You never really know how good a car is until you’ve had it for years. Tesla vehicles have been on the roads for just four years now, but one driver has logged over 100,000 miles in that time.
So how has the vehicle held up?
Pretty well, actually! Christian Roy first got behind the wheel of his Tesla Model S in February 2014, and despite rarely leaving Quebec City, he’s kept the odometer ticking upward by driving the Tesla as a taxi. Even with all those city miles, complete with starts and stops and pothole-ridden roads, Roy appears to be a pleased Tesla owner.
According to an interview with Roy conducted by Electrek, most of the repairs required on the vehicle over that period of time were pretty standard. He’s needed new tires, brake pads, wheel bearings, and parts of the suspension.
By comparison, Roy’s previous car—a Subaru Legacy–cost up to $1,000 a month in maintenance alone and required the engine to be rebuilt multiple times over the course over 3o0,000 miles.
There has been one major repair required to the car—and he’s had to undergo it on two occasions. As Roy explained to Jalopnik, he had to swap the car’s electric drive unit at about 25,000 miles, a common and well-documented problem for the vehicle. According to one report, two in three Tesla Model S vehicles will see the drive unit fail by 60,000 miles.
The drive unit recently failed again on Roy, likely because it was replaced with another of the early models rather than the improved version that came installed in the 2015 model of the car. In both instances, Tesla replaced the part free of charge and within 24 hours.
Roy has also saved big on the cost of operating the car. Despite there not being a Supercharger in his city, Roy has managed to make it through each day on a single charge and refill at night. The 100,000 miles logged has cost him only $3,660 over a two year period. His Subaru often racked up $700 per month in gas.
All in all, Roy seemed to be pleased with the vehicle; he’s planning on buying an extended warranty and has eyed other Tesla cars, tempted to get another. At the very least, Tesla has one happy customer.
H/T Jalopnik