# Tesla model X buying advice **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [May 1, 2024, 2:10am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tesla-model-x-buying-advice/194823 "2024-05-01T02:10:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![old\_mopar\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/6bbea6/32.png) [@old\_mopar\_guy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/old_mopar_guy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2024, 2:10am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tesla-model-x-buying-advice/194823/1 "2024-05-01T02:10:30Z")
Hi everyone My daughter has decided that when the lease on her 2020 Acura MDX ends in June shes going to buy a used Tesla Model X. Are there any model years to avoid? I’ll be performing a PPI on whatever she finds. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2024, 3:01am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tesla-model-x-buying-advice/194823/2 "2024-05-01T03:01:54Z")
Any other options? Those rear doors are a complete show stopper for me. ---
**Author:** ![ledhed75](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f6c823/32.png) [@ledhed75](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ledhed75)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2024, 9:34am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tesla-model-x-buying-advice/194823/3 "2024-05-01T09:34:16Z")
Agreed. I’m interested in an electric (or hybrid) car…but Tesla gives me pause. I don’t like the stories about their build quality, and the lack of dedicated repair shops also concerns me. If I were going to go get an electric car tomorrow, I’d be inclined to buy one from Toyota or maybe GM/Ford. ---
**Author:** ![old\_mopar\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/6bbea6/32.png) [@old\_mopar\_guy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/old_mopar_guy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2024, 12:25pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tesla-model-x-buying-advice/194823/4 "2024-05-01T12:25:34Z")
The gull wing doors are a big draw for her. ---
**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2024, 1:04pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tesla-model-x-buying-advice/194823/5 "2024-05-01T13:04:26Z")
A used Tesla just does not sound like a good way to spend money . I just saw an article that Goofball Musk had laid off all of the rapid charger staff . Who knows what else he might do to make Tesla ownership unpleasant. In our addition one family has 2 Tesla vehicles and it seems that the repair truck is there a lot. ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2024, 1:22pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tesla-model-x-buying-advice/194823/6 "2024-05-01T13:22:32Z")
First things first: Join the [https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/forums/-/list](https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/forums/-/list) and then check out the Model X forum. She should get good information from current owners. I’ve seen useful information for my Model 3 that helped me decide to use home 120V charging. It’s slow but works for me. The only comment I have on build quality is that mine is excellent. I think that build quality is better for more recent model years and I would avoid early MYs. Here’s one discussion on the Falcon Wing Doors: [https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/2022-falcon-wing-door-problems.297121/](https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/2022-falcon-wing-door-problems.297121/). If I were buying a Tesla SUV, I’d consider a new Model Y. That would take advantage of up to date build quality practices and even offer the full federal tax credit. It doesn’t appear that money is an issue for her though. Note that the Model X shares a platform with the larger Model S while the Models 3 and Y share the smaller platform. The long range version is probably the sweet spot for the MY. It has AWD, sub-5 second 0-60, and the longest range (292-310 miles). I’m sold on home charging and IMO it best done indoors unless she lives in a mild climate. One more thing: where will she get a PPI? I guess the dealer might be the best bet to check out the drive train and really everything else. My experience with traditional shops is that they don’t want EVs even on their parking lot. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2024, 2:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tesla-model-x-buying-advice/194823/7 "2024-05-01T14:18:55Z")
What @jtsanders said. Read lots about what actual owners say, nobody here has one that I know of. ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2024, 4:19pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tesla-model-x-buying-advice/194823/8 "2024-05-01T16:19:02Z")
Also look at [NHTSA.gov](http://NHTSA.gov) for complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer communications. Previous electrical problems and forward collision warning complaints were way down in 2019. ---
**Author:** ![old\_mopar\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/6bbea6/32.png) [@old\_mopar\_guy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/old_mopar_guy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2024, 11:19pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tesla-model-x-buying-advice/194823/9 "2024-05-01T23:19:00Z")
Thanks JT! ---
**Author:** ![old\_mopar\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/6bbea6/32.png) [@old\_mopar\_guy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/old_mopar_guy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2024, 11:25pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tesla-model-x-buying-advice/194823/10 "2024-05-01T23:25:41Z")
My son in law is a big Elon Musk fanboy so any other electric car is out of the question. ---
**Author:** ![ledhed75](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f6c823/32.png) [@ledhed75](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ledhed75)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2024, 12:27am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tesla-model-x-buying-advice/194823/11 "2024-05-02T00:27:01Z")
I think you have to separate feelings for Elon, the public figure, vs the car that Elon makes. Elon has done some big things. He got GM’s attention, for sure. But he’s also turning out to be a messy human being. He desperately needs a handler-type who can talk some sense into him. ---
**Author:** ![old\_mopar\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/6bbea6/32.png) [@old\_mopar\_guy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/old_mopar_guy)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2024, 12:31am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tesla-model-x-buying-advice/194823/12 "2024-05-02T00:31:51Z")
My son in law works in Big Tech and is of the opinion that Musk is a visionary genius. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2024, 12:32am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tesla-model-x-buying-advice/194823/13 "2024-05-02T00:32:16Z")
More on used Teslas: [EVs From A Decade Ago Are Dying An Early Death, But They Don’t Have To (jalopnik.com)](https://jalopnik.com/evs-from-a-decade-ago-are-dying-an-early-death-but-the-1851449305) ---
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2024, 1:23am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tesla-model-x-buying-advice/194823/14 "2024-05-02T01:23:07Z")
> [@old\_mopar\_guy](#): > > My son in law is a big Elon Musk fanboy also known as “Teslastan” > [@old\_mopar\_guy](#): > > My son in law works in Big Tech and is of the opinion that Musk is a visionary genius. Maybe so But he also has an extremely abrasive personality ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2024, 2:20am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tesla-model-x-buying-advice/194823/15 "2024-05-02T02:20:16Z")
> [@ledhed75](#): > > I think you have to separate feelings for Elon, the public figure, vs the car that Elon makes. Musk doesn’t build cars, he hires automotive professionals to do it. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2024, 2:33pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tesla-model-x-buying-advice/194823/16 "2024-05-02T14:33:55Z")
> [@jtsanders](#): > > Musk doesn’t build cars, he hires automotive professionals to do it. **That is true, but this cartoon still provides a bit of a chuckle.** ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/1/f/1f5cd0f8796913c14753b800650ca5c99225f71e.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2024, 8:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tesla-model-x-buying-advice/194823/17 "2024-05-02T20:39:19Z")
My Elon Musk story: I talked to him for a few minutes when I was on a walk-about & accidentally saw him standing by his parked Tesla roadster in a parking lot. I didn’t find him offensive at all, but he wasn’t exactly warm and friendly either. For example while he was willing to talk in technical terms about his car’s hardware, he wouldn’t pop the hood when I asked him to show me what’s inside, saying there was nothing to see but batteries … which in hindsight is probably true. People think about stuff in different ways. Take two students looking for an apartment nearby to the university for example. The first asks the owner how much the rent is? Thinking they’ll pay the rent each month and have a place to stay to concentrate on their studies. The second asks how much to buy the entire building? The second student is thinking they can probably pay for the loan, taxes, and insurance from the rent of all the other tenants, and live in their own apartment for free, and as an upside, pocket any increase in the building’s value over the years they live there. Most of us are the first type. Elon Musk is the second type. ---
**Author:** ![old\_mopar\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/6bbea6/32.png) [@old\_mopar\_guy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/old_mopar_guy)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2024, 10:28pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tesla-model-x-buying-advice/194823/18 "2024-05-02T22:28:02Z")
I am also the second type. ---
**Author:** ![nofyfb\_180405](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@nofyfb\_180405](https://community.cartalk.com/u/nofyfb_180405)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 5:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tesla-model-x-buying-advice/194823/19 "2024-05-05T17:31:12Z")
In fact, you have no choice but Toyota. ---
**Author:** ![sheridanpaul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c2a13f/32.png) [@sheridanpaul](https://community.cartalk.com/u/sheridanpaul)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 12:52pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tesla-model-x-buying-advice/194823/21 "2024-05-08T12:52:24Z")
Really, the Toyota/Subaru Solterra combo??? Several other vehicles are much better rated than Toyota’s–Kia, Hyundai for example. I go with reliability and owner satisfaction over “acceleration speed.” Does it really matter that I reach 60 mph in under 5 seconds? I guess if I am racing, which I don’t. [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tesla-model-x-buying-advice/194823.md?page=2)