Apparently too good to be true...demo car

[wingnutsglory]

I was just informed tonight that the NEW LR RWD in my ideal config (white/black/aero) - which I was to take delivery of tomorrow - had been in a rear-ender and sustained over $22k in damage. I knew it was a demo/service car and hadn't considered that I should need to check Carfax. Fortunately, someone did that and alerted me.

Needless to say I'm super bummed since this was to be the culmination of several months of waiting/looking for a specific config.

 

[vickh]

what was the price?

 

[wingnutsglory]

It came with a $2k discount. So about $44k since it was the LR RWD trim with no upgrades.

 

[wingnutsglory]

It came with a $2k discount. So about $44k since it was the LR RWD trim with no upgrades.

It had 880 miles so I assumed the discount was for wear and tear and mileage.

 

[jjrandorin]

Im wondering how many miles were on that car? I remember us having a discussion about very low mile demo cars, and my feelings on them. I am wondering if this one fits that mold.

("mold" being demo car being sold for a nice discount, as a new vehicle, but with too low miles to actually have been used as a demo car much).

 

[wingnutsglory]

Im wondering how many miles were on that car? I remember us having a discussion about very low mile demo cars, and my feelings on them. I am wondering if this one fits that mold.

("mold" being demo car being sold for a nice discount, as a new vehicle, but with too low miles to actually have been used as a demo car much).

Yep, and I appreciated the advice took it to heart, but perhaps misunderstood and applied it to used cars exclusively. This was actually being sold by Tesla as new.

 

[jjrandorin]

It had 880 miles so I assumed the discount was for wear and tear and mileage.

We cross posted my question and your information. Lets just say I am sorry for you, but not surprised that this car with 800 ish miles as a demo car had "some issue".

The discount is not big enough for the issue, obviously. would you take it at any price? I wouldnt but maybe they could offer you more money off of it?

 

[vickh]

It came with a $2k discount. So about $44k since it was the LR RWD trim with no upgrades.

2k is not enough for a demo vs new IMO. glad you found the carfax and dodged a bullet. Surprised they didn't reveal that

 

[wingnutsglory]

We cross posted my question and your information. Lets just say I am sorry for you, but not surprised that this car with 800 ish miles as a demo car had "some issue".

The discount is not big enough for the issue, obviously. would you take it at any price? I wouldnt but maybe they could offer you more money off of it?

They didn't, but as disappointed as I am (and doubtful I'll find the trim again), I don't think a deeper discount would change things.

I'm mostly posting this to make others aware of a potential pitfall.

 

[jjrandorin]

They didn't, but as disappointed as I am (and doubtful I'll find the trim again), I don't think a deeper discount would change things.

I'm mostly posting this to make others aware of a potential pitfall.

Gotcha... I really was pulling for you to find one too, so I am sorry to read this. Maybe you could make tesla aware of this and see if you could work something out on an in stock vehicle. thats what I would do. I would contact them, let the know I was disappointed to not be told that the vehicle had large amounts of repairs that were not disclosed to me, but "maybe we can work something out on another vehicle to make this sale"?

Might not work but (for example) an AWD for the same price as that LR RWD might be possible, or something else. I know you have your heart set on RWD, but I think getting the car outweighs an extra 25 potential total miles of range, unless you intend to drive 150-200 miles a day.

Just a thought. I am pulling for you. Hope you work something out.

 

[gaswalla]

what a bummer... no way any damage is worth just $2k discount... that being said, 22k of damage on a Tesla could have been just some bumper and quarterpanel work by a Tesla approved body shop

 

[acarney]

That is so tough since that model isn’t made any more. You might literally be getting down to the last few remaining cars out there...

 

[wingnutsglory]

Thanks for all the input. I'll be on the phone tomorrow to see what can be done.

 

[wingnutsglory]

Well, so much for that.

Either I haven't found anyone the right person or it just isn't possibly, but nothing seems to be an option...not even reverting to another discounted inventory car that I had previously had a deposit on (and EOQ incentives)...the discount (and comps of course) no longer exist.

I'm now back to the start again trying to decide to wait, buy used, or go with the SR+ instead of a new or used MR/LR.

 

[acarney]

Well, so much for that.

Either I haven't found anyone the right person or it just isn't possibly, but nothing seems to be an option...not even reverting to another discounted inventory car that I had previously had a deposit on (and EOQ incentives)...the discount (and comps of course) no longer exist.

I'm now back to the start again trying to decide to wait, buy used, or go with the SR+ instead of a new or used MR/LR.

Would they not sell the repaired car, or could you not get financing on it?

 

[wingnutsglory]

Would they not sell the repaired car, or could you not get financing on it?

They'd deliver it, but I just think it seems too much of a risk. I'm not that concerned about resell since I'll keep it long-term. But after talking to a few people, I was left on the fence (some thought not a big deal, others say run away) and thought it best to play it safe.

 

[acarney]

They'd deliver it, but I just think it seems too much of a risk. I'm not that concerned about resell since I'll keep it long-term. But after talking to a few people, I was left on the fence (some thought not a big deal, others say run away) and thought it best to play it safe.

It's a really really hard decision. You obviously want a brand spanking new car, but having it repaired to Tesla specs and then delivered like new with a four year warranty... well it's likely the last LR RWD out there, so....

And in fact, it might be gone already if they released it from you...

 

[OCR1]

Has it really got to the point where Tesla is selling cars with $22K worth of repairs as new without disclosing it to customers?

 

[acarney]

Has it really got to the point where Tesla is selling cars with $22K worth of repairs as new without disclosing it to customers?

When you hunt around for the last remaining LR RWD version... it's possible. The sales guy might actually have pulled some strings to make it possible to sell it. I had a Tesla employee hunting high and low for inventory models or demos or anything, there was one that had sat at the factory since Nov 2018 for some reason that wasn't in the for sale inventory and this was July 2019. I had him request that it got moved into the for sale inventory hoping it would have a great adjustment based on age (though it only had a couple hundred miles on it) and it ended up being discounted like $600. Was out of my price range but sold to someone else within a couple days of being listed.

Who knows why it sat there for over half a year and it did have a note that some repair needed to be made but showed that it had been within weeks of it being built...

 

[wingnutsglory]

Update: I did find another LR RWD in white/black/aero. This one is apparently (more) new, was not a demo, and has no issues. It's a very slightly lower VIN but was still likely produced in March/April. I'm not sure where/why it's been hiding (somewhere in Canada apparently). The unfortunate kicker is that there's now no discount and that pushes it above the WA tax incentive threshold, which makes it about $4500 more than the other one and about $9k more than a comparable SR+. So, now I'm back to the debate of new SR+ vs new or used LR RWD and whether it's worth it.