Best time to buy a used model S?

[philtes]

I'm thinking of buying a used model S and I have a couple of questions:
1. What's the best model for my money? (Circa 50-60k)
2. When's the best time to buy? I hear there will be a lot of Model S's on the market come April 2016.

 

[dirkhh]

The best time is yesterday. The earlier you have the car, the earlier you get to enjoy it.
At $50-60k... hmm... take a look at http://ev-cpo.com/ that means you're at the very bottom of the barrel. So an S60 or a higher mileage 85.

 

[Spidy]

I think it's pretty much impossible to tell.

Tesla was really supply limited for a long time, but if you look now they still promise US delivery this year and ramp up production. This might make CPOs cheaper as the wait time difference goes away. We also don't know what kind of demand lever Tesla might pull.

Model 3: We don't know anything. Everyone expects it to be awesome, but if some people don't like what they see in March they might go for a used Mode S.

 

[Maaz]

For 56k we got my dads 85kwh model s. All options except sound system and rear seats. With only 20k miles. So that would be my measuring stick at least.

 

[Muzzman1]

I just sold my Classic S85 33k miles, specs in my signature, for $60k.

 

[demundus]

I got my 58k S85 for $55K in the spring of 2015.

 

[Mike K]

I just bought (this morning) an S85 with pano, sound studio, tech and air suspension with 32k miles for $52,000. Tesla has a green P85 with 23k miles and all the same options (minus sound studio) for $52,000. Mid-50s will get you a nice S85 if you're patient.

Don't settle for the 60 if that's not what you want. As the prices of these cars goes down the price differential between the 60kwh and 85kwh cars is going to shrink and 60s aren't going to be an easy sell.

 

[Rich_PSU]

I took delivery last week of my cpo P85 with pano, 21", tech, air suspension, dual chargers, supercharger enabled, high fidelity sound, and carbon fiber spoiler with 30k miles for $61k. Took about a week to find but decent deals are there.

 

[Mike K]

Just wanted to bump this for anyone still looking. Tesla just dropped CPO prices by a LOT. I was checking their site pretty much every day while I was shopping and a reasonable mile 2013 85kwh was generally high 50's, low 60's. If you were willing to deal with 50kish miles you could dip into the lower 50's.

In the past few days they've really dropped prices though. Maybe they're trying to dump inventory to meet end of year sales goals but it seems like if you were on the fence, this is a great time to buy. There's currently a 2013 P85 with 20,000 miles on it for $51,000 and a few very nicely equipped 85's with low miles for $50,000 - $52,000. Right now it would appear that 55k will get you the pick of the litter on 2013 85's.

 

[tstafford]

Just wanted to bump this for anyone still looking. Tesla just dropped CPO prices by a LOT. I was checking their site pretty much every day while I was shopping and a reasonable mile 2013 85kwh was generally high 50's, low 60's. If you were willing to deal with 50kish miles you could dip into the lower 50's.

In the past few days they've really dropped prices though. Maybe they're trying to dump inventory to meet end of year sales goals but it seems like if you were on the fence, this is a great time to buy. There's currently a 2013 P85 with 20,000 miles on it for $51,000 and a few very nicely equipped 85's with low miles for $50,000 - $52,000. Right now it would appear that 55k will get you the pick of the litter on 2013 85's.

That's amazing. What an awesome car for that kind of money.

 

[ArtInCT]

From what I have seen, whenever Tesla begins shipping a new variant or model such as the X, there are quite a few Tesla's that are turned in for the new model. We saw this with 60, 85, P85 and P85+'s being turned in when the Model S D cars began delivery. We will probably see this again when the Model X beings shipping in numbers.

 

[Mike K]

That's amazing. What an awesome car for that kind of money.

I agree. Even more amazing is the satisfaction I'll get in seeing all the dealers lose their asses on purposely overpriced cars.

 

[JenniferQ]

I just bought (this morning) an S85 with pano, sound studio, tech and air suspension with 32k miles for $52,000. Tesla has a green P85 with 23k miles and all the same options (minus sound studio) for $52,000. Mid-50s will get you a nice S85 if you're patient.

Don't settle for the 60 if that's not what you want. As the prices of these cars goes down the price differential between the 60kwh and 85kwh cars is going to shrink and 60s aren't going to be an easy sell.

Is there any negotiating on the CPOs or is it the same as with new models? Sticker and that's it.

 

[green1]

Is there any negotiating on the CPOs or is it the same as with new models? Sticker and that's it.

Same as the new ones... mostly... No negotiation on price, but SOME stores are willing to do minor negotiation on features (eg. Some will let you change from 19s to 21s or vice versa, sometimes with the appropriate credit if you go 21->19) Other stores won't even consider it and all cars will be exactly "as-is"

 

[freeewilly]

If you really want a MS, now is the time, tons of CPO cars selling at a record low level, so many to choose from.

 

[Mike K]

Is there any negotiating on the CPOs or is it the same as with new models? Sticker and that's it.

I think CPO prices are firm but honestly, you'd have no bargaining power either way. I've spent the last 4 months monitoring eBay, Craigslist, Autotrader, cars.com, etc daily. I even set up a national Craigslist search that would forward any Model S listed on any Craigslist site in the country to me. Nobody comes close to Tesla's CPO prices. 90% of the cars are priced at a level that has no basis in reality. Either it's dealers that think there's still crazy low supply for the car or private party sellers with 60kwh low VIN cars that think they are worth $65,000. 10% are priced fairly and of those, most are still marginally higher than Tesla.

Ultimately after 4 or 5 months of searching I found someone willing to sell me his car for what Tesla offered him on trade.

 

[alphabravo]

I have been considering purchasing in the 60k range for a few weeks now. BUT, my thinking is that I will hold out and see how the X deliveries go over the next 1-2 months. I may be very wrong, but my brain tells me that when the X's start being delivered in volume that people 'trading up' from the S will be trading in and so there should be more used vehicle on the market and maybe prices will reflect this change.

Not only do I hope i'm right, I also hope I can refrain from jumping the gun!

 

[purplewalt]

I have been considering purchasing in the 60k range for a few weeks now. BUT, my thinking is that I will hold out and see how the X deliveries go over the next 1-2 months. I may be very wrong, but my brain tells me that when the X's start being delivered in volume that people 'trading up' from the S will be trading in and so there should be more used vehicle on the market and maybe prices will reflect this change.

Not only do I hope i'm right, I also hope I can refrain from jumping the gun!

You might be correct.
But TM has just opened two new CPO sales Centers (this past weekend), and MANY new units are coming on line.
Daily.
And some of the prices have been dropping.
Many of the units have less than 10K miles, several in the 5K and 6K mileage range.
Which to me is a nearly new car.

If you would be content with a 2012 or 2013, there are some deals out there.
No, they don't have all the latest tech Items. Adding those and the later year model would push the price of the car a bit higher.

I helped someone looking for a used Model S on the CPO site(s), and the flood gates just opened up.
IMHO, Best time to order a car would be NOW.
Tesla is trying to hit their targets, and getting it before the end of the year would help both you and TM out.

There were some almost new 60s with very low mileage.
I don't know if they would still require the $2,000 surcharge so they could would be Supercharger enabled.
IIRC, a couple of those had never been titled.
So the first purchaser is able to file for a $7,500 federal tax rebate.
CPO has an additional 50K mileage warranty from when you pick the car up.
So if it has 20K mileage, it is warranted until 70K miles.
Drivetrain and battery have unlimited mileage warranty.

Xs are being delivered NOW.
More on Monday and this coming week.
Not in huge quantities, but they are being delivered.
And at locations additional to California.

 

[Canuck]

I'm thinking of buying a used model S and I have a couple of questions:
1. What's the best model for my money? (Circa 50-60k)
2. When's the best time to buy? I hear there will be a lot of Model S's on the market come April 2016.

I think a lot of people are waiting to jump in when the Model X is in full production and the price point of $50 - 60k applies to a lot more people than the new prices. So I don't think we'll see significant discounts. I think that Tesla will continue to follow their general formula, which I think is a reduction of 1% per month of age and $1 per mile driven, but perhaps it's higher now. Of course, the longer you wait, the more the prices of used vehicles will fall but no one knows by how much. They never go up in value (except in Canada because of the crash of our dollar). The trade off in waiting is that you don't get the pleasure of driving one and, unfortunately, we're all mortal so you have place a price on what waiting longer is worth to you.