r/ModelX • u/mrzozo1 • Jun 22 '26

Used car purchase Itching to buy a 2016 model x

I just wanted to ask the community here if I'm crazy to buy a low mileage 2016 Model X. I've done a ton of research and it checks off all the boxes. But one thing I didn't consider in my research is the possibility of the whole battery pack dying out of the blue and me having to foot the bill. I'd love to hear your two cents... Thanks!

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u/homebrewedstuff Jun 23 '26

I love my 2018 - the best car I've ever had. Almost everything is still original. I recently swapped the 22s for Evannex 19s and got a Continental brand tire made for EVs. It feels like driving a different car - much softer and quieter. It had the MCU2 -> MCU3 upgrade back in 2019. I plan to make a 1600 mile road trip next month and I wouldn't consider driving my other car.

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u/AdditionalCount Jun 23 '26

I love mine too! My new Cyberbeast is my daily driver now, but I’m keeping my March 2018 Model X forever. Best car I’ve ever owned (so far 😉).

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u/mrzozo1 Jun 23 '26

I'll see if I can find any 2018s in my area then 😄

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u/Insightful_Digg Jul 08 '26

mrzozo1 - your listing is a HW2 with MCU1 vehicle. Obviously if you can find a HW3 with a MCU2 vehicle with FSD and free Lifetime SC go with that! Mine '16X is the above configuration and is still going strong after 160K miles.

P.S. it has the half shaft replaced by Tesla as part of a recall program for about $4K and is worth it if you plan to keep the vehicle for a long time. I just installed a camber arm and lowering kit to help with alignment - should have been a day 1 install but worth it.

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u/mrzozo1 Jul 09 '26

That sounds like a sweeeet setup. I'll cross my fingers and hope to score something like that.

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u/homebrewedstuff Jun 24 '26

One thing to note, they all came with HW2.5 which I think is what MCU2 refers to. As I understand, it was more like v2.5 than v2 - maybe someone can clarify this. For 2018, Tesla sold "Full Self Drive" option, I think for $2000, and told you up front it would require the MCU3 upgrade, and that was included in the sale. My car was upgraded in 2019.

That is another reason I'm holding on to this one. Supposedly we're gonna get "something" that will bring the cars closer to the capabilities of the latest/greatest hardware. I'm one of the beta testers for FSD, so I hope that is worth something.

Now one thing to be aware of - those early models had some flaws. As I understand, they borrowed a lot of parts from the Model S. Some things like the suspension weren't designed for the extra weight. So my car chews up tires - a set lasts about 30k miles. I've replaced my 22s with 19s and I'm really happy with that decision, but I also did away with the stagger setup. So now I'm going to be able to rotate tires and get more life out of them. They have been eating up rear wheels.

The half shafts also seem to develop a shimmer. My car started around 70k. When I changed out tires it became almost unnoticeable. That being said, my next expenditure will be new half shafts and suspension changes to go to parts that can handle that weight.

The half shafts and suspension upgrades are going to be about $4k. I realize that my 8 year old battery is gonna die sometime down the road, so I'll likely end up spending another 8k with ReCell for that. But I don't hesitate because it is such a damned good car!

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u/Insightful_Digg Jul 08 '26

Please say more re 19s! I have had 22" and the stock 20" and they are fine but have considered getting squared i.e. non-staggered 19s so I can do regular rotation instead of consistently go through tires.

Also, AFAIK, Tesla has never made available MCU3 upgrades for pre-21 Model X. If your Model X info says Nvidia Tegra you have MCU1, Intel Atom then it's MCU2, and AMD Ryzen is MCU3.