but I know many of you have driven multiple model S's so I'm just looking for some input. Newer is obviously better but what should be my cut off when looking at older ones? Thanks!

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That's probably a good starting point above 30,000 but as said above, it's tough to know outside a test drive. Cars with autopilot are even newer so might be a good starting point as well.

If I was looking now I would focus on the features that I wanted in the car and then take my target out for a quiet test drive. The 2 biggest changes to me were the intro of autopilot and dual drive. This first happened roughly around October 2014 and the VIN was around 55xxx. My S85P+ was in this range with autopilot. In 14 months it only saw the service center for annual maintenance, 4G upgrade, winter tire swap out and pax door window fix. All of that was in two visits. The quality was excellent and noticeably better and quieter than the 2 earlier versions S85P+ that I drove.

My 63xxx autopilot hasn't had a single issue in 14 months of ownership, as a reference.

If I were you shopping CPO, I'd get early autopilot which means mid 50s VINs if I'm not mistaken, and I wouldn't get dual drive given that you live in Florida.

I looked for a CPO with specific features in my price range. My VIN is 91XX and my car is as tight as a drum. I was having some small items taken care of and had two loaners, both 2013's. One of them had over 50K miles and was as quiet and tight as mine. The other had 25K miles and did feel as tight. What may drive your decision is whether you want AP.

I can attest to the impression that my VIN 29134 appears to be much better quality build than my first S (VIN 18968). From the other cars I have driven (quite a few) I feel the quality improved over time, but no big jump anywhere, just small improvements over time.

My 16XXX VIN has excellent fit and finish, better even than some current deliveries I'm seeing today. Considering that was a mid-2013 delivery, I'm not sure if there is VIN cutoff for such a thing.

While average quality is likely improving over time, there are many fits and starts, including backwards slides. Tesla is constantly making changes, but they are not all improvements as far as the customer is concerned - many of them are to make the car cheaper or faster to build. Not to mention a machine can get out of whack, or a person tired or inattentive, especially when under special pressure like an end-of-quarter push. My car is VIN #112 and I am extremely happy with its condition (even after helping deliver a couple hundred new ones a few months ago). Some people still getting new cars have many complaints. A new car is statistically likely to be better than an old car, but you aren't going to buy a statistical sample so unfortunately that doesn't help you.

So, essentially, there are really no shortcuts. Any car new or old could be in good or bad shape, so you'll just have to check it out.

Note that I'm talking about reliability and quality. If it's a specific feature, like AWD or autopilot that you are looking for, then yeah there are generally VIN cutoffs you can find.