If I buy a Tesla from Tesla, I honestly expect it to be delivered to me in respectable condition.
I'm not buying a used rug from a flea market, but that seems to be how Tesla is now selling CPO cars.
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Buyer beware. Buying a CPO Tesla feels like a SCAM.
- Thread starter ToothSlayer
- Start date
If I buy a Tesla from Tesla, I honestly expect it to be delivered to me in respectable condition.
I'm not buying a used rug from a flea market, but that seems to be how Tesla is now selling CPO cars.
jelloslug
Active Member
You would still have to pay for the service though.If I buy a Tesla from Tesla, I honestly expect it to be delivered to me in respectable condition.
I'm not buying a used rug from a flea market, but that seems to be how Tesla is now selling CPO cars.
My point is reasonable "service" should not be optional when you buy a Tesla.
I'm sure many Tesla customers will happily pay for a car delivered in respectable condition.
Like I said earlier, they are buying a Tesla, not a used rug at a flea market delivered in "as is" condition...
jelloslug
Active Member
People complained that the CPO price was too high and took too long. The bottleneck was "fixed" and now people are complaining that their used cars are not new.I'm sure many Tesla customers will happily pay for a car delivered in respectable condition.
Like I said earlier, they are buying a Tesla, not a used rug at a flea market delivered in "as is" condition...
From what I can see they fixed nothing with this policy. They made the CPO program worse than what it was when the OP bought his car.
People are complaining they are being sold used cars costing 50,000, 60,000, 70,000 in such poor shape that entire body panels need to repainted. Not good.
It seems you have never bought a CPO car in your life. Go to a Mercedes CPO lot and look at their cars. You will see they are all in immaculate condition. No one here is expecting a new car so please don't make things up by saying they are expecting new cars.
The legitimate point many have made is that when you buy a CPO car from anyone else but Tesla, you have some peace of mind in knowing you will get a car in decent shape.
At the time when they made the policy switch, they didn't appear to drop the price on the CPO models listed in their inventory (I haven't checked recently to see if that's changed).
The whole CPO pricing scheme has been bogus anyway when they priced 3-4 year old cars near $100,000. They were basically crying out to people, don't buy a used Tesla, please buy a new car. This has nothing to do with them "lowering" prices.
Ultimately they can try to influence pricing but the market will set the price.
For our second Tesla we have a budget of around $60,000 and no amount of them manipulating prices will make us alter our budget but sooner or later they will have to take a hit for accrued depreciation of cars that did not sell because they were ludicrously overpriced. And when we buy a Tesla from Tesla or private party, we expect it to be in like new condition so if we find a Tesla CPO car and it is delivered in less than acceptable condition, we will reject delivery. I bet many others looking to buy a Tesla also has standards.
Our Tesla is nearly 4 years old and it is in like new condition because we took care of it. The notion that used cars have to be accepted with dings, dents, curbed wheels, and panels that need to be repainted because all used cars are like that is BS.
I'd certainly only accept damage if the discount was greater than the cost to fix it. For a Tesla that means a damaged panel could easily be a €15k discount.
First time posting here in TMC. I was moments away from clicking the purchase button for a Tesla CPO. I' so thankful I found this post, while also broken hearted that I missed my chance at getting a reconditioned MS under the old policy.
I'm still debating whether I take my chances at this purchase under the new policy... likely not. But if I do, I will also share my experience with the world.
I'm still debating whether I take my chances at this purchase under the new policy... likely not. But if I do, I will also share my experience with the world.
barjohn
Member
The solution seems simple to me. There are people that take excellent care of their cars and baby them (I know I do) and those that don't want to be bothered. When I have turned in my lease cars they could easily pass for like new. I have attached how Hyundai has you self evaluate lease end and a similar form could be used by Tesla on trade ins as well as lease end. Then separate those vehicles with minimal damage or better yet, no damage for CPO cars so mechanical inspection and a good detail job would have them ready to go and wholesale off the others after collecting repair costs which are pocketed as the car is sold for less. Customers would get what they expect in a CPO and those that didn't care for their vehicles would suffer the financial consequences.
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barjohn
Member
Apparently you can, but why would anyone want to have to go through that hassle? Wouldn't it be better to know that if it has the Tesla CPO label it means the car is in very good to excellent condition (an 8 or 9 out of 10)?
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thegooch49
Member
Yeah, I think the policy around 'rejection' is kinda lame. If you reject it, you can move it to a reservation on another CPO. What if there isn't another CPO that you want? What if you are specific on features, colors, and battery size, and that CPO car doesn't exist in inventory? I imagine that they would work with you, but I still think it's a little lame.
If they had lowered the prices commensurate with the fact that they are no longer refurbishing them, that would be great. Instead they raised prices significantly shortly before the change in policy, and then only reduced them back down slightly when they stopped refurbing. So you'll now pay more for a non-refurbished car than you would have a few months ago for a fully refurbished one.
I skipped over a couple of pages of this, so I may have missed where you said this - did you buy your car before or after the change in refurb policy? Based on your description, that seems more like a car that went through the full refurb process. It would be encouraging if they are still doing those things. But if this was from before the change, then it is not indicative of what new CPO buyers should expect.
Could you clarify that?
Thanks!
jelloslug
Active Member
thegooch49
Member
I didn't hear a lot of people complaining that the price was too high. People were buying them like mad in 2017, so I don't think that was an issue. Yes, it took WAY too long to get the cars under the previous model. In my opinion, the correct way to be doing this, is to refurbish the cars BEFORE they are listed for sale. That way they are ready to go. I purchased a CPO in October 2017. At week 7 without delivery, I bailed on it. Some CPO buyers said there car was delivered in two weeks. Others reported 10 weeks plus. That's really lame in my opinion. I was renting a car while I sat there and waited for my car to be delivered, with next to zero communication. After 7 weeks I found one from a private party, that worked out great for me. Tesla did an awesome gesture of refunding me my $1000 due to the timeline of delivery failing. I honestly didn't expect the refund, it was a nice way for a new owner to enter a relationship with a car company.
In short, I think the bigger failure was delivery time. Price for what you got was fine.
That is it.
All of this points to strong demand.
They don't have to do anything, the cars get sold.
So people being normal levels of lazy don't bother.
There are more phone calls, things to do etc.
It is an issue, but not critical.
Used market, we are at least 2-3 years from TSLA having any real competition.
That will be whenever the cars that are not even on the market yet
begin to turn over.
The pricing on used Teslas is kind of nuts though. For example, someone recently tried to sell a 2017 S75 with autopilot (and I think around 10k miles) on these forums for a little over $60k, and got no offers. They ended up selling it to Carmax for $61K. Yet Tesla has in that same timespan successfully sold 2014 S60s with fewer options (and more mileage) for over $50k. And of course private dealers will try to sell a 2013 with near 100k miles for the mid $40k range. The price gap between seems to be very small between cars that should be priced substantially differently.
I'm wondering if S prices will take a significant hit when AWD model 3s come out in July.
I'm wondering if S prices will take a significant hit when AWD model 3s come out in July.
barjohn
Member
My advise to any private party seller is to try and understand why DrMike's statement above happens. I think one of the key reasons is that people want the security of dealing with a known entity (like Tesla or even a car dealer and they are fearful when dealing with a private individual of being taken. The unfortunate truth is that you can be taken by any of the above if you are not prudent and careful. A PP seller needs to understand that to sell their vehicle requires more than the desirability of the vehicle or price. You need to overcome the subconscious fear that the sale is a scam or that they will be taken. This means doing the following: 1. Lots of photos show everything you would want to see if you were the buyer. Make sure they are high resolution 24MP taken with a good 35mm camera and high quality lens. Discuss and show any flaws you know about and how you will mitigate these for the buyer (fix before delivery, provide price allowance, etc.) 2. Provide the Maroney sticker if you have it and provide the rationale for your price and why your offer is a good deal including price comparisons with any other vehicles available from Tesla or other sites advertising used Teslas. People are lazy and many won't look but there are those in the forum that see it as their job to inform the lazy buyer if they think the vehicle is priced to high so preclude those posts by laying out the case why your deal is a great one. 3. Be open about what is required to consummate a deal such as working with lenders, the DMV, AAA, etc. 4. Do your homework and price your vehicle fairly but if warranted slightly on the high side to give yourself a little negotiating room. 5. Allow time for buyers to see your vehicle and reach a buy decision. Anything prices over $50K requires some thought and time to come to the realization that this is both a good deal and the car I want. Remember that a good deal is one where both buyer and seller feel that it was a good deal for them. 6. Follow up after the sale by continuing to be helpful and to do anything you can to make the transition easier. Getting the car registered, transferred with Tesla are all time consuming and frustrating processes. Your buyer will remember and when you come to the next time you need to sell will be happy to provide you with a good reference.
While you can't match the services a dealer can provide (that is their business and they are set up to handle it and you aren't), what you can do is something no dealer can do and that is to provide the emotional feeling and history of your vehicle. It is one thing to hear from the owner how they have babied and cared for the car and how much they love it and want you to love it too and quite another to have a dealer describe what to them is just another car to be moved and sold for a profit where you don't know how the previous owner cared for it and whether it was well cared for or seriously abused. An owner can share with you the car's history a dealer can talk financing and Carfax as if those were substitutes.
I hope this helps some of you that are selling Teslas to buy a new one or a different one that better meets your current needs.
While you can't match the services a dealer can provide (that is their business and they are set up to handle it and you aren't), what you can do is something no dealer can do and that is to provide the emotional feeling and history of your vehicle. It is one thing to hear from the owner how they have babied and cared for the car and how much they love it and want you to love it too and quite another to have a dealer describe what to them is just another car to be moved and sold for a profit where you don't know how the previous owner cared for it and whether it was well cared for or seriously abused. An owner can share with you the car's history a dealer can talk financing and Carfax as if those were substitutes.
I hope this helps some of you that are selling Teslas to buy a new one or a different one that better meets your current needs.
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