Experience of owners in Louisiana

[Nsquared]

I’m a new Model 3 leasee from New Orleans, Louisiana. Happy to find this forum. I’m really thrilled with the car… I’ve never been this excited for anything in a very long time! I’m pretty confident in saying that it’s the best car I’ve even driven, and also confident in saying that I will be leasing/owning Teslas from now on.

I’m posting because I’m very curious of the experience of other owners/leasees from Louisiana. Because of our backwards state legislature’s direct-to-consumer sales ban, people in Louisiana can order a Tesla online and then take delivery of the car at an out-of-state showroom.

Tesla owners in Louisiana: what has been your experience? I ordered online, then when the delivery date was offered, the only place I could take delivery was in Memphis, TN. No home delivery was offered to me, not even to the Tesla Service Center in New Orleans. (Yes, we have a service center, but we can’t have a showroom lol).

Did most of you order online, then take delivery in another state? Is there any way to have a car purchased picked up at the New Orleans service center?

I’m thinking ahead to when my lease is up. I would want to get another Tesla, but don’t want to have to travel to another state and back just for the transaction.

Another other helpful information for Louisiana residents is also appreciated!

 

[B.Ellis]

Central LA…We ordered online and picked up in Jackson, MS. Memphis is all that showed up till we ordered; then when the order showed up it said Jackson. 200 mile drive no problem with range. We stopped at the supercharge in Vicksburg for 10 minutes to see how it worked but it was not necessary. It’s been 2 months and we have put 3500 miles and had no range issues. With the summer heat it does cool often during the day and we loose 4-5% during the day at work but that’s better than hot car when you need it! Registration took longer as we had to wait for Tesla to mail documents, but the Jackson location gave us temp tags with no official expiration so the 4 week wait was not an issue. we would not hesitate to do the same again.

 

[Nsquared]

Central LA…We ordered online and picked up in Jackson, MS. Memphis is all that showed up till we ordered; then when the order showed up it said Jackson. 200 mile drive no problem with range. We stopped at the supercharge in Vicksburg for 10 minutes to see how it worked but it was not necessary. It’s been 2 months and we have put 3500 miles and had no range issues. With the summer heat it does cool often during the day and we loose 4-5% during the day at work but that’s better than hot car when you need it! Registration took longer as we had to wait for Tesla to mail documents, but the Jackson location gave us temp tags with no official expiration so the 4 week wait was not an issue. we would not hesitate to do the same again.

Thanks for the reply and for the information about registration timeline.

Yeah, I feel like that last car I purchased I waited around four weeks for the plate to come in, so sounds right to me. The Tesla SAs assured me that they take care of everything for Louisiana residents, including filing registration, and once plate is in, they said they will overnight to my home.

Overall it's been a smooth experience. If I have to travel back to swap out my lease for a new one in three year, I would have no problem doing that. Just hoping that at some point in the near future the 'direct sales' law changes... not holding my breath of course.

I am just constantly amazed at the sheer number of Teslas in New Orleans... and amazed that all of these people all choose to travel out of state to get their car. We are a determined bunch.

 

[rpiotro]

SE Wisconsin here. No dealers here either. It is more common than you think. I had to drive the 55 miles or so to Highland Park IL to pick up mine.

 

[father_of_6]

I'm in NY and drove 7 hours to the other side of the state to pick mine up. They passed a law in 2014 banning direct sales but by that time Tesla already had 5 sales locations... just all around the NYC area.

Now Tesla is partnering with Native Americans on native land in the state. This has already happened in the past for casinos. Casino gambling is illegal in the state, so the state gave land to native tribes so that *they* could open casinos and give the state a portion of the profits (crooked, right?).

So perhaps Louisiana has land owned by native tribes that Tesla will put a store in.

 

[Nsquared]

I'm in NY and drove 7 hours to the other side of the state to pick mine up. They passed a law in 2014 banning direct sales but by that time Tesla already had 5 sales locations... just all around the NYC area.

Now Tesla is partnering with Native Americans on native land in the state. This has already happened in the past for casinos. Casino gambling is illegal in the state, so the state gave land to native tribes so that *they* could open casinos and give the state a portion of the profits (crooked, right?).

So perhaps Louisiana has land owned by native tribes that Tesla will put a store in.

Thanks for this…yes… I did hear on a podcast recently that Tesla is now partnering directly with native tribes to open showrooms on their land. They recently did this in Connecticut. Louisiana does have quite a few Native American tribes, so this space will be interesting to watch.

 

[hyatthood]

I've got a longer story than any of us have time for, but I decided it would be a good idea to lease a new MYP from inventory to register in Louisiana. I found one in Orlando and figured I'd fly there to pick it up. As I got into it, it turns out that Louisiana folks have to pick up Florida cars at the Pensacola store. It would cost $1000 to transport, which is fine as I just want to finish this. So as I was attempting to get the lease application done, I found out that I cannot - Louisiana consumers are not allowed to lease Teslas due to legislative regulations. Besides buying a house in Florida, does anyone have a reasonable hack for this?

 

[father_of_6]

Louisiana consumers are not allowed to lease Teslas due to legislative regulations.

Nothing's preventing you from buying it? Just leasing is restricted?

With the federal credit, seems like it makes more sense just to buy it.

 

[Nsquared]

I've got a longer story than any of us have time for, but I decided it would be a good idea to lease a new MYP from inventory to register in Louisiana. I found one in Orlando and figured I'd fly there to pick it up. As I got into it, it turns out that Louisiana folks have to pick up Florida cars at the Pensacola store. It would cost $1000 to transport, which is fine as I just want to finish this. So as I was attempting to get the lease application done, I found out that I cannot - Louisiana consumers are not allowed to lease Teslas due to legislative regulations. Besides buying a house in Florida, does anyone have a reasonable hack for this?

@hyatthood, not sure what you mean by your post. I live in New Orleans and I just leased a Model 3. I had to pick it up in Memphis, TN. I also don’t know what you mean by “I found one in Orlando.” When you order through the app or online, they tell you where your car will be and when/where you need to pick it up from.

From Tesla‘s leasing page:

“Financing With a Lease
After placing an order, use the Tesla app to review and confirm your delivery, registration and trade-in details.
Tesla leasing is available in the following states: AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WV, WY.”

 

[fholbert]

They passed a law in 2014 banning direct sales but by that time Tesla already had 5 sales locations... just all around the NYC area.

Meaning an auto manufacture has to sale to a dealer who marks up the car then resales it making the car more expensive to the consumer? That can’t be right?

 

[fholbert]

“Financing With a Lease
After placing an order, use the Tesla app to review and confirm your delivery, registration and trade-in details.
Tesla leasing is available in the following states: AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WV, WY.”

Help me out here. Which backwards states don’t allow a lease and why not?

So far, I only see Oklahoma.

Edit: Wisconsin and Nebraska.

 

[father_of_6]

Meaning an auto manufacture has to sale to a dealer who marks up the car then resales it making the car more expensive to the consumer? That can’t be right?

It's things like these that confirm that the government doesn't work for us... they do what lines their pockets.

 

[android04]

Help me out here. Which backwards states don’t allow a lease and why not?

So far, I only see Oklahoma.

Edit: Wisconsin and Nebraska.

There are two more states that don't allow leasing in addition to the 3 you listed (I don't know what the other two are).

I live in Nebraska and we can't lease or buy (take delivery) Teslas here. We aren't allowed to have a service center either, so when Tesla was looking to make one in the area some years ago they put it in Council Bluffs, Iowa close to the border with Omaha, NE. When I bought mine in early 2018 I had to drive 3.5 hours to Kansas City, Missouri to pick it up. Now, Nebraskans can take delivery in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

The Council Bluffs location is too small and always crowded due to being a service and delivery center. So Tesla is actually going to make a much larger facility near it.