Buying Inventory vs. Custom Build

[BrokerDon]

We bought a fully loaded "inventory" 2015 Model S P85D last July that had 2,600 miles on it and couldn't be happier. It had the exact colors and all the options of our build to order 90D we were considering... but with the discount our P85D price was close to the 90D so it was a no brainer for us since I was coming from a 505 hp Corvette Z06.

+1 for Tesla Inventory cars... Especially with only a couple of hundred miles on it.

P.S. I got one of the "extended test drive" P100D's yesterday and loved the ventilated seats, center console, significantly longer range (90% = 281 miles on P100D vs. 227 for our P85D), AP 2.0 future... and of course the increased power 30+ mph. Amazing car... Hope I win one from my referrals.

 

[TexasTeslaRacing]

I leased an inventory P85D and have had no issues with it. The car had 4,500 miles on it when delivered and looked brand new. The discount was a little more than $7,500. IMO an inventory car is the way to go if you're looking for a deal.

 

[whttiger25]

8% discount is very nice for a car with so few miles!

In June I took delivery of my 90D (pre-refresh). Sticker was 102,200, got it for 93,000. 9% discount. 2400 miles. Titanium metallic (underrated color IMO), premium, black leather next gen, air suspension, classic 19 inch wheels, autopilot, pano roof.

I still think I may have gotten pretty much the best deal ever, based on what 90D's are going for now both sticker and what's in inventory. I don't have the refresh, but I don't really mind. I don't care about the 48amp charger, I have the option of buying the center console if I ever want to, and don't mind the classic front bumper.

I have 14,000 miles now and am happy I went this route.

 

[HankLloydRight]

I bought an Inventory P85+ with 8k miles on it. It was like new when I got it and couldn't be happier. No problems so far with 40k miles on the odo.

 

[NikeWings]

[QUOTE=" @whttiger25 , post: 1891008, member: 49697]

I still think I may have gotten pretty much the best deal ever, based on what 90D's are going for now both sticker and what's in inventoryI have 14,000 miles now and am happy I went this route.[/QUOTE]

Fabulous deal!! I'm glad it worked out well for you, as bargains will come up from time to time and it's more fun to see them fall into the hands of someone so grateful. I took delivery about the same time and also broke 14k miles, fun isn't it?

 

[whttiger25]

Fabulous deal!! I'm glad it worked out well for you, as bargains will come up from time to time and it's more fun to see them fall into the hands of someone so grateful. I took delivery about the same time and also broke 14k miles, fun isn't it?

Fun indeed! And I just got my wall charger installed at my condo deeded parking spot, which was a huge accomplishment!

 

[Ormond]

There was one guy who bought during the 3rd quarter sale that was disappointed in the condition of hits car. His posts are in the long thread about the 3rd quarter lease deals.

I ordered new, but next time I'd consider a discounted inventory car.

I just wish Tesla had photos of the actual vehicle in inventory.

 

[Kurt'sX]

My inventory purchase was a great experience!!

I had an MX 90D 5seat on order for nearly 2 years and they still had not started production of the 5 seaters yet. I looked around and found an inventory vehicle with 300 miles, exactly as I wanted, plus it had the winter package and a 6 seat configuration (which incidentally I like much more than the 5seat config now that I have the car)

The price of the additional options were $4,000 plus a discount of $7,000, ($11K total) knocked a big chunk off my price point. The car was on the east coast however, and I had to pay a $1500 delivery fee to Calif, but still gave me savings of $9500 over my custom car. I got the inventory delivered in two weeks, in Sept, and the 5 seaters still had not gone into production.

On issues of wear and tear, I assumed the car was used as a demo, so upon delivery I inspected carefully. Tesla made good on every little thing I found, including a scrape on one of the 22" black rims, a scuff on a door sill, and a chip on the front grill. Everything got replaced just as if the vehicle was brand new. No complaints at all on the condition of an inventory vehicle.......it was a great choice in my book.

 

[AltPowr]

I just placed an order for a P100D with 500 miles on it. The discount is $12,600 off the $131K price (not including $7500 tax credit). I thought that sounded like a really nice discount for only 500 miles. So we'll see the condition it's in when I see it today or tomorrow. If it's perfect, I'll drive it home, if not, I'll keep looking.

 

[HankLloydRight]

Did you find that online or through a sales associate?

Are you saying it's about $110k net after the discount, tax credit and referral?

I've been watching those ("window shopping") and the lowest prices I've seen are about $130k after discount (before tax/referral).

 

[NikeWings]

I just placed an order for a P100D with 500 miles on it. The discount is $12,600 off the $131K price (not including $7500 tax credit). I thought that sounded like a really nice discount for only 500 miles. So we'll see the condition it's in when I see it today or tomorrow. If it's perfect, I'll drive it home, if not, I'll keep looking.

Would you describe the build please? Did they remove Luda?

 

[aesculus]

I suspect that if Tesla moved more to an inventory car model rather than custom build, the build quality would improve greatly. If someone buys an already made car off of a lot they can check out the trim and finish prior to committing the purchase. If the cars were not perfect, they would not move.

Today you have to order and pay for a car before you know what you are getting. By that time you are locked and have few options other than making a big "due bill" that hopefully will get addressed sooner or later.

Today's model puts more of the responsibility on the new owner rather than Tesla, where it belongs.

Having said all of this my car has been pretty great even being an early Model X.

 

[Shorty]

I think that there are two types of inventory cars. There are cars that have been used as loaners or demo vehicles, and there are new cars sitting at a Tesla depot that have never been driven.

From the cars that I saw in inventory in Canada, most of the inventory cars were of the first type and none had AP2. Tesla looked to be selling off their AP1 cars at a nice discount and the cars had anywhere from 100-5,000 KM. The depot cars were all AP2 and were at a decent discount to the new vehicle price but that was largely because they had been put into the system before the recent price increase.

I agree with the comments that you can get a very good car for a nice discount by buying an inventory car. A few things to consider though from my observation. The first is that you are buying a 2016 model year vehicle which for some future buyers will be worth less than a 2017. I also found that all of the new AP2 cars that I saw had both EA and FSD enabled. Now I had Tesla turn off FSD and lower the price but if you don't ask you will pay for something that is not yet available. The trim levels on all of the new inventory cars I saw included things like premium paint, subzero weather, ash wood, etc which adds quite a bit to the price for things that many people might not have ordered otherwise.

If you find an inventory car that has the features you want and is not over 'kitted' then you can get a great car at a decent price. Like anything, you just need to do your research up front.

 

[AltPowr]

HankLloydRight and NikeWings,
I have to say, their inventory system is VERY strange. Cars would show up one day, and not another day, then show up again. This was a car that showed up to the right of the web page right under the configured price when building out a new Model S. It said "Close match with your Tesla". I would click through those day after day and see cars in there that were NOT on their New Inventory page. You would think they would all be listed in both places. What caught my attention was the $1611 lease price, when the car I was building out was $2147! Then as I went through all of the options, they were all there, though this car had about 500 miles as was defined as a "showroom" car. Here are the comparisons between the custom build order and the new inventory car:

Custom build:
$2147/mo lease
$152,250 cash price (not including $7500 refund or anything)

New inventory car:
$1611/mo lease
$130,850 cash price (not including $7500 refund or anything)

Both were configured as follows:
Model S P100D
Pearl White Multi-Coat Paint - $1500
Glass Roof - $1500
21" Grey Turbine Wheels - $4500
Black Tesla Premium Seats - $2500
Figured Ash Wood Décor - $750
Integrated Center Console - included
Black Alcantara Headliner - included
Tesla Red Brake Calipers - included
Premium Upgrades Package - $3500
Smart Air Suspension - included
Ultra High Fidelity Sound - $2500
Subzero Weather Package - $1000
Destination & Doc Fee - $1200

So I immediately called the number on the page to speak with someone, because that to me looks like $21,400 off! Well what I found out, and as we are seeing in this thread above, Tesla is leaving off Ludicrous Mode on several inventory cars so the prices look lower. This car has that disabled. If I wanted that, the price goes up $10K. So there will be many P100D's running around out there delivered in Dec/Jan that do not have Ludicrous Mode. In reality, I'm cool without another 0.2 - 0.3 sec 0-60, but I can't find anywhere that details EXACTLY what the performance will be in a P100D without Ludicrous Mode. I'm guessing somewhere around 2.8 seconds 0-60, which is a lot faster than my P85 at 4.2 seconds.

Also, I double checked, it has AP2 hardware, but of course both AutoPilot and Full Self Driving are not enabled. I will add AutoPilot to the lease if I end up buying this car. I will wait on Full Self Driving to see if it happens fully before the 3 year lease is up.

So that deflated my hope this was an unreal deal with a savings of $21,400, but still, looking at it, the discount they are stating is $12,600 (I think they may be discounting the $1200 destination fee over the $10K, that's why it's not listed as $11,400 discount). That is a big chunk of money for only 500 miles of use. I put the deposit down, and will be seeing it at Fremont in the next day or two.

 

[AltPowr]

Just to add, basically the only things this car is missing:

Rear carbon fiber spoiler - I will add an aftermarket one maybe
Enhanced Autopilot - I will add this
Full Self Driving (I didn't want this)
Rear Facing Seats (I didn't want this)
High Amperage Charger Upgrade (I didn't want this)
Oh yeah, and Ludicrous Mode (I wouldn't mind it)

Colors and all other options are exactly what I was looking for.

 

[DIL]

I'm curious why you would not want a inventory car that is a near perfect match to your custom design, and has only 400 miles if it was only discounted $5000 instead of more than $9000.

Inventory cars are for all intents and purposes new (tax, loan and otherwise), and you will likely put 400 miles on the car yourself in the first week or two anyway.

There is really no downside.

I agree, if you get a really good discount, inventory is an awesome alternative. But I know myself, and for a few thousand dollars on such a large purchase, I'd rather have my brand new car configured exactly as I like.

Further, with a custom order there's a decent chance that you get some upgraded equipment that you didn't expect.

 

[SeminoleFSU]

Inventory cars are great considering the discount you'll get. The main things I would watch for are Bpillar wear, paint marring/swirls from washing, curb rash, paint chips from rocks, and interior scuffs... Out of those the first three are the most prevalent and I would make sure that Tesla is going to fix them if you aren't satisfied upon delivery. It's supposed to be new after all. As others have said I would make sure it had AP2 and the ventilated seats.

 

[justg0]

I had switched to inventory car when my custom order was delayed by a week and pushed out to end of Dec last year. I didn't want to take a chance. Luckily my OA found an inventory car (75D) still in the warehouse with 9 miles on it, and had all the options I wanted (including AP2) and had a 3K discount . I took it and had my car in 4 days rather than wait 3 more weeks. Since it was still in the warehouse, it was never drive and there was nothing wrong with it.

 

[TexasTeslaRacing]

I would also add if you are considering a model with Ludicrous, there are limits on the number of max battery launches you can do before a small amount of power will be permanently limited. Tesla won't confirm the number of launches but if you are buying a demo/service vehicle, you might be buying a slightly under performing vehicle. Think about how many times Ludicrous mode is used on one test drive. I would guess 4-5. Good to know if you really want all the performance you can get for the life of the car.

 

[cryptyk]

I would also add if you are considering a model with Ludicrous, there are limits on the number of max battery launches you can do before a small amount of power will be permanently limited. Tesla won't confirm the number of launches but if you are buying a demo/service vehicle, you might be buying a slightly under performing vehicle. Think about how many times Ludicrous mode is used on one test drive. I would guess 4-5. Good to know if you really want all the performance you can get for the life of the car.

I believe this is only true of the p90d. The 100 doesn't have the limits.