How did you Justify 95k car purchase?

[mibaro2]

+1 Skotty.

 

[AbeFromin]

if you can truly afford it, you don't need to justify anything.

 

[smsprague]

I did not try and justify the S85 I just ordered, but this got me thinking.

I am a hatchback guy. So that narrows the field. My Model S is $96,000 (tax and 5 year license). License is a big saving in Arizona, a similar car would be $5,000 to $6,000 for 5 years, the Model S is only about $150. I spend about $2,000 a year on Gas. All my electric is Solar and I don't use it all so it will cost me nothing to charge the Model S. So to back into a comparable car based on a 5 year horizon.

$96,000
($7,500) Tax Credit
($5,500) 5 Year License
($10,000) Fuel

$73,000 or at 8.1% sales tax it is about like a $67,500 car.

I only buy hatchbacks so for that I could get a Audi A7 TDI or BMW Grand Turismo. Both nice cars but I will take the Tesla Model S.

 

[MrIanB]

I am single so I don't have to justify my purchases to no one.

Ian B

 

[Canuck]

I am single so I don't have to justify my purchases to no one.

Ian B

I think the point is justifying it to yourself, whether single, married, divorced, civil union, or whatever else. I'm married but I don't need to justify any purchases to my wife. She knows that when I buy something I have thought it out and vise versa. It's the "thought it out" part this thread is about.

 

[smsprague]

Agreed as long as you have permission

 

[mgdurand]

Hm... I had been wanting to build an electric car or motorcycle for decades but never got around to it. Did biodiesel, SVO, etc, etc. Then I got kind of a surprise work bonus, did some research over a few months and bought one. I drive a lot so $110K seemed like an ok thing. I've worked hard my whole life, it's not like I sit around watching TV and just got lucky on real estate or something. So I bought it, and despite my usual thrifty nature have had not one instance of remorse. YMMV.

 

[EarlyAdopter]

How I justified it:

Model S Performance 85 - $103,000 (in Dec 2012)
minus $7500 federal credit
minus $10,000 in no WA state sales tax on EVs
minus $20,000 in gas savings over the next 10 years
equals $65,500 equivalent gas car.

Value to me over 10 years to never have to take 10 minutes out of my busy day to go to a noisy, cold, smelly, dirty, inconvenient gas station ever again: $100 x 52 weeks x 10 years = $52,000

Final cost of a Model S Performance to me in comparison to an ICE: $13,000.
Value of car I get for the money: $103,000

YMMV, but for me it was a no brainer.

Plus, I'm an engineer and big on efficiency, so an EV motor has a particular appeal to me. I'm also a gear head, so the torque profile of an EV motor also has a particular appeal to me. I also care about the environment, our scarce resources, and conflict over oil, so an EV has a particular appeal to me. The reasons just keep adding up.

How I justified it to my wife - not having to hear me go on and on about Teslas any more.
(Ok, so that one didn't actually pan out after all, since I'm every bit as obsessed after the purchase as before!)

 

[jcadman22]

This: And the day was going so well...

I have the rear-facing seats and my kids love riding back there. Besides the Model S being rated as one of the safest cars on road, I now have some proof that my kids sit in practically the safest place in the safest car.

And it's a really great car!

 

[astrotoy]

If you are a certain age, do you really want your kids to be buying Teslas with your money after your gone (minus 40% over a certain level) when you haven't had the fun?

 

[tliving]

Since this thread came back to life, here's how I justified it to myself (and the wife!):

Cost Justification a tie? | Tesla Living

 

[Shumdit]

I am single so I don't have to justify my purchases to no one.

Ian B

I think that's a double negative. Being a high school drop out I could be mistaken.

- - - Updated - - -

I did not try and justify the S85 I just ordered, but this got me thinking.

I am a hatchback guy. So that narrows the field. My Model S is $96,000 (tax and 5 year license). License is a big saving in Arizona, a similar car would be $5,000 to $6,000 for 5 years, the Model S is only about $150. I spend about $2,000 a year on Gas. All my electric is Solar and I don't use it all so it will cost me nothing to charge the Model S. So to back into a comparable car based on a 5 year horizon.

$96,000
($7,500) Tax Credit
($5,500) 5 Year License
($10,000) Fuel

$73,000 or at 8.1% sales tax it is about like a $67,500 car.

I only buy hatchbacks so for that I could get a Audi A7 TDI or BMW Grand Turismo. Both nice cars but I will take the Tesla Model S.

Does a BEV get a break on the license costs in AZ?

 

[Footer]

No matter how rich your neighbor is, he will not have a better car than you. :smile:

I probably skew on the old side of most Tesla buyers. I was wondering if I should wait until all the minor issues are sorted out. Then I realized if I wait long enough I'll miss out on a lot of fun driving.


S85, MC Red, Tan, Obeche Matte, Tech, Parking, Subzero Confirmed May 6, 2014

 

[sub]

someone answered a few pages back, but yes I am the OP. I actually have been ok passing on the Model S for now until reading these last few pages. When I was trying to make the decision I wasn't completely sure how many miles we would be driving, my wife had just taken a new job where she would be traveling a couple of days a week. We also have had extra travel with my daughter playing traveling sports and this will only increase. We ended up getting a BMW 335 Diesel to get us by, we already have 15,000 miles on it in about 6 months. I think I under estimated how much we would be driving.

That being said and I mentioned this in my last post, where my wife has to travel for work I think there could still be some charging issues. The new Roseville ca Supercharger just opened (I received email) so that helps, but there are not enough superchargers in the Napa/Chico/Ukiah area for some of her trips. Also, Tesla has chosen smartly to put superchargers up on the west side of the state, but i'm on the east side in the foothills so it's not ideal yet.

I agree that we need to get behind Tesla for the future, that is why i'm a shareholder and have struggled with buying a car in this price range. I will own a Tesla, just not sure if it will be in 6 months or 3 years.

 

[CDT]

I am usually very frugal when it comes to cars. The Model S changed that. The price is and issue for me but I want to keep driving an electric car and the MS is the only one with enough range. The Leaf worked, but it was frustrating to have a great car that was not convenient for 80 mile round trips. The Tesla is a game changer. The stigma of owning such an expensive vehicle will be a problem until pick mine up next week and drive it home on the back roads of Marin. The same roads that I had to watch my speed on with the Leaf. I am smiling already.

- - - Updated - - -

sub,
you will never want to touch a diesel pump again after owning and electric car. Turned in my Leaf 5/3 and can't wait to get out of my gas guzzling Prius. The stench of a gas pump, especially diesel, is very unappealing after not doing it for three years. Yes I have owned a diesel. If you can do it go for the Tesla. I don't thing you'll be sorry.

 

[Pate]

Quite simple, since I am single, I just got one ........ actually its much more complicated

now normally i wouldn't spend more than $40K CAD on a car, my old vehicle was $32K CAD
so for me to buy a new vehicle it must be an upgrade to my old vehicle in nearly every way, my old vehicle is as follows

2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe

Interesting, I also drive a Hyundai Genesis Coupe (although 2011 model) at the moment (still a week or two until I get my MS)!

I had already decided I want a Tesla Model S even before I purchased my Genesis (back in April 2011), and the Genesis was actually a planned stepping stone towards MS. My first powerful rear wheel drive car, and also my first vehicle with an automatic transmission, both of which I wanted to learn to handle before getting the expensive MS. Also back in 2011 my previous car was starting to fall apart and it looked like it would take years before the MS would come to Finland.

As for justification, I just think an electric car makes much more sense than a petrol car, and same as you, I did not want to trade down in performance or looks when switching from an ICE car to an electric car, so a Tesla Model S is the only choice. I don't like SUVs, so it will always be either a coupe or a sedan for me, thanks.

By the way, my MS will be my first 4-door car, all my prior cars have been 2-door coupes.

 

[Alysashley79]

I owned a Honda Pilot before buying my model S. At the time the pilot did it's job as a soccer mom car. But it was 8 years old and had 180,000 miles on it. It was starting to break down a lot and was getting to the point that it was almost spending as much time at my mechanics as it was at my house. I should also note that I did a lot of in town driving in addition to just putting a lot of miles on my car. To the. Extent of paying between $800-$1000 each month in gas just for the Pilot. So my husband and I sat down looked at all our records and this is how we came to our decision.

Cost of honda pilot new. $30,000 (inc tax and lic)
cost of gas for Pilot over the 180,000 $43,000 (we have a business so we have all the receipts)
Cost of Maintence for Pilot over 180,000 $21,000 (includes Maintence as well as tires)

total for Honda $94,000

so as you can see over the 8 years I had this car I spent more on gas than I did on the he cost of hath car and yes I actually DID spend that much I didn't just plug a random number out here I have every receipt I ever pulled out of a gas machine in my computer filed away for the IRS and honestly was shocked when I put this all together to see that my original $30,000 actually ended up costing me more than a model S would. We realized that we fully into to keep the MS for a long time. We love their and love everything about it so we looked at it like we'd be paying for all the things up front vs paying for it over time. I've already put 15,000 miles on my MS and have had it for 6 months that would be about $6000 I would have spent in gas and I've spent roughly $360 in electricity.

 

[CliffG]

There's no doubt the financial threshold is something to deal with. But like Skotty, I felt there were more issues to consider, like - ICE vehicles are still using what I think of as paleolithic technology to provide motion: just burning something. Personally, I don't want to think of myself as still being a caveman when it comes to transportation (no references to the GEICO ad campaign, please). I'm pretty sure this opinion could be seen as inflammatory (no pun intended), and I don't want to start any arguments. But there it is.

Also, like others here, I'm on the back side of the hill, age-wise, and had to ask myself: "what are you waiting for?" Deferred gratification has its place, but after a while you've deferred long enough. I've reached that point.

 

[Spencer513]

Some of it depends on which state you live in as well. For instance, the state of Georgia has a $5,500 tax incentive as well as the use of the HOV lane. Everyone knows that the HOV lane has added benefits during traffic, even though it may not be financial benefits.

 

[mnx]

Nice choice in getting the 335d.

That was the car I bought in 2010 while waiting for my Model S to be built.

someone answered a few pages back, but yes I am the OP. I actually have been ok passing on the Model S for now until reading these last few pages. When I was trying to make the decision I wasn't completely sure how many miles we would be driving, my wife had just taken a new job where she would be traveling a couple of days a week. We also have had extra travel with my daughter playing traveling sports and this will only increase. We ended up getting a BMW 335 Diesel to get us by, we already have 15,000 miles on it in about 6 months. I think I under estimated how much we would be driving.

That being said and I mentioned this in my last post, where my wife has to travel for work I think there could still be some charging issues. The new Roseville ca Supercharger just opened (I received email) so that helps, but there are not enough superchargers in the Napa/Chico/Ukiah area for some of her trips. Also, Tesla has chosen smartly to put superchargers up on the west side of the state, but i'm on the east side in the foothills so it's not ideal yet.

I agree that we need to get behind Tesla for the future, that is why i'm a shareholder and have struggled with buying a car in this price range. I will own a Tesla, just not sure if it will be in 6 months or 3 years.