Looking for advice for Model S 2015 or 2016 P90D

[Raroia]

Hi all,

Looking to buy my first Tesla after years of wrenching on trucks and SUV's.

I have converged on the 2015 to 2016 model S P90D, specifically with transferrable unlimited free supercharging. I think I would rather the smaller diameter (19"?) wheels for better tire life and ride quality, but am open to any wheel config really.

Is this a good buy in 2023?
How reliable are these?
Anything you would tell me someone like me who is completely new to Tesla and looking at these?

Usage would be mainly highway drive around 50 miles a day. Might take long road trips on weekend and supercharge on the way there, around 400 miles round trip.

My budget is around 30 to 35k.

I am open to any advice.

 

[ucmndd]

Newer is better in that era. Many small incremental improvements and a couple major refreshes between early 2015 and late 2016.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Most people don't use Supercharging anywhere near as much as they think they will. Don't overvalue unlimited Supercharging because it's a tremendous marketing ploy for most since most just charge at home 99% of the time anyway which is where the real savings comes from compared to ICE cars. Then there's also the convenience factor of never having to go to a gas station again. Priceless.

 

[Raroia]

I actually forgot to mention something very important, I cannot charge at home as there is no charging in the underground parking system where I live , but can potentially charge at work.

I will most likely use supercharging regularly.

 

[Ostrichsak]

I actually forgot to mention something very important, I cannot charge at home as there is no charging in the underground parking system where I live , but can potentially charge at work.

I will most likely use supercharging regularly.

IMO this is a tricky way to enter into EV-dom as a new user. This could be recipe for a poor experience as it's not how they were intended to be used. Sitting at Superchargers regularly as your only means of charging would get old real fast.

 

[Ciaopec]

Hi all,

Looking to buy my first Tesla after years of wrenching on trucks and SUV's.

I have converged on the 2015 to 2016 model S P90D, specifically with transferrable unlimited free supercharging. I think I would rather the smaller diameter (19"?) wheels for better tire life and ride quality, but am open to any wheel config really.

Is this a good buy in 2023?
How reliable are these?
Anything you would tell me someone like me who is completely new to Tesla and looking at these?

Usage would be mainly highway drive around 50 miles a day. Might take long road trips on weekend and supercharge on the way there, around 400 miles round trip.

My budget is around 30 to 35k.

I am open to any advice.

My 2016 90D has 156000 miles. Few problems and battery is still good. I always believed that 2016 was a good year but I had a good, though short, experience with a 2017 100D.

 

[drhombus]

Tricky but definitely possible. I've been doing it for about a year, first with a chevy bolt, and now my '16.5 S with free supercharging. I charge everyday at work. Over the weekends if im running low or if i'm not able to get a charger at work for a few days, I'll supercharge. The main reason I switched from the bolt was because charging a Tesla publicly is much smoother than any other EV. As long as you've scouted out availability at work, go for it!

As far as reliability, my 75 S has 161K miles. I've had sway bar links ($250ish), a radar alignment ($200ish), and parking sensor harness replacement ($400ish) done. Original battery and motor

 

[Crutonius]

I'd go with the 2016 or newer. There's two extended warranties for the batteries available through 3rd parties and a 2016 makes it easier to get those if you decided to go that route.

If you've used to working on cars that'll be very helpful here since you're going to get a lot of small things breaking.

 

[jmcdono362]

Hi all,

Looking to buy my first Tesla after years of wrenching on trucks and SUV's.

I have converged on the 2015 to 2016 model S P90D, specifically with transferrable unlimited free supercharging. I think I would rather the smaller diameter (19"?) wheels for better tire life and ride quality, but am open to any wheel config really.

Is this a good buy in 2023?
How reliable are these?
Anything you would tell me someone like me who is completely new to Tesla and looking at these?

Usage would be mainly highway drive around 50 miles a day. Might take long road trips on weekend and supercharge on the way there, around 400 miles round trip.

My budget is around 30 to 35k.

I am open to any advice.

Are you from NC? You should check out 057 Tech in your state. They have an extended warranty programs for older Tesla's. They can plug a device into your car and actively monitor for future battery failures. They are a well known service tech on this forum and frequently post lots of details on battery issues.

 

[dwbv]

30-35k should land you a decent P90D with decent mileage. Just make sure to do your due diligence and look the car over from nose to tail and make sure everything works as it should. Go with 2016 if you can find one nearby or ship it to you otherwise. Also, keep an extra couple thousand earmarked for "tesla problems" as these cars will break eventually and everything on EVs just cost more to fix.

 

[Ostrichsak]

30-35k should land you a decent P90D with decent mileage. Just make sure to do your due diligence and look the car over from nose to tail and make sure everything works as it should. Go with 2016 if you can find one nearby or ship it to you otherwise. Also, keep an extra couple thousand earmarked for "tesla problems" as these cars will break eventually and everything on EVs just cost more to fix.

I agree with most of this other than the price range. That's way too low to open up a decent pool to select from and you'll likely end up with something with an undisclosed questionable history in that price range or you'll be looking forever or you'll be flying across the country and paying thousands to ship it back or possibly all of the above.

 

[livesmith]

The biggest things that stand out to me are:
-I don't think I'd recommend one if you're not going to charge at home. (MUCH preferably with 240V). They use power even when parked.
You could make it work, but I feel like most people entering EV life already don't fully understand the allowances they'll have to make and if you don't have a good charger at home, I feel like you're going to make life considerably rougher from my view.

-Note that any numbers you see listed for range, etc are HIGHLY variable on a large number of factors. If you've got a 400 mile round trip, I would not be at all surprised if you're charging at least twice. Not necessarily a problem, just don't think that "Oh, that car says it has a 250 mile range so I can just stop at the supercharger for 20 minutes once and be good to go." Not sure if you'll run into chargegate like my 2015 85D, but for mine, at almost 20% degradation it still lists miles available as like 229, but the reality would be(especially without home charging) if I were planning a 400 mile trip, I would plan on probably an hour or more of charge time at the supercharger in each direction.

 

[Raroia]

All great feedback, gives me a lot to think about thanks everyone.

 

[dwbv]

I agree with most of this other than the price range. That's way too low to open up a decent pool to select from and you'll likely end up with something with an undisclosed questionable history in that price range or you'll be looking forever or you'll be flying across the country and paying thousands to ship it back or possibly all of the above.

Agreed on the smaller pool of cars to pick from. It's doable though and was based on a quick search on cargurus. I always shop nationwide. Seems like used car prices are slowly dipping or dealers just want these Tesla cars off their lot ASAP so deals can be had.

 

[philander]

I agree with others that reliable access to level 2 charging is what makes the EV experience. Have you asked your building association about getting some 48A adapters set up in your garage for folks to use? At some point HOA's should be able to use those to identify cars and set rates a-la the Supercharger experience. Hopefully that would extend to other manufacturers moving to NACS to widen the appeal.

It would also make a big difference if your work had a 240V socket or was amenable to putting in a L2 charger of their own. You just need some extended charging time. It doesn't have to be overnight, and you only need to charge as much as you'll be driving the next day.

 

[Raroia]

I just found out there are actually a few spots with level 2 charging free in my building for a 3 hour limit per use.

I was wondering if somebody can fully clarify how to ensure unlimited free supercharging will be maintained if I buy a used 2016 model S? Is there some kind of youtube video or article I can read? I understand how to find out if it currently has it, I am mainly interested in ensuring it will be preserved after ownership transfer completes and am not sure how or when that determination happens.

 

[livesmith]

I just found out there are actually a few spots with level 2 charging free in my building for a 3 hour limit per use.

I was wondering if somebody can fully clarify how to ensure unlimited free supercharging will be maintained if I buy a used 2016 model S? Is there some kind of youtube video or article I can read? I understand how to find out if it currently has it, I am mainly interested in ensuring it will be preserved after ownership transfer completes and am not sure how or when that determination happens.

The biggest thing is making sure It isn't resold through Tesla. If you buy directly from original owner and they can show you free supercharging and transfer through the app with you there then there should be no problem.

I bought mine from a Ford dealer who confirmed with me that the car had only had one owner and never resold through Tesla. They also showed me a screen with $0.00 for supercharging, and the screen with "Included" premium connectivity. I was able to supercharge for free right after acquiring the car, and later on the app sent Tesla a few proofs of ownership and everything transferred without a problem.

 

[shawndh1]

We just bough

I just found out there are actually a few spots with level 2 charging free in my building for a 3 hour limit per use.

I was wondering if somebody can fully clarify how to ensure unlimited free supercharging will be maintained if I buy a used 2016 model S? Is there some kind of youtube video or article I can read? I understand how to find out if it currently has it, I am mainly interested in ensuring it will be preserved after ownership transfer completes and am not sure how or when that determination happens.

We just bought a 2015 S85D from a Mitsubishi dealership and it came with free super charging and premium connectivity. This did not change after ownership changed over to us In the app. We even took it to Tesla for an annual service.

 

[Raroia]

Ok awesome, because I read elsewhere that if the car was ever for sale at a dealership then Tesla would recognize that and strip it of free supercharging. I read that the only real way of guaranteeing it will be preserved is through a private sale directly from the previous owner to the new owner, I guess this is not the case then?

 

[Crutonius]

I've bought an S at a used car dealership. FUSC and premium connectivity were intact.