Does Tesla really want to have the worst CPO Program in the world?

[Electricious]

The quick answer to this thread is no. You want to pay used prices but get new-quality? haha. thats funny.

I beg to differ. The CPO program is now worse than the time of the the well publicized post about someone buying a CPO car and receiving the car in dismal condition. The current policy allows Tesla to sell cars that basically pass inspection and little else.

What is this about paying "used prices?" These are not heavily discounted cars considering how some cars are delivered in such poor shape people have refused deliveries recently. Some of the Tesla CPO cars are sold for 60s, 70s, 80s, and beyond. I doubt most people paying upwards of $60K for a used car (certified or not) are not looking to buy a car with unreasonable interior and exterior damage.

Don't think many people give two bits whether they call it "CPO," "Used," or whatever they want to call it but expect a car in reasonable condition compared to what you can expect from a CPO Kia or CPO Hyundai. Surely expecting to be treated as well as a Kia or Hyundai customer is not an unreasonable request at the current prices

It's interesting you are so amused by this. You know what is really funny? People who make up excuses for horrible policies that treat customers poorly.

Tesla can and should do better. In the meantime if anyone is buying a Tesla CPO, make sure that you personally look over the car and are happy with the condition of the car before you pay. It seems some of the cars are in great shape while others are in horrible shape requiring repainting of entire body panels.

Know what you are buying before you pay and the only way to do that is a personal inspection of the vehicle.

While Tesla makes the best cars on earth and we would not consider buying anything else, they sometimes don't come out with the best policies and this is an instance where I hope they do the right thing and offer a better and predictable experience for customers that is reasonable.

 

[PhilDavid]

So a hypothetical question.

I see Tesla CPO cars are not posted with the actual photo of the car. So if you put down a deposit to buy one, and the car they deliver is in poor shape with damage, can you decline delivery get your money back unless they fix the damage?

I assume this is the case now that they are not refurbishing cars.

 

[Fiver]

So a hypothetical question.

I see Tesla CPO cars are not posted with the actual photo of the car. So if you put down a deposit to buy one, and the car they deliver is in poor shape with damage, can you decline delivery get your money back unless they fix the damage?

I assume this is the case now that they are not refurbishing cars.

You can ask for photo's before clicking buy. There's a button in the listing that says "request photos".

 

[Super_Popular]

My advice to all of you is to NOT pay for any CPO Tesla until you see the car in person. PERIOD.

Tesla will want you to pay for the car before it is ready or will try to get you to pay for the car once you show up for delivery, do not do it until you have inspected the car and if it's not up to par or if it has damage that was not disclosed to you then refuse it.

You do not want to get stuck with a $70K mistake.

 

[Russell]

So a hypothetical question.

I see Tesla CPO cars are not posted with the actual photo of the car. So if you put down a deposit to buy one, and the car they deliver is in poor shape with damage, can you decline delivery get your money back unless they fix the damage?

I assume this is the case now that they are not refurbishing cars.

Yes you can decline and get your deposit back, or apply it to another car.
Before declining the car, I would ask if they could fix the damage. The worse thing that can happen is they say no. The best thing that can happen is they say yes.

 

[PhilDavid]

Yes you can decline and get your deposit back, or apply it to another car.
Before declining the car, I would ask if they could fix the damage. The worse thing that can happen is they say no. The best thing that can happen is they say yes.

That's good to hear. I really can't tell much about the interior and paint condition of the car based on the photos I received. Has anyone been able to send an independent appraiser or someone who lives where the car is located to look at the car before arranging for delivery?

My advice to all of you is to NOT pay for any CPO Tesla until you see the car in person. PERIOD.

Tesla will want you to pay for the car before it is ready or will try to get you to pay for the car once you show up for delivery, do not do it until you have inspected the car and if it's not up to par or if it has damage that was not disclosed to you then refuse it.

You do not want to get stuck with a $70K mistake.

Good advice. Thank you! We won't accept the car if it has damage not disclosed in advance.

If we were buying a $35,000 used Tesla we can live with a few cosmetic issues but we are looking to spend around $60-65,000. We've saved this money for about 3 years now so it is a lot of money for us. If the car has excess interior wear and tear or exterior damage we will need them to either fix those issues or we will need to decline the car and get our money back.

If they have actual photos of the car, why are they showing stock photos in the CPO listing?

 

[TomServo]

These questions still give me pause. Item 1 is common knowledge but I can't find an answer of 2 and 3

1. I know Tesla won't show you the cars Service History
2. Do they provide a Carfax or similar certification the car was not involved in an accident
3. Do they disclose if the Supercharging has been throttled due abuse by previous owner

Thoughts/comments

 

[Az_Rael]

. Do they provide a Carfax or similar certification the car was not involved in an accident

They do provide a CarFax. Although I will often pay for my own report anyways from both CarFax and Autotrader.

 

[davidc18]

I paid for my own carfax which had no issues but I refused delivery due to deep scratches on the hood and fender. I received my deposit back without any issues. Happy now that I purchased a much better car (P85D with ludicrous and the plus suspension) for the same price from a fellow forum member.

I would never use the Tesla CPO program the way it is now unless I could inspect the car prior to making an offer.

 

[CapeOne]

Yes you can decline and get your deposit back, or apply it to another car.
Before declining the car, I would ask if they could fix the damage. The worse thing that can happen is they say no. The best thing that can happen is they say yes.

Is this a Tesla policy change? I thought deposits were non-refundable (besides being able to apply to other cars) on CPO....errrr, I mean used.

The transport fee (which can be $2,000 or more) is still non-refundable, I assume?

 

[davidc18]

I believe the transportation fee is non refundable.

 

[CapeOne]

I figured so and that would make sense as there is some cost to Tesla but it adds that additional financial risk to buying used from Tesla if the condition of cars are as uncertain as what's being discussed here.

If Tesla can’t deliver "quality" used cars to their customers and offer a more consistent experience then maybe they should get out of that part of the business until they can. They should try to address this one way or another as soon as possible as the volume of Tesla trade-ins is only going to increase going forward.

 

[Russell]

Is this a Tesla policy change? I thought deposits were non-refundable (besides being able to apply to other cars) on CPO....errrr, I mean used.

The transport fee (which can be $2,000 or more) is still non-refundable, I assume?

On every CPO listing there is a phone number you can call and a link you can click to get more information.

"For more information on this Model S, call (888) 518-3752 or request a callback."

 

[Russell]

I believe the transportation fee is non refundable.

Just days before my scheduled pickup, I refused an out of state CPO without even looking at it.
Since they never collected the transportation fee, there was nothing to refund except the $1k deposit.
I then applied that deposit to another out of state CPO which is due to arrive at the end of next week.

 

[HeinrichJ729]

I figured so and that would make sense as there is some cost to Tesla but it adds that additional financial risk to buying used from Tesla if the condition of cars are as uncertain as what's being discussed here.

If Tesla can’t deliver "quality" used cars to their customers and offer a more consistent experience then maybe they should get out of that part of the business until they can. They should try to address this one way or another as soon as possible as the volume of Tesla trade-ins is only going to increase going forward.

They do seem to be delivering "quality" cars but not everyone is getting them as some people have had to reject cars delivered in poor condition. Not sure how sustainable this policy is, as customers used to buying CPO cars from dealers in the past look into buying a Tesla to discover Tesla does not guarantee the interior or exterior of the car to meet certain standards.

 

[PhilDavid]

These questions still give me pause. Item 1 is common knowledge but I can't find an answer of 2 and 3

1. I know Tesla won't show you the cars Service History
2. Do they provide a Carfax or similar certification the car was not involved in an accident
3. Do they disclose if the Supercharging has been throttled due abuse by previous owner

Thoughts/comments

Their policy of not disclosing the car's service history makes no sense because such information is shared by car dealers when buying an ICE car. Ironically if you purchase the Tesla private party, the seller can share the car's service history with you -- just not directly from Tesla.We've meticulously saved all service records so we can disclose that to someone to whom we sell the car.

Seriously, with all the tech available, you should be able to pull up the car's service history in the MCU. How nice would that be? This would also be a great place to show when the next scheduled service is due. They should not withhold the car's service history from the owner or a potential buyer.

Obtaining a Carfax report is thankfully something that they do. Just realize any recent accident damage may not show up on the report so if you are unsure, have a professional evaluate the paint condition to determine if any body panels have been repainted. Do this before you pay for the car.

Have no idea about figuring out if the car has had supercharging throttled. How prevalent is that? They don't share the condition of the car in the listing so their current strategy with selling CPO cars seem to be to provide as little information about the car as possible. Great for them but not so good for customers, unfortunately.

 

[Olds442]

Wow, glad I bought when I did.

Really glad.

 

[xanatos]

If you are willing to fly/drive to Irvine, CA, you can visit the Carmax there and see used Tesla's for sale with warranty still remaining. I think they will also sell you Maxcare extended warranty on it too. That will be one way to see cars in person from a reputable dealer before purchasing it. When it comes time to upgrade, I may go that route.

 

[TomServo]

And it looks like they just increased shipping (lower 48) from $2K to $2500. and that's not refundable. So $3500 out of pocket to ship a car you haven't seen in person nor little about. I think they lost me. I can't afford to make that big of a gamble heading into retirement.

Being the "anti dealership" is starting to look unattractive to folks that don't live near a store to personally view a car they are interested in. Bummer, I was ready, willing and able to buy.

 

[HeinrichJ729]

And it looks like they just increased shipping (lower 48) from $2K to $2500. and that's not refundable. So $3500 out of pocket to ship a car you haven't seen in person nor little about. I think they lost me. I can't afford to make that big of a gamble heading into retirement.

Being the "anti dealership" is starting to look unattractive to folks that don't live near a store to personally view a car they are interested in. Bummer, I was ready, willing and able to buy.

All the more reason you should be careful when buying a car until they change their policy.

I really don't this this horrible policy of selling damaged cars will be sustainable for long. From a Honda to a Mercedes, people are used to buying used cars that are not damaged so they can drive home a car with dignity. My advice to you is to either look for a private party car that you can examine carefully or if you buy a CPO car, ask them if the car's interior or exterior is damaged. If there is damage, ask them to either fix the damage or reduce the amount of the car by how much it would cost you to fix the damage. If they refuse, ask for your money back and look for another car.

Yes, this is a terrible way to buy a car and now they have increased the delivery fee without making anything better.