A car seller named Alex shared a clip of a phone call with a woman on his TikTok profile. She was describing her traumatic experience buying a used electric car.
The woman admits at the beginning of the call that she did not do enough research before purchasing a used 2018 Model S. She describes the vehicle as “impeccably clean” and in good condition.
According to the buyer, the odometer showed 110,000 miles driven (over 177,000 km). However, she did not know that this condition voided the manufacturer’s warranty coverage.
Her lack of research resulted in a $16,000 loss due to battery issues. Two days after buying the car, it charged to about 80%–90%. Once unplugged, the charge dropped to 60%.
She went to a Tesla dealership and found that the warranty had expired and the battery was damaged.
According to Tesla, the Model S battery is covered by an eight-year or 150,000-mile warranty, whichever comes first. The company quoted $16,000 to replace the battery.
Alex said the best option would be to ask the dealership to “undo the deal” and place her in another vehicle. Otherwise, the remaining option would be to take the case to court.
Internet users were divided in the comments: some criticized the woman, while others criticized electric vehicles.
“Never buy an electric car; lease it. You don’t want the battery problem,” one wrote. Others said the previous owner likely knew about the issue and sold the car anyway.
“How can people be so uninformed when spending so much money on a car? Especially an electric car they’ve never owned before,” another commented.
@evautoalex Sometimes the smartest move isn’t fixing it. It’s minimizing the damage and getting out. #tesla #electriccar #carwarranty #carbuying #batteryreplacement ♬ original sound – EV Auto Alex
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Source and images: TikTok @evautoalex | Wikimedia Commons. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
