After low ball offers by Carmax and Tesla, sold it myself - Huge Difference!

[johnmodels]

Hi All!

I have a 2013 MS S85 with 108,000 miles and in very good condition (air suspension, tech, 19 turbine wheels, tan leather interior, black exterior) . Looking to switch to a M3. Super long story short:

Went to Carmax after setting up an appointment. As the Carmax rep and I were walking into the dealership when the rep asked me what dollar amount do I have in mind. I told him that I did have a dollar amount but wanted to hear their value before stating mine. He then said that they would be in the $15,000-$16,000 range, "just to let me know". I politely told him that if that is the highest they would consider then lets not waste each others time.

Tesla then gave their trade in value/credit of======= $13,800.

I was starting to go into a mild depression.

KBB said it was worth about $25,000 private sale (I know there is a big difference there, but not that much)
On Ebay anything around $25,000 sells fast!!!!

So I said "screw it" and started putting together an Ebay ad. Upon almost finishing it I called a buddy who sells cars often on Ebay to assist me with the payment terms. Within the 10 minute conversation with my buddy he found 2 people that he knew that would buy it for $25,000.... As we discussed these options I launched my auction on Ebay (the auction was a no reserve auction with a starting price fo $25,000) and within 10 minutes I had an all cash offer for $25,000. Then, get this, my buddy who was helping me with the auction said he would love to have it so I sold it to him for $25,000. He is a great friend and it was important to me that he got a good price! As I was about to end the Ebay auction early, I got another offer!!! If it was not to my buddy I feel I could have gotten about $27,000, but I am happy with $25,000 to him.

What I wanted to MS community to know is that if you have a 2012,2013 or even a 2014 that has high miles, they are in high demand!!!! Essentially you are selling some of the cheapest 85KW MS's out there.

I saved $11,200 over the Tesla, or got 55% MORE CASH!

Hopefully this will give confidence to those in my position and if there is anything I can do to assist, reach out to me.

John

 

[Zero CO2]

Hi All!

I have a 2013 MS S85 with 108,000 miles and in very good condition (air suspension, tech, 19 turbine wheels, tan leather interior, black exterior) . Looking to switch to a M3. Super long story short:

Went to Carmax after setting up an appointment. As the Carmax rep and I were walking into the dealership when the rep asked me what dollar amount do I have in mind. I told him that I did have a dollar amount but wanted to hear their value before stating mine. He then said that they would be in the $15,000-$16,000 range, "just to let me know". I politely told him that if that is the highest they would consider then lets not waste each others time.

Tesla then gave their trade in value/credit of======= $13,800.

I was starting to go into a mild depression.

KBB said it was worth about $25,000 private sale (I know there is a big difference there, but not that much)
On Ebay anything around $25,000 sells fast!!!!

So I said "screw it" and started putting together an Ebay ad. Upon almost finishing it I called a buddy who sells cars often on Ebay to assist me with the payment terms. Within the 10 minute conversation with my buddy he found 2 people that he knew that would buy it for $25,000.... As we discussed these options I launched my auction on Ebay (the auction was a no reserve auction with a starting price fo $25,000) and within 10 minutes I had an all cash offer for $25,000. Then, get this, my buddy who was helping me with the auction said he would love to have it so I sold it to him for $25,000. He is a great friend and it was important to me that he got a good price! As I was about to end the Ebay auction early, I got another offer!!! If it was not to my buddy I feel I could have gotten about $27,000, but I am happy with $25,000 to him.

What I wanted to MS community to know is that if you have a 2012,2013 or even a 2014 that has high miles, they are in high demand!!!! Essentially you are selling some of the cheapest 85KW MS's out there.

I saved $11,200 over the Tesla, or got 55% MORE CASH!

Hopefully this will give confidence to those in my position and if there is anything I can do to assist, reach out to me.

John

this is good to know I got a quote for my 2017 Model S from Telsa $43000 ... but the Tesla rep said better to sell on your own should get over $50K....

 

[johnmodels]

this is good to know I got a quote for my 2017 Model S from Telsa $43000 ... but the Tesla rep said better to sell on your own should get over $50K....

I think Tesla is short on cash and will give POOR trade in values. Also they know many Tesla owners are not going to sell their own cars.

 

[VQTRVA]

Hi All!

I have a 2013 MS S85 with 108,000 miles and in very good condition (air suspension, tech, 19 turbine wheels, tan leather interior, black exterior) . Looking to switch to a M3. Super long story short:

Went to Carmax after setting up an appointment. As the Carmax rep and I were walking into the dealership when the rep asked me what dollar amount do I have in mind. I told him that I did have a dollar amount but wanted to hear their value before stating mine. He then said that they would be in the $15,000-$16,000 range, "just to let me know". I politely told him that if that is the highest they would consider then lets not waste each others time.

Tesla then gave their trade in value/credit of======= $13,800.

I was starting to go into a mild depression.

KBB said it was worth about $25,000 private sale (I know there is a big difference there, but not that much)
On Ebay anything around $25,000 sells fast!!!!

So I said "screw it" and started putting together an Ebay ad. Upon almost finishing it I called a buddy who sells cars often on Ebay to assist me with the payment terms. Within the 10 minute conversation with my buddy he found 2 people that he knew that would buy it for $25,000.... As we discussed these options I launched my auction on Ebay (the auction was a no reserve auction with a starting price fo $25,000) and within 10 minutes I had an all cash offer for $25,000. Then, get this, my buddy who was helping me with the auction said he would love to have it so I sold it to him for $25,000. He is a great friend and it was important to me that he got a good price! As I was about to end the Ebay auction early, I got another offer!!! If it was not to my buddy I feel I could have gotten about $27,000, but I am happy with $25,000 to him.

What I wanted to MS community to know is that if you have a 2012,2013 or even a 2014 that has high miles, they are in high demand!!!! Essentially you are selling some of the cheapest 85KW MS's out there.

I saved $11,200 over the Tesla, or got 55% MORE CASH!

Hopefully this will give confidence to those in my position and if there is anything I can do to assist, reach out to me.

John

Maybe not in SoCal but in middle America - I find that used cars above $5K have a very narrow following when it comes to private sale.

I say that because not a lot of people have $more than $5K lying around.
So, some1 who wants a $25K car like yours either is a one-off or has access to financing.
& the latter is where the dealership comes into play & where the CarMax's take advantage.

I've bought a car in the past off eBay & it turned out to be more trouble than it was worth - so maybe that made me skeptical of the entire platform

 

[willcasp]

That may not have been too far off. Given what you posted, auctions for a 2013 S85 with 108K miles are going between 16K and 19K. That is up here in Washington. Your part of the country may differ. Auction prices are usually what trade in offers are made at. Dealer buys at auction price, sells at KBB price.. and customer thinks they got a deal when they purchase..

 

[SoCal Buzz]

It seems that Tesla's with higher mileage are still "de-" valued similar to an ICE. In reality, mileage on the battery / motor are far less important than historical care-taking for the car. Is the body / paint in good shape and did the owner leverage Tesla service to upgrade the motor for bearing noise, replace drive shafts, fix door handles and resolve other known early model design issues.

As a side note, I kept my 2013 in immaculate shape and now feel very fortunate to have sold it last September with 60 K miles for $42 K. That luck had more to do with timing, and the subsequent new car price drops by Tesla.

 

[MyJoule]

Might as well part it out for 15K. I suspect you could get almost 10K for the battery alone. I guess these cars really are like phones. No value after a few years. I think I'll just keep ours until they have only scrap value

 

[tontod]

I was offered $53k for my 2017 MS100D at 49k miles. I checked on KBB and its valued at $62k. Probably going to hold on to it till the next refresh of the S. I also have my car wrapped which Tesla does not care about.

 

[lightfoot3b]

Nice! Thanks for the info. I'm selling my 2014 P85, but I'm North Dakota so it's a little tougher sell. I might look into the eBay route next.

 

[AMPd]

It seems that Tesla's with higher mileage are still "de-" valued similar to an ICE. In reality, mileage on the battery / motor are far less important than historical care-taking for the car. Is the body / paint in good shape and did the owner leverage Tesla service to upgrade the motor for bearing noise, replace drive shafts, fix door handles and resolve other known early model design issues.

As a side note, I kept my 2013 in immaculate shape and now feel very fortunate to have sold it last September with 60 K miles for $42 K. That luck had more to do with timing, and the subsequent new car price drops by Tesla.

I don’t think they are “far less important”
Tesla not releasing the cost of battery replacement is what’s devaluing the car

A 2012 or 2013 has 1-2 years left on the battery warranty. Buyers will be very nervous buying a car not knowing what the price of the battery replacement will be in 2-3 years when the warranty is up

As for tesla giving a low trade in offer, that’s simple, they don’t want your car. It’s clear that they are not interested in selling USED cars.

 

[Vip]

That is good to know. I have a 2013 85S that has 130,000 miles. It was an accident last year and the other insurance company paid $20,000 in repairs instead of totalling it out. I'm happy that I had my car back because I keep my cars for a long time.

 

[TonyT]

It’s a little bit of tough market. Most people buying 20-30k cars need financing. So it’s a small task to line up buyer and seller. Many people are afraid of high mileage cars.

With that being said. I have some family and friend looking for used value S’s now. So if your interested in a easy quick sale and better offer than those incredibly low ball prices contact me. I can hopefully make so really happy and ez transactions.

 

[OVB1]

I second this post—I sold my 2013 S with 170,000 miles for $26k. It took over a month but if you’re the cheapest S in the market and your car is in good shape the right buyer will come along.

 

[Tnkw]

I do not understand why people are complaining about their trade in value. When you are trading in your car, you are essentially dealing with a reseller. Why in the world will a reseller buy your car at market price?

If you want to get top dollar for your car, sell it privately.

 

[aerodyne]

Looking at the used Tesla site today it seems like less inventory and higher asking price than a month ago.

My guess is my car is down perhaps 6k in the 9 months I bought it.

 

[jjanov79]

I was just offered $41k from Tesla and $38k from CarMax for my 2017 75D with 40k miles. Looks like I'll have to sell it myself if I want to upgrade.

Based on my research fair trade value for the car is ~$55k and market value is ~$65k.

I read the Model S had the highest relsale value of any production car on the market so these low ball offers are ridiculous.

 

[aerodyne]

It did at one time have a high resale compared to others. But as we have seen in last 6 months, very changeable.

I think a low mile car with free SC will still command a good price on the right day.

EV CPO Hunter is a great source for price data and general research.

 

[jjanov79]

I don't believe free unlimited supercharging is transferrable.

 

[Ostrichsak]

I don't believe free unlimited supercharging is transferrable.

It is. All cars that came with unlimited free supercharging for life transfers to the new owner w/o fee.

 

[TonyT]

2017 unless early jan car, will not have transferable Free Supercharging. Sorry I don't have the threads handy, but there was a big change at that time where it is only free for the initial purchaser.

To be clear there are 2 programs. Free Transferable Supercharging for life, and Free Supercharging for life.

It is. All cars that came with unlimited free supercharging for life transfers to the new owner w/o fee.