Example report · Electric SUV
2022 Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD
Dual permanent-magnet synchronous motors · Automatic · Black · 43,567 miles
2022 · 75 kWh · 43,567 miles · spotless record, one unanswerable question
The verdict
Proceed carefully69/100
Every check we can make comes back clean: no finance, never stolen, never written off, first keeper from new, no plate or colour changes, and two MOTs passed. The most recent carried three advisories — lightly corroded front discs, a rear tyre near the limit and slight play in a front suspension bush — and every one of them is what a heavy car that brakes on its motors looks like at four years: the friction brakes barely get used, so they corrode, and the weight goes through the tyres and the bushes instead. Wear, not neglect. On an electric car none of that is the whole answer. The battery is most of what you are buying, and its condition is not recorded by DVLA, DVSA, the police or the insurance industry — no history check of any kind can tell you. What the records do tell you is that Tesla's 8-year, 120,000-mile battery and drive-unit warranty runs until June 2030 and transfers to you, and that it guarantees at least 70% of the original capacity. That is your protection, and it is a strong one. The 4-year vehicle warranty expired last month, so everything else is now on you. Check the rated range on the screen before you commit — that is a five-minute job that tells you more than the whole rest of this report.
- Nothing adverse on any register — no finance, theft, write-off or mileage anomaly
- Battery state of health is not recorded anywhere and must be checked on the car
- The 4-year vehicle warranty expired last month; the 8-year battery warranty runs to 2030
What stood out
- No outstanding finance and nothing on the theft or write-off registers
- First keeper from new, no plate transfers, no colour changes
- Battery and drive-unit warranty live until June 2030 or 120,000 miles
- Vehicle warranty (4 years / 50,000 miles) expired June 2026
- 43,567 miles against a 32,000-mile average for its age
- £30,479 of its £54,990 list price has already gone
Known faults on the Tesla Model Y
What this engine and variant are known for — and what each costs to put right.
Battery state of health — the number no register holds
This car left the factory rated at 331 miles. What matters is what it shows today. Charge limit to 100% on the screen and read the rated range: a healthy four-year-old Long Range should still show roughly 290-310. Below about 270 suggests meaningful degradation. Tesla warrants at least 70% capacity to June 2030, so a genuinely bad pack is their problem — but only if you check before you buy and again before the warranty ends.
Heat pump and octovalve failure
The 2021-22 cars use a heat pump with a multi-way "octovalve" that can fail, usually first in cold weather. The symptoms are no cabin heat, a windscreen that will not clear, and range dropping hard in winter. Test the heating even in summer — set the cabin to maximum heat and confirm hot air actually arrives.
Front and rear upper control arm knock
A widely reported Model 3 and Y complaint: a knock or clunk from the front over low-speed bumps, and sometimes a creak from the rear. It is a bush rather than anything structural, but at 2,056 kg this car is heavy and works its suspension hard. Drive it slowly over a speed bump with the windows down and the radio off.
Boot seal water ingress and light condensation
Early Model Y build quality varied. Water can find its way past the tailgate seal into the spare-wheel well, and the rear lights can mist up. Lift the boot floor and put your hand into the well — it should be bone dry. Damp there on an electric car is worth taking seriously because of what lives under the floor.
Paid software may not be what the advert claims
Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self Driving are expensive software options — £3,400 and £6,800 new — attached to the car rather than to a physical part you can point at. Do not take the advert's word for it. On the car, open Controls, Software and read what is actually listed as installed, and take a photograph of that screen before you agree a price.
The MOT record, in plain English
Front brake discs lightly corroded at the edge (1.1.14 (a) (ii))
Almost universal on EVs: regeneration does most of the slowing, so the friction brakes are barely used and the discs surface-rust instead of wearing. Usually harmless and cleans off with a few firm stops, but check for deep scoring and a rough feel through the pedal.
Provenance
Checked against national finance, insurance and police records.
- Outstanding finance — Nothing registered
- Insurance write-off — No write-off recorded
- Stolen marker — Not recorded as stolen
- Mileage — Consistent across the record
What it costs to run
- £900–£1,450 a year — a safe running budget
- £75–£121 a month — set aside for maintenance
- £1,200–£2,600 — reserve for a big-ticket item
Based on this car's own 10,900 miles a year at 236 Wh per mile — about £640 of electricity charging at home off-peak — plus £200 road tax. Electric cars stopped being exempt from road tax in April 2025.
What it is worth
- £24,511 — dealer forecourt
- £21,810 — private sale, clean
- £21,472 — part exchange
- £54,990 — list price when new
What to negotiate on
- A rated range materially below about 290 miles is real money off, not a talking point
- Above-average mileage for the age belongs in the price against the £24,511 forecourt figure
- The vehicle warranty expired last month — everything except the battery is now your risk
What to ask the seller
- Can we charge it to 100% while I am here, or can you show me a photo of the screen at 100%? I want to see the rated range against the 331 miles it had when new.
- Has the battery or drive unit ever been replaced or repaired under warranty, and is there a service record from Tesla?
- Does the cabin heating work properly in winter — has the heat pump or octovalve ever been looked at?
- Which software options are actually on the car? Can we open Controls, Software together so I can see what is installed?
- Is the Tesla account fully released, so the car can be transferred to me without the previous owner keeping access?
- Are both key cards present, along with the Type 2 cable and any adaptors?
- Has the tailgate seal ever leaked, or the boot well been damp?
Specification
- Engine
- Dual permanent-magnet synchronous motors
- Power
- 507 bhp
- Transmission
- Automatic, 1 gears 0
- Euro NCAP
- 5 stars
- Body
- SUV, 5 doors
- Previous keepers
- 0
See it on a real car
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