The Truth About Cheap Used Teslas: I Bought Two and they’re Huge Money Pits

39 thoughts on “The Truth About Cheap Used Teslas: I Bought Two and they’re Huge Money Pits”

1. What years are those cars?

2. You havent even scratched the surface of the issues with the early Model S or tesla overall. Your lease numbers are WAY OFF BASE sir. I have a 2013 Model S P85+ and over 50k in repairs. Because 8 months after I bought it the HCB died. 14k to fix. Air Suspension issues. 8 cracked rims, 5 door handles, 2 rear window regulators, a popping passenger door, both sets of shocks, Charger assembly (thats for my home charger which wont charge until replaced) MCU 1 issues drops location all the time and NAV sim replaced still bugs out. Power sunroof is buggy. Power windows will just stop working at random. Driver power seat no longer works and is locked in position over the rear screws so I cant replace it myself. The door handles from Tesla which btw are ALL slugs and try to upcharge all the time and never just approve an estimate are $400 each. 2 Sets of front headlight bulbs and watch because they will try to have you replace the whole headlight assembly for 3k and up. My advice to all is never buy an out of warranty tesla and when the warranty runs out trade it in. Oh and just because your tesla is in warranty doesnt mean it wont cost you anything as they play the blame game.

3. So you bought 2 already broken cars!

4. Thanks for this video. Just reinforces my choice for never owning a Tesla 😂

5. OCD charge port door 😂😂

6. What a pain in the ass!

7. Should’ve got the charge port door fixed ASAP way to important 😂

8. General rule: everything is “huge money pit” if you are cheap and getting over your head moneywise. Get Ford Focus and stay within your budget

9. Bought a 2015 Model S P85D – love it, but I paid $2,000 for a 2 year warranty for electronics.
   Already ran into the charge door issue. One of the handles stopped popping out.
   $600 was covered so far.
   Free charging has been nice, but the hard limits to charging speeds suck. (get only 60-40 kW draw)

10. While very annoing these issues are somwhat reasonable for an early model s. They sitll seem worth it considering some of them have free supercharging 😛

11. Its very funny watching this video since many electric car owners especially tesla owners say they never change anything in their cars .

12. How much did you get the plaid for?

13. I bought 3 used ones and have NO ISSUES..we all dirive teslas lol

14. He complains the old Tesla is a money pit compare to leasing a model y. Yet he bought another model s with issues……. Hummmmm

15. if you crash, that mag mount is going to fall off

16. What about insurance cost and registration cost?
    I am trying to buy 2019 or 20 or 21 models S

17. Despite all your issues, I would still own a Tesla and am actively looking for a used Model Y for my family as we speak. Can't afford a brand new one but used, 20-30k$ we can manage. Wish us luck.

18. you are a scam

19. Exactly the reason why I would never buy Tesla, nor drive old cars anymore. Either I buy a one-year-old car, or even a new one when I get a great deal. But I am done constantly fixing my car – I had enough of that during my time as a university student. That was enough car repair for the rest of my life.

    And no – I don't want to disrepect anyone who buys used cars for financial reasons. I am talking about buying cars which need expensive part replacements – because you still have to pay for those, often doubling the price of the supposed "cheap" car.

20. I have a 25 year old car with similar problems – locks acting up, car not detecting door being open etc. Having this on a basically new car is absurd 🤣

21. 🐮

22. I "project" Tesla would be fun. You said you bought a lemon law car from Tesla, could you tell me where you found
    those auctions?

23. Update?!

24. Sounds so American advising to lease a car..

25. Anyone driving an EV, is a victim of fraudulent marketing, and needs to realize that their EV vehicle has zero value at the end of the battery warranty and this battery is considered to be hazardous scrap! In addition, charging your EV battery requires AC power, and 60% of all electricity generated in the U.S., is produced with fossil fuels, EV owners cause pollution in someone else's backyard.

26. PO aid 1/10 for it? What did you expect?

27. The Model 3 was Tesla's first mass production car and they had a lot to figure out in terms of reliability and serviceability along the way. Anything before that such as the Model S first gen is gonna be a nightmare.

28. I was considering an old S, specially those ones that have free lifetime supercharging. Only thing I was scared of was the maintenance. Air suspension, screen and random stuff is breaking all the time on those 1st gen models. So I rather went with the first gen 3 that fires almost all of those problems and LFP battery is has much better longevity.

29. Given the initial price, it ain't pretty.

30. I'll stick with my Toyota.

31. Did they fix the airbags?

32. I wouldn't be caught Dead in a Dodge & or Especially a Tesla.. Buying a Tesla is like buying one big Dead Battery… But anyway God bless these people for FAFO for us..

33. Got that heavy chewing tobacco lip

34. I want to open my gas cap with my own hands. A simple door with a hinge will be fine.
    I want to open my trunk from a mechanical button as well.
    I really hate all the electronic gadgets in my car, all electronic assistance, all that crap…!
    A tablet with a basic google map on it, will do fine.
    A simple natural aspirated injection motor will suffice.
    I hate all that plastic, plastic, plastic!

35. So loaded with stuff that can conveniently break and probably doesn´t even allow you to purchase replacement parts without paying a hefty markup.
    And a lot of the things wrong would be a non issue without the gizmos that control them. Is this really progress or just obsolescence disguising as convenience/progress?

36. next this absolute prophet will say cheap jaguars and audi's are also money pits?
    Moron

37. So was your cow able to solve the problem before it went to tesla?

38. Sooo wheres the update on the service?

39. Your label of older Teslas as "Huge Money Pits," is not accurate nor fair for the following reasons:

    1. Try buying any car that is 10-13 years old, and you are going to spend money to fix it. I own a 4-wheel drive, 2009 Toyota Tacoma, which has been widely regarded as one of the most reliable vehicles ever made. It's not unusual for them to go 400k – 500k miles on the original engine. It has approximately 240k miles, and I am in the process of rebuilding the entire front end, including replacing the CV joint covers.

    2. These are the early models of the Model S, and Tesla was working on reliability issues with various parts of their cars. All of these problems have been fixed by Tesla, and there are numerous anecdotal examples of Model S cars going 200k -300k without any major problems.

    3. You bought two cars where there was a high probability that they would have problems. I mean, really, you pay $11,000 for a Model S and you don't expect to have some problems? That's like going to a junkyard to buy used auto parts to repair a car. OF COURSE, you're probably going to have to fix some issues. Geez you bought a lemon Model S Plaid that Tesla could not fix, what did you expect???? This isn't rocket science. And BTW, all manufacturers produce "lemon" cars that they can't fix in three attempts. Hell, Range Rover is infamous for getting its massively expensive SUVs returned under the lemon law.

    4. Newer Teslas, from around 2021 onwards, have largely resolved all the initial teething bugs that most new car manufacturers deal with. Tesla has now surpassed Toyota in reliability ratings. China just rated the Model 3 as the most reliable, trouble-free car sold in China, and China is the world's largest auto market. Tesla and Lexus now lead the automotive industry in reliability ratings.

    5. After you have fixed both of these cars, you probably will be able to sell them for a profit and recoup the "HUGE" $3000.00 that you put into the first Model S. It's not unusual for functional Model S cars in working condition with good battery ratings to sell for $20k – $30k.

    6. Per your own admission, the three main components of these cars worked. You found no problems with the electric motors, the electronics and the batteries. These are the main concerns for any EV.

    7. ALL new vehicles come with a TON of electronics in them. I just rented a 2025 Ford Bronco, and Ford has blatantly copied several of Tesla's most popular features, like walk-away locking, a large touchscreen that controls most functions and customizing Google Maps. So if you buy ANY car that is relatively new, you are faced with dealing with electronic and software issues. To Tesla's credit, their electronics have been pretty much bulletproof.

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