One man has expressed his regret at buying two used Tesla vehicles, as what seemed like a bargain to begin with has ended up costing him thousands in repair costs after the same issues emerged across both cars.
Buying secondhand can lead to some incredible deals, as you get to take a burden off of someone else's hands for a price far lower than it would be to buy new.
Cars are one of the biggest used markets and millions of people pick up old vehicles every single year with no issue, but you can run into the risk of being stuck with a clanger if you're not careful.
Tesla vehicles aren't what you'd typically expect to be an old dud though as the electric-powered high tech cars have plenty going on inside.
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Unfortunately, as YouTuber Samcrac sadly discovered, this actually makes them a troublesome candidate as two separate used vehicles from Elon Musk's company failed on him within months of purchase - and the exact same issues arose in both.
Samcrac managed to purchase a Tesla Model S with 100,000 miles on it for just $11,000 at an auction which is at worst around $65,000 cheaper than buying it new, but could stretch up to a $75,000 saving depending on what's included in the car.
He quickly realized that this wasn't quite the steal that it initially seemed though, as he had to fork out thousands in repairs for the car - many of which he had to go to Tesla directly for.
"I bought this old Tesla Model S super cheap and I've owned it for 8 months now," he begins the video explaining, "In that time it broke, then it broke again, and again, and today I'm going to fix it myself wishing I had just got a new one to begin with."
Not exactly the dream move into electric vehicles that he'd likely imagined.
What emerged as issues with the car were the battery fuse, front control arms, window regulator, trunk latch, and charge port door.
Samcrac was able to deal with some of these issues by himself with his mechanical know how, but the complex nature of a Tesla's largely electric construction meant that for most issues you have to let the manufacturer deal with them, which is far more expensive.
It's often a classic case of sunk cost fallacy too, where you end up spending the same amount as you would have to buy it new on a car that is far past it best, and you're still leaving yourself at risk of further issues.
Time is money too after all, so you have to account for the stress and effort wasted in fixing the car which would have been solved with a new purchase.
It's definitely something to consider before picking up your next vehicle - especially if it's a Tesla - although if recent reports of a sales decline say anything it might be that more people are opting for the secondhand market.