‘Did This When I Needed an Oil Change’: Woman’s Registration Expires, Phone Won’t Pair To Tesla. So She Does Something Extreme
A Tesla owner said she traded in her EV for a new car because she was having Bluetooth difficulties—and her registration was up.
A Tesla owner said she traded in her EV for a new car because she was having difficulty connecting her phone via Bluetooth and its registration was up. Social media user Chels (@chelschachelso) shared her purchasing decision in a viral video that’s accrued more than 89,000 views.
Chels begins her video recording her face as she sits in a car. “Girl math. My registration was out and my phone wouldn’t connect to my Tesla. So I bought a new car on my way home,” she writes in a text overlay of her video. Then, she quickly pans her video to briefly show off her new ride, which, judging from the steering wheel, looks like an Audi e-tron model. Afterward, she directs the camera lens back to her face. Chels brings her fingers up to her lips as if to intone that she’s blushing over her decision before her video comes to a close.
‘I Tell My Husband I’m Saving Us Money’
It seems like other people who would also rather lose thousands of dollars in a car trade-in to drive a new vehicle and avoid doing DMV paperwork, too.
One person in the comments section of Chels’ video wrote, “The past 3 years I’ve traded in my car when my registration expired, I tell my husband I’m saving us money. Also, I don’t know if it’s for every state but in AZ if you sell/trade in your car and there’s still a few months left before the registration expires you get a refund for the remaining amount,” she penned.
Someone else said that performing routine maintenance on her car ensures that she will perennially have a monthly car note. “My other car needed brakes and the registration expired on the 8th of August…I traded in that car today,” they wrote.
“Did this when I needed new tires,” another TikTok user wrote, echoing this same aforementioned logic.
“Did this when I needed an oil change,” another person replied.
And there was someone else who didn’t like the thought of car tire shopping, “I needed new tires so I also bought a new car #girlmath,” they remarked.
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While folks who replied to her video didn’t seem to opine about bluetooth connection problems, others who drive Teslas have had this same gripe. But there are fixes for this listed online that don’t require you having to ditch your ride.
Trade-In While Still Under Warranty
Some may argue in favor of Chels’ decision to trade in her Tesla before the car was out of warranty. The EV manufacturer was listed as the most recalled car brand of 2023 and earned the same dubious distinction the following year, too. While Tesla’s supercharging network is next to none, reports indicate that the brand’s slew of high-tech features don’t always work as advertised. Gripes with Autopilot, which have allegedly resulted in fatalities, are some of the top issues associated with the car maker. Additionally, some drivers utilizing the car’s full-self driving software have also zeroed in on issues with this functionality. Like this woman who recorded a Tesla Model Y allegedly trying to drive itself directly into a pond before the driver had to intervene. Also, mechanical woes have also plagued some owner’s vehicles. Just ask hapless Model 3 owners who had to deal with control arm failures on their cars, resulting in croaking noises and uncomfortable rides in their EVs.
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If Chels traded in her Tesla to avoid potentially high repair costs down the line, she may not be in the clear. That’s because her presumed new whip, the e-tron, has also been associated with some nagging issues. Some drivers have said their cars experienced charging failure, with its own adaptive cruise control system flaring up. Other e-tron problems include seemingly random software spazz-outs, along with difficulties driving the car when it’s cold outside.
Planned Obsolescence?
Right to repair laws have been a hot topic of debate among consumers and auto companies for years. Oftentimes, manufacturers will use proprietary components in their vehicles that necessitate specialized tools just to service them appropriately. Which ensures that if drivers want to get their cars serviced, they will have to go to a licensed dealer to repair or maintain their car. Which effectively ensures that owners who purchase vehicles from brands that engage in this practice have limited auto tech options. In short, they’re stuck in a small repair shop ecosystem, culminating in what many would argue is a monopolistic business model.
This finance blog listed a few “car brands that are impossible to repair without special tools.” In the author’s estimation, the most heinous offender of this practice was BMW. However, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Tesla were also mentioned in this list.
When one considers that the majority of car owners knowingly put off necessary maintenance on their vehicles, it’s easy to understand why some would rather just ditch their rides. These factors, coupled with an overall “lack of maintenance knowledge” in young drivers creates a perfect storm for auto dealerships and manufacturers to push new cars on consumers.
Furthermore, there are some who contend that all of these aforementioned factors speak to what is arguably a predatory business model: planned obsolescence. Buyers who hear horror stories of new cars experiencing major issues may lead them to questioning the longevity of vehicles. When even historically reliable brands, like Toyota, are recalling 661,000 Trucks and SUVs over axle failures, it’s understandable why many would be reluctant to keep a car a mile over its manufacturer’s warranty threshold.
Used Cars: Best Bang For Your Buck?
Top financial advisors generally all have the same advice when it comes to buying a new car: Don’t. New vehicles can depreciate as much as 20% in the first year of ownership, and their values can plummet as much as 60% in the first five years. So buying a used car ensures that its worst depreciation years are behind it.
Typically, buyers will get the most value out of a car that is between 3-5 years old. Many of these cars will still carry some of the manufacturer’s warranty, and if patrons opt for a certified pre-owned option, they may be able to negotiate a deal for more warranty coverage directly through the car brand to cover any potentially large scale issues. Moreover, after a few years, any necessary recalls and glaring common issues with a particular make and model year will become evident. So drivers can know if they’re getting a car that possesses a disproportionately high number of defects. Thus, folks can be kinder to their wallets by finding a used car. Bonus points for buying one that hasn’t been involved in an accident and has only had one owner, too.
Is Buying A Used EV Safe?
While studies conclude that maintaining an EV is around 40% cheaper than it would be on an ICE vehicle, there are some oft-discussed outliers that can cause sticker shock. It’s true that EVs have fewer moving parts than cars powered by internal combustion engines. Side-by-side comparisons of gas engines when compared to electric motors really drive this point home. But there are some critical components of EVs that can cost drivers an arm and a leg if they must be replaced. For “over-engineered” EVs that sport proprietary components, relatively straightforward fixes could result in astronomical service tech bills. Like this one Tesla driver who was quoted $1,400 just to swap out a passenger side mirror on their ride.
But one of the biggest fears EV owners have concerning out-of-warranty repairs is their car’s massive lithium-ion battery pack. There have been stomach-churning stories of folks who’ve been left gobsmacked when they discovered how much it would cost to replace their electric vehicle’s battery. For instance, this Nissan Leaf driver who was given a $13,000 estimate to change out the unit on their car.
Understandably, this has left throngs of potential used EV buyers vehemently opposed to the idea of even browsing pre-owned ride options. But there is some hope on the horizon. In 2024, InsideEVs reported that research firms have predicted that lithium raw material costs are set “to plummet in the coming years.” Which means that batteries should be cheaper to manufacture and in turn, hopefully replacement power packs should go down in price.
I Know A Battery Guy
Due to widespread EV adoption being a relatively new consumer trend, there aren’t as many third-party repair shops that specialize in servicing these vehicles. But that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. In 2020, one buyer purchased a $10,000 2014 Tesla Model S that had a “bad main propulsion battery pack.”
Tesla’s quote to fix the issue is around $20,000 and for that amount of money, one would probably fork over the extra cash and get a brand new Model 3. However, they took the vehicle to Gruber Motors, which has demonstrated aptitude in servicing these cars. The repair center accessed the battery pack and discovered that a few defunct cells were the culprit behind the battery failure. After swapping them out, they charged the junked Tesla owner $5,000, and they ultimately walked away with a Model S for less than the price of a new Nissan Versa.
And while $5,000 certainly isn’t a small chunk of change, either, the repair process also highlights that battery packs are indeed serviceable. Manufacturing these gargantuan packs isn’t an easy task, but imagining a future where their individual cells are safely accessible could be a massive win for EV owners. This way, if a car does experience battery failure, they can access the pack and test each individual cell, or bundle of cells, for defunct units, and then pop in fresh ones. Which sounds like the kind of functionality that would fall perfectly in-line with the upcoming Slate truck’s philosophy.
InsideEVs has reached out to Chels via TikTok comment for further information. We'll update the story if we hear back.
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