Buying a used Tesla: how to check the battery
The battery is the most expensive part of the car and the hardest to see. This is what to check, what to ask the seller, and what no website can tell you.
Start with the battery estimate
Look the VIN up before you drive anywhere. The state of health and the date of the measurement take a minute to read and can end a bad idea early. How to read the figures is covered in Tesla battery health: what the percentage means.
Check the date first. A measurement from last week says more than one from last year. Then read the state of health against the age and mileage of the car, not on its own.
Ask the seller for a fresh screenshot
Ask for a recent screenshot or photo of the car’s own battery screen, taken that day, showing the charge level and the estimated range. It is a rough cross-check, not a replacement for the estimate: the range shown depends on charge level, temperature and driving.
If what the seller shows looks far better than Tesla’s estimate, ask why. A seller with nothing to hide will answer.
Age and mileage
Two cars with the same state of health are not the same deal if one is two years old and the other five, or if one has twice the mileage. Compare like with like: the same model, a similar age, a similar distance driven. Keep every candidate in your cars with its mileage and price, and put them side by side.
A mileage you read or enter is for you to confirm. Check it against service records and the inspection history where your country keeps one.
Charging history, which we cannot see
We do not know how a car was charged, and the seller may not either. Ask anyway: mostly at home or often at fast chargers, whether it sat at a full charge for long periods, whether it was parked unused for months. These are the habits that tend to be tied to faster wear, as the degradation guide explains.
Service and repair history
Ask for invoices. Look for accident repairs, any work on the battery or high-voltage system, and open recalls or service actions. Have the VIN on the car, on the documents and in the listing checked against each other.
The buying checklist
In our report
From Tesla, per VIN
- Usable kWh today
- Degradation, as Tesla reports it
- Date of the measurement
- Production date and specification
Ask the seller
In writing, with proof
- A fresh screenshot of the car’s battery screen
- How it was charged: home or fast
- Service and repair invoices
- Warranty papers and what transfers
Check yourself
At the car, or with a garage
- Body, tyres and signs of accident repair
- Charge level and range shown on the screen
- Warranty terms for your market
- That the VIN matches the car and the papers
The battery estimate is one row among many.
Warranty: check your market and model
Tesla’s battery and drive unit warranty terms vary by market and by model, and whether and how they pass to a second owner is something to confirm rather than assume. We do not state the terms here. Read Tesla’s warranty document for your country and ask Tesla or the seller to confirm in writing what remains on the car you are looking at.
When Tesla has no estimate
Some cars come back with no battery estimate. That is not a bad sign by itself, and it is not a good one. Lean harder on the other checks: the seller’s screenshot, a visit with a charge and a drive, the service history and the warranty position. You are not charged for a lookup that returns no estimate.
Bring the number to the price talk
A weaker battery is a fair reason to ask for a lower price, and a strong one is a fair reason to hold firm. Use the state of health, the usable kWh and the date of the measurement as facts in the conversation, next to comparable cars you have looked up.