I've been obsessing about buying a Model S here in Canada but have felt skittish since we don't yet have the resale value guarantee here in Canada. If we had this in Canada, I would be clicking "buy now" this instant.
I tend to upgrade cars every 3-4 years and I've been able to get greater than residual or remaining balance values for a trade in every time.
I know the 50% 36-39 month resale guarantee has been launched in the USA but nothing has been announced here in Canada, nor are there any assurances it will (new financing options are still rumored to be "coming soon" but no word on guaranteed value). Since this is an entirely new car segment, I have no idea what the "in the wild" resale values will be 3-4 years from now.
*** Please note I'm 90% sold on the Model S, and applaud Tesla for their achievements. I'm simply looking for a sounding board -- recognizing the inherit bias of asking on a Tesla forum, I have seen very intelligent discussion here, so please don't consider any below as flame bait! ****
One could argue that since our neighbors to the south have locked in values around 50%, Canadian cars should hold similar value (assuming Tesla doesn't launch the same program here), but in reality Canadian and US used car values are very hard to compare.
You could also argue battery technology really doesn't evolve very quickly (as seen in the smartphone market), but witness the difference between the Roadster and Model S in terms of battery tech (as one example, the Roadster not being able to use the supercharger network, not to mention the new battery swap).
Taken another step further, even the Model S battery swap of today would unlikely be the same for the X, or the GenIII which will be smaller. Fast forward 4-5 years where 20,000 2013 Model S cars are around, but dwarfed by 1,000,000 GenIII's (I think these are the Tesla goals for these cars): how economical will it be for Tesla to support the original Model S? Its probably unlikely Tesla will preserve the Model S subframe for their high end sedan indefinitely.
Thus, you could argue that Teslas might drop in value more like consumer electronics do, rather than hold value like a luxury established brand ICE car does. In fact I'd bet resale values on a theoretical all battery EV Mercedes or BMW sedan would be hard to predict.
My biggest concern (and greatest excitement as well) is this is a new segment where each generation will have relatively more innovation and improvement than sequential generations of ICE cars do, thus eroding resale values quickly.
I know early adopters always pay more for the privilege (I'm one of them for sure), but how did others reconcile this leap of faith? Again, keep in mind I tend to get a new car every 3-4 years, and this discussion may be irrelevant for those planning to drive their Model S for 10 years or more.
I tend to upgrade cars every 3-4 years and I've been able to get greater than residual or remaining balance values for a trade in every time.
I know the 50% 36-39 month resale guarantee has been launched in the USA but nothing has been announced here in Canada, nor are there any assurances it will (new financing options are still rumored to be "coming soon" but no word on guaranteed value). Since this is an entirely new car segment, I have no idea what the "in the wild" resale values will be 3-4 years from now.
*** Please note I'm 90% sold on the Model S, and applaud Tesla for their achievements. I'm simply looking for a sounding board -- recognizing the inherit bias of asking on a Tesla forum, I have seen very intelligent discussion here, so please don't consider any below as flame bait! ****
One could argue that since our neighbors to the south have locked in values around 50%, Canadian cars should hold similar value (assuming Tesla doesn't launch the same program here), but in reality Canadian and US used car values are very hard to compare.
You could also argue battery technology really doesn't evolve very quickly (as seen in the smartphone market), but witness the difference between the Roadster and Model S in terms of battery tech (as one example, the Roadster not being able to use the supercharger network, not to mention the new battery swap).
Taken another step further, even the Model S battery swap of today would unlikely be the same for the X, or the GenIII which will be smaller. Fast forward 4-5 years where 20,000 2013 Model S cars are around, but dwarfed by 1,000,000 GenIII's (I think these are the Tesla goals for these cars): how economical will it be for Tesla to support the original Model S? Its probably unlikely Tesla will preserve the Model S subframe for their high end sedan indefinitely.
Thus, you could argue that Teslas might drop in value more like consumer electronics do, rather than hold value like a luxury established brand ICE car does. In fact I'd bet resale values on a theoretical all battery EV Mercedes or BMW sedan would be hard to predict.
My biggest concern (and greatest excitement as well) is this is a new segment where each generation will have relatively more innovation and improvement than sequential generations of ICE cars do, thus eroding resale values quickly.
I know early adopters always pay more for the privilege (I'm one of them for sure), but how did others reconcile this leap of faith? Again, keep in mind I tend to get a new car every 3-4 years, and this discussion may be irrelevant for those planning to drive their Model S for 10 years or more.
