Warranty about to expire! Is it worth paying $4100.00 for 80,000 more km?

[TSLA Pilot]

Highly recommend the purchase of the extended service/warranty plan. The cost of many components can be surprising, and the reality is that this is new technology that can only be fixed, for the most part, at Tesla Service Centers.

To do otherwise could be a remarkably unwise choice, so why not just do it for peace of mind?

 

[taurusking]

Highly recommend the purchase of the extended service/warranty plan. The cost of many components can be surprising, and the reality is that this is new technology that can only be fixed, for the most part, at Tesla Service Centers.

To do otherwise could be a remarkably unwise choice, so why not just do it for peace of mind?

I am thinking the ESA would be very useful for those who drive 12000 miles per year or less. For some people like me who drive 25000 miles per year it probably is not worth it.

 

[CHG-ON]

Excellent points, Sandpiper.

Especially looking at the warranty costs now and forecasting out to the future. I have only had mine in for two repairs: Air suspension solenoid, compressor and accumulator (I think), and pano roof rubber seal replacement and realignment. I bet those would have set me back at least 1,000. Especially considering the time it took to get the pano seals right. They actually had to bring in a glass specialist to do it (why???). They had to do it twice to get it right.

And I've only had the car for 11 months with 14K on it. I think you convinced me. The warranties have always more than paid for themselves in my other cars.

But I must say, other than those two pretty minor issues, the car has been flawless.

 

[beeeerock]

I am thinking the ESA would be very useful for those who drive 12000 miles per year or less. For some people like me who drive 25000 miles per year it probably is not worth it.

I think that depends on whether you believe failures will come as a result of age or as a result of use. I'd probably err on the side of 'use', which would mean I'd go with the reverse of your suggestion... I'd take the ESA if I knew I was going to use up the offered mileage coverage, rather than have it expire based on years.

 

[SmartElectric]

Bringing these cars up to 160K is uncharted territory. There is simply no way that a manufacturer can test and work out the bugs that will crop up in a new design as they really start to age

Um. No. Bjorn has 170000km+.

Ref:Tesla Model S: Wet roads reduces range more than temperature - YouTube

 

[sandpiper]

Excellent points, Sandpiper.

Especially looking at the warranty costs now and forecasting out to the future. I have only had mine in for two repairs: Air suspension solenoid, compressor and accumulator (I think), and pano roof rubber seal replacement and realignment. I bet those would have set me back at least 1,000. Especially considering the time it took to get the pano seals right. They actually had to bring in a glass specialist to do it (why???). They had to do it twice to get it right.

And I've only had the car for 11 months with 14K on it. I think you convinced me. The warranties have always more than paid for themselves in my other cars.

But I must say, other than those two pretty minor issues, the car has been flawless.

Glad to help.

Mine went in for it's first 20k inspection last week. They fixed/replaced a handful of items: the charge port door, a window operator mechanism, a window and one or two other little things. I'm sure it would have been a 2K bill without warranty. Extrapolation points a pretty long finger toward the warranty being worthwhile.

 

[llavalle]

Quick note : I'm still on the fence about the extended warranty... There is one thing I don't like : if you don't follow the maintenance schedule (each 20 000km in Canada so around 12K miles), the warranty does not apply.

That means you are required to do the maintenance at every interval, from the beginning of ownership, until the warranty runs out. Maintenance is now $650 CAD (prepaid plan is not available anymore, at least for me). It means that for the duration of the warranty, It will have to be done 7 times (20k, 40k, 60k, 80k, 100k, 120k, 140k).

That's $4100 for the warranty + $4550 for the maintenance. Total = $8650 (all in CAD)

If I don't take the warranty, my service center has advised me that a visit per year is enough. I drive around 35-40 000km/year. Let's use 40k for the sake of simplicity. For 160K, that's only 3 visits! AKA $1950

So, in fact, the warranty will cost me $6700 and has a deductible...

I'm almost certain I'll switch car within 3-4 years, probably for another Tesla... and I usually trade the cars... I'm pretty sure they don't really care about the extended warranty in the trade price.

I'm at 15 000km, I guess I have 5000km to decide :S

 

[hingisfan]

Quick note : I'm still on the fence about the extended warranty... There is one thing I don't like : if you don't follow the maintenance schedule (each 20 000km in Canada so around 12K miles), the warranty does not apply.

That means you are required to do the maintenance at every interval, from the beginning of ownership, until the warranty runs out. Maintenance is now $650 CAD (prepaid plan is not available anymore, at least for me). It means that for the duration of the warranty, It will have to be done 7 times (20k, 40k, 60k, 80k, 100k, 120k, 140k).

That's $4100 for the warranty + $4550 for the maintenance. Total = $8650 (all in CAD)

If I don't take the warranty, my service center has advised me that a visit per year is enough. I drive around 35-40 000km/year. Let's use 40k for the sake of simplicity. For 160K, that's only 3 visits! AKA $1950

So, in fact, the warranty will cost me $6700 and has a deductible...

I'm almost certain I'll switch car within 3-4 years, probably for another Tesla... and I usually trade the cars... I'm pretty sure they don't really care about the extended warranty in the trade price.

I'm at 15 000km, I guess I have 5000km to decide :S

If this is true, I'm out for sure....It's too much of a hassle to get my 60 there in the winter if I was due for a servicing then. Plus the cost is pretty high to begin with.

 

[llavalle]

If this is true, I'm out for sure....It's too much of a hassle to get my 60 there in the winter if I was due for a servicing then. Plus the cost is pretty high to begin with.

This is straight out of the PDF for the Service Agreement for Canada (emphasis is mine)

C. Your Responsibilities


The Owner’s Manual includes specific recommendations regarding the use, operations, and maintenance of the Vehicle. To maintain the validity of this Vehicle ESA, You must follow correct operations procedures and have Your Vehicle serviced as recommended by Tesla. If requested, proof of required service, including receipts showing date and mileage of the Vehicle at the time of service, must be presented before any repairs under this Vehicle ESA commence. Service within 1,600 kilometers and/or 30 days of Tesla’s recommended intervals shall be considered compliant with the terms of this Vehicle ESA. Upon customary and reasonable notice of the occurrence of a Failure, You shall protect the Vehicle from further damage, regardless of whether or not such Failure is covered under this Vehicle ESA. Any operation of the Vehicle that results in further damage shall be considered Your failure to protect the Vehicle and shall not be covered under this Vehicle ESA. You are responsible to ensure that the warning lights are functioning before driving the Vehicle. You are required to safely pull Your Vehicle off the road and turn it off immediately when any warning light indicates a problem.


You must give Your authorization to the Tesla Authorized Service Center for teardown, access to Vehicle data and the costs for these services in order to diagnose a problem. You may be required to supply Tesla with all maintenance records for service performed on the Vehicle.

Edit : I was a bit shocked when I saw this so I asked the Service Center and they confirmed it. They also mentioned the 1600km wiggle room stating that the only reason for going over that would be if the Service Center is backed up and that no appointment is available. I was told to call in advance to avoid such situation.

 

[iKhalid]

I'm at 46K km. And once I reach 75K, I'm getting the extended warranty. I don't want to be surprised with a 5K bill in the future for a panoramic roof that needs to be replaced for example. Back in 2013 I was quoted $5K by VW when my previous Tiguan had an issue with its pano roof; luckily the mechanic was able to repair it for $300 but I can't imagine paying $5K to fix something that decided to stop working all of a sudden!

I would rather pay the $4K and sleep peacefully at night for 3 years.

 

[mknox]

Quick note : I'm still on the fence about the extended warranty... There is one thing I don't like : if you don't follow the maintenance schedule (each 20 000km in Canada so around 12K miles), the warranty does not apply.

Elon over-ruled that in a blog post. I do realize the language in the agreement is still there, but a statement from the CEO must count for something.

 

[llavalle]

Elon over-ruled that in a blog post. I do realize the language in the agreement is still there, but a statement from the CEO must count for something.

I'm pretty sure that's for the base warranty. Nothing about the extended warranty.

In any cases, I'm pretty sure that legally, this would only apply to people who purchased the extended service agreement before the blog post. If I purchase it now, it's a new contract.

In fact, the service agreement states :

No person has the authority to change this Vehicle ESA or to waive any of its provisions.
[...]
This Vehicle ESA and any work order cannot be amended unless in writing and signed by duly authorized representatives of each party.

So even the CEO cannot waive the maintenance clause.. and if they decide to amend it, you need a signed copy from both parties...which I assume most of us don't.

 

[hingisfan]

Elon over-ruled that in a blog post. I do realize the language in the agreement is still there, but a statement from the CEO must count for something.

Was that referring to the ESA though? I thought that was at the time they increased the drive train warranty.

 

[mknox]

I'm pretty sure that's for the base warranty. Nothing about the extended warranty.

Hmmm... you might be right. He just says "warranty" in the blog post...

In any cases, I'm pretty sure that legally, this would only apply to people who purchased the extended service agreement before the blog post. If I purchase it now, it's a new contract.

In my case, I did purchase it before the blog post mainly because I thought I had to have these services performed to keep my warranty in place. I was a bit ticked at reading it was no no longer necessary after I had shelled out.

In any event, it is strange that they never amended the contract language after Elon made his decree. In fact, I never got anything in writing (other than another blog post) about having the "infinite mile" warranty extended to my drive train. When I purchased, it was only the battery that was covered. Does that mean I'm out of luck wrt my drive train???

 

[Duckjybe]

Quick note : I'm still on the fence about the extended warranty... There is one thing I don't like : if you don't follow the maintenance schedule (each 20 000km in Canada so around 12K miles), the warranty does not apply.

That means you are required to do the maintenance at every interval, from the beginning of ownership, until the warranty runs out. Maintenance is now $650 CAD (prepaid plan is not available anymore, at least for me). It means that for the duration of the warranty, It will have to be done 7 times (20k, 40k, 60k, 80k, 100k, 120k, 140k).

That's $4100 for the warranty + $4550 for the maintenance. Total = $8650 (all in CAD)

If I don't take the warranty, my service center has advised me that a visit per year is enough. I drive around 35-40 000km/year. Let's use 40k for the sake of simplicity. For 160K, that's only 3 visits! AKA $1950

So, in fact, the warranty will cost me $6700 and has a deductible...

I'm almost certain I'll switch car within 3-4 years, probably for another Tesla... and I usually trade the cars... I'm pretty sure they don't really care about the extended warranty in the trade price.

I'm at 15 000km, I guess I have 5000km to decide :S

When I signed up I thought the $4100 Extended warranty included the annual maintenance visit as before. Now that I look at the agreement this may not be the case. Can anybody confirm?

 

[mknox]

Was that referring to the ESA though? I thought that was at the time they increased the drive train warranty.

No that came later in another blog post and as mentioned above, now I'm not sure if it applies to me (based on logic being expressed in this thread about service required for warranty to apply).

- - - Updated - - -

When I signed up I thought the $4100 Extended warranty included the annual maintenance visit as before. Now that I look at the agreement this may not be the case. Can anybody confirm?

Nope. Separate. I had to pay for two separate items (extended warranty and pre-paid service plan).