Condition:	Used	VIN (Vehicle Identification Number):	5YJRE11B881000157
Year:	2008	Engine:	Electric, 3 phase
Make:	Tesla	Drive Type:	RWD
Model:	Roadster	Mileage:	1,600
Trim:	Convertible	Vehicle Title:	Clear

I am EXTRAORDINARILY excited to offer for a sale this MARVEL of a car which looks absolutely stunning in Jet Black over Beige Leather.  This is a long ad, but please be sure to read the entire thing – there is a lot of wonderful detail to cover!  Let’s dive right in!

Background:

If you are looking at this stunning Roadster, you already know the car, that I am sure of, but let’s spend a minute to review it anyway.  Powered by a 248hp, 3 phase electric motor this little sports car was VERY quick, especially because of its low weight.  The Roadster utilized a Lotus chassis with plenty of Tesla add-ons such as a complete carbon fiber resin body shell and bespoke body panel treatment.  Most importantly, the biggest change from the Lotus was the absence of any gas engine and the addition of an electric motor which offered range of over 200 miles.  And boy what a motor!  After 5 years of development, the first car was delivered to the very well known Chairman of Tesla, Elon Musk in February of 2008 and was met with critic acclaim for its design, engineering and ingenuity.

So let’s chat about this car specifically.

This car, #157, left the production plant on December 15, 2008 in San Carlos, CA and was delivered to Tesla Motors in Los Angeles on December 20, 2008.  The car was painted in the gorgeous deep Jet Black with Beige and Black interior.  It is a wonderfully classic and handsome color combination. Often Roadsters are painted in Very Orange or Brilliant Yellow, which while nice colors lead to a “look at me!” car.  This car still gets all the same looks with a tasteful and always in style color combination.

This car was also graced with
Heated Leather Seats
Power Windows
Ice Cold AC
Power Windows
Power Locks and Alarm and Keyless Entry
JVC Premium Sound with Navigation
Onboard information screen
Folding Soft Top
BRAND NEW in the box color matched hardtop
Mobile charging cord with RV style hookup
and MUCH more!

After bring delivered to Tesla Motors, this Roadster was delivered to its current A-list celebrity and car aficionado family.  It has been VERY well cared for, serviced and driven, but only accrued ~1,600 miles since the beginning of 2009 when it was auctioned.  It has remained in these hands as a one family owned car since new.  (Please note, Carfax will show 3 owners, but these are solely from changes to title/registration name for business and family purposes.  We have service records for the entire life of the car to back up the same family ownership.)  The car was loved and enjoyed and received ongoing care, charging and maintenance as part of a larger car collection.   It has lived a garaged life and driven locally and with a high degree of care

Let’s talk more about that care!

The Condition and Service:

This is essentially a brand new car and in near flawless shape!  Less than 75 miles ago the car went through its pre-sale inspection and annual service with Tesla Motors in Los Angeles.  The following services were performed on the car:

Pulled logs and checked for active faults: No active faults
Checked firmware version: Updated to latest version
Performed inspection of powertrain and chassis components:  Good, no issues.
Checked fluid levels: Topped off washer fluid.  Brake and coolant levels optimal.  No signs of leakage.
Performed function check on closures: Cleaned and lubricated latches, Good, no issues
Tested and inspected charge cable: Good, no issue.  Vehicle charged normally @40amps
Remote Key Entry: Good, no issue.
Seat belts and latches: Good, no issue.
Interior Lighting, Horn Operation: Good, no issue.
Inspected tires:  Measured tire depths – (Outer/Center/Inner in 32ths) LF: 6/7/6, RF: 6/7/6, LR: 6/7/6/, RR: 6/7/6
Measure brake pad thickness: 8mm front, 6mm rear
Performed 4 -wheel alignment check: Good, no adjustment necessary.
Test Drive: Vehicle functions as designed

ESS Bleed Test Procedure Performed
Inspected HVAC high voltage controller from service bulletin:  Part number outside of bulletin and operating as designed.
Inspected CLSR panel sealing from service bulletin:  Service bulletin already addressed.
Inspected Condenser Grommet from service bulletin: Properly seated, no repair needed.

Replaced:
Wiper blades
Key Fob Battery

A PERFECT bill of health from Tesla.  What is wonderful about Tesla Motors too is that you are dealing directly with the manufacturer, NOT an independent shop or even a franchise dealer.  They KNOW these cars perfectly.  Especially here in Los Angeles, which is home to likely the 1st or 2nd highest population of Tesla and Roadsters in particular.

To bat down even further to overall condition:

-MOTOR/BATTERIES
The motor and batteries are in flawless condition.

-SUSPENSION
No bangs, no rough ride, no clunks! The shocks dampen AMAZINGLY!  The car is tight in corners, and comfortable on the straights!

-BRAKES
Confident pedal, great pressure with a firm positive stop.  Pads have great life left as per above.

-STEERING
Steering feels wonderful and tight.  Perfect alignment.

-CHARGING
Mobile charging cord in brand new unused shape!  Please note, we do have a 240V home charger that we will include in with the sale, however, we need to have it uninstalled first.  Due to privacy and scheduling difficulties, this could take a few weeks to have done.  We are happy to ship separately if the car is shipped out before uninstall has occurred with the mobile cord.

Let’s continue to the exterior:

-PAINT and BODY
The paint is near flawless!  It is a 9+++ out of 10 easily.  Shiny, beautiful, Jet Black paint was recently polished, finished and waxed and looks wonderful.  There is just ONE flaw that I see.  On the door near the handle there are three extremely small chips.  Maybe 1/32nd -1/16th of an inch wide.  They are photoed below and nearly imperceptible.  Check out even the underside pics!  NO dings, dents or scrapes.  NO scrapes or scars on the chin spoiler.  Take a look at any other Roadster and you will find them scraped to death.   NO dents in the floor.  NO scrapes on the lower rockers.  NO scrapes on the rear diffuser or undertray.  This car is as near to a factory fresh car as you will find!  Clean and Clear Carfax.  No accidents, no issues!

-WHEELS
The 17″ aluminum wheels look fantastic.  NO curb marks or flaws!

-TIRES
Plenty of tread left as outlined above and wonderful soft rubber all around.

-BUMPERS and PLASTICS
The bumpers are in perfect shape, the carbon fiber roll bar is perfect with no chipping of the UV coating, the plastics are shiny and uncracked.

-GLASS/WINDOWS
Not to let a pebble defeat this car, the windshield is great shape, with no chips or sandblasting.  The door and rear glass is wonderful shape!  Clear and clean!

Onto the cabin:

-SEATS
The Beige leather seats are 99.9% perfect shape!  Wonderful soft leather and despite the lack of recline, are very comfortable.  There is a very slightly darker fold line from getting in an out of the car that is very minor with two extremely small marks next to it.  Absolutely zero leather degradation and likely could be removed with a minute with leather conditioner.  Pic below to stress how small.

-DASHBOARD
ZERO cracks or flaws.  Beautiful shape!!

-DOOR PANELS
Very nice panels, with soft unstained leather.  Look at the power window buttons – zero wear!  There are a few light shoe marks on the sill that appear brighter in pics than they do in person.  They are WELL below any other Roadster’s marks (since they all have them due to the wide sill).

-CARPET
Perfect carpet in the car!  No heel wear or stains!  Perfect mats.

-NAVIGATION/RADIO
Nav and radio work wonderfully and sound fantastic!

-STEERING WHEEL
The wheel is in great shape with ZERO wear!

The Experience:
This Roadster is truly a dream to drive. Perhaps, you need to gently cruise out of town first, which requires nothing more any other car you have driven.  Just a light push on the gas and you are off coddled in leather, heated seats and premium sound.  The steering is extremely and wonderfully direct and gives unmatched feel and is easy to drive.  Traffic disappears and the road opens up… You mash the gas, and INSTANTLY you are hit with a lump of torque!  No delays, no waiting for turbos, gears, powerband or anything for that matter.  This car makes ALL of its torque from 0 rpm!  ZERO!  Unbelievable to say and more unbelievable to drive.  It is near impossible to drive a Roadster without laughing the whole time.  It makes almost no noise and with a push of the gas almost silently warps space-time.  And all without using a drop of gas!

So more about the whole no-gas thing:  it is pretty spectacular.  I am a car guy through and through.  I love gas, diesel, propane, ethanol and alcohol cars all alike.  But this car feels much more special than nearly any of those.  Over 200 miles to a charge in range mode (18X miles in standard mode) is almost the exact same range as the gas powered Lotus Elise delivers on a tank of gas!   If you are debating trying this car out after having only driven gas powered cars, I HIGHLY encourage it.  It is a brilliant piece of engineering, moreover, it is a LOT of fun to drive.  It is essentially an extremely torquey, zero emission Lotus Elise…that lets you drive in the car pool lane.  It, along with the Model S are two of the most important cars to ever been released and yet you can drive this car and not feel pretentious.  You really feel like an enthusiast in this car.  Thumbs up, pictures, and questions will follow you everywhere, but it is a car you will love to talk about it.  It is THAT GOOD.  You could commute daily in this car without a blink of the eye.  It could be a weekend cruiser, or for the adventurous even a track car!  I was with Tesla while they tested their prototype Model S at Laguna Seca some years back and they were running insanely good lap times!  What a design!

Feel free to ask me any questions at all.  Residents around the country I am happy to be flexible for your arranged shipper so that you can get your new car as soon as possible.   Clean and clear title, ready for a new owner!

My standard disclaimer/mantra for any car regardless of service or price: The car is sold with no warranty.  You are buying a used car.  Eventually every car will break, if you find one that doesn’t please let me know.  I do my ABSOLUTE BEST to offer only cars that are of TOP NOTCH service.  I am not a dealer, just a guy who loves Tesla (among other cars) and hope to pass along my passion and fervor for these cars.  That said if ever you encounter an issue I do my best to provide advice, direction or even parts if I have them.  Please understand that it is a used car and will have minor signs of use.  That means please do not expect a showroom brand new car. Please adjust your expectation level to that of a pre-owned car with some described flaws.  This is an extremely nice condition Roadster, but please just remember that no car is perfect.  It is though a great car!  Please only bid if you intend to buy.  If you would like to have an Ebay 3rd party mechanic service check out the car I MORE than welcome it.  Please have the car checked out BEFORE bidding and not after, if you intend to use that service.  And please, if you would like to utilize this service, contact me with more than a couple days left in the auction so we can arrange schedules.  Please check your local laws and registration procedures before buying.  Buying over the internet can be scary sometimes!  I get it, because I am an enthusiast too!!  For that very reason, I am more than happy to answer every and any question you may so you know 100% what you are buying.  But, please ask any and all questions ahead of purchase!  All sales are final, you are buying as-is, the sky is blue, etc, etc. Sorry to have to give the boring speech.

Please feel free to ask any and all questions!!

“Tesla: Lay Rubber Where Your Carbon Footprint Used To Be!”