# Question about buying older MS from a car lot. Any way to see if motor or HV battery ever had an issue



## Jasper (Oct 8, 2017)

I used to have a Model S (2014 P85+) and regret selling it. Looking for another and a local car dealer has a 2014 85.
They bought it from a car dealer in California and it was a trade in from the original owner.
There’s no records and when I called Tesla they said they can only give info to the original owner.
I’m trying to see if the battery ever had any issues if if the motor were ever changed.

I was hoping with the VIN maybe I’d get lucky and find an old for sale ad or something, but no luck.

Just seeing if there’s any advice on getting any info. If I were to buy it, I’d probably take it to Tesla and pay for an inspection.


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## FRC (Aug 4, 2018)

As for the battery, I'd simply look at miles/% to do a full range calculation. A BMS imbalance could result in an overly pessimistic result. but I don't think it could mislead you in the optimistic direction. As for the motor(s)...I don't think there's much you can do, either the motors are fine or they're throwing a code. And if they've been replaced, that would be a positive in my book.


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## Jasper (Oct 8, 2017)

Thank you, I really appreciate the advice


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## peatmoss (Jun 4, 2021)

I wouldn't worry about the battery too much, all you can really do it check that the capacity seems normal. With an ODB adapter, appropriate cable, and the app 'scan my tesla' you see a lot more about the battery. scan my tesla (I am not affiliated with Scan My Tesla)

But the large drive units on those old Model S have a seal whose failure caused coolant to leak into the inverter side of the drive unit.

There's a fairly easy way to check for coolant ingress in the drive unit. The rear aero panel needs to come off and then it's possible to remove a sensor from the drive unit to have a look inside. Video here (I am not affiliated with QC Charge, either): www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL1Dhv0WD30

That said, I bought a used Model S in 2020 with 199,000 miles on it. It now has over 300,000 miles, and I have never bothered evaluating the drive unit for coolant leakage. But it was still under warranty until a couple months ago. I would definitely have an out-of-warranty one checked before purchasing. A replacement drive unit could run you $5-6K or more.

If the car you are looking at has very low mileage, like 50-60,000 or less, there's a chance it has a drive unit is an early revision that will eventually have the 'milling noise' bearing issue and require replacement. If it has 150,000 miles on it, there's little to no chance of that being the case. The drive unit would have already been replaced at least once. There's still a risk of that coolant leak, though.

More info here: Thoughts on earlier model S cars duration of drive units...


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## Jasper (Oct 8, 2017)

peatmoss said:


> I wouldn't worry about the battery too much, all you can really do it check that the capacity seems normal. With an ODB adapter, appropriate cable, and the app 'scan my tesla' you see a lot more about the battery. scan my tesla (I am not affiliated with Scan My Tesla)
> 
> But the large drive units on those old Model S have a seal whose failure caused coolant to leak into the inverter side of the drive unit.
> 
> ...


Thank you very much for the info. The one at the dealer didn't want to budge on price so I am looking elsewhere now. And I've also switched to looking for an X for 50-60k or so. For 60-65 I'm seeing a lot of 2018's and a few 2019's so I think I don't have to worry about the warranty.
And I'd sell it when the Cybertruck is here, hopefully a year or so, so the X's battery/motors would still be under warranty.


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## peatmoss (Jun 4, 2021)

If you are able to get a slighter newer S, a 2018 or 2019 like you said, you should be golden. My understanding is that the newer drive units do not have the shortcomings of the older ones. I only chimed in because your original post mentioned a 2014.


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## Jasper (Oct 8, 2017)

peatmoss said:


> If you are able to get a slighter newer S, a 2018 or 2019 like you said, you should be golden. My understanding is that the newer drive units do not have the shortcomings of the older ones. I only chimed in because your original post mentioned a 2014.


Thank you, yes I had a 2014 S and sold it and was looking for another and found one at a dealer lot here. 
But I'm also selling my Cayenne diesel and think it may be sold, so I have more to spend and changed to a later model X.


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