Buying my first Tesla P100d! Is this a good deal?

[MR Century]

Hey guy’s, I’ll be picking up my Tesla this weekend. I got the seller to drop the price down from $115,000 to $105,000. Seller really wanted it gone since he’s leaving out of the country for good. The original MSRP was $161,950. Customer bought last March. I’m having it check at the local Tesla dealer in Costa Mesa just to make sure everything is ok. The car only has 4100 miles. I was thinking of also purchasing an extended warranty for piece of mind.

 

[MR Century]

I send him a $1000 deposit already. I think I’m getting a pretty good deal. What you guy’s think?

 

[JPUConn]

Very fair deal. You don’t need to rush to get the extended warranty right away. You have until the 4 yr 50k plan runs out to pull the trigger as long as this is a true private sale and no dealer involved.

 

[Saghost]

Hey guy’s, I’ll be picking up my Tesla this weekend. I got the seller to drop the price down from $115,000 to $105,000. Seller really wanted it gone since he’s leaving out of the country for good. The original MSRP was $161,950. Customer bought last March. I’m having it check at the local Tesla dealer in Costa Mesa just to make sure everything is ok. The car only has 4100 miles. I was thinking of also purchasing an extended warranty for piece of mind.

If the service center says it's good and you get a clean Carfax, it's say take the deal and run.

The combination of the seller's willingness to negotiate so much on price and the "leaving the country for good" line triggers my scam alarm bells and you're getting a surprisingly good price for a six month old car that's still top of the line, which is also a warning sign.

It could be legit and a great opportunity, but check everything carefully before you sign.

 

[NewTMSMan]

Hey guy’s, I’ll be picking up my Tesla this weekend. I got the seller to drop the price down from $115,000 to $105,000. Seller really wanted it gone since he’s leaving out of the country for good. The original MSRP was $161,950. Customer bought last March. I’m having it check at the local Tesla dealer in Costa Mesa just to make sure everything is ok. The car only has 4100 miles. I was thinking of also purchasing an extended warranty for piece of mind.

This seems a little too good to be true, but doesn't mean it isn't. Let's just say he bough this as an Inventory car and got a good discount himself, he may have paid $150k. I would say a good price on that car would be $120k-$130k. He could always just go to Vroom or CarMax. I would get an online quote for the car from VRoom and see what they would pay for it and that will give you an indication of it's real worth.

I would be suspicious of flood cars after all the hurricane issues we have had in the US, you don't say where the car was from and it's history.

 

[SammyJr.]

If no major accidents, it's one hell of a deal! Good for you!

 

[ABC2D]

What you guy’s think?

I think you just lost $1,000 bucks

 

[Sunshine State]

This seems a little too good to be true, but doesn't mean it isn't. Let's just say he bough this as an Inventory car and got a good discount himself, he may have paid $150k. I would say a good price on that car would be $120k-$130k. He could always just go to Vroom or CarMax. I would get an online quote for the car from VRoom and see what they would pay for it and that will give you an indication of it's real worth.

I would be suspicious of flood cars after all the hurricane issues we have had in the US, you don't say where the car was from and it's history.

It sounds like the car was bought this past March not last March because it is a 100 AP2. If it was delivered this past March(end of quarter)and it was an inventory car with that many options Tesla had discounted cars in that price range $30k-$40k which would have brought the price down to $130ish which was a very good price for a expensive car. If the owner ordered the car and paid the full price I feel sorry for them. Tesla has much more profit in a $160k sticker car and can sell them at a big discount to move numbers in a quarter. If it’s legit it sounds good.

 

[MR Century]

Thanks guys for the feedback, I’m getting worried now and I hope I didn’t get scammed.

 

[Sunshine State]

Thanks guys for the feedback, I’m getting worried now and I hope I didn’t get scammed.

You can only be out $1k, at least not life changing. You sent money on a car you didn’t see?

 

[MR Century]

He send me the invoice last night. He said he still owes $41,000 on it. He paid $170.457 OTD this past March. How can I protect myself from being scammed once I see it on Saturday? I ran the carfax and it came back good. I’m sure Tesla will be conducting a very thorough inspection as well.

 

[brkaus]

He send me the invoice last night. He said he still owes $41,000 on it. He paid $170.457 OTD this past March. How can I protect myself from being scammed once I see it on Saturday? I ran the carfax and it came back good. I’m sure Tesla will be conducting a very thorough inspection as well.

Who is the lien through? Is it local?

 

[MR Century]

Who is the lien through? Is it local?

Let me check that out for you .

 

[Sunshine State]

He send me the invoice last night. He said he still owes $41,000 on it. He paid $170.457 OTD this past March. How can I protect myself from being scammed once I see it on Saturday? I ran the carfax and it came back good. I’m sure Tesla will be conducting a very thorough inspection as well.

I own a motor vehicle dealership. It can be a little risky to do with a loan on a private sale with buyer leaving country unless he pays off loan first and has a lien release before title transfer. Dealers have have bonds and must pass clear title within 30 days (time varies by state). Often even if you go with the seller and pay off lien during the sale a large lender, if they hold they paper title or electronic, may not provide the clear title right away but will only mail it to the borrower , then you have to get it from them. This is the reason expensive private transactions are more difficult and usually go through dealers.

 

[Saghost]

He send me the invoice last night. He said he still owes $41,000 on it. He paid $170.457 OTD this past March. How can I protect myself from being scammed once I see it on Saturday? I ran the carfax and it came back good. I’m sure Tesla will be conducting a very thorough inspection as well.

That seems odd, too. It's entirely possible that he financed only a third of the car, but I think the vast majority are either almost all financed or paid cash - and it would be very odd to have paid off two thirds of a car loan in six months.

 

[SammyJr.]

That seems odd, too. It's entirely possible that he financed only a third of the car, but I think the vast majority are either almost all financed or paid cash - and it would be very odd to have paid off two thirds of a car loan in six months.

mehh....not that odd. that's what i did.....paid off a third of the loan in the first month....just because...

 

[Sunshine State]

mehh....not that odd. that's what i did.....paid off a third of the loan in the first month....just because...

He could have traded a clear title car and financed the balance which is very common.
What state is the car from?

 

[Markk993]

IF this is legit it is a very good deal. But I agree with others.... it has all the signs of a scam

new car low miles
deeply discounted
owner leaving the country
needs to sell fast
etc.

Not saying that this is a scam but scammers often use pictures from other postings so you could ask the seller for a very specific picture like a close up of the right rear quarter panel or inside the front trunk... if he has the car in his possession it is an easy thing for him to do...also get the vin number and see what Tesla tells you about it (usually they are fairly tight lipped)

That being said it is possible it was a highly discounted inventory car and that he got it for substantially less but even if you bought a car for much less than the sticker and you got an amazing deal, wouldn't you still try to sell it for market value?

If you are seeing the car and the person that seems less risky but i think you need to have some kind of irrefutable proof that there all liens have been satisfied a clean carfax and a thumbs up from Tesla...

keep us posted

 

[brkaus]

That seems odd, too. It's entirely possible that he financed only a third of the car, but I think the vast majority are either almost all financed or paid cash - and it would be very odd to have paid off two thirds of a car loan in six months.

I did about the same...

 

[Markk993]

Sunshine state makes the best point... the lien holder is going to send the clear title to the original borrower. So technically he could be sitting in Europe with the title to your car if i am understanding it correctly... assuming you are financing maybe try to work with the same bank that has the lien now... they might have a process or solution that can give you piece of mind

I bought my car privately but he owned the car free and clear... I left his house with the title...