Fed up. Price increase just before pickup

[WarwickPete]

I ordered "my" M3 LR on 11 March just catching the £3500 grant. I finally got my pickup date of 1st September -- yay! I've made my down payment and all is well.

This afternoon I got a call from Tesla to check everything is okay. I mentioned that my invoice price is £1000 higher than the current price on the website, foolishly thinking they would just change it, but no! After looking into it they decided I had missed the £3500 grant (in spite of all the paperwork showing it) and they want an extra £500 deposit and say they cannot give me the current price either.

They gave me the choice after 5 months wait, of cancelling and reordering, or paying the extra and knowing that my car will have cost me £1500 more than it could have.

Any advice or thoughts?

 

[Jason71]

After the budget they dropped the price £500 didn't they to keep under the 50k limit for the grant
So the overall price stayed the same.
The base price went from about £50500 I think down to £49990 and the grant dropped from £3500 to £3000. So overall the price stayed the same.
So what are you paying? the higher price but lower grant? That's harsh

 

[Durzel]

Did you ask for a 1st September delivery? That sounds like a long time between ordering and delivery, and a very precise date. If you had taken a car that was already over here then it might have already been registered on the Govt portal for the grant, but asking to wait until September it definitely wouldn’t be.

 

[Lucanesque]

I ordered "my" M3 LR on 11 March just catching the £3500 grant. I finally got my pickup date of 1st September -- yay! I've made my down payment and all is well.

This afternoon I got a call from Tesla to check everything is okay. I mentioned that my invoice price is £1000 higher than the current price on the website, foolishly thinking they would just change it, but no! After looking into it they decided I had missed the £3500 grant (in spite of all the paperwork showing it) and they want an extra £500 deposit and say they cannot give me the current price either.

They gave me the choice after 5 months wait, of cancelling and reordering, or paying the extra and knowing that my car will have cost me £1500 more than it could have.

Any advice or thoughts?

From what I’ve read and understand, you place an order and then the dealer submits the application for the plug in grant - the date that application is submitted is the date that applies to the grant being secured. Eventual delivery date shouldn’t impact this.

I have looked at my order again (I also ordered in March, although 1st March, and am also getting delivery in September) and can see there is a condition around the government grant and Tesla’s right to update the price on the first page:

Despite this clause, if I was in your situation then I’d go back to Tesla and push them on the fact that you ordered the car on the 11th, the day before the change in the grant became effective, and explain that you had a reasonable expectation that they would process the grant promptly to honour the price agreed, particularly as there was already much speculation about grant changes in the budget prior to the budget, and the budget was announced on the day of your order.

Good luck, don’t give up

 

[WarwickPete]

After the budget they dropped the price £500 didn't they to keep under the 50k limit for the grant
So the overall price stayed the same.
The base price went from about £50500 I think down to £49990 and the grant dropped from £3500 to £3000. So overall the price stayed the same.
So what are you paying? the higher price but lower grant? That's harsh

The car is LR AWD, white, white, towbar, 19" wheels, so the current website price is £50,440. My invoice price is £51,440 with that about to rise to £51,940.

 

[WarwickPete]

Did you ask for a 1st September delivery? That sounds like a long time between ordering and delivery, and a very precise date. If you had taken a car that was already over here then it might have already been registered on the Govt portal for the grant, but asking to wait until September it definitely wouldn’t be.

A combination of Covid and the spec I choose, with the sports wheels and a towbar, resulted in the long delivery time - it wasn't a planned delay. It was scheduled for 31st August, but they did kindly agree to delay it by a day.

 

[WarwickPete]

From what I’ve read and understand, you place an order and then the dealer submits the application for the plug in grant - the date that application is submitted is the date that applies to the grant being secured. Eventual delivery date shouldn’t impact this.

I have looked at my order again (I also ordered in March, although 1st March, and am also getting delivery in September) and can see there is a condition around the government grant and Tesla’s right to update the price on the first page:

View attachment 578518

Despite this clause, if I was in your situation then I’d go back to Tesla and push them on the fact that you ordered the car on the 11th, the day before the change in the grant became effective, and explain that you had a reasonable expectation that they would process the grant promptly to honour the price agreed, particularly as there was already much speculation about grant changes in the budget prior to the budget, and the budget was announced on the day of your order.

Good luck, don’t give up

Thanks! I suppose I'm disappointed as I had a vague recollection after following this forum for months and months that Tesla would just adjust for the latest price. It had honestly not occurred to me that I would get a flat "no" and it's impossible to contact anyone to discuss it.

 

[Lucanesque]

Thanks! I suppose I'm disappointed as I had a vague recollection after following this forum for months and months that Tesla would just adjust for the latest price. It had honestly not occurred to me that I would get a flat "no" and it's impossible to contact anyone to discuss it.

I'd keep trying - call up again, speak to someone else.

There was a month or two when the car was cheaper than when I'd bought it, I think it was when the grant and base price had changed, and before FSD had gone up in price. When I spoke to Tesla in June to defer my delivery (Covid!) I was told then I could just ask for my order to be switched to the new price book and I'd get the cheaper price. If it's cheaper now than when you ordered it, maybe try that approach too?

 

[Jason71]

The car is LR AWD, white, white, towbar, 19" wheels, so the current website price is £50,440. My invoice price is £51,440 with that about to rise to £51,940.

I thought the base price only dropped £500 but looks like £1000 unless some of the options have gone up.
normally Tesla will adjust process when they drop. Since they dropped the price due to the Grant cap they may have decided not to in this case since pre price drop you were getting the higher grant so it all evened out,which is fair.
problem is they dropped the ball on your grant and if you had known that you could have re-ordered earlier to get the best price so yes you have basically been screwed over.
Since they may have screwed up on the grant or at least failed to tell you you did not secure the higher grant they really ought to make good .
I would keep trying and explain that since you missed out on the higher grant they should give you the latest price.
Alternately there is a very nice looking red/black 19"+ towbar in inventory for £51,440 you could have instead. which at least gets you a £500 saving and a £2500 paint job in place of your £1000 seats. its still on a boat that does not arrive until the 1st September but it would not be a big delay. Who knows but maybe they will put yours in inventory and then you can switch back to it

 

[MrBadger]

The car is LR AWD, white, white, towbar, 19" wheels, so the current website price is £50,440. My invoice price is £51,440 with that about to rise to £51,940.

From personal experience and that of the early Model 3 purchasers who went through several price and spec adjustments during our wait, Tesla always honoured the lower total order book value, even if some items individually raised. That said, none of these adjustments were non Tesla driven. However, to have a current website total order value lower than your invoice price, either something odd is going on (such as when grant was assigned) or there is enough previous that you could explore the option for them to honour the current car price.