Buy or lease the X, what did you choose or your suggestion given X's build quality?

[long]

We ordered our X in July, was told by DS to expect a late August or Sept delivery. While we're exciting about the X, the more I followed up threads in the forum that owners reported different issues of X (A/C, door latch, FWD and ghost image), the more started to worry about the build quality of X. I read threads discuss the recent build quality of X, seems like the build quality is getting better in recent delivery car?

The X is to replace a mid-size SUV, and mainly plan to use it as a commute car and kids' schooling car and wifey will be the primary driver, if the car needs decent amount of time to visit the SC, then wifey will be unhappy and we're not the guy who is handy to diagnose and (possibly fix) the car problem by ourselves. We tend to have the car for longer time if we own it, however given the build quality of X, I'm started to think should we lease the car instead of buying it (given lease could give an easier way out), and we don't want to have buyers' remorse before finalizing the payment.

Will appreciate if you share your thoughts!

 

[Scrith]

I switched to a lease at the last minute because I really had the feeling, at the time, that they were still trying to figure out how to build Model X's, and because I thought the resale value wouldn't be very good once the gigafactory is up and running, churning out less expensive batteries. Three months later...no regrets with my car, but I'm sure later builds are better than mine. But what will the X be like in 3 years, and what will it cost? We'll see! In 3 months my car has spent about 4 weeks at the SC, by the way...much improved, but some things still don't seem quite right.

 

[alex454]

I did a lease as well to protect myself from resale values if they dip in light of the model 3 and other EVs that may be available 3 years form now. As far as quality, I had only 1 issue where the AC lines were run incorrectly causing noise. Other than that issue, all my issues were cosmetic from the factory that were later fixed by visits to the SC.

 

[aesculus]

I toyed with this before purchase too but in the end I needed to purchase. So far my car has been great and it appears that has worked out OK. If there was not a need to purchase, then I would probably go with a lease on a new car like the Model X.

 

[animorph]

Build quality is short term. Hopefully it isn't indicative of long term reliability and durability. It is possible that a used Model X that has been sorted out for a few years by the first owner might actually be worth a pretty high percentage of the cost of a new Model X that might come with plenty of assembly problems. Or at least it might beat the residual value of the lease.

I don't think the build quality is a good reason to get a lease.

 

[NathanWolf]

The only thing that's made me seriously considering leasing is the possibility that AP2.0 is right around the corner and a retrofit won't be possible. I would never in my life have considered leasing a car, but Tesla's are a little difficult for people that really love having all the new features. There's no model year to watch, a huge update might happen the day after you purchase. At least with a lease you only have to wait a couple years to upgrade.

I'd agree with the other sentiments in this thread that fit and finish quality issues are not a good reason to lease- those will get worked out and your car will be worth just as much as a car that didn't have those issues in the first place.

 

[xkwizit]

The only thing that's made me seriously considering leasing is the possibility that AP2.0 is right around the corner and a retrofit won't be possible. I would never in my life have considered leasing a car, but Tesla's are a little difficult for people that really love having all the new features. There's no model year to watch, a huge update might happen the day after you purchase. At least with a lease you only have to wait a couple years to upgrade.

I'd agree with the other sentiments in this thread that fit and finish quality issues are not a good reason to lease- those will get worked out and your car will be worth just as much as a car that didn't have those issues in the first place.

The retrofit for AP2.0 is unknown. There is housing for the second camera on the X so maybe TM will be able to upgrade the AP on X.

Lease residuals are liability for the company too and so I wouldn't expect them to be preparing for a huge inventory of used Xs in 3 years with values that have plummeted due to AP2.0.

 

[NathanWolf]

The retrofit for AP2.0 is unknown. There is housing for the second camera on the X so maybe TM will be able to upgrade the AP on X.

Lease residuals are liability for the company too and so I wouldn't expect them to be preparing for a huge inventory of used Xs in 3 years with values that have plummeted due to AP2.0.

I am definitely hoping for a retrofit possibility! The dual-camera setup aligns with the move to Bosch cameras (I think?) so maybe they've planned it in all along.

I'm taking delivery in September (in theory) and sure would hate to fall just short of AP2. I'm already kicking myself for not acting on my original reservation for that sweet, sweet free active spoiler (90D).

 

[EV-lutioin]

With any other car company I would definitely consider leasing, but with Tesla's over-the-air updates and commitment to make things right with Roadster, Model S and Model X owners, I think owning is the way to go. In many cases, if there are major hardware changes (e.g AP and battery packs), Tesla will offer owners retrofits.