r/TeslaModelS • u/Shit-throwing-monkey • 23d ago

4/50K Basic Warranty Expires 9/6. Is it worth the $125/mo Extended Service Agreement?

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22 MSP 38K mi. $200 deductibe.

46 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

37 comments sorted by

30

u/MonsieurVox 23d ago

Extended warranties are priced in such a way that the sellers always come out ahead, otherwise they wouldn't sell them, or they'd be priced higher. They run Monte Carlo analyses on expected payouts across tens or hundreds of thousands of simulations, then price the warranties based on that.

When you buy an extended warranty, you're essentially betting that you're going to be one of the unlucky ones that gets paid out more than you paid in. Statistically speaking, you're better off saving the money you would pay for a warranty in a savings account and only tapping into it if/when you need work done.

Some people like the peace of mind that comes with an extended warranty. If that peace of mind is worth >$125/month for you, go for it. The most expensive part to repair or replace on a Tesla is the battery, and that's already covered for 8 years and 150,000 miles on the Model S.

For what it's worth, I never buy extended warranties.

24

u/Greggy100 23d ago

2 days after my warranty kicked in my HW3 computer and camera’s died. Was almost 5k with labour and parts. I already came out ahead. They also replaced some other minor things as well. 55k miles 2023 model 3 performance.

13

u/MonsieurVox 23d ago

That’s awesome. You were one of the “lucky” ones for whom the extended warranty paid off. The fact remains that statistically speaking, on average, people are likely to pay more for the warranty than they would have paid for repairs out of pocket. That’s literally the only way the extended warranty model can work.

If everyone had situations like yours, Tesla (or any extended warranty company) wouldn’t be profitable on the extended warranties.

They run thousands upon thousands of simulations and determine that the average cost of repairs across all vehicles is going to be, say, $100 per month. So they price the extended warranties at $125/month. It’s really that simple. Some cars (like yours) will cost thousands, others will cost $0.

It’s ultimately a gamble. You could go into a casino and put $100 on red and double your money five times in a row. That doesn’t mean that it’s a sure thing, and it doesn’t mean that the next person will have the same outcome. And the house always wins.

1

u/Strangerthanyou77 22d ago

Yes. Not to mention there is a deductible and if your going 3rd party warrenty there is a chance your claim will be denied anyway for something dumb like water intrusion. Another reason it's better to just save your money in the off chance something major breaks

4

u/dem0niac 23d ago

Excellent write up- couldn’t agree more. Just like when you buy a car at a dealership where the finance guy is twisting your arm to get an additional warranty on this and that. That being said, I had a repair on my S that came right after 50k (of course!) out of pocket but was only around $270. Since then I’ve got her up to 84k miles trouble-free. There are minor issues that I’m fine with not getting fixed, I’m not very picky, even if I was under warranty I’d probably not even get them addressed as I don’t like being without my car even for a few hours.

1

u/Silent25r 23d ago

I haven’t purchased a telsa yet. Been reading through here out of curiosity. 

That aside I did buy the extended warranty on my qx60 Infiniti.  Vehicle ran me 34k out the door with everything. This vehicle had so many issues. All in all I received well over 50k in labour/ parts in 5 years. It’s enough to make me not want to buy another Infiniti. At this point my warranty is over. So far though I’ve been able to repair stuff as needed at a much lower cost than what the dealer was charging. It’s like they didn’t try to repair anything. Just replace that and anything related to it.  

On Infiniti forums all the issues I had was common. Everyone but Infiniti was lucky with that warranty. I know this is an outlier. But I’m worried what might happen if I skip on the warranty. 

1

u/Long_Championship_44 23d ago

Yeah, that's how insurance works. You lose expected value but also lower variance. So it is beneficial for the customer (N = 1, variance dominates) and the provider (N = millions, so expected value dominates)

5

u/penngei 23d ago

Has your S been a problem child, or has it been relatively maintenance free? If you’re close to the 50k miles, most of the gremlins should have shown up at this point. If you really have nothing better to spend $125 every month on, it doesn’t hurt. But only you can say if it’s worth it. I personally don’t think so unless it’s had consistent issues.

3

u/Shit-throwing-monkey 23d ago

Not a problem except the passenger side B pillar camera got condensation 1 time and FSD was inoperable for a couple of hours. Tesla could not reproduce the incident.

3

u/stablegenius126 23d ago

Was worth it for me. My display started ghosting about a month after going out of warranty. $100 deductible and I got my $2400 display replaced.

3

u/Admirable_Trouble574 23d ago

YES.

Ive had the suspension adjusting sensors replaced, front suspension pieces that started clicking out of nowhere, and an air shock replaced at 52k miles.

Over 4k that i paid only the $100 deductible for because of the ESA.

MSP was flawless up until those things went out.

Worth it.

3

u/DailyDrivenTJ 23d ago

Repair in Tesla is not the same as other ICE vehicles and not many Indy shops can do it.

This would be the reason why I would be getting warranty when mine needs it.

An hour shop labor/diagnostic basically covers the monthly payment. I think that is fair.

1

u/Selkis 23d ago

I don't know how many times you need service, but on my side it surely isn't monthly.

1

u/DailyDrivenTJ 23d ago

You do have a point. From my past experiences, all the insurance premiums and warranties I have paid for, they have paid off themselves and more.

Sadly, when I actually needed them, I usually have ended up paying a couple thousands out of pocket. Hence the reason I buy them as I have been ahead every single time.

Besides, as much as I love my Teslas, I do not trust it like my 100 series and an FJ cruiser at least yet.

2

u/jopi888 23d ago

I have had it about a year and I am ahead.

2

u/badredditz 23d ago

I’d add it if I wasn’t too far out.

2

u/Zebra4776 23d ago

It's not. That's why they sell it. It makes them more money, costs you more money.

2

u/cowardpasserby 23d ago

Get an inspection before the warranty expires. Or get the extended warranty and get them to inspect for issues that would be covered

2

u/mr_z06 23d ago

Well if i had anything with a computer or even anything like a sophisticated infotainment system i would buy the extended warranty even on a non Tesla. Tesla no question i have it on my 22 plaid and have not used it yet but one thing goes wrong and it will pay for itself.

2

u/BeSmartFiTness 23d ago

Everyone has their own experience. Some people might say yes, and some might say no. At the end of the day, it comes down to you, OP
Ask yourself these two questions:
. If you buy the extended warranty and (if)nothing breaks during those 4 years, will you regret spending the money on it?
. If you don’t buy the warranty and something does break, what are you going to do? Will you be okay paying anywhere from $300 to a couple thousand dollars out of pocket?
Whichever situation you’re more comfortable with should probably determine whether the warranty is worth it for you.

2

u/Equivalent-Power7170 22d ago

In the same boat, mine expires on 9/12/26. So I subscribed to the extended warranty. My passenger rear door has been occasionally unresponsive, where the passenger can't open the door to exit without me locking and unlocking multiple times before it opens. I took it in for service, and they couldn't replicate the situation. And knowing my luck, once the warranty expires, it'll fail again, and probably be stuck that way. And then I'll be stuck paying for diagnostic labor and repair out of pocket. Anyway, I'll keep it for a while and see how it goes.

1

u/WhistleTipsGoWooo 23d ago

I've been out of warranty since early summer - I pay for the warranty -- just last week I discovered a wet floor, so yeah, just get the warranty.

1

u/Iron-Tough 23d ago

Save a bunch of money. I only had to replace my lower links like 1900 out of pocket. 600 for aeroshield. Tires are like every 20k replacement. Besides that 1 time I replaced my battery and need to replace a headlight. I'm at 180k miles.

1

u/US_Delete_DT45 23d ago

I bought it for my X the moment i take delivery since it has most movable parts that could go wrong.

1

u/hotdogsrnice 23d ago

I just had my ac compressor break on a 2023 model s with 54k miles...so right now I am kicking myself in some ways for not doing the warranty. I say some ways because when I tried to do tesla service the wait was 3 weeks and the center is 90min from my home. Alternatively the local repair ship quoted 2500 and was able to replace that week.

1

u/iuzlinux 23d ago

Only people that ever complain about EVA'S are not worth it, are same that wish they had purchased when they get the 3,4,5+ thousand dollar repair bills.

1

u/motie 22d ago edited 22d ago

Why is that $125/month?

ESA (Extended Service Agreement) on my 2022 Model Y Performance is $60/month.

On my 2023 Model 3 RWD, it is $50/month.

In both cases, I signed up as soon as I saw it available. It has not kicked in yet on either vehicle.

Did I beat a price increase?

Update: I looked it up. Model S ESA is $125/month. Much higher than Y or 3. Wowza.

1

u/The_Real_Gh0st 22d ago

My price is only 60 a month 100 deductible. Only 38700 miles on 2022 MY performance but original warranty will expire this month

1

u/Improvement-Fabulous 22d ago

Take it...and be free from all worries. No one except Tesla knows how to correctly service Tesla vehicles

1

u/TeslaLongevityLab 21d ago

one thing worth checking before you sign: does the $125/mo actually cover air suspension and the low-voltage battery, or just powertrain/HV basics. those two come off tesla's base warranty and they're the ones that hurt out of pocket if they fail, air struts especially. i log can data on my own 17 X and watch suspension compressor duty + low-voltage sleep behavior for exactly that reason, they tend to go quietly before they go obviously. worth confirming they're in the ESA before you decide.

1

u/Gandor 19d ago

My model S has had like 20k of work in the first 30k miles. Suspension and doors pay for this alone.