Anyone NOT buying the extended warranty?

[Mario Kadastik]

Well I would love the extended warranty, but it's not sold in EU. My first car that's about to reach 160k km (i.e. second full term of warranty) would have been spared in thousands of € of repair costs. About 4 doorhandles (~3k€), drive unit sub-assembly (2k€) and various other things. It's an early VIN so I for sure would have gone for extended warranty, asked even, but nope, not sold in EU.

 

[TSLA Pilot]

Keep in mind this is a niche news Website (but it's very well researched), but check out item #2 here in this story from Aug. 4, 2016.

Probably applicable to conventional, ICE cars, not so much with Tesla where you have a "walled garden" of repair options for so many repairs: it's the Tesla SC, or DIY, and DIY can be problematic on something so unique to almost all of us.

We had the ESA on our used '13 P85, and it was a lifesaver. If we keep our '15's, we'll be buying again, most likely, but by then the M3's and MY's will be out so we'll see how it all develops in 2019.

 

[Blueeyedme]

Well, my MS is only 4 months old with 5,000 troublefree miles. That said, these cars are all about technology in my opinion (which is why I lease). I have zero interest in owning one outside of the warranty or even owning a model more than a couple of years old.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

A Tesla without a warranty could be a financial disaster waiting to happen. It may not happen today, or tomorrow, but it will eventually and you will be sorry. $1,000 or more for each door handle, $3,000 or more for a center screen (many from 2012 and 2013 are now delaminating), $1,500 for each charger, DC-to-DC inverters, on-board supercharging, and who knows what else. There is much unproven tech in this car.

I just broke 50,000 miles and I do have the extended warranty. However, as I approach 100,000 miles I will probably be selling my car. I cannot, in good faith, recommend owning this car outside of a warranty period given all of the issues owners experience on a regular basis and the fact that Tesla is still learning how to build a car.

I am now on my fourth drive unit replacement. If this happens after the five year drivetrain warranty runs out, count on $10,000+ or live with it. God forbid a battery module fail after five years, then you're SOL. The last time anyone mentioned it, the 85 kWh pack cost over $40,000. Your vehicle insurance won't cover a component failure. At that point, you might as well junk the car and buy yourself a BMW or Mercedes.

 

[mmccord]

I am now on my fourth drive unit replacement. If this happens after the five year drivetrain warranty runs out, count on $10,000+ or live with it. God forbid a battery module fail after five years, then you're SOL. The last time anyone mentioned it, the 85 kWh pack cost over $40,000. Your vehicle insurance won't cover a component failure. At that point, you might as well junk the car and buy yourself a BMW or Mercedes.

8 years on battery and drive units.

 

[Shaggy]

Lucky! I ask about it every time I talk to the service center; still no luck in WA state. Sucks.

When I worked at Apple and we offered AppleCare (extended warranty like service), we couldn't sell to FL, NC (I think), or WA. It was do to those state laws saying you couldn't sell them if you weren't IN the state, so we could xfer to specific people in those states taking calls if the user really wanted to buy it. So nobody could call up grandma while in the Bahamas to hard sell them extended warranties.

My guess is it's the same for Telsa, but they aren't allowed to BE there to sell them or you and the service center isn't sales?

 

[jvonbokel]

I opted against the extended warranty. Only out of pocket repairs I've had to cover were a hub and half-axle ($1808) at 66k miles and a taillight ($363) at 81k mi. I'm at 98k mi now, so it looks like I'm going to come out ahead.

One door handle was replaced at 75k mi, but I wasn't charged for it because they determined it was related to an earlier in-warranty repair.

 

[JeffS]

I am not buying the extended warranty. The vulnerabilities really seem to be the door handles and the center display. You can replace all 4 door handles for less than the price if the warranty. Suspension parts might come up...but that's true for all cars. In super-rare infrequency, I hear about an AC compressor.

I buy a car and drive it until it's done. Even if I get a new car before the old car is done, I have family to give the car to...so I am in this car for the long haul. This means I don't care about resale. That seems to be the biggest real reason to get the warranty.

Plus, I drive too many miles. My car is 19mos old and has 33k miles. A $4000 extended warranty would last me 26mos. That's about $160 a month just for the warranty. With no concern about resale...that's not a valuable proposition for me. It might bite me. But I doubt it.

One other point to make...if you read postings about a warranty being money well spent, or totally wasted... It is human nature to only write an opinion if it was in your favor. No one is likely to get a warranty, use it far less than the warranty's cost, and post about it.

 

[NikeWings]

No ESA and no intention to hold the car longer than the warranty.

 

[whitex]

To answer directly to the OP's question in the title: everyone in WA state is not buying the extended warranty, and that's a good number of people as we do have plenty of Tesla's around (3 stores, 2 service centers in greater Seattle area) - not as densely populated with Teslas as the Bay area, but no problems spotting a few S'es and an occasional X in daily driving. It's legal to buy and smoke weed here but not to buy (or maybe to sell) Tesla extended warranty. I guess Tesla make enough political donations...

 

[Btr_ftw]

Also I prefer to work on my own vehicles. The only cases I've read about that Tesla wouldn't sell parts were for salvage vehicles. I am confident they'll sell me a ball joint or tie rod, even a door handle mechanism. (Lucky for me, I can check out the manuals if I get stuck; being in MA.) I expect to be able to change the 12V battery myself for less than the cost of the deductible.
I fully expect to need suspension bushings, CV joints - the usual stuff - hopefully well after 100k miles though.
I have thought about what AR mentioned, what's considered part of the drive unit or battery? My guess is axle shafts/CVs no, contactors yes. (I hope so anyway, those things open and close every time I open a door and don't get in.) Motor mounts - that's a tough one, but I doubt it'd be covered.

Also!
@Brass Guy luckily for you there is s local guy in MA that has alllll the parts you could ever dream of in case anything goes wrong with your model S

 

[ChadS]

everyone in WA state is not buying the extended warranty

That used to be the case, but last session the law was changed, and as of about 6 months ago Tesla DOES sell extended warranties in WA. You have to go in to give them a physical signature, though. They did not email local owners to advise them of this change.

Not that it matters to me. My Roadster has been out of warranty for four years; even an extended warranty would have expired a year ago and been a waste of money. So far that is true of my Model S as well; its initial warranty expired two years ago.

 

[xav-]

Could someone please elaborate on what the ESA really covers? it seems that a lot of items are excluded

 

[mechapreneur]

I'm setting aside $0.08 per mile so when the 4-year, 50k mile warranty is up, I'll have choices. I'll either buy the extended warranty, or keep saving $0.08 per mile which gives me $8k over the first 100k miles to work with. I figure either way I'll have cash in pocket when eight years are up.

 

[internalaudit]

A Tesla without a warranty could be a financial disaster waiting to happen. It may not happen today, or tomorrow, but it will eventually and you will be sorry. $1,000 or more for each door handle, $3,000 or more for a center screen (many from 2012 and 2013 are now delaminating), $1,500 for each charger, DC-to-DC inverters, on-board supercharging, and who knows what else. There is much unproven tech in this car.

I just broke 50,000 miles and I do have the extended warranty. However, as I approach 100,000 miles I will probably be selling my car. I cannot, in good faith, recommend owning this car outside of a warranty period given all of the issues owners experience on a regular basis and the fact that Tesla is still learning how to build a car.
I am now on my fourth drive unit replacement. If this happens after the five year drivetrain warranty runs out, count on $10,000+ or live with it. God forbid a battery module fail after five years, then you're SOL. The last time anyone mentioned it, the 85 kWh pack cost over $40,000. Your vehicle insurance won't cover a component failure. At that point, you might as well junk the car and buy yourself a BMW or Mercedes.

I take it you will not be going for another Tesla?

I thought the drivetrain warranty was eight years, why is yours limited to five? Was it five and changed to eight recently?

This is what I've been fearing. Saving on fuel costs but repair costs that we will eclipse maintenance for an above average reliability ICE vehicle like a Toyota.

 

[Bishop]

I don't plan on it the nearest service center is 4 hours round trip and I intend on only going if I have to and do everything at once

 

[ThortsMD]

My car goes in for her 4 year, 50,000 mile checkup tomorrow. I now have the option of purchasing the extended warranty (I'm in WA state, see above), and *WILL* be buying it. Mainly due to the fact that I have one of the first 6K vehicles built and will keeping the car for at least another 5 years.

 

[brucet999]

My car goes in for her 4 year, 50,000 mile checkup tomorrow. I now have the option of purchasing the extended warranty (I'm in WA state, see above), and *WILL* be buying it. Mainly due to the fact that I have one of the first 6K vehicles built and will keeping the car for at least another 5 years.

You still have 4 yr, 30K miles battery and drivetrain warranty, so are you worried about a failed main display or catastrophic suspension failure? You will pay, what, $2600 for the extended warranty and $200 for each repair incident?

 

[Tam]

...drivetrain warranty...85 kWh pack...

Remember that both Drive Unit and Battery Pack are covered with infinite miles within 8 years.

So drive all you want within 8 years for the above 2 items.

However, as mentioned, other items are quite expensive to fix too.