Used electric vehicles have become the fastest-selling cars in the country, but one buyer said his Tesla came with a hidden surprise that left him stranded at a charger.
Daniel Boycott was absolutely loving the 2022 Tesla Model 3 he bought from a used car dealership in September, until he pulled up to a Tesla Supercharger, and his car wouldn’t charge.
“That’s when I found out it didn’t work. I tried multiple stations. It’s just not working,” he said.
A Tesla representative told him on the phone and later in an email that “the car is currently unsupported for supercharging and warranties are voided due to salvaged vehicle.”
“I was told it was clean. The CARFAX said it was clean, and I trusted that,” he said.
The term “salvage” was a complete shock, but a deeper dive into the CARFAX vehicle history report, which he didn’t pull until after the sale, uncovered a “minor accident.”
Photos of the damage made it look more than minor, and a Tesla technician told him the repair work as shoddy.
“It was bad enough where they flagged it,” he said.
Tesla said it’s a safety issue connecting a damaged vehicle to the powerful superchargers.
“It’s insanely frustrating,” Boycott said.
Boycott said the network of 70,000 Tesla Superchargers across the country was one of the main reasons he bought the car. Without it, he said long distance trips are nearly impossible.
Fred Lambert, the editor-in-chief of Electrek, a news magazine about electric vehicles, said he’s heard of at least one other case where a car with a clean title was labeled “salvage” in Tesla’s system and blocked from supercharging.
Now Tesla is offering an inspection option for drivers trying to get back on the charging network.
“That’s been somewhat controversial, too, because Tesla charges a lot of money. Last time I checked, it was $2,000, but it might have changed since,” he said.
Boycott said, between the inspection and repairs, “I want access to the Supercharger network.”
“You know, I don’t want to pay like, $10,000 extra on a car that I already agreed to,” he said.
He said he’s still in negotiations with the Downers Grove used car dealership who sold him the vehicle. The owners said Illinois Secretary of State Police investigated and confirmed it has a clean title, and has never had a salvaged title.
In the meantime, he wants other used EV buyers to know, “I would just take a deeper look into what you’re buying, especially with EVs.
“People should trust what they’re being sold,” he added.
CBS News Chicago reached out to several other electric vehicle automakers and charging networks to see if they have similar policies banning cars that have been in accidents from their network. The companies we heard back from said they do not.
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