Conflicting Info from Tesla for payment method? [and other financing questions]

[Thebrits615]

Hello everyone,

I just placed my order on my Model 3 Standard Range (RWD). I have completed my profile and marked my account as “Cash” to get the profile complete for now. Based on my research, this seems right and Tesla Customer Service confirmed this by phone. However, I spoke to Tesla a second time for another question and they said it’s not necessary and it should be set to finance but not to apply until I am assigned a VIN. What did you all do with this?

Car estimated delivery is between October and December 2022, so I don’t want to order and then risk multiple inquiries by applying now. Though, I’d like to see my rate. Thoughts?

Also, how accurate are Teslas delivery windows?

Thanks so much! Excited to join the Tesla family.

 

[jjrandorin]

However, I spoke to Tesla a second time for another question and they said it’s not necessary and it should be set to finance but not to apply until I am assigned a VIN. What did you all do with this?

Both times I set it to cash, and did outside financing through my own credit union. There isnt any real reason to set it to financing, unless you think you may have issues getting financed at the time of delivery.

Car loan applications take like 15-20 minutes, and you can usually do the whole process within just a couple of days. People change their minds all the time about financing / cash etc so there is nothing "wrong" with "I was gonna pay cash but I changed my mind".

There is no reason I can think of to put something other than cash in there before you have a vin, unless you are questioning whether you will get approved.

 

[blackT3$!@]

Car estimated delivery is between October and December 2022, so I don’t want to order and then risk multiple inquiries by applying now. Though, I’d like to see my rate. Thoughts?

Also, how accurate are Teslas delivery windows?

Ordered 3 Sept 2021 with a tentative delivery date of Nov/Dec 2021. Applied for a pre-approval from my credit union week of 6 Sept 2021 with a rate lock and the option to extend it longer. I received my vin around 13 sept 2021 with a delivery of 25 Sept 2021. Provided the documentation to my credit union and the vin to progressive for auto insurance. Transferred my down payment to Tesla the same week. Took my credit union loan paperwork to the Tesla delivery center and they wouldn't release the car without a registered check. Argued with the "manager" that Tesla has done this before with my credit union. After waiting an hour for the finance office to clear the loan paperwork as a payment method, drove off with my Tesla. Took Tesla over 30 days to request payment from my credit union and had to have the credit union call Tesla to get all the paperwork straightened out. Bottom line. Wait for the VIN and make sure you 1. pay cash (cashiers check) the week of your delivery or 2. take a cashiers check from your financial institution your getting a loan from. 3. just use Tesla financing and walk out the door with your car in about 10 mins.

 

[nsyr]

I set mine to cash when using my own financing. I then spoke to a Tesla rep and told him that my bank will be paying $45k and I will be paying the rest. He then credited my account $45k. A couple weeks later my bank paid the $45k and is was applied to my account. I then had roughly a negative $26k balance. When the car was ready to be picked up I was able to accept delivery without paying my balance. I told one of the reps at the delivery center and she told me that the negative balance would be deposited back to my bank within 8 business days. Knowing this is wrong and did not want to deal with any 'issues' when/if they realize their mistake. I continued to explain that I still owed and they had an accounting error on their part. She went to talk to someone else about it and another rep came running out realizing the mistake. I then had to do a wire transfer on the spot and have them take a picture of the confirmation number on my phone. But yeah, it doesn't matter which one you choose.

 

[Thebrits615]

Both times I set it to cash, and did outside financing through my own credit union. There isnt any real reason to set it to financing, unless you think you may have issues getting financed at the time of delivery.

Car loan applications take like 15-20 minutes, and you can usually do the whole process within just a couple of days. People change their minds all the time about financing / cash etc so there is nothing "wrong" with "I was gonna pay cash but I changed my mind".

There is no reason I can think of to put something other than cash in there before you have a vin, unless you are questioning whether you will get approved.

Thank you! Nope, not concerned about getting approved. I have a mid-700 credit score. I did just buy a house, so hoping it doesn’t tank when that gets updated, but never had issues being approved for car loans. In fact was pre approved for $75k through capital one two days ago. Just anxious to get my ducks in a row I guess, but got to wait on that VIN first.

 

[Thebrits615]

Both times I set it to cash, and did outside financing through my own credit union. There isnt any real reason to set it to financing, unless you think you may have issues getting financed at the time of delivery.

Car loan applications take like 15-20 minutes, and you can usually do the whole process within just a couple of days. People change their minds all the time about financing / cash etc so there is nothing "wrong" with "I was gonna pay cash but I changed my mind".

There is no reason I can think of to put something other than cash in there before you have a vin, unless you are questioning whether you will get approved.

Also, I assume a denied loan application would be the same now as it would be in 3 months time right before delivery. Only money a person in this scenario would be out of would be the $250 deposit?

 

[Thebrits615]

Ordered 3 Sept 2021 with a tentative delivery date of Nov/Dec 2021. Applied for a pre-approval from my credit union week of 6 Sept 2021 with a rate lock and the option to extend it longer. I received my vin around 13 sept 2021 with a delivery of 25 Sept 2021. Provided the documentation to my credit union and the vin to progressive for auto insurance. Transferred my down payment to Tesla the same week. Took my credit union loan paperwork to the Tesla delivery center and they wouldn't release the car without a registered check. Argued with the "manager" that Tesla has done this before with my credit union. After waiting an hour for the finance office to clear the loan paperwork as a payment method, drove off with my Tesla. Took Tesla over 30 days to request payment from my credit union and had to have the credit union call Tesla to get all the paperwork straightened out. Bottom line. Wait for the VIN and make sure you 1. pay cash (cashiers check) the week of your delivery or 2. take a cashiers check from your financial institution your getting a loan from. 3. just use Tesla financing and walk out the door with your car in about 10 mins.

Wow! Happened fast for you!

 

[Cho22]

Just leave it as cash. It is better to have it 'complete' than to have it linger as a pending finance. You always have the option to change it back to finance once you receive your VIN or can always ask a SA to switch for you prior to delivery.

 

[EVEV1]

Thank you! Nope, not concerned about getting approved. I have a mid-700 credit score. I did just buy a house, so hoping it doesn’t tank when that gets updated, but never had issues being approved for car loans. In fact was pre approved for $75k through capital one two days ago. Just anxious to get my ducks in a row I guess, but got to wait on that VIN first.

Delivery days change all the time. Once you see about a 2 week window that's when you are getting closer to your VIN. Do not apply for loans until you receive your VIN. I got my VIN on Aug 23rd. I applied for finance with my credit union after VIN received. I'll be taking delivery on Sept 6. Plenty of time to get your stuff setup before delivery date. Also, you can set it to cash on the App that way they don't bother you asking for financing and once you get your VIN; change it to financing on the APP. Very simple and fast process.

 

[Thebrits615]

Delivery days change all the time. Once you see about a 2 week window that's when you are getting closer to your VIN. Do not apply for loans until you receive your VIN. I got my VIN on Aug 23rd. I applied for finance with my credit union after VIN received. I'll be taking delivery on Sept 6. Plenty of time to get your stuff setup before delivery date. Also, you can set it to cash on the App that way they don't bother you asking for financing and once you get your VIN; change it to financing on the APP. Very simple and fast process.

Thanks a bunch! Congrats!! How long did it take for you to get yours from order to delivery?

 

[EVEV1]

Thanks a bunch! Congrats!! How long did it take for you to get yours from order to delivery?

Thanks! I order May 22nd. And VIN arrived Aug 23. So far delivery still scheduled for Sept 6 @ 11am. Hopping there are no delays. So between VIN and Delivery date there was plenty of time for me to do all paperwork, shop for best quote to sell my current car, etc. One other thing, if you are doing a trade in check Carvana, Vroom, Givemethevin, Carmax, etc. So far Carmax was 3K higher than Tesla and few hundred higher than the rest for me. It depends on location I guess and what type of inventory they have.

 

[Thebrits615]

Thanks! I order May 22nd. And VIN arrived Aug 23. So far delivery still scheduled for Sept 6 @ 11am. Hopping there are no delays. So between VIN and Delivery date there was plenty of time for me to do all paperwork, shop for best quote to sell my current car, etc. One other thing, if you are doing a trade in check Carvana, Vroom, Givemethevin, Carmax, etc. So far Carmax was 3K higher than Tesla and few hundred higher than the rest for me. It depends on location I guess and what type of inventory they have.

Thanks a bunch! Carvana is $3000 higher than all of them at the moment!

 

[ApexProxy]

I would recommend that you leave it on cash until you get a VIN, that way you can also see your complete cost breakdown and have it available if you want to seek self arranged financing. Nothing will stop you from switching at any time or as many times as you want. I must have flipped it between Cash>Self Arranged>Tesla Arranged 12 times easy. I also applied for Tesla financing after getting my VIN and then still was allowed to switch out into Cash and then to Self Arranged after that.

This was/is my order timeframe for a M3P for reference:
Ordered on 7/8/22 with an original estimated of Aug - Oct
There was one update in early Aug for 8/28 - 10/2
Got an update on 8/29 with a new range of 9/3 - 9/17
Got another update on 9/3 with a new range of 9/5 - 9/15
VIN received 9/5
Sealed financing 9/6 and scheduled delivery for 9/10 which was my earliest option

 

[Thebrits615]

I would recommend that you leave it on cash until you get a VIN, that way you can also see your complete cost breakdown and have it available if you want to seek self arranged financing. Nothing will stop you from switching at any time or as many times as you want. I must have flipped it between Cash>Self Arranged>Tesla Arranged 12 times easy. I also applied for Tesla financing after getting my VIN and then still was allowed to switch out into Cash and then to Self Arranged after that.

This was/is my order timeframe for a M3P for reference:
Ordered on 7/8/22 with an original estimated of Aug - Oct
There was one update in early Aug for 8/28 - 10/2
Got an update on 8/29 with a new range of 9/3 - 9/17
Got another update on 9/3 with a new range of 9/5 - 9/15
VIN received 9/5
Sealed financing 9/6 and scheduled delivery for 9/10 which was my earliest option

Awesome! Thank you! I appreciate your help.

 

[Thebrits615]

Hello everyone,

Hope you are all well. I have a question related to the financing process through Tesla. I currently have a Model 3 RWD standard ordered with estimated delivery sometime in December. I am excited for the car, however, I have this nervous feeling about the financing portion come the time of application. I don’t want to get my hopes up to be dissapointed.

Essentially, I have good credit 760-770 depending on Experian/Transunion/Equifax and have a good income in the low 80K range at the moment. No debts other than current car (which will be sold when I get the Tesla) and a mortgage that just got added to my report a couple of weeks ago. This is a joint mortgage with a fairly high payment thanks to the interest rates right now, and it sends my DTI up to close to 57%.

Now, I only pay half the payment, so in reality, the DTI is nowhere near this high, but I’m concerned Tesla financing will decline me based on this since they will take into account my entire mortgage payment regardless of it being a joint account. The car will be bought by myself only and not jointly financed with my partner.

Should this be a concern or are these loans easy to get if you have good credit? Does the application ask for proof of anything if I just listed my half of the mortgage? And do I need to list the entire payment?

Thanks so much for your guidance and help!

 

[jjrandorin]

Should this be a concern or are these loans easy to get if you have good credit? Does the application ask for proof of anything if I just listed my half of the mortgage? And do I need to list the entire payment?

Since one is allowed to shop around for loans, perhaps you should apply with whomever you bank with and see if you are approved. No one is going to be able to answer these questions as it relates to your situation because it doesnt matter what happened with anyone else, as it relates to you and your credit.

Personal credit is like a snowflake, every single persons situation is specific to them, so there is no answer you can get here that will be relevant to whether you get approved or not. You will have to apply for the loan yourself and see, there is no other way.

 

[Thebrits615]

Since one is allowed to shop around for loans, perhaps you should apply with whomever you bank with and see if you are approved. No one is going to be able to answer these questions as it relates to your situation because it doesnt matter what happened with anyone else, as it relates to you and your credit.

Personal credit is like a snowflake, every single persons situation is specific to them, so there is no answer you can get here that will be relevant to whether you get approved or not. You will have to apply for the loan yourself and see, there is no other way.

Thank you! I would apply with whomever I bank with but it’s an online checking account so they don’t offer auto loans. I have a few companies I can apply through though. I was more curious about info to include on the application. Full mortgage/half mortgage, etc. I know ever lender is different too. I just want to make sure I’m entering accurate information on my applications. Thanks again

 

[jjrandorin]

Thank you! I would apply with whomever I bank with but it’s an online checking account so they don’t offer auto loans. I have a few companies I can apply through though. I was more curious about info to include on the application. Full mortgage/half mortgage, etc. I know ever lender is different too. I just want to make sure I’m entering accurate information on my applications. Thanks again

If it were me, I would put down 1/2 the mortgage on the application, but I dont know what the "correct" answer is for this. The financial institution is going to see the mortgage, and I am sure their algorithms take this kind of thing into account. If I had to guess (and stressing its just a guess), it might end up that you need a larger down payment than you might have intended, and / or higher interest rates, but will likely get approved with those stipulations.

 

[Birdsfan]

Hello everyone,

Hope you are all well. I have a question related to the financing process through Tesla. I currently have a Model 3 RWD standard ordered with estimated delivery sometime in December. I am excited for the car, however, I have this nervous feeling about the financing portion come the time of application. I don’t want to get my hopes up to be dissapointed.

Essentially, I have good credit 760-770 depending on Experian/Transunion/Equifax and have a good income in the low 80K range at the moment. No debts other than current car (which will be sold when I get the Tesla) and a mortgage that just got added to my report a couple of weeks ago. This is a joint mortgage with a fairly high payment thanks to the interest rates right now, and it sends my DTI up to close to 57%.

Now, I only pay half the payment, so in reality, the DTI is nowhere near this high, but I’m concerned Tesla financing will decline me based on this since they will take into account my entire mortgage payment regardless of it being a joint account. The car will be bought by myself only and not jointly financed with my partner.

Should this be a concern or are these loans easy to get if you have good credit? Does the application ask for proof of anything if I just listed my half of the mortgage? And do I need to list the entire payment?

Thanks so much for your guidance and help!

In the income section they should ask for "household income" which would help account for the mortgage debt.

 

[Thebrits615]

In the income section they should ask for "household income" which would help account for the mortgage debt.

Thank you! That is good to know. Appreciate your help!