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Advice selling 2021 model 3

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I’m trying to sell my Tesla, but I have no experience selling a new model electric car. I have seen people selling newer models for increased prices based on things like beating the waitlist etc. Does anyone know anything about legality/ethics of that? I’ve also seen people say that standard sites don’t work well for selling electric vehicles. Is this a thing or is that old news? I’ve also seen sites specific to selling electric cars and I’m wondering if anyone has had success with any of those. Does location affect pricing? It seems like demand would be higher in areas with more available charging stations. Thoughts? Advice? Any lessons learned? Thanks for any help!
 
I’m trying to sell my Tesla, but I have no experience selling a new model electric car. I have seen people selling newer models for increased prices based on things like beating the waitlist etc. Does anyone know anything about legality/ethics of that? I’ve also seen people say that standard sites don’t work well for selling electric vehicles. Is this a thing or is that old news? I’ve also seen sites specific to selling electric cars and I’m wondering if anyone has had success with any of those. Does location affect pricing? It seems like demand would be higher in areas with more available charging stations. Thoughts? Advice? Any lessons learned? Thanks for any help!
Are you selling a car or looking for legal/ethical advice?

You’ll only get a response relative to one of the three here.
 
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I can’t sell the car on here, I’m just looking for tips from people who have sold how to get the best bang for my buck.

You can, actually or at least post it for sale. The marketplace subforum where we allow that, is here:


As I said previously, we have an issue here where people create posts that are basically advertisements to sell a car, couched as questions. This thread sounds less like that than the one you started that I locked, which is why this one is still open and in this subforum.

As for some of your questions, I will take a stab at them:

I’m trying to sell my Tesla, but I have no experience selling a new model electric car. I have seen people selling newer models for increased prices based on things like beating the waitlist etc. Does anyone know anything about legality/ethics of that?

The car market in general is overheated, both for new and used cars. You have not mentioned exactly "which" model 3 model you have but some model 3s and especially model Ys are being sold by used car places for more than new ones cost. This has allowed some people to sell their used tesla to large used car chains for close to (or in some cases more than) they paid for it.

I dont understand the question about "ethics" of that. It is what it is. I personally will never pay more for a used car than a new one, but some people cant (or wont) wait. There is no legal issue for selling a car for whatever price you can sell it for, so I dont quite understand that part of the question either.

I’ve also seen people say that standard sites don’t work well for selling electric vehicles. Is this a thing or is that old news?

I dont believe this is a thing, since many many (many) people here report using the large used car places like Carvana, Vroom, Shift, etc, along with some places like givemethevin. Any used car place is going to do their own due diligence on quoting a price, and they tend to be all over the map depending on their own personal inventory of vehicles and what is selling for that specific company.

Private sales usually generates more money, but is also an opportunity to get ripped off if your not careful.


I’ve also seen sites specific to selling electric cars and I’m wondering if anyone has had success with any of those.
There are sites that are specific to selling EVs like @FindMyElectric who is a TMC vendor. I am not sure how they work but you could check out their website while you are doing your due diligence.

Does location affect pricing? It seems like demand would be higher in areas with more available charging stations

I have no idea if places that have more charging stations available have higher demand. In general I would also think there would be more supply of used cars in those areas so its likely a wash. You will need to look into sites like KBB or cars.com and search for prices these cars are being offered at to get a feel for it.
Thoughts? Advice?

As I mentioned before, Selling a tesla is pretty much the same thing as selling any other vehicle. EVs are pretty mainstream. If you want a "quick sale" like you said in your other thread I locked, the fastest would be to go to Carvana, Vroom, Shift, Carmax etc and get offers from all of them (the same way you would for any other car). If you sold your last car via private sale, this would be very similar.

Advice would be to search places like KBB, cars.com, or a site like findmyelectric and see what your car is selling for, and then deduct a few thousand dollars and you will arrive at a sales price.

People try to price in options they added like PPF, Tint, etc, but in general you will need to find a buyer who is willing to pay for that stuff (I know I keep repeating it but like any other car, its the same).
 
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Go to
CarBuyerUSA.com

They gave me $3,500.00 more than CarMax offered. It was simple and easy

On a Thursday, 7th of December, 2021, I filled in the data on the web site. Thay sent me an up-to-estimate. I said OK. Friday, they sent a guy to go over the car and send data back to CarBuyerUSA

Next Day (Sat.) they called with a price, I accepted. They emailed an over-night mailing slip. Monday, I sent the title over night, they received the title Tuesday, I was funded to my bank account late Tuesday afternoon. They picked the car up next Saturday.

Easy, no brainer

Before sending the title, I talked to my Tesla rep, (who sold his Tesla to them) to make sure they were on the up and up

My car was a 2019 SR with 14,000 miles.

I'm now a proud owner of a 2022 M3 Performance
 
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I’m trying to sell my Tesla, but I have no experience selling a new model electric car. I have seen people selling newer models for increased prices based on things like beating the waitlist etc. Does anyone know anything about legality/ethics of that? I’ve also seen people say that standard sites don’t work well for selling electric vehicles. Is this a thing or is that old news? I’ve also seen sites specific to selling electric cars and I’m wondering if anyone has had success with any of those. Does location affect pricing? It seems like demand would be higher in areas with more available charging stations. Thoughts? Advice? Any lessons learned? Thanks for any help!
Check out GiveMeTheVIN.com
 
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Does location affect pricing? It seems like demand would be higher in areas with more available charging stations. Thoughts? Advice? Any lessons learned? Thanks for any help!

There are sites that are specific to selling EVs like @FindMyElectric who is a TMC vendor. I am not sure how they work but you could check out their website while you are doing your due diligence.

Advice would be to search places like KBB, cars.com, or a site like findmyelectric and see what your car is selling for, and then deduct a few thousand dollars and you will arrive at a sales price.
@jjrandorin Thanks for the mention--we are here to help!

@ShiftyChicken As others have mentioned there are a lot of different ways to sell a used Tesla--from instant offers to listing it yourself on a Tesla-specific site like ours, or selling on other more generic for sale sites too (AutoTrader, etc.). @jjrandorin did a great job of answering your questions. That said, we can add the following:

1) It's perfectly legal/ethical to sell a Tesla for over book value if the market demands it. Many people do so; but something to consider, is that this is highly model-dependent right now.

For example, there are a lot of people with higher mileage, aging Model 3s who have heard the Tesla market is "hot" (it is, per se), and want to sell for many thousands over book. This simply isn't going to happen--Tesla isn't that backed out on production of Model 3s, and it's just not worth it for a consumer to pay far over book for an older Model 3 when they can get a brand new one with all the hardware updates (heat pump, quiet glass, etc.) for about the same price.

The same thing applies to a new SR+/RWD Model 3. Some people have recently taken delivery on these and are looking to "flip" them for a profit since Tesla is backed out to mid-summer. However, this isn't very realistic because once someone pays a premium (a few thousand, etc.) over current MSRP, they could just upgrade to a new LR AWD Model 3 for about the same price (and get it in about 6 weeks) which is a LOT more car for the money.

It's a different story when it comes to the refreshed Model S/X as those are backed out to mid-summer at the time of posting, and asking over MSRP (or at least over what the owner originally paid as Tesla has raised the price) is something that's realistic. And this applies to the LR Model Y to a lesser extent (but not so much to the Model Y Performance as production isn't that far out).

2) Location does matter, but only in certain ways. For example, if you live in Hawaii, you're going to have fewer buyers willing to deal with shipping. If you live in a remote part of the US, you'll have a smaller buyer pool compared to being in a metro area.

We offer 3 ways to sell your car--our Instant Cash Offer program, and then free and paid listings options.

One additional thing that sets us apart is our customer service. It sounds like you've got some questions and are unsure of how to proceed, or what your options might be...

Send us a message here on TMC, or an email/contact request on our site--or just reach out via phone. We'd be happy to set up a call and fill you (or anyone with similar questions) in on the current state of the Tesla market, answer any questions you have, and just talk Teslas in general--we're here to help!
 
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The information on this thread is a good resource for me. I'd rather sell to an established company rather that a private party although I know I can get more. I know I'm being overly paranoid but it lessens the possibility of getting scammed.
 
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@jjrandorin Thanks for the mention--we are here to help!

@ShiftyChicken As others have mentioned there are a lot of different ways to sell a used Tesla--from instant offers to listing it yourself on a Tesla-specific site like ours, or selling on other more generic for sale sites too (AutoTrader, etc.). @jjrandorin did a great job of answering your questions. That said, we can add the following:

1) It's perfectly legal/ethical to sell a Tesla for over book value if the market demands it. Many people do so; but something to consider, is that this is highly model-dependent right now.

For example, there are a lot of people with higher mileage, aging Model 3s who have heard the Tesla market is "hot" (it is, per se), and want to sell for many thousands over book. This simply isn't going to happen--Tesla isn't that backed out on production of Model 3s, and it's just not worth it for a consumer to pay far over book for an older Model 3 when they can get a brand new one with all the hardware updates (heat pump, quiet glass, etc.) for about the same price.

The same thing applies to a new SR+/RWD Model 3. Some people have recently taken delivery on these and are looking to "flip" them for a profit since Tesla is backed out to mid-summer. However, this isn't very realistic because once someone pays a premium (a few thousand, etc.) over current MSRP, they could just upgrade to a new LR AWD Model 3 for about the same price (and get it in about 6 weeks) which is a LOT more car for the money.

It's a different story when it comes to the refreshed Model S/X as those are backed out to mid-summer at the time of posting, and asking over MSRP (or at least over what the owner originally paid as Tesla has raised the price) is something that's realistic. And this applies to the LR Model Y to a lesser extent (but not so much to the Model Y Performance as production isn't that far out).

2) Location does matter, but only in certain ways. For example, if you live in Hawaii, you're going to have fewer buyers willing to deal with shipping. If you live in a remote part of the US, you'll have a smaller buyer pool compared to being in a metro area.

We offer 3 ways to sell your car--our Instant Cash Offer program, and then free and paid listings options.

One additional thing that sets us apart is our customer service. It sounds like you've got some questions and are unsure of how to proceed, or what your options might be...

Send us a message here on TMC, or an email/contact request on our site--or just reach out via phone. We'd be happy to set up a call and fill you (or anyone with similar questions) in on the current state of the Tesla market, answer any questions you have, and just talk Teslas in general--we're here to help!
Very informational. 👍👍
 
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bought my model 3 performance with pup and fsd march 2020. financed it for 51K after my down payment of 20K.

driveway.com just offered me $55K for my 2 years young car with 19K miles an fsd (beta). with fsd being 12K now and with more and more of these online shops understanding what tesla cars offer, i think having fsd is a win.

deducting my payoff, i walk away with 20K, so for me it was a no brainer to sell.

other offers i got:

shift.com -- 54800
vroom -- 54500
give me the vin - 5200
carvana -- 51125
carbuyer usa was around 51K

i submitted photos to driveway, give me the vin and shift.

with carvana, you can ask for a quote online (make sure you are NOT LOGGED IN) and sometimes you may see an increase. if you do see this, go ahead and log in and this will be your new offer.

if you do this whilst logged in and the offer is lower than what you had prior, you get the lower offer, so if you decide to do this make sure you are not logged in or use another browser.
 
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The information on this thread is a good resource for me. I'd rather sell to an established company rather that a private party although I know I can get more. I know I'm being overly paranoid but it lessens the possibility of getting scammed.
A lot of people feel this way, and it's why instant offer programs (including ours) have become so popular. There's nothing wrong with not wanting to mess with the hassle of showing your car, negotiating/haggling, properly vetting the buyer, etc. Some people just don't want to deal with that.

That said, there are still a lot of people who are successfully (and rather painlessly) selling their Teslas via the private party route by listing themselves.

It's true that there are some things to be aware of there--you really, really need to do your due diligence about the buyer and be careful during the transaction, but many people sell their Teslas this way.

If you have any questions about either method, or simply just want to bounce some ideas off of us--feel free to reach out! :)
 
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I always wonder why some think it's unethical for selling something for market value. I'm over on the watch forums (Rolex/Patek) and they bring up the same thing? How is it ethical to sell this watch for xx over what I paid for, doesn't seem right?

I mean, market value is market value, right? If your house appreciates $250k a month after you close, and you for some reason decide to sell. Are you not gonna sell for that new market value?

I'm thinking about selling my $49,900 MY for at least $59k (offered by Carvana). I will have no reservations cashing that check at the bank.
 
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