You've probably all heard of this guy. Hoovies Garage buys all the cheap cars he can find in the hope of finding something interesting about them. But a used Mercedes S-Class doesn't have the same kind of impact as "the cheapest Tesla Model S in America."
That's what this is, and it has a great story. The car was listed on Auto Trader for $32,500. Somehow, the guy ended up paying $1,000. Why? Well, the guy selling it had some people in California already interested, so Hoovies had to offer a small bonus.
This bad boy cost around $85,000 when new, and it comes with the 85 kWh battery. So why is it so cheap? Well, for starters, it's done 107,00 miles in six years, which is a lot for an electric car.
It had an extended warranty, but not even that covers so many miles. However, the powertrain is still under Tesla's coverage for a couple of years.
Being an early adopter, the owner of the Model S is the father of one of Tesla's vice presidents, and he even printed out pamphlets explaining to people what it stands for. Still, the car has suffered from the usual reliability issues.
Three of the four handles have already been replaced, but that means Hoovies will have to cover one more when it breaks at the price of $1,000. The $4,000 touchscreen has also failed on this 2012 mode. It's got a few glitches and freezes, partly because it's running a 3G connection.
The service history also shows a problem with the rear door and two drivetrain motors being replaced. If your Mercedes had three engines over its life, you'd think it's a bad car. But because it's a Tesla, people just let that kind of stuff slide.
After six years, the battery still holds about 90% of its original charge. And after the repainted bumpers and touched up wheels, you're still left with a cheap EV that's very desirable. Let's hope no more electric gremlins pop up.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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