The other thing you've got to consider is if the battery pack was damaged at all in the wreck. Back in the day, if you bought an ICE vehicle that was in a wreck, and then repaired, that's one thing. However I wouldn't even mess around with an EV that was hit. It's just not worth the trouble. Good on you Dave, you dogged a bullet brother. 😊
Dealerships are the biggest scammers in America, and all protected by auto dealership association bough politicians which forces manufacturers to sell their new vehicles only to these "flippers" called dealers. We will never go to a dealer again. It's Tesla or Rivian from now on.
I bought a CPO BMW from a huge BMW dealer on Long Island. They showed me a clean carfax when I purchased the car however I didn’t get a copy at point of sale and that was by design. The car was great other than front control arm bushings being cracked and leaking and needing to be replaced. 2 years later I’m just window shopping and had the Chevy dealer look at it for a trade and they informed me that there was front end damage reported on the carfax that happened 3 months before I bought the car from BMW.
These dealers are unbelievable. I’m surprised they are considered legitimate businesses. It’s extremely difficult for you as an individual consumer to protect your rights in courts. But with today’s internet, you can at least get a free carfax from most dealer website. Not that you should trust it, but they do have buy back guarantees if major incidents are not reported
GREAT video Dave. I've bought a lot of cars over the years but learned a valuable lesson when I bought a used Model 3 this August from a large, long time dealer in my area. DON'T sign anything but the paper copy of your documents and get a copy of everything before you leave the dealer. The finance guy had me sign on an electronic pad and I really didn't know what I was signing. He added on almost $4000 in extras I'd never requested. Thankfully I knew the GM of the dealership and he took care of it for me but boy were my eyes opened. Again, thanks to you and Kyle and the "Out of Spec" crew for teaching me so much about Tesla, charging, and Ev's over the last 3 months.
In 2015, a work truck rear-ended me in my Model S fairly lightly at a stop light. The damage consisted of the wench on the truck puncturing the plastic bumper, and the rear gate had to be replaced. Just two parts had to be replaced. I was surprised that CarFax listed it as "Major damage." It clearly wasn't to me. I was smart enough to get diminished value of about $10,000 from the persons insurance company, so I still ended up ok when it came time to sell it.
Great tips Dave! I use a car inspection service for all my vehicle purchases and they use the paint depth gauge, put the vehicle on a hoist to check the underbody and they look under the rubber seals around all the openings to check for overspray. I have avoided buying two wrecked vehicles with clean Carfaxes as a result of their service. It is money well spent IMO.
Had the same thing happen. Bought a 2015 Chrysler Town & Country in 2017 from a well established Chrysler dealer. They provided the CARFAX and it showed accidents. When it came time to sell it in 2019, I was stunned by a prospective buyer to find out that the CARFAX showed an accident in 2016 that had only been reported in 2018. It was the delay in reporting the accident data that caused the problem.
I recently sold a car I had bought new, the CarFax report showed two accidents on it even though I never had an accident. I got them to remove one, but not the other one. I am sure others have had similar problems and perhaps it is time for some sleaze bag lawyers to start a class action suit against them.
Mn has a law that document fees are less than a 100.00. However living in FL now that’s a different story. To me paying them to write up a sale is frivolous to me. Should be the cost of then doing business.
My 2021 Model 3 SR+ was delivered in mid December 2020. My 2022 Model 3 LR was delivered in 3rd week of November of 2021 in the southeast. So it’s been this way for at least 3 years.
Many cars are sold after they've been repaired from an accident but long before it shows up in a carfax report. Clean report lasts long enough to get rid of the car.
Carfax is nit always accurate, I had big accident back with my Jaguar x type in 2003, after 3 months I got car fixed, I checked car Fax report and it never showed any accidents, and repairs were done by a dealer,
Dave thank you for this. you have made me notice some issues on my Preowned White /White 2020 Model S PL. I have a clean Carfax, but I have noticed some oddities about my car and believe my car has had some kind of repairs that weren't reported. this is why my next Tesla will be ordered New. Please keep up the great info. thank you again for such valuable info!
I bought a refreshed Model S in December 2021. It was titled as a 2022. I think they did that because it was markedly different from an S that was delivered a month earlier.
I bought my used Model 3 from Tesla. They never provided any service records. I had to specifically asked if the upper control arms had ever been serviced or the 12v battery replaced. The service people told me, but I had to ask and at no time did they ever offer me a complete service history of my vehicle, stating privacy issues for the previous owner? Fortunately, my car is without any issues, but unless they have changed their policy, I'm not sure if that is the case today.
Also A good rule of thumb if you're not a "car person" if it was bought at an auction, don't buy the car. a lot of the time, if it was a good car the dealer who did the trade-in would have sold the car themselves.
Dave fingers crossed that you get a delivery date before December 31st for you Ultra Red X. Also, it would be nice if it was titled as a 2024. Good luck.
Ah... Carfax. I have a 24 BMW that I bought in Sept 2023. BMW has been doing the next year release in the current year for years. I was going to buy a BMW from what I had considered a reputable dealership. I saw the car online in the dealership inventory. It was a Certified car with an extended warranty, so it was very appealing. I went to the dealership to look at it, and when I inquired about the car at the dealership, II was told the car was there, but it wasn't available.. What do you mean? " It's in the body shop." Eh? I looked at the carfax, and there was no DH. Response: "Yeah, it was an auction car." The dealer bought it knowing it had an accident Yep, the accident wasn't on the carfax, and it will never appear on a carfax. So, the dealership was selling a car with known DH, but wasn't apparently obligated to disclose that information. Needless to say, I walked away.
Legacy auto dealers are a nightmare for legacy auto makers. They gouged customers trying to buy electric vehicles. Legacy auto dealers abused their customers by adding market price adjustments to gouge their customers for EVs They added pricey add ons and other costs to pump up the prices and their profits. Tesla has the right idea. Buy online. No hassle. No sitting in a show room for hours. No salesman BS. No crazy markups. No I have to see my manager BS. With Tesla you can buy a vehicle in 5 minutes or less online. The dealers have no one to blame but themselves. The dealers are dragging the legacy auto makers down with them.
By the way, for the record, the phrase “reputable used car dealer” is an oxymoron. Their job is to separate you from your money and get as much money for that “car” as they can. They will do whatever they have to to make that happen.
It's not impossible that there would be a genuinely good used car dealership, but it would be tough for one to survive long. Outcompeted by others successfully selling worse cars for more money.
Hi dave i was gonna drive up to NJ to the 21 century dealership to take a look at the 23 X PLAID also. Thanks to urs video clip today. Question is the dealership J&S autohaus u mentioning....? For 23 X with 5900 miles ...
I bought a 2020 MSLR+ on 2/29/24 from Tesla and I asked about the history.. They wouldn’t tell me ANYTHING…. I’m in SWFL… I bought a 2nd Tesla, a 2022 MYLR on April 15, 2024 from a non Tesla dealer and they won’t tell me ANYTHING again… I need to call your guy…
id be happy if I bought a used tesla and a defective battery was replaced. Almost a new car in that situation. Similar thing for the lucky bolt owners who had their bolts battery replaced with the recall.
Your information about the model years is incorrect. My 2022 Tesla Model 3 Performance was built on 11/02/2021 and I took delivery of it 11/24/2021. 2023 Model 3 cars started shipping around September of 2022 as well. Tesla has been shipping next year Models for several years now.
I know that Tesla didn't used to go by model years, but then they started bumping it up to the next year in October or November, but now, this year, all of the cars at the Tesla showroom are currently still on the 2023 model year. I think we won't see the 2024 model year until Highland comes out in the USA. All cars at the Tesla showroom currently show P as the tenth character in the VIN.
I would be skeptical about using a paint meter to determine whether a car has been repaired. Modern cars have a lot of major assemblies that are plastic, and these parts get replaced rather than repaired / repainted. A major repair could quite likely escape the scrutiny of a paint meter if damaged parts were replaced.
Nothing wrong with buying a car that has been hit IF it is disclosed/details given on what was done and maybe who even did the repairs. With an EV maybe its a little more iffy with high voltages and battery packs, but maybe Tesla or someone should offer inspections (for a price).
Carfax is next to useless. This happened to me with a "new car" dealer selling certified pre-owned. And it was a high-end Infiniti dealership. Carfax showed the car was clean and yet when we went to get insurance for it, the insurance company told us that the car had been in a significant accident. Needless to say, we didn't buy the high-end Infiniti SUV. Dealers are the most hated group in the world next to lawyers. I cannot wait till the illegal states dealership monopoly is brought down and we can buy directly from ALL auto manufacturer. We will never go to a dealer again. We'll buy directly from Tesla or Rivian from now on.
What's your trick to be actually able to call Tesla, which you refer to frequently? SFAIK, Tesla simply can't be reached by phone, and there are countless complaints to that effect in various Tesla forums, Facebook, etc. Curious how you can do that.
Would Tesla do a PPI? (pre purchase inspection). Or I guess you can take it to a body shop. the paint meter is a bit on the wild side going around the car with it. but for over $75k anything would be ok.. I would try to send an email asking for any accidents or spray overs or any minor collision and if they say no nothing on the return email at least you have something to complain about.
I am fascinated by Dave’s “I called my Tesla guy” phrase. Unless you’re a famous RU-vid guy you can’t get your tesla guy on the phone. You can’t get anybody on the phone at Tesla. It’s the only thing I really hate about my car. “Put in a request through the app” it’s such an Elon thing to do. it’s not unusual if somebody on the autistic spectrum to try and avoid human interaction, but Tesla takes it too far. But god help me I still love the car.
Reminds me when Kyle always says he gets great service at Tesla always. I’d give him perfect service too if I know he’s one of the most influential EV RU-vidrs. 😂
@@dconner9 In my experience, Service doesn't pick up, so I connect to Sales, and Sales forwards me to Service. The very best way is for me to go park in their driveway, and a service rep comes out and talks to me.
How in the world did you get tesla in the phone? I can never find a direct #, and need to the store to talk w someone informally. Otherwise it’s a general chat type message system that goes to everyone
I know it's best to buy a lightly used anything where the depression hit has occured already but man hearing stories like this of a used car is what makes me spend more money on a brand new car from the dealer?!?!
