I wouldn't take a demo ride. No way. Why pay close to new and get used? It will be a fraction of the value in the first month but the wear and tear of being a demo will NEVER go away. It's like buying used from a rental car agency. Paint damage isn't small. Once someone identifies it, you lose $5k in value.
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Demo car has scratches
- Thread starter lazyattorneh
- Start date
I would do it myself. Its fairly easy. Just apply some touch up paint, sand the area, rub it out with compound and then polish. Just do some research and you can get this done for less that $100 in supplies.
Take the car. Ask the delivery associate to note the scratch on your account, so when you file a service request the service center can see the note.
Even if Tesla wouldn't fix the scratch, I would definitely still take the $3k. You'd be crazy not to. A scratch like this would not affect the car value by more than a few hundred dollars should you decide to sell it later.
Even if Tesla wouldn't fix the scratch, I would definitely still take the $3k. You'd be crazy not to. A scratch like this would not affect the car value by more than a few hundred dollars should you decide to sell it later.
EVer Hopeful
Active Member
EVer Hopeful
Active Member
EVer Hopeful
Active Member
The kind that comes from having a go at full beans more times than you would in 300,000 miles.
So how long do you suppose a car that is subject to this wear and tear on a consistent basis would last? And what percentage of the 1,000 miles on the demo car was subject to this wear and tear?
Trying to quantify the damage here.
If that Tesla would last 100,000 miles rather than 300,000 miles, and say 20% of the 1,000 demo miles was under this treatment, then the 1,000 demo miles would be the equivalent of 1,600 miles of my own driving.
If my Tesla is expected to last 300,000 miles, then 1,600 miles represents 0.2% the mileage of the car. If the price of the car is $50k, then 1,600 miles is valued at 100 bucks?
How much would you value 1,600 miles of wear and tear from your own driving?
Easy. The break in period actually matters. I don't know if you care for your stuff, so we won't use you as the example. ICE cars have always shown the difference in a "demo" and a "normal" car. Most (not some) DEMOS go for ½ the life of a normal car (again, I don't know where you fit in). An EV may be different. Now, you ask what percentage of that 1000 miles was thrashed? EVERY DAMN ONE. HAHA! In one way or another. The times you damage a car is when you are becoming familiar with it. For each car, that should be ONCE. A demo goes through it CONSTANTLY.
Save all the money you want, but don't rationalize a DEMO this way. That is a PUNCHED title that is considered "used" when you buy it. You can't lease it because it's used. It is IMPOSSIBLE to get the value from that.
There is no break in period for an EV.
Is there actual data that shows a demo car lasts 50% as long as a non-demo car?
Not really, usually when you’re unfamiliar with something you actually take it easy. Think about when you drove your first new Tesla off the lot. Did you damage it trying to become familiar with it?
Most people test driving a car don’t beat the crap out of it. They may accelerate hard to see how it actually feels. But that’s not damaging it and not every person who test drives a car does that.
It’s a demo car, not a rental car.
Demo cars are not used cars. They have never been registered or titled, so they are considered new when selling.
You may consider it used, but legally it’s a new car and sold as so.
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
This is absolutely, unequivocally, 100% untrue. Tesla demos are new, previously untitled cars and marked as such on the MVPA.
That's fine. It's a new car when you buy it.
When you sell it there is additional depreciation because the car was originally a demo.
So did you cop that depreciation when you bought it or when you sold it? I reckon when you buy.
There is LOTS of data showing that DEMO cars last 50%. Typical DEMO cars got about 5000 miles on them.
You are wrong about your idea with 'unfamiliarity". This is the same scenario with rental cars.
DEMO cars are ABSOLUTELY USED. Look up any in the Tesla inventory. The cut off for USED is 500 miles. ANY DEMO car in the Tesla inventory that has over 500 miles can NO LONGER BE LEASED. Try to get a price and you'll see that the website only quotes a CASH or finance option. BECAUSE IT IS USED.
If you correct your misinformation, it will become evident why people don't pay good money for DEMOS. By your argument, you should buy the Hertz cars. Why or why not? I am curious since EVERYONE that drove them was unfamiliar with them.
Look up the website and try to get a LEASE quote. You can't because it is a punched title. Tesla is the first owner. They sell it as a demo so you qualify for a "new" loan but it's USED.
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
A business decision to offer or not offer a lease on a demo car is completely immaterial to the discussion. Nor is there any technical or legal reason why Tesla couldn't lease a previous demo - I suspect they simply don't as a matter of practice because developing custom lease terms, residual calculations, and everything else on a one-off car that has anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand miles on it is a complication that they don't care to endure.
The MVPA for Tesla demo cars makes NO distinction whatsoever vs. a completely "new" vehicle off the production line. There is nothing on the paperwork or the title itself that brands the car in any way as "used". The cars are sold as new, never before titled vehicles with no previous owner, just like any other.
Full stop.
Grow up and be less pompous. Go use facts instead of making stuff up.
If a DEMO vehicle is the same thing as a new one, then why need a different lease agreement? You lost me there. Again, IF it is the same, then why the distinction. In the world of NEW vs USED, there is not an in between. Which is it? Hint: The residual on a NEW car doesn't change. The residual on a USED one does.
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