# New purchase checklist



## Ryang071 (Aug 7, 2020)

Hey everyone, 

I’m purchasing a used 2018 Tesla Model 3 Long range awd next week and will be traveling out of state to pick it up.

What I should check for before finalizing the purchase.

interior/exterior checklist?

Thanks in advance!


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## lance.bailey (Apr 1, 2019)

look at the interior/exterior like you would when picking up a rental and looking for items you would not want to cover on return.

check that the features advertised coming with the car (AP, LTE, FS, ...) are on the car.

other than that, much of the used car gotchas revolve around the engine and drive train which you will find missing on the Tesla 

congrats!!


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## orekart (Nov 15, 2018)

Service history for:
Power conversion unit (can't L2 charge more than 32amp)
Charge port assembly (cracked or broken pins)
Tire rotation (toe/camber induced wear is normal but should be even front and rear, left and right)
Loose top trim plastics on steering wheel stalks (loose adhesive strips)
Dented/damaged bright trim near tops of door windows (iced windows in cold weather damage trim before firmware correction).
Missing body clips in wheel wells? (Factory omitted a lot of these on 2018's)
Trunk seal ok? Check for water damage to interior in rear trunk well.
Funky A/C smells (causitive partially corrected by firmware update but stinks until sprayed out)
HW2.5 or HW3?
Clicks/monoaural glitches in audio

Pull the front tub (difficulty: easy) and look for signs of corrosion and animal nests.
Decomposition of vinyl seat material.

Mine's at 60,000mi+ and the driver's seat needs some out-of-warranty love. If I had to address all the teething issues for this car at my cost it would have been $12k. No worries if still in warranty though.


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## Klaus-rf (Mar 6, 2019)

"Out of state"? Does that mean longer than one full charge? == Make sure it will supercharge AND that the current owner agrees to pay for that SCing until you get home and have a chance to swap ownership (and payments for SC usage) to yourself with the Tesla mothership.

Otherwise you'll be getting home on L2 charging at best.


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## Ryang071 (Aug 7, 2020)

Klaus-rf said:


> "Out of state"? Does that mean longer than one full charge? == Make sure it will supercharge AND that the current owner agrees to pay for that SCing until you get home and have a chance to swap ownership (and payments for SC usage) to yourself with the Tesla mothership.
> 
> Otherwise you'll be getting home on L2 charging at best.


Yep. Couple of stops. I'm picking up the car in NJ from Chicago!


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## Ryang071 (Aug 7, 2020)

Thanks for the suggestions/tips everyone!

Also, I will be making the trip from NJ (where the car is) and back home to Il. Do you guys prefer trip planning via Tesla navigation or abetterrouteplanner?


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

Ryang071 said:


> Also, I will be making the trip from NJ (where the car is) and back home to Il. Do you guys prefer trip planning via Tesla navigation or abetterrouteplanner?


For your first trip, just use Tesla's built-in navigation. It works wonderfully.

abetterrouteplanner is a great tool, and I make good use of it. But it works best when you've gotten used to how you drive the car & can tweak the settings to match.


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## Bigriver (Jan 26, 2018)

@Ryang071, congratulations and welcome to the forum.

Just to clarify, this is a non-Tesla and non-dealer transaction? If so, how many miles does it have (because I'm curious about remaining warranty)?


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## Ryang071 (Aug 7, 2020)

orekart said:


> Service history for:
> Power conversion unit (can't L2 charge more than 32amp)
> Charge port assembly (cracked or broken pins)
> Tire rotation (toe/camber induced wear is normal but should be even front and rear, left and right)
> ...


Thanks! That's really good to know about the seats. I was worried about that but the seller said they were in good condition. We'll see though!

just some curb rash, which I heard is hard to avoid with the Tesla 🤷‍♀️


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## Ryang071 (Aug 7, 2020)

Bigriver said:


> @Ryang071, congratulations and welcome to the forum.
> 
> Just to clarify, this is a non-Tesla and non-dealer transaction? If so, how many miles does it have (because I'm curious about remaining warranty)?


yes, it's a private sale.
I believe it has about 27,500 miles.


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## Bigriver (Jan 26, 2018)

A few random thoughts, trying not to be overly repetitive with what others have said:


Only 2 things I can think of that you must be sure to get (other than the car): the charging cable and adapters, and at least 1 key card.
I tend to go with @lance.bailey's approach that I would be doing a general condition check and to make sure it has the features you think it does. As Tesla really doesn't offer many options, this is pretty easy: Autopilot (None, EAP, FSD, or basic AP) and whether or not it has the AWD acceleration boost. And if the original owner purchased it in the first half of 2018, it will have lifetime premium connectivity that will transfer to you. These can be found in the menu under software and Additional Vehicle Information.
I would want to check the full rated mile equivalent that the car currently has. There are all kinds of reasons it could be off and it arguably doesn't matter, but I would still want to know what it was at the time I embark on the ownership journey. Just toggle the display between distance and energy, and note the miles and battery %, respectively. Divide miles by battery %. Would expect at least 280 to 290. After that exercise leave the display in % and use that info like a gas gauge. If you want to know how far you can go, use the energy graph or navigation info.
I've never heard of a model 3 not being able to supercharge, so was a little puzzled by that advice. But I also don't know the details of a person-to-person transfer, and supercharging is specifically tied to a Tesla account, so I guess there could be something to consider there.
I agree that you can and should trust the in-car navigation to determine your charging. But where it falls short is providing you 1 and only 1 route option. Perhaps it will route you across PA on the turnpike when you prefer I-80, for example. You can force a few changes with toggling on/off "avoid tolls" but that is very limited. So I sometimes use A Better Route Planner to consider options ahead of time. And in the car, I sometimes set an intermediate or nearby destination rather than my final destination to force the routing I want. The good thing for you is that there shouldn't be any challenging stretches between superchargers no matter what route you choose.


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## Ryang071 (Aug 7, 2020)

Bigriver said:


> A few random thoughts, trying not to be overly repetitive with what others have said:
> 
> 
> Only 2 things I can think of that you must be sure to get (other than the car): the charging cable and adapters, and at least 1 key card.
> ...


thanks for the insight!

I think the seller said at full charge, it's about 290 miles so we'll see how many times we'll have to supercharge to get back home. But we're super excited!


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## AutopilotFan (Oct 6, 2018)

Definitely make sure you have the charge kit. In September 2018 that was:

Charging cable
110v pigtail
220v pigtail
J1772 adapter <-- make SURE you get this
Square bag that zips on 3 sides. (NOT the round one.)
I call out the adapter because many Tesla owners (like me) don't keep it with the rest of the kit.

I'd recommend you check the frunk and under the deck to make sure that there's no junk. The car came with carpeted floor mats if that matters to you.


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