This car was built before AWD and Autopilot were available, so if those are important you should continue your search. But if you don’t need those, this S is very nice for the price.
Original owner, never wrecked, no dents or damage of any kind, no smoking, no pets, title in hand free and clear. It has a 100k extended warranty, and it’s under the 8-year unlimited-mile battery and powertrain warranty until 2020.
It is a 2012 “Signature” edition, in the gorgeous dark “Signature Red” color with a black leather interior and matte obeche wood trim. It has 87,000 miles; many of them highway miles as we like road trips. It has all options available at the time except for the rear-facing child seats. More pictures at the end.
Mechanical condition: Perfect. It is smoother and quieter than the P90DL I got last year, even on the same tires. We have an 8-year maintenance plan and took it in every year; the last inspection/service was in August. The only issues they could find were that the tires were low on tread (they were changed out) and the alignment (Tesla straightened it out). If we thought there was anything else wrong, we would have it fixed under warranty.
Breaking news: We found something else wrong, and are having it fixed under warranty. I wrote the above text two days ago; then yesterday, we noticed that the LCD needs to be replaced (a common problem from the first two years, when they used a poor adhesive). The part is on the way; it will be replaced before I sell the car.
Cosmetic condition: great. It is always garaged, and I’ve used some good Meguiar’s cleaning products on it before many car events, so it still has quite a bit of shine. The Starshield film has done a great job of protecting against rock chips. The car has never been in an accident; it has no dents. That said, we have driven and used it like a regular car. There are some minor scuffs in the interior, and a couple on the outside where my wife parked near a tree. There is nothing unusual given the car’s age. You can find issues if you look for them, but with a quick glance when it is clean, many people are surprised to learn that it is not a new car.
Warranties: the original bumper-to-bumper is obviously gone. But it still has the 8-year, unlimited mile warranty on the powertrain and battery pack through Sept 2020, and we have the transferable extended warranty until Sept 2020 or 100k miles. I will pay to transfer the extended warranty to you (or lower the price by $500 if you prefer).
Options:
· All Signature Edition cars came with
o 85kWh battery (rated at 265 miles)
o Tech Package
o Twin chargers (can AC charge at up to 240V 80A)
o Interior lighting package
o Premium materials, including leather, perforated seats, performance pedals, alcantara headliner, etc
o Sound Studio (enhanced sound system)
o Active air suspension
o Parcel shelf cover
· Free Supercharging for lifeo Tech Package
o Twin chargers (can AC charge at up to 240V 80A)
o Interior lighting package
o Premium materials, including leather, perforated seats, performance pedals, alcantara headliner, etc
o Sound Studio (enhanced sound system)
o Active air suspension
o Parcel shelf cover
· Panoramic sunroof
· Factory “Paint Armor” protective film
· EcoHitch receiver (used with a bike rack). Receiver end can be removed with one bolt, leaving no sign that it has been installed
· TPMS system has been upgraded to the newer style; this shows tire pressure on the screen, and makes it easier to buy other wheels
· Lloyd’s mats front, rear and cargo. Weatherproof mat in the cavernous frunk
· Some pictures show it with the other wheels and tires, but it will come with a year-old set of 19” slipstream wheels (a little more aerodynamic than the originals) and Pirelli Sottozero 3 tires. The Sottozero 3 is a great year-round tire for the Pacific Northwest
Location: We live in Issaquah, Washington. If you already have an EV, we have a 32A J1772 and an 80A Tesla HPWC that you can use while looking at our car. If you aren’t in the area, I can pick you up at the Seattle airport to inspect it. For a fee I can deliver the car in the continental US.
History: We bought this Model S in 2012. My wife has zero complaints and would love to keep it for many more years (she says she will cry when we sell it), but because of mobility issues in the family we are replacing it with a Model X that will arrive later this month.
This car was built when Musk was on the line helping to inspect them. The only issue we could find on delivery was a small piece of plastic trim inside the rear hatch cover that wasn’t properly secured. Over the first year, we experienced the 12V battery and door handle issues that were very common with the early cars; but they have been replaced and trouble-free since. In 2013 Tesla also offered us several free upgrades, like improved HVAC shrouding, quieter pano gaskets, underbody shielding and improved defroster vents.
Some of the early cars had contactor alignment issues; Tesla wasn’t sure which ones, so they inspected many cars. They gave us a loaner battery while ours was inspected. We don’t know what happened (damage inside? A transport or inspection mishap? Too expensive to ship it again?) but they told us to keep the loaner battery – which had not been used prior to being put in our car. This was when the car had 40k miles, so the battery is 40k younger than the rest of the car.
Many early drive units also made noise, which over a long period of time could lead to failure (discussion online seems to think this problem was largely eliminated with the “q” revision). At 75k miles my wife said that if she was on the freeway and let off the accelerator, she heard a slight humming. I couldn’t even hear it, but I took it in to the service center, and they gave us a new drive unit (well, I suppose it was probably remanufactured). But in any event, the drive unit is also younger than the car and a “q” revision, so the drive unit should be in great shape too.
At 82k the Takata airbags were replaced.
At 87k miles (yesterday!) the adhesive around the LCD gave way. The LCD is being replaced under warranty. So now that the door handles, battery, drive unit, and LCD have been replaced, all of the common early-S issues that I can think of have been addressed.
Pictures
Here is a picture from today:
Also today; showing the receiver for a bike rack (which can be removed with one bolt):
Here is the cavernous frunk. We have a weatherproof mat for this too:
The cargo area (with a Lloyd's mat):
The rear seats:
The front seats (perforated leather):
The dash (matte obeche wood):
