My boss has tasked me with selling his 2014 Model S 85 and I have no idea where to start! Can you all give me any advice on where to list it, Tesla-specific details to list in the ad, etc? The car is in excellent shape, I'm just not sure what sort of things are important to someone looking to buy this car. Anything at all would be helpful; thank you!
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How do I sell a Model S?
- Thread starter DutifulAssnt
- Start date
kpeters000
Member
Get the original sales document showing all the options.
Craigslist and autotrader were always the best options, for me, but it's going to be really tough for you because there are SO many options, and the options are really what define the value of the car here, as the model of a "20XX Model S" has a HUGE variance depending on trim levels and performance/luxury options.
Craigslist and autotrader were always the best options, for me, but it's going to be really tough for you because there are SO many options, and the options are really what define the value of the car here, as the model of a "20XX Model S" has a HUGE variance depending on trim levels and performance/luxury options.
Rogue Synapse
Member
Consider Only Used Tesla | A Place Exclusively Dedicated To Buying And Selling Used Teslas for both pricing research and also for selling the car.
Tam
Well-Known Member
You can sell online to:
What's Your Trade In Worth? | Current Automotive
It's just too easy that a forumer thought it's a scam:
Could this be a Scam?
MichaelP90DL
Active Member
Make sure the car is sparkling clean then take lots of photos, inside and out. Find a photographer if necessary. Include a pic of the original equipment list. If I were selling it, I'd target the ad to someone who's never owned a Tesla, and add some humor. I recently sold a 1997 BMW 328i with 180K miles on it. I had replaced a lot of stuff in the 11 years I owned it. And I listed that stuff in the Craigslist ad, under the heading of: STUFF YOU WON'T HAVE TO FIX. Most of the items had a funny comment included. With a Tesla, some items I can think of are:
ENGINE: None. It has an electric motor that drives the rear wheels.
TIMING BELT: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, I'm free at last" from that awful maintenance item, that can destroy an engine when it breaks. There's no engine, hence no timing belt.
TRANSMISSION: None. No shifting.
LEAKS. There aren't any. The only fluids are water for the windshield spritzer and brake fluid. Power steering fluid? Nope. Steering is electric. You could park it on your living room carpet and not worry about leaks.
BRAKES. Tesla brake pads often last a hundred thousand miles. When you take your foot off the accelerator, the car slows very quickly, down to about 4 mph. Most of the time, all you have to do is use the brake to stop the car from that low speed, instead of from 60 mph.
BATTERY: The "85" designation refers to battery capacity, 85 kilowatt-hours. The bigger this number, the farther it can go before you have to recharge. With this car, around 260 miles.
DOOR HANDLES: When the car locks or drives, the handles retreat flush with the body. When you approach the car with the key fob, to within about three feet of the front doors, the handles pop out. Enjoy freaking people out with that uber-cool trick.
MECHANICAL SERVICE: Tesla would like you to drop by once a year. They will want to know about any problems. Wouldn't it be great to not have to deal with oil changes and engine and transmission repairs and mechanics?
And there are many other things you can say. Write your ad to make the car seem irresistible, like I did with that 22-year-old BMW. It sold for my high asking price. Good luck with your task. Say hi to your boss for me.
ENGINE: None. It has an electric motor that drives the rear wheels.
TIMING BELT: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, I'm free at last" from that awful maintenance item, that can destroy an engine when it breaks. There's no engine, hence no timing belt.
TRANSMISSION: None. No shifting.
LEAKS. There aren't any. The only fluids are water for the windshield spritzer and brake fluid. Power steering fluid? Nope. Steering is electric. You could park it on your living room carpet and not worry about leaks.
BRAKES. Tesla brake pads often last a hundred thousand miles. When you take your foot off the accelerator, the car slows very quickly, down to about 4 mph. Most of the time, all you have to do is use the brake to stop the car from that low speed, instead of from 60 mph.
BATTERY: The "85" designation refers to battery capacity, 85 kilowatt-hours. The bigger this number, the farther it can go before you have to recharge. With this car, around 260 miles.
DOOR HANDLES: When the car locks or drives, the handles retreat flush with the body. When you approach the car with the key fob, to within about three feet of the front doors, the handles pop out. Enjoy freaking people out with that uber-cool trick.
MECHANICAL SERVICE: Tesla would like you to drop by once a year. They will want to know about any problems. Wouldn't it be great to not have to deal with oil changes and engine and transmission repairs and mechanics?
And there are many other things you can say. Write your ad to make the car seem irresistible, like I did with that 22-year-old BMW. It sold for my high asking price. Good luck with your task. Say hi to your boss for me.
Last edited:
whitex
Well-Known Member
Depending on what your goal is, fast sale or more money. Fast sale, take it to the nearest Tesla, they will probably buy it, but for less money than you can get elsewhere. More money is tougher, shopping it around Carmax, Carvana, Vroom, will give you some options. The the absolute most money, list it privately after researching what similar cars are selling for in your area, but be ready to be able to compare options, service records, battery degradation, etc - so gotta learn a bunch more about Teslas, and how to sell a car privately (how to avoid getting scammed, deal with people who just want to joy ride a Tesla, etc).
If your boss is paying you by the hour, the most money optimal may be shopping it around places which buy them and resell them like Vroom.
Thanks for the response. I'm new here-- do I just post a thread with the specs or is there a certain part of this site that for sale ads go?
Uncle Paul
Well-Known Member
Rogue Synapse
Member
Kruegmeister
Member
Autotrader is awful.
CarGurus got me much better results on 2 car sales last year. (Neither was a Tesla tho)
CarGurus got me much better results on 2 car sales last year. (Neither was a Tesla tho)
ZestyChicken
Member
Beware Current Automotive. They are dodgy as hell. They wanted me to give them my car, sign over my title and then they were going to send me a check in 2 weeks. I said no way and then they said if I paid off my car they would pay up front. So I paid off my auto loan but it took 3-4 weeks to get the title. So this guy Seneca Giese tells me he's dropping the price because the market changed. Meanwhile I'm $20,000 into this transaction so I tell him a deal is a deal. So then he ghosts me and won't return communication.
This is a dishonest company run by dishonest people. Avoid them.
This is a dishonest company run by dishonest people. Avoid them.
Dithermaster
Member
I advertised my 2013 P85+ in a few places, but the (relative of the) buyer came from here (TMC). I was able to check some of their posts which reduced the chances of it being a scam. The best part was when they picked up the car they knew tons about Tesla and Model S already.
i mean... i'm not sure who to blame though.. you gave him a car a month later.. alot can happen in a month.
whitex
Well-Known Member
Tesla trade-in quotes are also only valid a few days (usually a lot less than it takes to build a new car or ship a CPO from another location too). Such is the industry, car values drop all the time.
ZestyChicken
Member
I know who to blame. Buying a car with a lein is pretty straighforward. CarMax does it everyday. You payoff the title, take the car and pay the person in one fell swoop. You may also have the person sign an agreement to forward the title if it accidentally gets mailed to the wrong place. Don't know why Current doesn't work that way. The problem was he wanted everything and then pay me 2 weeks later. No way. Who would do that?
So I agreed to pay off the title. He should know that could take awhile. They have up to 30 days to get it to you. Never told me he wouldn't honor the price.
whitex
Well-Known Member
You seem to think about agreements they could get you to sign, so why didn't you get them to sign an agreement to buy your car at at a set price if you pay off the title? This would have bound you and them to a contract. I think if you tried, it would have become really clear that the offer is not valid for weeks. Think about it, why would any company give you an offer for a car, then let you drive the car for over a month, while you still retain the option to not sell it to them if you change your mind (say the car value went up) or potentially damage the car (car accident?) or put tons of miles on it. That would be horrible business - it would be like selling stock options for free.
This clearly sounds like a miscommunication, they made you an offer with money in 2 weeks, you declined, they said if you had title in hand it would be an instant transaction, but the miscommunication was you assumed the offer had no expiry date. Had you at least asked about the offer expiry date, your ordeal could have been avoided. I know you feel wronged in this case, but if you think about it, the dealer didn't gain anything from "screwing you", so it's hard to assume they did it on purpose (what would that purpose be).
EDIT: for your future reference, all trade-in offers have an expiry date, mileage limitations, and usually escape clause in case the car was to be damaged. If you ever get an offer you're not taking on the spot, ask for those details.
Bridor
Member
Nice site - I only have one suggestion - please allow for sorting by price ascending/descending.
Brent
I sold my first Tesla in a week using Cars.com. Make sure you are clear on any key differentiators like free Supercharging for life, Autopilot 1, etc. if the car has them.
