Dealers Price haggling vs Tesla's price fixing

[RajendraD]

I am not sure how many have traded their Tesla MS or MX with tesla and bought another tesla. But it seems they charge premium + for their cars when selling them (no middle man and no body know how much they actually cost) and they give peanuts when you offer their own tesla for trade in.Its as if they don't want to take their cars back. Its like either their way or highway. Their trade in offers are mind boggling. I am not sure how they come up with the idea of Tesla's retain higher value. Tesla themselves told they depreciate at higher rate than industry standard.

Now i feel dealers price haggling is less painful. What also hurts with Tesla ecosystem is lack of product cycle. Its like, if you are lucky you get new features otherwise you are stuck with lemon. For any new buyers, I strongly advice to keep it in mind. You are stuck

 

[ccutrer]

I am not sure how many have traded their Tesla MS or MX with tesla and bought another tesla. But it seems they charge premium + for their cars when selling them (no middle man and no body know how much they actually cost) and they give peanuts when you offer their own tesla for trade in.Its as if they don't want to take their cars back. Its like either their way or highway. Their trade in offers are mind boggling. I am not sure how they come up with the idea of Tesla's retain higher value. Tesla themselves told they depreciate at higher rate than industry standard.

Now i feel dealers price haggling is less painful. What also hurts with Tesla ecosystem is lack of product cycle. Its like, if you are lucky you get new features otherwise you are stuck with lemon. For any new buyers, I strongly advice to keep it in mind. You are stuck

I'm curious - do you have first hand experience getting a low trade in offer from Tesla on a Tesla? And a much better offer from someone else?

 

[TexasEV]

Nothing says to have to trade it in when you buy a new Tesla. You can sell it yourself if you can get a better price than Tesla offers in trade. Trade-ins are a convenience but not the way to sell your car for the highest price. If you've gotten what you think are better trade-in values at dealers, that's because they're screwing you elsewhere. Anyway, why should they want to "take their cars back'? Tesla is in the business of making cars and selling the cars they build, not the one you already bought.

 

[outie]

Do you have numbers to show us? Year/msrp/mileage/trade in quote?

For regular dealers do they not offer you peanuts for trade in and try to make you pay msrp too? Or they can happily pay you above market if you are paying msrp.

The reason Tesla is below standard is because of federa tax and state (if applicable) credits. Are you taking that into consideration?

 

[larmor]

I am not sure how many have traded their Tesla MS or MX with tesla and bought another tesla. But it seems they charge premium + for their cars when selling them (no middle man and no body know how much they actually cost) and they give peanuts when you offer their own tesla for trade in.Its as if they don't want to take their cars back. Its like either their way or highway. Their trade in offers are mind boggling. I am not sure how they come up with the idea of Tesla's retain higher value. Tesla themselves told they depreciate at higher rate than industry standard.

Now i feel dealers price haggling is less painful. What also hurts with Tesla ecosystem is lack of product cycle. Its like, if you are lucky you get new features otherwise you are stuck with lemon. For any new buyers, I strongly advice to keep it in mind. You are stuck

Yes, a dealer is always less painful, especially the relaxing time in the sales office, when salesperson saunters back and forth to check with the manager every time you want to make an offer/counter offer. (sorry couldn't resist)

 

[bak_phy]

I got a trade-in offer from Tesla but decided to sell it myself as I thought it too low. I ended up getting slightly less
In states with sales taxes on EVs, you are often allowed to offset the price of your new car with what you got from the trade in. Thus a dealers low offer might actually not be that low.

 

[RajendraD]

Do you have numbers to show us? Year/msrp/mileage/trade in quote?

For regular dealers do they not offer you peanuts for trade in and try to make you pay msrp too? Or they can happily pay you above market if you are paying msrp.

The reason Tesla is below standard is because of federa tax and state (if applicable) credits. Are you taking that into consideration?

I am still negotiating with them. As soon as I am done would be happy to share the details.
Even after considering federal and state tax and other incentives. I think it is still low ball offer.

If you dont want to negotiate on price with dealers then there is no concept of haggling. The whole point is, I thought Tesla is different and better than these dealership model but I am having second thoughts on that.

 

[bak_phy]

Even though I didn't take Tesla's offer I liked how they went about it. They said "this is what we are paying you and this is what we are going to sell the car for." Very transparent.

Perhaps the OP simply has unrealistic hopes for what his car is worth.

 

[JTMedEd]

I had the same experience as bak_phy: they said this will be our CPO price, and this is the cost for us to detail, transport, market, etc, and then they paid me the balance.

 

[balefire]

I had the same experience as bak_phy: they said this will be our CPO price, and this is the cost for us to detail, transport, market, etc, and then they paid me the balance.

Ditto.
Quoted trade in value sight unseen for my MS 85 very close to value after inspection.
This trade in value was almost what I expected to sell the car for privately. When I factored tax benefit, trade in was financially ahead.
I think OP is unrealistic.

 

[FarmerDave]

What also hurts with Tesla ecosystem is lack of product cycle. Its like, if you are lucky you get new features otherwise you are stuck with lemon. For any new buyers, I strongly advice to keep it in mind. You are stuck

As you seem to be aware, Tesla updates their software for free to the extent that it's compatible with your hardware. If your car performs as and has all the features present when you bought it, you received value for your money. It is not a lemon because you haven't received all the features of the latest models. Any software enhancements/upgrades are just gravy that you should be grateful for.

 

[Snerruc]

Take it to Car Max. Tesla will usually match them .

 

[Electroman]

Its like, if you are lucky you get new features otherwise you are stuck with lemon

I didn't know that I was driving my Honda and Lexus lemons all these decades. They never gave me new features after I bought them. I feel cheated.

 

[Canuck]

Price fixing means "the maintaining of prices at a certain level by agreement between competing sellers."

There's no competing sellers when it comes to Tesla so there can't be price fixing. A dealership model will not change that since no dealer is going to sell for less than cost or they won't last for long, and just because there are dealers doesn't mean Tesla will reduce pricing.

Price fixing generally applies to competitors selling a commonly available product like gas. It doesn't apply to something like a Corvette among Chevy dealers. The price haggle you mention at dealerships is all a game, and made up to make you feel like you got a deal.

I agree with your comments about Tesla's trade-in value. It shocked me too. But that's not market value for the vehicle since Tesla will sell your trade-in for more. They're running a business - not a charity.

 

[xborg]

Totally agree.
I don't understand how Tesla is the best car that holds value. They sell used cars expensive, but they offer low trade ins.
My experience was painful. I had to trade in my car to Tesla. My new car arrived at the end of Q2, but they were not able to fix number of issues on my old car. So I wouldn't sell my car privately even if I wanted to. Tesla's valuation was low, I wanted them to fix my car first. But they told me, if I don't take delivery of my new car in 3 days(end of June, Q2), I would lose my deposit. So I had to trade in my car, for a low price.
I understand that they are running a business, but why I have to pay the cost of their reliability problems?

 

[Pandamoanium]

Strange, I've always had a positive experience at my dealerships. Then again, I just play the game better in my opinion. I've always gotten my cars lower than average and even played a dealership into selling me a car in the red. Just depends on how well you can play with them.

Selling the car, I didn't do as hot, but I got more than what they wanted to buy it for initially. Everyone will tell you it costs so and so amount to get it done, but that's also dependent on how well you know the car and their process. One car I sold, I got a couple grand more by letting them use the next upcoming service in the plan I paid for, versus telling them they could no. Got it in writing and more money for my car.

Not sure how Tesla buys Tesla vehicles back, but I know they use a third party business to buy ICE cars and they do not make profit from it. Or so I'm told.

 

[TexasEV]

Strange, I've always had a positive experience at my dealerships. Then again, I just play the game better in my opinion. I've always gotten my cars lower than average and even played a dealership into selling me a car in the red. Just depends on how well you can play with them.

Selling the car, I didn't do as hot, but I got more than what they wanted to buy it for initially. Everyone will tell you it costs so and so amount to get it done, but that's also dependent on how well you know the car and their process. One car I sold, I got a couple grand more by letting them use the next upcoming service in the plan I paid for, versus telling them they could no. Got it in writing and more money for my car.

Not sure how Tesla buys Tesla vehicles back, but I know they use a third party business to buy ICE cars and they do not make profit from it. Or so I'm told.

Yeah, that's what they want you to believe, that you play the game better and got a better deal than most. It's like Lake Wobegon, where all the children are above average.

They do this for a living many times a day. You buy a car once every few years. Anyone who thinks they can beat the auto dealer cartel at it's own game is delusional.

 

[jbcarioca]

Yes, a dealer is always less painful, especially the relaxing time in the sales office, when salesperson saunters back and forth to check with the manager every time you want to make an offer/counter offer. (sorry couldn't resist)

I agree with you. The best part for me is all the nice extra things they offer such as undercoating, third-party extended warranty, financing offers marked up 300bp or more, additional dealer prep and my personal indispensable favorite, faux wood panel add-ons with gold colored door handles and trim, those are soooo tasteful. Tesla offered me none of those things, and had me in and out in less than an hour with no nice offers, not even custom floor mats or Scotchguard for the seats. The absence of those things make me remember things past. Unlike Proust I am not nostalgic.

 

[Sharkbait]

I am not sure how many have traded their Tesla MS or MX with tesla and bought another tesla. But it seems they charge premium + for their cars when selling them (no middle man and no body know how much they actually cost) and they give peanuts when you offer their own tesla for trade in.Its as if they don't want to take their cars back. Its like either their way or highway.

Could be true but I'll suggest that other dealers will do the same. All these guys want to maximize their profits as well, so they low-ball you but sell high to the next guy that buys the vehicle you either sold or traded to them. Once I decide to buy a vehicle, I also make a commitment to myself to keep it for many years. I've ALWAYS done better selling my used car to a private party through Autotrader. Anyone want to buy my beautiful one owner Lexus LS430 ICE w/59,000 miles?

 

[jelloslug]

What also hurts with Tesla ecosystem is lack of product cycle. Its like, if you are lucky you get new features otherwise you are stuck with lemon. For any new buyers, I strongly advice to keep it in mind. You are stuck

So let me get this straight: if you buy a used car you are not getting the features of a new car? And this is something that only happens to Teslas?