Maintenance?
Three Wheelin'
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 1,418
Likes: 763
I own several Porsche ice vehicles, and I have an early Tesla model s. I am aware of the maintenance items and shortcomings of the ice vehicles, and probably can recognize an expensive problem on the horizon long before it is obvious. Perhaps I would even choose to trade out of a vehicle that I didn’t want to invest in anymore.
I do think that having an electric vehicle is a good th8ng for society. I would say on a monthly basis the electric car is cheaper to run.
but, my Tesla came out of warranty. One day the car worked perfectly. The next day it stopped working with just 55,000 easy miles on it. Towed to Tesla. I received a repair quote through the app the next day from Tesla saying I needed a new battery for $16,500. No degradation in charging prior to the event, no warning signs. Surprise! And I only get a one year warranty, so it could happen again.
The point of the story is I think a buyer of ant electric vehicle can be attracted to the reasonable running costs in the beginning, but make sure you are depreciating that vehicle in your mind over the life of the battery warranty. That way any use beyond that is icing on the cake, not an unpleasant surprise. Perhaps the cost of replacement batteries will come down, but I would not count on it.
Personally I think I would have rather spent the money on a complete engine rebuild on a 996 911.
Keep this in mind as you consider the purchase of an electric car, especially a used one. I still drive my Tesla, but I feel like I am rolling the dice every time I get behind the wheel.
I do think that having an electric vehicle is a good th8ng for society. I would say on a monthly basis the electric car is cheaper to run.
but, my Tesla came out of warranty. One day the car worked perfectly. The next day it stopped working with just 55,000 easy miles on it. Towed to Tesla. I received a repair quote through the app the next day from Tesla saying I needed a new battery for $16,500. No degradation in charging prior to the event, no warning signs. Surprise! And I only get a one year warranty, so it could happen again.
The point of the story is I think a buyer of ant electric vehicle can be attracted to the reasonable running costs in the beginning, but make sure you are depreciating that vehicle in your mind over the life of the battery warranty. That way any use beyond that is icing on the cake, not an unpleasant surprise. Perhaps the cost of replacement batteries will come down, but I would not count on it.
Personally I think I would have rather spent the money on a complete engine rebuild on a 996 911.
Keep this in mind as you consider the purchase of an electric car, especially a used one. I still drive my Tesla, but I feel like I am rolling the dice every time I get behind the wheel.
Advanced
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 60
Likes: 35
From: FL
Our 2022 Taycan is coming up on its 40000 mile service
We were quoted $2500 by a local dealer and $1900 by a dealer the next town over. Isn't this highway robbery?
To add to this, we purchased the car CPO so we should have warranty on the vehicle until 2028
Does this mean we need to have the car serviced by the dealer until then to maintain warranty?
I finally found a Porsche indy willing to do the cabin filter swaps/brake fluid changes but even they said if the other "inspection" items aren't inspected, we could face problems getting warranty coverage
We were quoted $2500 by a local dealer and $1900 by a dealer the next town over. Isn't this highway robbery?
To add to this, we purchased the car CPO so we should have warranty on the vehicle until 2028
Does this mean we need to have the car serviced by the dealer until then to maintain warranty?
I finally found a Porsche indy willing to do the cabin filter swaps/brake fluid changes but even they said if the other "inspection" items aren't inspected, we could face problems getting warranty coverage
Our local indy shop which services my 911 offered to do it for $500 but couldn't do the inspection items
We opted to go with the cheapest dealership one since we have CPO coverage on the vehicle until 2028 (and I don't know if omitting the inspection items / condition report creates a CPO coverage issue), I suspect we will switch over to the indy once CPO coverage ends (or more likely, move onto a new car)
Last edited by CayCaySwift; Nov 1, 2025 at 11:32 AM.
