Great Tesla Used Purchasing Experience

[aochoco]

I've been looking into getting a Tesla the last few months and was in between a new Model 3 or a used Model S. I wanted the MS more, but reading through all the horror stories of the Tesla used experience, and watching YouTube videos of Rich Rebuild's made me very hesitant. However, in the last month or so there have been more positive experiences so I just wanted to share my positive experience for anyone who is on the fence of purchasing a used Tesla directly from them.

After looking through the inventory online, I finally found an 85D I wanted that had all the options I was looking for. After requesting photos, I received an email within the hour containing pictures of my car which appears to have been taken by a potato camera. Unacceptable quality for 2019. The positive was that there were no close-up pictures of any damage so the car appeared to be in good shape.

I ordered an 85D, black paint w/ black leather and just about every option available

-All glass pano roof
-Smart Air Suspension
-Premium Interior Package
-Black alcantara headliner
-Subzero Package
-Ultra High Fidelity Sound
-Tech Package with Autopilot
-Dual Chargers
-Executive Rear Seats
-Free Supercharging

Tuesday 4/2 10AM I took the plunge and swiped my card for the $2,500 deposit. 30 minutes later I received an email with a link to upload needed info (Drivers license, insurance, trade-in). 5PM I get a call from a Sales advisor to confirm the information I have uploaded.

Thursday 4/4 Email from Delivery team introducing me to my point of contact Lance Xie, and letting me know my car is on the way from Las Vegas to the Costa Mesa Service Center.

Friday 4/5 Email from Lance to let me know estimated delivery date is early the following week. I ask Lance several questions regarding payment and other things and received a response no longer than 10-15 minutes after.

Monday 4/8 Lance lets me know the car has arrived to Costa Mesa and is ready for delivery. Schedules me for the following day at 5pm. I receive a call from the team at Costa Mesa to confirm the details of my registration information and payment information.

Tuesday 4/9 I arrive at the Costa Mesa service center and greeted immediately. Taken to the delivery area where my car was staged for delivery. My delivery advisor Jena introduced herself and we went over the vehicle. I told her I had a list I wanted to go over and she happily went through my list with me. The car was detailed before I got there and looked amazing. It was much cleaner than I anticipated. It had a few chips on the front hood, but no scratches are big dents anywhere. The interior was vacuumed and cleaned up very well. After Jena and I went through my checklist she began the official orientation and went over every important function of the car.

Overall this was a very pleasant experience. It seems that they are working hard to improve this process, and never once throughout the process did it seem that there was any confusion or miscommunication. They have seemed to streamline the process and looking for more ways to improve.

 

[SBZRO]

Congratulations!

I actually am in the same exact boat as you. I watched all the videos and heard all of the horror stories. After months of checking Tesla, EV-CPO and every other site I could find, I finally convinced myself to do it.

Clicked the Buy button on Monday. It was the hardest mouse click I've ever had to do. Now it is the waiting that is killing me. The car is in a holding lot 45 minutes away from me but I have to wait for the delivery team to take care of things. Hopefully it is soon.

Whats the first thing you did when you got in the car?

 

[jbd747]

I am also on a similar track. Purchased Model S P90DL. It was in San Diego. I am picking it up on Saturday in Las Vegas( no charge for the move). I have two pictures with what appears to be minor damage. After a bit of confusion regarding what I thought was a good possibility that they would “buff it out”, I now understand that they don’t get into body work at all on used vehicles. I am also dealing with Lance Xie, he is quick to respond and no confusion from him whatsoever. I contacted the Vegas Service center directly , spoke to Kaylie, and was happy to hear that they would take a personal check for the balance. I am developing quite a long checklist of items to check. I was glad to hear that your experience was that they welcome close scrutiny. They have been kind to work around my schedule. I am an airline pilot... I will be back from Singapore on Saturday... then straight to pick it up. More to follow.

 

[AMPd]

Congrats!
Glad to hear tesla is improving their used car sales side of the business

I get that these used cars aren’t counted toward their quarterly sales numbers but they still count in the profit department.

 

[kaidou]

I'm actually jealous of seeing the car delivery in the actual delivery center. When I got mine in November, it was at the mudded lot so the car was dirty

But anyways! Congrat, the car looks beautiful.

 

[geofunner]

Thursday 4/4 Email from Delivery team introducing me to my point of contact Lance Xie, and letting me know my car is on the way from Las Vegas to the Costa Mesa Service Center.
View attachment 395505

I'm in the exact same geographical situation. Located in OC and interested in some vehicles in Las Vegas and Bay Area.
OP, were you charged transport fee? If not, how did you bring it up and how was it settled?
Thanks and congrats on your ride. The Costa Mesa delivery center looks like a great place to pick up!

 

[aochoco]

Congratulations!

I actually am in the same exact boat as you. I watched all the videos and heard all of the horror stories. After months of checking Tesla, EV-CPO and every other site I could find, I finally convinced myself to do it.

Clicked the Buy button on Monday. It was the hardest mouse click I've ever had to do. Now it is the waiting that is killing me. The car is in a holding lot 45 minutes away from me but I have to wait for the delivery team to take care of things. Hopefully it is soon.

Whats the first thing you did when you got in the car?

First thing I did when I drove off the lot was punch the accelerator and laugh at how quick this thing is.

 

[aochoco]

I'm in the exact same geographical situation. Located in OC and interested in some vehicles in Las Vegas and Bay Area.
OP, were you charged transport fee? If not, how did you bring it up and how was it settled?
Thanks and congrats on your ride. The Costa Mesa delivery center looks like a great place to pick up!

No charge to bring the car to Costa Mesa from Las Vegas. I simply asked if there was a transport fee and they said no fee since it was nearby. I wouldn’t have minded making a trip to Vegas and driving back down to California if needed.

 

[aochoco]

Here is the checklist I went through with my delivery specialist.

Tesla Pick-up Checklist

1 2x key fobs
2 Supercharging enabled
3 Autopilot enabled
4 All tires match and clear of issues
5 Charging kit with all adapters (including J1722, NEMA 5-15, NEMA 14-50)
6 All lights work
7 All windows work
8 Wipers work
9 Speakers work
10 Parcel shelf present
11 Rear window glass pitting
12 Sunroof opens/closes
13 Power lift gate function
14 Frunk function
15Steering wheel controls
16 Both seats function
17 All seat heaters
18 Wiper blade condition
19 Previous user settings/details wiped
20 Miles match what I thought
21 No paint/panel issues beyond what was in photos
22 No rim issues beyond what was in photos
23 Front and rear floor mats
24 VIN matches paper work
25 Check mirrors work and fold in
26 Check charging port door opens
27 Rear seats fold up and down
28 Check rear lights for condensation
29 Front license plate holder
30 Check windscreen for chips
31 Take photos, notes and request due bill in writting for any damage noted
32 Request service history
33 Check LTE connection
34 Connect phone to check Bluetooth
35 Check range on battery in % and miles
36 Run the HVAC
37 Check jack points and battery pack for damage

 

[rickkop95]

I too am in drawn between a new Model 3 or a used Model S. Although I think I favor the Model S, reading so many horror stories about buying used has caused me to take a step back. And what's with those pictures they send. Some are awful. I don't understand why you can't go and see the car ahead of time. That alone may be the deciding factor on whether I buy new or used. I still haven't made my mind up but it is nice to hear about happy deliveries.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Glad to hear tesla is improving their used car sales side of the business

One positive experience does not an overall sweeping change make.

FWIW, I'm in the midst of my 3rd used Tesla purchase in the last half-year and it's going awful. Weeks into it and nobody has answers, everyone is pointing fingers and I had a delivery appointment set for last Saturday before I found out the car isn't even in this state yet and I only found out after driving all the way to the service center where my appointment was. At that time, nobody would respond to my emails or phone calls attempting to find out where the car was or why it wasn't at my appointment. I'm being ghosted again with next to no communication from anyone assigned to me. I tell you what, I've dealt with three different sets of sales/delivery advisers now and all of them use the same tactics for communication avoidance. It's difficult for me to think that it's not something Tesla actually teaches to it's employees because it's the same thing every. Damn. Time. Typical Tesla and I should have known better. This "Tesla will focus on improving customer service" talk was just that... talk.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad the OP had a positive experience and if Tesla actually cared enough to invest in their used car program just about everyone could have the same story and it would help to buoy the Tesla brand instead of casting such a negative light on the organization. I just want anyone who finds this to understand that the system is still broken and to tread lightly and not assume that one positive story means things are all sunshine and happy times.

 

[BPeter]

Congratulations! You had way less trouble purchasing a used car than I did buying my new S last month!

Also didn't get to have the delivery room experience I was hoping for, just a random trucker dropped it off at my house all dirty and left. Third party trucker though since Tesla refused to ship it to my local delivery center.

 

[TWYNBYZ]

My experience thus far has been the total opposite. I placed my deposit on a new 2018 75D with 50 miles on it two weeks ago. My car was shipped from Northern Cali and has been sitting at the Costa Mesa sales center since Monday and my delivery is scheduled for this Sunday. The frustrating part is that the Costa Mesa delivery team has yet to provide me with my final purchase agreement which I need to provide to my credit union so that they can cut the check to Tesla. I will not comment on the names of the delivery associates in question but I have spoken to them two to three times each day since my car arrived at the sales center asking for the final purchase agreement. Each day I speak with delivery team they explain that they're working to generate the purchase agreement and will get it to me by end of day but I still have nothing. At this point I'm getting frustrated and wondering if I'm even making the right decision. If this is a preview of the service and support from Tesla I may just ask for my deposit back and walk away.

 

[Denila]

Congratulations OP!!!

I finally pushed that BUY button yesterday 4/10 at 10:40 AM my car location was San Diego.
Today in the morning at 8:50 AM I got an email from Tesla delivery team to confirm Financing, Trade-in, Registration info and that pick up will be at Costa Mesa Delivery Center.
No I just wait and see what happens.

OP thank you for providing Pick-up Checklist very helpful information

Quick question. Do all Pre owned Teslas come with:
2x key fobs
Charging kit with all adapters (including J1722, NEMA 5-15, NEMA 14-50)

The reason I'm asking what if previous owner lost one key and kept charging kit when traded in or returned his car to Tesla.

Is there anything else you recommend to look/ask for? Thank you for everyones input and knowledge.

 

[aochoco]

I would ask for 2 keys and charging kit if they are missing.

Only other thing I can recommend is to be patient. My expectations were set pretty low from all the horror stories I have read, but if i've learned anything from reading them, it's to BE PATIENT. Most threads end up with the owner eventually getting their car and loving it. Fortunately for me things moved along very smoothly, but on the flip side I wouldn't have been surprised if things didn't move as quickly or smoothly as it did.