Buy an inexpensive Tesla? Now I’m stuck with a $9K repair bill.

Looks to me your Tesla is a perfect candidate for a coyote/Ls swap. That's my vote!

Just another example of how cars have become disposable. Once these (and others like them) pass beyond the first or second owner they will become bricks, abandoned in side yards or in tow lots, because no one will invest thousands bringing them back to life. 

And before someone opines that ICE vehicles are going the same way, I don't disagree.

Private party KBB is almost $21,000 - you just made 2 big car payments.  Trade in averages $18,000 so if you flip it it cost you $1,000 over three months except you have to buy something pricier.

Keep it 4 years for the warranty and stretch that $19,000 over those years. Sell it with  a one year warranty left (if possible).

The sunk cost is irrelevant.  It's as if your $10K Tesla got totalled without insurance and you now have the option of buying a $9000 Tesla to replace it.

Are there any reasons to think that the rest of the car will be unreliable after this part is replaced?  If digging into the online forums to figure out what was going on with this one turned up a bunch of other ticking time bombs, then yeah, let's avoid it.  OTOH, if it was just that one thing and you like the car then I don't see any reason not to get it fixed.

I also feel that regardless of one's opinion of the CEO's politics, a purchase like a car should be made on its own merits.

This part really surprised me:

Installing a remanufactured rear drive unit from Tesla–carrying a four-year, 50,000-mile warranty–is going to cost $8959.10 out the door. 

The drive unit itself carries a price of $7043.04. The estimate lists $962.50 for installation. Also needed: about $125 for other fluids plus $235 for an alignment. (Turns out that mine is way out of spec.)

I know that's "real money" but that almost qualifies as a screaming deal on such a performance vehicle.  Especially that quote for the labor.  Plug and play has its benefits.

I have no idea what it would cost to buy a drivetrain and the labor to install it for a comparably quick/fast ICE vehicle but I'd hazard a guess that it would be quite a few times more.

For example:  just at the low end of the performance spectrum I've seen people report that it may cost anywhere from $7K-$16K (admittedly, the latter number representing a "we don't want to touch it" quote) to purchase a motor and have it installed for a MK7/7.5 VW GTI.  
 

I vote fix it and drive the hell out of it.  I'll be watching to see how things turn out.  Fingers crossed for you.

In reply to Datsun240ZGuy :

That is the math I have been doing. If I can sell it for $21,000 what do I buy to replace it? First thing that comes to mind is a Civic Si, but a nice used current gen is around $25,000 so that would be spending even more money. If I keep it and everything goes well, I have a car that is paid for and has 700-horsepower and is comfortable on road trips. 

Yeah, I was shocked at how little labor is involved, too. It's basically like changing a differential except with 400v involved. 

I see EVs as tampons: Useful once to the original owner and hopefully no mishaps, but one-owner is the intended lifespan from the manufacturer. Not something you want to re-cycle to a new owner. YMMV.

I have been, and could be, wrong.

Chris Tropea said:

In reply to Datsun240ZGuy :

That is the math I have been doing. If I can sell it for $21,000 what do I buy to replace it? First thing that comes to mind is a Civic Si, but a nice used current gen is around $25,000 so that would be spending even more money. If I keep it and everything goes well, I have a car that is paid for and has 700-horsepower and is comfortable on road trips. 

it's a trap comparing a 10 year old luxury car to a similarly priced but current generation economy car.  

you can buy a used S-class mercedes for the same price as a gently used toyota Camry but the maintenance cost on a mercedes doesn't ever go down to the same maintenance cost as the camry.  

I see this as less of an EV problem, and more of a "new technology/new car company" problem. These drive units are a known flaw, and a just plain bad design--nothing inherent to the EV-ness as far as I can tell. I'd lump them in with stuff like Nissan's CVTs.

codrus (Forum Supporter) said:

I also feel that regardless of one's opinion of the CEO's politics, a purchase like a car should be made on its own merits.

 

How do we feel about Porsches, Volkswagens, and Fords, for example...

It sounds like the decision is already made, but the pricing isn't out of line with a "power unit" repair on any other luxury car.  They wanted 21k to do an engine on mine, so you're getting out cheap!

In reply to ClearWaterMS :

I totally get that and understand I am comparing 2 different automotive experiences. Just if I was to replace it that would be what I would be shopping, every time I drive an Si I ask myself why I have not owned one yet. 

Coniglio Rampante said:

This part really surprised me:

 

Installing a remanufactured rear drive unit from Tesla–carrying a four-year, 50,000-mile warranty–is going to cost $8959.10 out the door. 

The drive unit itself carries a price of $7043.04. The estimate lists $962.50 for installation. Also needed: about $125 for other fluids plus $235 for an alignment. (Turns out that mine is way out of spec.)

I know that's "real money" but that almost qualifies as a screaming deal on such a performance vehicle.  Especially that quote for the labor.  Plug and play has its benefits.

I have no idea what it would cost to buy a drivetrain and the labor to install it for a comparably quick/fast ICE vehicle but I'd hazard a guess that it would be quite a few times more.

For example:  just at the low end of the performance spectrum I've seen people report that it may cost anywhere from $7K-$16K (admittedly, the latter number representing a "we don't want to touch it quote) to purchase a motor and have it installed for a MK7/7.5 VW GTI.  
 

I vote fix it and drive the hell out of it.  I'll be watching to see how things turn out.  Fingers crossed for you.

I don't even want to know what BMW would want for a reman, factory warranted engine for my E39 M5 - assuming I could even get one.

How many miles are people seeing on these? Is 85k considered low?

The P90D I drove was one hell of a car. 

The whole rear drive unit failed and needs replacement? Uh, what? I'd bet nothing's wrong with the motor or gearbox/diff piece and something went wrong with the inverter. Definitely keep the old one to fix up for cheap and sell to offset the cost of this repair, if there's really no time to DIY it.

In reply to NOHOME :

Absolutely.  Like many cars built in the last few years, we can't just turn wrenches on them and then drive.  Some may have figured out how to talk to the computers and bring them back to life but that won't happen for me and finding people to do it just isn't practical.  

ClearWaterMS said:

Chris Tropea said:

In reply to Datsun240ZGuy :

That is the math I have been doing. If I can sell it for $21,000 what do I buy to replace it? First thing that comes to mind is a Civic Si, but a nice used current gen is around $25,000 so that would be spending even more money. If I keep it and everything goes well, I have a car that is paid for and has 700-horsepower and is comfortable on road trips. 

it's a trap comparing a 10 year old luxury car to a similarly priced but current generation economy car.  

you can buy a used S-class mercedes for the same price as a gently used toyota Camry but the maintenance cost on a mercedes doesn't ever go down to the same maintenance cost as the camry.  

Run into this all the time.  "How can it cost that much, its a $3000 car!"

No, it's a $50,000 car that depreciated to $3000, in part because it can generate stupendous repair bills.  You bought a $50,000 car with a $3000 down payment, now it's time to start feeding in the rest of that money.

Keith Tanner said:

Coniglio Rampante said:

This part really surprised me:

 

Installing a remanufactured rear drive unit from Tesla–carrying a four-year, 50,000-mile warranty–is going to cost $8959.10 out the door. 

The drive unit itself carries a price of $7043.04. The estimate lists $962.50 for installation. Also needed: about $125 for other fluids plus $235 for an alignment. (Turns out that mine is way out of spec.)

I know that's "real money" but that almost qualifies as a screaming deal on such a performance vehicle.  Especially that quote for the labor.  Plug and play has its benefits.

I have no idea what it would cost to buy a drivetrain and the labor to install it for a comparably quick/fast ICE vehicle but I'd hazard a guess that it would be quite a few times more.

For example:  just at the low end of the performance spectrum I've seen people report that it may cost anywhere from $7K-$16K (admittedly, the latter number representing a "we don't want to touch it quote) to purchase a motor and have it installed for a MK7/7.5 VW GTI.  
 

I vote fix it and drive the hell out of it.  I'll be watching to see how things turn out.  Fingers crossed for you.

I don't even want to know what BMW would want for a reman, factory warranted engine for my E39 M5 - assuming I could even get one.

*gulp*

I'm sure it would be sickening. When we couldn't figure out what was the issue with my 135i, he told me a USED N55 would $5k........and that didn't include install and would be reusing the existing turbo, accessories, etc. At the time, you couldn't buy individual replacement parts for the DCT and a new one was $10k.......$10k for a transmission. 

I drove it down the street that day and traded it on a lightly used Mazda 3. I lost my ass on trade-in, but it just wasn't worth the risk to keep driving it and have a complete failure and be left with no choice to go horrifically upside down in the car. 

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Just for kicks, I looked up a replacement 2014 BMW M5 engine–figure it keeps the years consistent.

If I’m reading things correctly, about $30k.

In reply to z31maniac :

So a used N55 is cheaper than a used 1.0l Ecoboost, not bad not bad.  

Say, does anyone know how much an AMG 6.3l engine costs? 

wae said:

codrus (Forum Supporter) said:

I also feel that regardless of one's opinion of the CEO's politics, a purchase like a car should be made on its own merits.

 

How do we feel about Porsches, Volkswagens, and Fords, for example...

Exactly, and note that Chris did buy the car and park it next to his Volkswagen.

The difference from those other brands, though, is how quickly the brand's perception is changing, and how tough it is to forecast resale value because of that. I've been watching Tesla values for years, and they're now dropping faster than I've ever seen. It creates some great deals--like Chris's car--but also means a $20,000 asset might suddenly not be one tomorrow. 

Did you call Tesla direct and ask if there was a recall on this "Safety"  or   an ....a " Emissions" problem ?

When I priced a new N55 for my wife's X3 a few years back it was $12.7k.

I vote fix it and document the process for the magazine if you can.

In reply to californiamilleghia :

Other automakers have mandatory recalls because a fault "may cause the vehicle to stall in traffic, which can result in a collision".