Better resale value: Model 3 LR or Performance?

[Fairchild]

Its really insulting to the Plaid to have the Performance versions in the same sentence Plaid is a whole different beast.

You really have to look "under the hood" to realize what the PLAID, as well as the Performance versions really are. Why can you get one of each within a month or so, while waiting until the end of the year for the other model variants? The PLAID and Performance Models have priority production to produce enormous revenue. How many people do you think have switched to the PLAID or Performance models just to get a TESLA quicker? It's no secret that TESLA is shaping the market to its financial advantage. It's what successful businesses do.

Yes, I'm aware that it took a little R and D money to develop them, but $35,000 more for the PLAID S ($25,000 for the X, for a 0.1 improvement over Raven) is Ludicrous. The PLAID models are there for those who are willing to pay a significant premium, and for those who just "have to have" the fastest and the best. In the old days, those who questioned their manhood and self-worth "had to have a Corvette". To each their own.

Now, I say that having an MYP being delivered Friday. Having had each of the TESLA models and a couple of a few, I have come to the personal impression that of all the TESLA models, the Model Y gives me the most bang for the buck. That's why I drove my 2021 MY for a year and 17k miles and sold it for $8k more than what I paid. I am taking delivery on Friday of a Red MY"P" because I want to enjoy it and I think it will have a higher resale (% of purchase price) when I sell it again in about a year. I also just ordered a White MYLR this week, because I believe the price is going to continue to rise and they are not scheduled to be delivered until the end of the year or the beginning of 2023. It will be worth much more when delivered than the price I locked in today. So again value.

I admit that I have had a Raven Model X and set the SUV quickest record at the Track w/Drag Times (the only one on the track with a handicapped sticker!), but I have gotten that off of my bucket list and now I tend to make my vehicle purchases more on value. I see the Performance Y as the Best Value vehicle that TESLA makes, at only $5000 above the LR price. The new MYSR certainly doesn't compete.

For the past few months, I have driven an older Model S with 117,000 miles on it, and admittingly at my age (with parachuting injuries), it's much harder to get in and out of the low-slung Model S, than it is with the elevated and more convenient Model Y, and to some degree that influences my decision. I do also like a higher view of the road.

Now, having said all that, don't even ask me about that wild CYBRTRK. I have never owned a genital-enhancing truck in my life, but I might be swayed on that one.

 

[heavyD]

Absolutely correct. A base model car whether its a Kia or Mercedes, the base version always has better resale and in lease situations base cars lease better too.

As a person that's been buying cars for decades I totally disagree. I don't see any garden variety BMW 3 series holding value like M3's. I don't see any Honda Civics remotely in the same ballpark as Civic Type R's as far as resale goes. Regular Impreza's can be had for a song yet WRX and STI's hold strong resale. Even Focus RS command considerably more than regular Focus cars that can be had for dirt cheap. Base versions are always plentiful on the used market and the more plentiful, the less the value of the vehicle. Exclusivity in the long run always determines resale value. Always.

 

[glide]

As a person that's been buying cars for decades I totally disagree. I don't see any garden variety BMW 3 series holding value like M3's. I don't see any Honda Civics remotely in the same ballpark as Civic Type R's as far as resale goes. Regular Impreza's can be had for a song yet WRX and STI's hold strong resale. Even Focus RS command considerably more than regular Focus cars that can be had for dirt cheap. Base versions are always plentiful on the used market and the more plentiful, the less the value of the vehicle. Exclusivity in the long run always determines resale value. Always.

Again, all the vehicles you mentioned are strongly differentiated from the base models.

The Model 3 performance is not in any material way. Tesla made a giant mistake in this regard in an effort to simplify production.

 

[Gulfcoaster]

As a person that's been buying cars for decades I totally disagree. I don't see any garden variety BMW 3 series holding value like M3's. I don't see any Honda Civics remotely in the same ballpark as Civic Type R's as far as resale goes. Regular Impreza's can be had for a song yet WRX and STI's hold strong resale. Even Focus RS command considerably more than regular Focus cars that can be had for dirt cheap. Base versions are always plentiful on the used market and the more plentiful, the less the value of the vehicle. Exclusivity in the long run always determines resale value. Always.

Hi,
No disrespect, I appreciate your reply. What you're forgetting about is depreciation and the mass appeal. The market potential for buyers is far greater for entry level than high end. Think real estate. There are FAR more buyers for $300K homes than $3mm homes.

 

[mpgxsvcd]

Absolutely correct. A base model car whether its a Kia or Mercedes, the base version always has better resale and in lease situations base cars lease better too.

That was always true before. However, in these crazy resell value times that has changed for some cars.

You mentioned Kia. The Kia Stinger had 3 trim levels(GT, GT1, GT2) with the V6TT engine before. However, the most expensive GT2 trim was always the most desirable. Apparently, enough people only wanted the GT2 that Kia has cancelled the other two trims for the 2023 model year.

I sold a fully loaded AWD GT2 for $4k more than I bought it for brand new after owning it 6 months last year. I doubt a GT trimmed car would have resold for that much over MSRP.

The biggest difference for resell value with the Kia Stinger as compared to something like the Mercedes equivalent is that the Stinger had “Trim levels” to differentiate features.

Places like KBB and other pricing sites assign a much higher percentage of MSRP to “trim levels” as opposed to individual “options”. Mercedes allows dozens of different options and basically 1 or perhaps two trim levels. What Mercedes does isn’t good for resale value of the fully loaded versions.

 

[terranx]

Its not a software unlock. Thats the acceleration boost. The Performance gets different wheels, brakes, and track mode.

It’s still a completely different level of change compared to a bmw M or Mercedes AMG.

 

[TXDawg]

Like someone else mentioned above, just buy the trim level you want now. It sounds like you’re struggling with a lot of future what ifs and the price differential now, and how to justify it. Just get the Performance already, your LR+AB will still be a LR in the end.

 

[Apprunner]

It’s still a completely different level of change compared to a bmw M or Mercedes AMG.

The price reflects that. The M and AMG cost $20-30k premium. The Model 3 Performance is only like $7k. In my experience buying used cars, harder to find performance trims tend to hold their value better. Just my experience but others' experience may be different.

 

[heavyD]

Hi,
No disrespect, I appreciate your reply. What you're forgetting about is depreciation and the mass appeal. The market potential for buyers is far greater for entry level than high end. Think real estate. There are FAR more buyers for $300K homes than $3mm homes.

No I don't think real estate because property is typically a sound investment that usually appreciates with age while all mass produced cars depreciate. It's an apples to oranges comparison. The Model 3 Performance doesn't cost 10x the base RWD Model 3 so even your money comparison is useless.

 

[heavyD]

Again, all the vehicles you mentioned are strongly differentiated from the base models.

The Model 3 performance is not in any material way. Tesla made a giant mistake in this regard in an effort to simplify production.

I can easily change the goalposts to Civic Si, Focus ST, M340i, etc all that are milder upgrades over base cars that all carry higher resale value used over basic models. As I said before I have been buying and selling cars for decades and there has never been a time when base cars carried higher resale value unless they had a desirable option that higher line cars didn't such as a manual transmission. In the used market the most desirable vehicles are the ones with sun roofs, better engine, better wheels, looks, etc. So much misinformation in this thread.

 

[Doggiedog]

Just a data point but I sold my 2021 white M3P w/o FSD and 4,700 miles in March for $57,000. I bought it in 12/20 for $55,000. In January 2022, I could have sold it for $63,500 but stupidly waited for my 2022 to arrive. By then, the market tanked.

 

[Lindenwood]

My gut feeling is that the difference will be negligible and it isn't worth choosing a trim level you aren't happy with to possibly recover a little bit more when you eventually sell the car.

Seriously, this.

If you are genuinely cross-shopping both, the amount you gain or lose in 3-5 years might be a couple thousand one way or another.

If you don’t care about performance, you’ll feel like an idiot driving around with 7k more debt or 100+ extra per month in payments thinking “I’ll make a little more back in 3-5 years.” If you really like the idea of maximum performance, you’ll be kicking yourself for going with the LR model and always wondering if the minor savings (in the short and long run) were worth the sacrifice.

Of note the LR with AB and the 19” wheels is actually only $3500 cheaper than the M3P, and the AB and optional 19” wheels will likely be considered closer to aftermarket options than a model upgrade and won’t likely gain you much on the back end.

 

[E90alex]

I compared used prices of LR AWD vs Performance for the last couple model years and Performance didn’t fetch $7-8k more than LR which is the price difference for new ones.

Who knows several more years down the line but so far it seems Performance doesn’t hold value quite as well as LR, although it’s not a huge difference.

True, the Performance isn’t as common as LR but it also isn’t rare or limited production like the AMGs or ///M or Type Rs being mentioned. The Performance is also hardly differentiated visually or performance wise vs LR other than just faster acceleration, in which the LR is still *very* fast for most buyers who are coming from a non performance vehicle. The Performance vs LR is more akin to a Camry V6 vs 4 cylinder or Lexus IS350 vs IS250 than the true AMG/M/Type R/etc models of the world.

The Performance just doesn’t give that exclusive/special feeling you get with true performance models of other brands which is what helps the resale and desirability. The resale difference is more like a MacBook Pro with Intel Core i5 vs Core i7. Sure the i7 is faster and worth a bit more used but in terms of % of original MSRP it’s not as good as the i5.

Tesla also gives production priority for Performance so ordering a new one comes much faster than the LR, which doesn’t help the resale. Waiting 2 months for a new Performance is a much easier pill to swallow vs 6+ months now for LR and even longer for RWD, making LR and RWD more sought after in the short term used market.

Again it’s hard to say longer term since the Performance is only ~2 years old on the market.

With that said, if you’re considering LR+AB vs Performance then you definitely won’t see that $2k back on resale for AB so just go for Performance.

 

[ODWms]

I think the Performance model is closer to 4 years on the market.

 

[E90alex]

I think the Performance model is closer to 4 years on the market.

I was going by when the standardized the Performance instead of the whole stealth performance and optional PUP thing since there’s not an easy way to search used car sites for PUP.

 

[vertico]

The base model of a car always holds value best. There is less demand for upper trims