Advice Needed: To sell or not? Leaving country for 14 months

[goldenbyte]

Hello all, I would greatly appreciate your feedback and opinions. I have a 2015 85D with 20K miles. I am leaving the country for 15 months soon. The car will be garage kept and no one will drive it during this time. Would it make more sense financially to just sell the car and rebuy when I return? I imagine I will be returning to a new world - model 3's everywhere, double the supercharger network, Tesla competitors, etc. Plus I don't know if it's good for the car to sit so long, then there's insurance premiums to consider since I have a loan.

Looking forward to your thoughts!

 

[Hixson]

I would sell before the model 3 comes out - I would think your model S will be worth more. I cant imagine paying 14 months of a loan when I cant use the car. Tech will be different in 14 months too - you might want a more current version?

 

[Discoducky]

I would most likely sell it, as I'd always be worried it might stop charging for some reason. Or I might try to make money on it by listing it on Turo Car rentals in Seattle, WA | Turo.

 

[ABVA]

Besides making insurance and loan payments your car will also age/depreciate i.e. pouring money into a loosing proposition. All this while you are not using the car. If I were you, which I am not, I will sell the car, evaluate the market place two or three months before my return and have a new Tesla ready for delivery immediately upon my return.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[kev1n]

something others are not mentioning is although you would take a loss in depreciation but if you come back to buy a BRAND NEW Tesla, you're likely going to spend a high premium just to get back into one(not sure which would be less/more expensive option). other things to consider would be, are you happy with your current car? would you want any new tech in the car if it were out when you come back? do you care if you take a loss now? do you have money to blow on another brand new Tesla 15 months from now?

 

[oktane]

Sell! Unless you can get someone to rent it for you on Turo. Why hold on to a depreciating asset if you're not getting any benefit from it? Your tax situation may be unique so check with your accountant.

 

[NeverFollow]

First I would look at the kind of earlier termination issues with the loan that you mentioned.
- What are the clauses for earlier termination?
- Who is the real owner? can you sale the car and then reimburse the bank?
- There are web sites providing transfer of a lease or monthly payment that you could consider.

Note: I'm a little bit curious about this situation. Unless I would be in an emergency purchase need,
I always buy cash most of my goods, to limit my expenses to what I really need and can afford.
And then paying a loan to myself on a designated saving account for future expenses.

 

[xyeahtony]

If you dont have a family member or close friend you wanna "loan" it to, then sell it.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

Sell it, the fan belts will dry rot, the oil gaskets will start leaking, and the fuel system will get gummed up - not worth it - the dealer will charge you a "restoration" fee to fix all this stuff.

 

[JPUConn]

Sell. It's not going up and value so if you want the same car when you come back buy a CPO for less at that time. Keep your options open.

 

[JPUConn]

Also consider parking any equity you had in the car in TSLA shares. I love my Model S but the same $50k I paid for it last June if invested in TSLA would be close to paying for my Model 3 at this point.

 

[cgiGuy]

Turo is not a lease company, it's a short-term rental service, so unless he gives permission for someone else to manage the key handoff, inspection, deal with damage, etc. it's not really an option for him while abroad.

Sell it and put the payments you save into an account to use as a downpayment on the latest and greatest. Perfect excuse to upgrade.

I may be in the same boat soon (also with a 2015 85D), as we may be headed to Japan next year. I'm considering selling soon before I put too many more miles on it and before more tech comes out that makes this one even less desirable.

 

[cgiGuy]

Also consider parking any equity you had in the car in TSLA shares. I love my Model S but the same $50k I paid for it last June if invested in TSLA would be close to paying for my Model 3 at this point.

haha.. some other guy is thinking the exact opposite from his short-term investment into TSLA 6-12 months prior to that, though.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

You could provide it to a high end luxury car rental company and profit share for 18 months...

 

[McRat]

Contact charities with high paid executives. There are many in your area. Lease it for $1 a month with the stipulation they must insure it. Since insurance comes out the general fund, you can write off the difference between the market value and $1. Use the Tesla lease rate. You might come out ahead if you're in the top tax bracket.

But you might burn hell, so buy some Nomex undies.

Lots of companies do this.

 

[idleuser]

Sell it.

1. Deperation
2. 1 less thing to worry about while you're overseas.

 

[oktane]

Sell it.

1. Deperation
2. 1 less thing to worry about while you're overseas.

3. Technology will have improved by the time you return.

 

[Tampaukfan]

dump it, will take a huge ding when the 3 rolls out.

 

[whitex]

@goldenbyte
I don't think it's as straightforward as some people here think. A lot of people here suggest that once Model 3 is available nobody will be buying a Model S, which is not true (just because there is a 3 series BMW doesn't mean people don't buy 5 or 7 series ). I would be pragmatic and do the math.

The cost of keeping it is:
1. Storage insurance (you have to tell the insurance company the car will not be registered to be on the road)
2. Interest on the loan (not the whole payment, just interest)
3. Cost of storage (may be free if you are leaving an empty garage anyways)
4. Opportunity cost on any money you could get back (interest you could make on what you sell the car for minus the amount you owe today)

Cost of selling it is how much will you have to pay in 14 months to get back into a similar car. For this calculation, assume buying the very same car, upgrading to new is always extra. So, how much would it cost you to buy the exact same year, model, options, mileage in 14 months (find a similar car as yours that it 14 months older - how much less is it than yours). Subtract how much you can get for your car today (net after any sale costs), and you have your cost of selling and buying it again.

Without doing the numbers it's hard to tell which one is more beneficial. Also, there is always some risk as you are predicting future car value, which always has some margin of error.

If it was a longer period, I would think the difference would be greater. With only 14 months, hard to tell. As a point of reference, I sold my 2013 MS two years ago for 61K, a year later comparable cars sold for $50, so $11K depreciation in a year (another $10K depraciation for the year after that). So in your case, the depreciation may be ballpark $12K (discounting the "Model 3 will be the Model S killer" theories). That could be about the hit you would take by selling and buying the same car again (sale_price - trade_in_value).

Important note, if you were planning to upgrade to a new Tesla in 14 months anyways, then by all means, sell the one you have today rather than wait to trade it in 14 months from now.

 

[DMan]

DM me if you're thinking of renting it out for 14 months. I am making moves to purchase a CPO to bridge me to the Model 3 but the models I am looking at are 2013 and maybe a 2014 if I'm lucky.