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Lookkng to Purchase used Model S

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I'm in the U.S. (west coast) and I'm looking ton purchase a used MODEL S in the next 60 days (50th bday gift to myself). Here's the options I would like. I Just wanted to get the advice from the forum to get your suggestions on year and any other things I should look for on a used one.


P100D (may consider a 90)
Enhanced Autopilot or better
Black interior and exterior (no wood trim)
Infotainment system
19" black rims.
That's it that's all my must haves.

Tesla used car inventory has some good ones for my budget (50k) but I'm thinking I can find what I'm looking for at a better deal but end up losing any warranty.

Thanks In Advance for any suggestions or guidance.

Moe
 
The best advice I can provide is to be flexible on the color, especially the interior as it will increase your pool of viable options dramatically with these cars. You sound very similar to myself 6 or so years ago and I would only entertain used Tesla Model S's w/black interior and 21's. I finally found what I wanted only to discover that those two items were terrible to live with. The black interior, while great looking, gets incredibly hot compared to tan, cream or white. Ultra white has become my favor due to being the best combination of looks and performance, IMO.

It took me a couple of used Model S's (I've owned 7 used Model S's now and this 2023 Model Y is our first new Tesla, for reference) to learn that being a little bit more flexible on color combo opens the doors dramatically on what vehicles match your criteria. The 3rd one we bought was such a good deal I couldn't refuse but it was tan interior. I really really didn't want it but went ahead and pulled the trigger. It was only during ownership that I discovered how much better it was to own even though it wasn't my first choice for looks (this was before white interior was a thing).

Along those same lines, I would consider ANY version of Autopilot/FSD software. The important thing is to make sure the price on the car you're looking at takes this into account. By that, I mean that if you limit yourself to ONLY cars with EAP for $60k you may be missing out on a lot of cherry cars for low $50's that you can buy and easily add EAP after purchase. This, too, will widen your pool dramatically. Just have a good sense of the three different price ranges for now AP software, EAP and FSD and proceed accordingly and add whatever you like once you buy it. This was more of an issue in the recent past when Tesla removed the EAP option as you weren't able to add it after purchase if the car didn't have it. They brought it back so all three options (for AP2) are available once again.

Don't sleep on AP1 cars with full Autopilot (aka Highway AP) either. They're very good values currently and the user experience is just as good if not better in many instances. I much prefer my AP1 cars on the highway to my EAP/FSD cars as it's a much more relaxing and enjoyable experience. I'm sure the newer hardware cars will suprass them someday but as of right now it still very much feels like paying a lot of money to be a beta tester with your life for Tesla on the AP2 (or whatever that # is now) cars.
 
The best advice I can provide is to be flexible on the color, especially the interior as it will increase your pool of viable options dramatically with these cars. You sound very similar to myself 6 or so years ago and I would only entertain used Tesla Model S's w/black interior and 21's. I finally found what I wanted only to discover that those two items were terrible to live with. The black interior, while great looking, gets incredibly hot compared to tan, cream or white. Ultra white has become my favor due to being the best combination of looks and performance, IMO.

It took me a couple of used Model S's (I've owned 7 used Model S's now and this 2023 Model Y is our first new Tesla, for reference) to learn that being a little bit more flexible on color combo opens the doors dramatically on what vehicles match your criteria. The 3rd one we bought was such a good deal I couldn't refuse but it was tan interior. I really really didn't want it but went ahead and pulled the trigger. It was only during ownership that I discovered how much better it was to own even though it wasn't my first choice for looks (this was before white interior was a thing).

Along those same lines, I would consider ANY version of Autopilot/FSD software. The important thing is to make sure the price on the car you're looking at takes this into account. By that, I mean that if you limit yourself to ONLY cars with EAP for $60k you may be missing out on a lot of cherry cars for low $50's that you can buy and easily add EAP after purchase. This, too, will widen your pool dramatically. Just have a good sense of the three different price ranges for now AP software, EAP and FSD and proceed accordingly and add whatever you like once you buy it. This was more of an issue in the recent past when Tesla removed the EAP option as you weren't able to add it after purchase if the car didn't have it. They brought it back so all three options (for AP2) are available once again.

Don't sleep on AP1 cars with full Autopilot (aka Highway AP) either. They're very good values currently and the user experience is just as good if not better in many instances. I much prefer my AP1 cars on the highway to my EAP/FSD cars as it's a much more relaxing and enjoyable experience. I'm sure the newer hardware cars will suprass them someday but as of right now it still very much feels like paying a lot of money to be a beta tester with your life for Tesla on the AP2 (or whatever that # is now) cars.


Thanks for the info. What years had the AP1. I May go the route you're suggesting and open up my options on exterior color, worse case I can always get the car wrapped in another color. The only reason I wasn't going with a light interior is because they seem to get dirty easier (stained from jeans, etc..).I wear jeans alot for work.

What model year should I definitely not go with?
 
Thanks for the info. What years had the AP1. I May go the route you're suggesting and open up my options on exterior color, worse case I can always get the car wrapped in another color. The only reason I wasn't going with a light interior is because they seem to get dirty easier (stained from jeans, etc..).I wear jeans alot for work.

What model year should I definitely not go with?
AP1 was 2014 to 2016 but not the entirety of all of those years so you need to know what to look for on individual vehicles. I wouldn't let the lighter colors scare you. There is some denim transfer on the Ultra White but I never experienced that with the tan/beige. Not sure on the cream as we haven't owned any of those to speak to first hand. I don't think there's really a year to avoid like some other cars/models but you want to make sure you have a firm understanding of all of the differences as 6-months between production can mean a massive difference in features/options and upgrades in Tesla terms.