Should You Buy A Used Tesla? | 5 Years Of Model S Maintenance Costs Plus My Current Experiment

It's hard to believe, but we've now owned our 2015 Tesla Model S 85D for 5 years! It's been a fantastic 5 years and I've loved driving our Model S around, both around town and on road trips. In this video I catch you up on what maintenance costs there have been in this last year and give additional details on battery degradation and how I'm currently charging it.

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Chapters
00:00 Introduction
01:02 Our Model S currently has 138,904 miles on the odometer
02:28 My Experiment to charge the Model S exclusively from our RV solar panels
06:25 Maintenance costs for the last year
06:58 Follow-up on the windshield wipers
07:49 Tire rotation
09:45 Cabin air filter
10:01 Things that are acting up
10:37 Driver tail light dust
11:07 Steering column stiffness every 90 degrees
14:19 Charge Port
15:36 TeslaFi battery degradation report
16:52 Tesla app charge stats for the last year
18:10 Wrap up

[ElectricTechAdventures]

I should have included in the video that the total cost at this point after 5 years of ownership and adding 75, 108 miles onto the odometer, the total cost to us has been $4, 223.99 to own and operate our 2015 Tesla Model S. Tires alone are $2, 024.11 of that price, and the other large ticket item was upgrading to MCU 2 which was $1, 876.88. Our supercharging was free throughout this until right at the end when we transferred free supercharging to our Model Y and we had to pay for charging to get home from Las Vegas. Our charging at home has been free with solar and we haven't paid for charging anywhere the entire time we've owned it. This number does not include insurance and registration costs as that's highly variable depending on your own insurance rates and where you live.

[lynnh]

I purchased a 2018 Model S 100D in 2018 new and still have it.
With 220, 000 miles on it, vehicle is still going strong.
New it was supposed to get 330miles w/full charge, it never was able to achieve that new.
New it usually was able to charge up to 300miles.
Now it will charge up to between 284 to 280miles.
I enjoy the free supper charging while on the road, internet, all the radio channels, games and the self-driving.
Overall, no big issues or repairs.
Had to change the A/C once as a bearing went out on the blower.
Replaced 12v battery once and wipers once or twice.
I am still on the original breaks.
Tires last about 50, 000 miles.
Car is garage kept and taken care of.
Interior is holding up great.
I plan on keeping car long term.
I was going to get the Truck, but after seeing the reviews and range I will opt-out.
I was going to trade my 100D in for a Plaid but Tesla will not give my much for a trade-in and I will lose all my options I have with the 100D and I like the sun roof and use the roof tracks to put my surfboards on too as the Plaid dose not have a good roof rack system like the 100D.
That is my 2-cents.

[spuddy]

Congratulations on your purchase of that Model S 85D saving money is always advisable to taking bonding with family on vacations trips together, BRAVO sir. No wonder your channel deserves a shout out and a scream to succeed it is my hope that you can continue to show us how to do it...

Heartfelt THANKS for what you do for me at least.

[roydelpozo]

I have a 2016 purchase with 5 k miles in 2016. 8 years and 60k miles still loving it. Charges fast enough on road trips ( 20 -25 min stops give me 150 miles range from near zero to about 60 percent) . Was really tempted to transfer supercharging but if I did it would be to a plaid (I have a p90d ludicrous) . Just not feeling like spending 100k right now . That said I really love my model S . I have the second gen vs your first gen so my charging is ok . To be honest it’s faster than my new f150 0-50% . That said I have half your miles but have had only 1 repair in 8 years . AC went out . 4K later ( some stuff burned out ) and loving it ! But overall best car I have ever owned . Wife had a 17x and like I said I just got my self an f150 lightning. Down with gas :) I sent this video to a friend that says electric cars can’t last . He says mine is too low miles so I sent him yours . Good stuff !

[benkanobe]

Since the cabin filter replacement takes so little time, would you consider doing a "How To" video on just replacing the Cabin Filter? I know I would appreciate it.

[benkanobe]

Thank you. I used several of your links. Would the CRC "Contact Cleaner" be worth spraying in your charge port? I really enjoy your videos as you just "tell it like it is" with "just the facts, Maam" and your facts are always so well documented, lighting is excellent, and audio is excellent. I learn something each time and appreciate the effort as the results are professional. Also, it is a joy to this older man to see your wonderful family as it brings me back to when my two kids were young and with me. "Your gunna miss this!" so be happy you have all those fun videos to look back on.

[Jonathan_O]

I live in Tampa and I think it’s a very long drive to Key West. I can’t imagine driving all the way from Utah L O L.

[Familyadventure]

As always brotha love the data and we truly pray we meet someday I'm hoping for a utah trip in summer i know its somewhere closer to yall but either way always glad to see videos the family is loving the content

[willrehse]

2015 85D here. Just had charge port replaced by tesla. 446.20 was my total which was just for the door. In goodwill, they replaced the chargeport as well for free.
I also had a window regulator replaced for around $400 more.
Your issue looks like it may be both the door and port needing replacement whenever you pull the trigger.

[ArthurRondeau-mesb]

Thanks for your in-depth explanation of costs and mileage! I don’t (yet) own a Tesla but am thinking seriously about buying one. Since you also have experience with the Model S, could you share your thoughts about how this vehicle compares with your Model Y? I love that the Model Y has more headroom but also that the Model S (I’m guessing) has a more comfortable ride. Can you comment? Thanks again for your insight!

[acs]

Oooookej is it thesame issues with the new Tesla Y refreshed? Would be good if you would like to test everything on the model ?

[Pegaroo_]

There has got to be a way to automate the charge settings with something like home assistant so you can follow the solar output, adjust the charge level so you stay within a minimum/maximum state of charge on the RV battery or whatever other parameters you use to decide the charge level rather than having to check the app every hour or so to adjust the charge setting manually

[ValConB]

Thanks for posting this clear and concise information. I have been holding off on getting a Tesla model 3 or Y because I don't like touch screens and I believe everything is controlled / monitored on this screen. I'm thinking it may be distracting at times, especially if I have to swipe it 2 or 3 times to get a response as I do on my android smart phone. Do you have any thoughts or opinion about this? Also, I live in far northern Utah and the closest service center I believe is in Utah county - at least 100 miles away. Would that be a deal breaker for you, based on your experiences?

[jasonpalmer]

Thanks for the great recap. I just purchased my own 2015 Model S 85D a couple weeks ago. The prices finally came down enough that I could afford the car I have wanted since the 2012 release. With the used EV federal tax credit ($4000 transferred directly to the dealer), I was out the door at $16250. Like you, I had always bought and driven reliable used (out of warranty) cars prior to this one. Because I bought this Tesla from a (non-Tesla) dealership, it wasn’t possible to get a service history, but I did figure out it has the MCU2 and original battery (from sticker behind right front wheel well). One thing I am very curious about is the battery health. I know there are health checks and calibrations I can do by charging it high and running it down low and/or through the service mode, but for a couple reasons that is not something I want to do right now. Where you could possibly help me is by telling me about how many real world miles you get for each percent of charge. If your max range is ~250 miles, then that should be 2.5 miles for 1%. Do you get anything close to that?

Again, thanks for your work on these videos.

[christophec.]

A few people talk about problems related to the heavy weight of the Teslas. Suspensions, control arms, joints, break pads, etc. Would you have any feedback on that ?

[timogronroos]

Metric system rules, no ”seconds” to be mixed with time

[teachingmaterial]

I haven’t had the steering problem in my 2014 MS. Can you discuss how many miles are lost since new?

[danielq]

Did i miss the part where you tell us how much it has cost to own ? Would be good to have a compassion to fuel car too 😊

[tobytorials]

Great video! I’m also thinking of buying a used Tesla. But I didn’t know you can transfer you free supercharge to a newer Tesla? Is it possible for all Tesla’s? Would love to hear about that! Ps. Subscribed!

[Familyadventure]

Also was curious if you thought about using tesla batterys in camper?