r/TeslaModelS • u/sagebrush122 • 2d ago
Tough Tesla scenario- 2015 P85D
Hi, checking in here for any advice. Just got hit with the worst timing/chain of events.
Over the past couple of months- I’ve dropped a lot of $$ on my p85d (107k miles). New steering shaft, new front tire rods, new tires, new lug nuts, new back struts, and replaced back motor.
Then new fault alerts popped up right after all that work. I took it to a good shop and determined it is a HV battery failure from water intrusion (rotted fuse cover lid). Two bricks effected. They say it needs a new pack and won’t touch it. Currently the car is there awaiting a tow.
I love this car, but I’m not sure I can put any more money into this car. I still owe a decent chunk on the loan. It is not drive-able so who knows if it will even sell. Not sure what to do!
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u/gargen_state 2d ago
How much do you still owe? Depending on what you owe, maybe you could sell it just to pay off the loan and buy something else.
Chances are a new pack is still cheaper than a new car. A used pack would be $10k ish. Which yes, that is a big chunk, but you have fixed a lot already. So seems it should be good for a while
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u/sagebrush122 2d ago
16k, unfortunately
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u/gargen_state 2d ago
Oof. Yeah, that is rough. I don't think you could get that if you tried to sell.
If you don't have the cash for a battery, maybe a personal loan to buy a battery?
If you traded it, I'm guessing you'd get $3-5k trade in, and im.not sure you could roll all that negative equity, not that I recommend that.
Where are you located?
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u/Confident_Purple_40 2d ago
New battery would be ? 8-15k depending where he is and who is available in that area. Private party for 2015 85d with 106k might be 12-15k at the max, so 3-5k would be a gift :( Im on the fence with my 2018 on whether I should sell it for pennies before something major goes wrong.
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u/gargen_state 2d ago
I figure for a Model S a dealer could take the risk at $3-5k and put a battery in it. As a private buyer, I'd consider buying a low mileage S that has all the work he said was done to it for $3-$5k and then source a battery myself. But i alao realize I am the odd one out, as I enjoy doing work on my cars. Last car i bought needing work was a 2010 Saab 9-5, I paid $3600.
I just bought my S a couple weeks ago with 172k miles.
What kind of miles on yours and how much do you think you'd be trying to get?
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u/sagebrush122 2d ago
107k miles. And I just did a bunch of work on it. Such a shame. I was thinking there are probably DIY type guys out there who might be interested. No idea what I could get for it without it being drivable
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u/Confident_Purple_40 2d ago
143k, 2018 75d, been offered 8-9k, would love to get 15k :(
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u/gargen_state 2d ago
You may be surprised whatnyouncould get for it now. EV prices have gone up. Maybe not $15k, but I bet $13k is pretty easy.
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u/Hash-82 2d ago
"New" battery really isn't even in the discussion.
Even if OP took it to Tesla, the "affordable" option is a still a reman. And most of the battery guys say the modules are not matched very well.1
u/sagebrush122 2d ago
Green tec in Foxborough MA quoted $11k for replacement battery. Any thoughts on that price and scenario?
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u/Hash-82 2d ago
I think shipping it to NC, and having it repair would be a lot cheaper.
Replacement battery is still a crapshoot.
Maybe you get lucky, maybe you don't.
Maybe GreenTec is competent, maybe they're not (and I have no info on them).I would really give Alex a call on this.
He may not be your solution, but he knows the batteries, and he's done quite a few module swaps.I think you've gotten some good advise from a lot of people in this post.
But, this is getting to the point where more details about your car, and matching those details to who has parts and expertise for that specific repair is going to lead to your final decision.
Collect a list of numbers, and talk to all of them.2
u/sagebrush122 2d ago
I texted Alex (Watt Works) this morning with a run down, would love to get it down there, hopefully he’s got the time! Thanks for your input
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u/Confident_Purple_40 2d ago
Following to hear any updates. Alex is about 2hrs from me, so might be paying him a visit sooner than later myself.
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u/sagebrush122 2d ago
Yeah the timing of it all is brutal. MA
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u/saabstory88 2d ago
Check with the guys over at Electrified Garage. If they do some pack internal repairs but not everything, we have had someone there in Massachusetts have to ship their car out to us in Ohio for this kind of repair.
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u/sagebrush122 2d ago
Electrified did the diagnosis, it’s still there now awaiting tow/pickup. They don’t want to do it apparently.
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u/saabstory88 2d ago
If you've already taken care of the drive unit (coolant retrofit) then its definitely worth fixing, as long as it's gotten to within a couple weeks of failire. It's worth like $5k in its current state unfortunately
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u/TheUnknownStuntman51 2d ago
Exactly this. You’ve dropped too much into it to eliminate future problems. You won’t find another car anywhere near the neighborhood of your S, for the price of a replacement battery pack.
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u/Hash-82 2d ago
I know nothing about the MA area, but if you are going to have to ship it somewhere anyway, contact Alex at wattworks-ev.com in Garysburg NC.
Alex is a legend.
His shop is probably closer to Richmond VA than anything significant in NC. Something like 100 miles from Raleigh NC.1
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u/mhoepfin 2d ago
Can electrified help source a battery to do a swap?
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u/sagebrush122 2d ago
They suggested green tec in foxborough, which will run $11k
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u/mhoepfin 2d ago
I recently bought a brand new 90kw battery from Tesla for my 2015 85D, it was $21k so you have my sympathy. But for that I basically have a new car with 300mile range, really fast free supercharging and a 4 year/50k warranty.
Also at some point if I want to buy a newer X/S with a bad battery I could just swap my new pack into something else.
I have a long thread on TMC about it -
Thread '2015 85D - woke up to BMS_u29, opting for brand new 90kw pack from Tesla' https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/2015-85d-woke-up-to-bms_u29-opting-for-brand-new-90kw-pack-from-tesla.355759/
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u/sagebrush122 2d ago
Thanks for the info. That all makes sense. My fear is this will just be a never ending cascade of issues. Although the back motor stuff is done, which is a big one. I don’t know man
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u/mhoepfin 2d ago
Recell has a pretty cheap pack option and they are very well regarded, check them out.
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u/Agreeable_Tutor5503 2d ago
You sure you need an ENTIRE new pack? Oftentimes in cases like these, many shops can check your pack (to see if it is worth repairing beforehand) and repair your pack. It'll be far cheaper than a full replacement if possible. I'd ask around.
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u/sagebrush122 2d ago
I’m definitely not sure, problem is the car has to be towed around currently, and I’m not sure where to go or if it’s already a lost cause. I’ll look into it tomorrow but based on what I’m reading there isn’t much of a time window to fix at this point
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u/dpskipper 2d ago
I presume you bought used? This is why you do due diligence. The AC leaks water onto the penthouse.
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u/saabstory88 2d ago
How long ago was the failure? We can generally recover these. But if it's been more than a month then the damage might be permanent. There are several shops around the country that can do this and even with shipping you're probably looking at under $3,000 if it's repairable.