Roadster - new options

[jerry33]

I've been asking about extended warranties in this thread: Extended Warranty (not with new car))
I had an extended warranty that my wife (thankfully) made me buy for my Toyota Sienna (yeah, its a minivan - get over it I still LOVE this car!!) (one of the most sophisticated automobiles of its time in 2004). It wasn't the warranty the dealer usually tries to foist on you, but an honest to goodness Toyota warranty. I think I paid around $1500 for it in 2004 and it paid for itself several times over. The nav unit alone was around $3500, and the steering wheel (with the abs in it), etc. - AND there was no deductible! I think if a reputable company is behind it, an automobile warranty is worth it - of course it depends on what Tesla is going to charge for it. If its astronomical, that tells me that they don't have faith in their own cars

Nothing wrong with a minivan, they're the safest vehicles out there. They aren't popular because the soccer moms think a cramped SUV is somehow cooler. Fashion isn't logical.

I purchased the extended warranty on both my Prius and never used up what I paid. However, I considered it like fire insurance--if I'm lucky I'll only be out the premium. The cost (less than $1000 per Prius) was pretty cheap for the peace of mind that it gave.

[VolkerP]

Why would anyone be lucky if an extended warranty gets "used up" (=have more repairs than initial cost of the warranty?) It still means your car broke down and was not available during repair.

[jordanthompson]

SOOoo if you didn't have the warranty and the car needed work, that would be lucky? Fact of the matter is: most cars need repairs. You are REALLY lucky if yours doesn't

[daniel]

I've never had a repair on my 2004 Prius that would have been covered by an extended warranty. The basic warranty covered the broken cruise-control stalk, which was the only thing that has gone wrong with the car since I bought it except for:

1. I've had to replace the 12-v. battery, and
2. The car kind of went bonkers when the CAN-View (an aftermarket gadget) pooped out, and unplugging it fixed the problem.

I'm sure what Jerry means is that if you're lucky nothing ever goes wrong with the car. You're out the cost of the warranty, which he considers a small price for the peace of mind. If you're unlucky, and stuff goes wrong with the car, it gets fixed under the warranty. However, I find that in my experience, things seldom go wrong during the extended warranty period. They happen very early, or they happen when the car is older. The extended warranty period is kind of a golden range, when the car is old enough to have worked out the bugs, but young enough that age-related problems have not cropped up yet.

[jordanthompson]

You need to get the right warranty. My extended warranty was bumper to bumper with few exclusions. My battery was replaced under the extended warranty.

[jerry33]

I've never had a repair on my 2004 Prius that would have been covered by an extended warranty.

I have, but it was just a couple of leaking struts.

I'm sure what Jerry means is that if you're lucky nothing ever goes wrong with the car. You're out the cost of the warranty, which he considers a small price for the peace of mind. If you're unlucky, and stuff goes wrong with the car, it gets fixed under the warranty.

Correct. Just like fire insurance. If you're lucky you never have to use it. For the 2004 Prius the 100k/7 year/ $0 deductible was just under $1000. If it had been $1500 or $2000 I wouldn't have purchased it.

However, I find that in my experience, things seldom go wrong during the extended warranty period.

Mostly that's correct. However, the VW TDI wasn't like that. It used up far more than the warranty cost and even so it still cost 22 cents per mile for dealer maintenance over the 95,000 miles I kept it. The most disappointing car I've ever had. VW, Audi and any affiliated company (not that I'll ever be in the market for a Bentley) has lost my business forever.

[frequencydip]

Tesla should offer an upgrade package where many items are bundled together to bring the roadster up to date - essentially a factory refurbish. I'm thinking a basic idea like:
Liquid cooled PEM
Improved motor cooling
Brake upgrade
Complete tune up of car, tighten up all bolts, remove rattles
Meticulously clean interior exterior of car
Extend warranty 1-2 years
etc,

This full service might be a $15k-20k package, we basically get a factory restored car and a new warranty that covers it bumper to bumper....

[doug]

I'm sure you can get a brake upgrade now by looking at the Lotus aftermarket. Things like a liquid cooled PEM, which should be possible to do as a retrofit, are not likely worth the cost of development.

[daniel]

... the VW TDI wasn't like that. It used up far more than the warranty cost and even so it still cost 22 cents per mile for dealer maintenance over the 95,000 miles I kept it. The most disappointing car I've ever had. VW, Audi and any affiliated company (not that I'll ever be in the market for a Bentley) has lost my business forever.

I've never had a high opinion of VW. When I was young, the Bug was a popular car, probably because it was cheap and easy to work on if you were into that. Affordability was its one selling point. I never owned one and never wanted one.

A few years ago a friend had a Jetta. I think the only good thing about it was that he ran it on biodiesel. It smelled like french fries. It really did. I think they still pollute, but at least it's carbon neutral.

Tesla should offer an upgrade package where many items are bundled together to bring the roadster up to date - essentially a factory refurbish. I'm thinking a basic idea like:
Liquid cooled PEM
Improved motor cooling
Brake upgrade
Complete tune up of car, tighten up all bolts, remove rattles
Meticulously clean interior exterior of car
Extend warranty 1-2 years
etc,

This full service might be a $15k-20k package, we basically get a factory restored car and a new warranty that covers it bumper to bumper....

I'd buy that. I don't expect them ever to offer it.

[markwj]

Looking back at this thread, it was created March 19th 2012. Coming up to 4 months now, with no news from Tesla. A lot of questions, but no answers.