How is Tesla Customer Service nowadays (2020)?

[ChuckieCheese]

Financing. Resale value is high. You get potential rebates not available to leases, depending on your area.

Ran all the numbers 6 months ago and resale at 4 years was much less total out of pocket vs lease.

Is it? I am dumb when it comes to Tesla resale value, but I thought the price goes down for Model X because previous version have older hardware?

I thought about leasing because 3 years from now, if Tesla come up with newer model, I don't have to deal with selling the car. Just return it to Tesla. Unless... Tesla buy used Model X with high resale value?

Does Tesla financing include the sales tax as part of financing or you pay that upfront as part of the downpayment?

PS: I don't qualify for any rebate since I don't meet the income eligibility in my state.

 

[jeremymc7]

Leasing is cheaper per month. It’s also a no brainer if you don’t want to do with deal with anything.

Resale isn’t a big deal. Tesla can buy it in trade for your next car. Or you can drive it to Carvana or any of the big box stores and they’ll give you a check in a couple hours. Tesla hold their value quite well, even years down the road due to high demand by people that can’t afford a new one.

Rebates are often available at state, city, power company, etc.

If you want to pay extra and not have to think about anything get a lease. If you’re okay with paying more per month but MORE than making up the difference when you’re done with the car finance and own it.

Best of luck and enjoy.

 

[Az_Rael]

Tesla buy used Model X with high resale value?

Tesla doesn’t offer any loyalty customer deals on trade ins, and are not always competitive with their offers. There will always be a newer model with new tech, so if a lease works for you, it might be the easiest option.

 

[rjdoc74]

Leasing is cheaper per month. It’s also a no brainer if you don’t want to do with deal with anything.

Resale isn’t a big deal. Tesla can buy it in trade for your next car. Or you can drive it to Carvana or any of the big box stores and they’ll give you a check in a couple hours. Tesla hold their value quite well, even years down the road due to high demand by people that can’t afford a new one.

Rebates are often available at state, city, power company, etc.

If you want to pay extra and not have to think about anything get a lease. If you’re okay with paying more per month but MORE than making up the difference when you’re done with the car finance and own it.

Best of luck and enjoy.

I LOLed at this post. “Resale is not a big deal?”, “Tesla’s hold their value”? Really? Have you looked at this closely? Tesla lowered the price of new cars, especially X/S leaving owners who purchased 1-2 years ago holding the bag. Resale value plummeted. And yeah, Tesla will take your car in a trade and put you in a new one, but you will take an absolute financial bath in the process. If that’s not a big deal to you, great.

The only reason to BUY a Tesla is if you can do a section 179 dedication on model X. Otherwise, LEASE ONLY.

 

[75Shappyt]

I LOLed at this post. “Resale is not a big deal?”, “Tesla’s hold their value”? Really? Have you looked at this closely? Tesla lowered the price of new cars, especially X/S leaving owners who purchased 1-2 years ago holding the bag. Resale value plummeted. And yeah, Tesla will take your car in a trade and put you in a new one, but you will take an absolute financial bath in the process. If that’s not a big deal to you, great.

The only reason to BUY a Tesla is if you can do a section 179 dedication on model X. Otherwise, LEASE ONLY.

I think you should always buy if you can, pay a little extra on the payment each month get it done in 3 yrs. then sell, use that money to buy a new Tesla. you will fine that your payment is lower than the last car, do the same on the next car again, I have worked my way up to buy my first Tesla that way.

 

[jeremymc7]

I LOLed at this post. “Resale is not a big deal?”, “Tesla’s hold their value”? Really? Have you looked at this closely? Tesla lowered the price of new cars, especially X/S leaving owners who purchased 1-2 years ago holding the bag. Resale value plummeted. And yeah, Tesla will take your car in a trade and put you in a new one, but you will take an absolute financial bath in the process. If that’s not a big deal to you, great.

The only reason to BUY a Tesla is if you can do a section 179 dedication on model X. Otherwise, LEASE ONLY.

When someone totaled my prior Tesla a few months ago the insurance company actually paid me more then it cost me due to them using used comps which at the time where higher vs new. In part due to pandemic, factory shutdown, and 2-3 month wait.

When I purchased one of my cars last year as well a second one a couple months ago I pulled all the used comps and pulled all the numbers relating to leasing and buying and in both cases leasing was cheaper per month but not by the time you’re at the end of the lease when you might sell the car. In these cases I ran anyway. Considering I’ve been doing the same for 20 years of car ownership it’s worked out well for me to run the numbers and make an informed decision either way. And since I grew up with my father running an exotic leasing business for 40 years I feel pretty confident I know what I’m doing.

But either one should make their own INFORMED decision.

 

[ChuckieCheese]

When someone totaled my prior Tesla a few months ago the insurance company actually paid me more then it cost me due to them using used comps which at the time where higher vs new. In part due to pandemic, factory shutdown, and 2-3 month wait.

When I purchased one of my cars last year as well a second one a couple months ago I pulled all the used comps and pulled all the numbers relating to leasing and buying and in both cases leasing was cheaper per month but not by the time you’re at the end of the lease when you might sell the car. In these cases I ran anyway. Considering I’ve been doing the same for 20 years of car ownership it’s worked out well for me to run the numbers and make an informed decision either way. And since I grew up with my father running an exotic leasing business for 40 years I feel pretty confident I know what I’m doing.

But either one should make their own INFORMED decision.

What's "comps"?

 

[captanzuelo]

What's "comps"?

Comparable

 

[rjdoc74]

When someone totaled my prior Tesla a few months ago the insurance company actually paid me more then it cost me due to them using used comps which at the time where higher vs new. In part due to pandemic, factory shutdown, and 2-3 month wait.

When I purchased one of my cars last year as well a second one a couple months ago I pulled all the used comps and pulled all the numbers relating to leasing and buying and in both cases leasing was cheaper per month but not by the time you’re at the end of the lease when you might sell the car. In these cases I ran anyway. Considering I’ve been doing the same for 20 years of car ownership it’s worked out well for me to run the numbers and make an informed decision either way. And since I grew up with my father running an exotic leasing business for 40 years I feel pretty confident I know what I’m doing.

But either one should make their own INFORMED decision.

Since you are so good with leasing, you know that a lot of business owners can deduct part or even whole lease payment for business use, right? Yes, you can deduct purchased car too (miles, etc.) but that not nearly as much (trust me, I know).

Also, Teslas are not like regular cars, they are more like iPhones. There is an improvement every few months plus major improvements every once in a while. So in 4-5 years you end up with old tech (AP1, HW2, etc) and growing pain issues (shudder, ghosting, MCU failure, etc). No way this car hold any value. With lease and business deduction- best of all worlds- write off you payments and drive a new car in 3 years.

Agree with INFORMED decision part.

 

[dhanson865]

Is it? I am dumb when it comes to Tesla resale value, but I thought the price goes down for Model X because previous version have older hardware?

I thought about leasing because 3 years from now, if Tesla come up with newer model, I don't have to deal with selling the car. Just return it to Tesla. Unless... Tesla buy used Model X with high resale value?

Does Tesla financing include the sales tax as part of financing or you pay that upfront as part of the downpayment?

PS: I don't qualify for any rebate since I don't meet the income eligibility in my state.

Consider this chart and imagine the names changed to the SUV segment

 

[ChuckieCheese]

Where did you get this? Would like to see the same for Model X since it’s a different segment of vehicle.

I agree that Tesla hold its resale value better than other bransd. However, the actual selling price (either trade-in or sell to private party / Tesla) after 3 years is a different story, IMHO. There’s interested tagged on the and price for new Tesla may drop, so the owner maybe upside down. I don’t have the data point for Tesla though.

I am curious if any 2016 / 2017 Model X owner who financed and then traded or sell the car recently can chime in?

Consider this chart and imagine the names changed to the SUV segment

 

[Ostrichsak]

Since you are so good with leasing, you know that a lot of business owners can deduct part or even whole lease payment for business use, right? Yes, you can deduct purchased car too (miles, etc.) but that not nearly as much (trust me, I know).

Also, Teslas are not like regular cars, they are more like iPhones. There is an improvement every few months plus major improvements every once in a while. So in 4-5 years you end up with old tech (AP1, HW2, etc) and growing pain issues (shudder, ghosting, MCU failure, etc). No way this car hold any value. With lease and business deduction- best of all worlds- write off you payments and drive a new car in 3 years.

Agree with INFORMED decision part.

Yeah, because EVERYONE is a business owner. I've bought 5 used Model S now & I've made money selling every single one. From a little to amounts you wouldn't believe if I told you. You'll lose money on a lease no matter what you do.

Leasing is a terrible idea for most unless the ONLY option is new & the person is a business owner with a sizeable tax liability. The best financial advice for a majority of the populace is to buy used & not take the depreciation hit of new & pay cash. Never finance a depreciating asset. Not if the financial aspect is the chief concern. If impressing your neighbors, friends, family & complete strangers regardless of financial impact is all that matters... Do whatever you want.

Bottom line, ignore anyone who says leasing is the ONLY way to buy cars as a blanket statement w/o knowing anything about the individual's status.

We're getting way off topic now though. Tesla "customer service" sucks. Period.

 

[ChuckieCheese]

Yeah, because EVERYONE is a business owner. I've bought 5 used Model S now & I've made money selling every single one.

We're getting way off topic now though. Tesla "customer service" sucks. Period.

Since you have bought FIVE Model S, would you still recommend Tesla from someone (me) that had great customer service experiences with ICE cars? This is just my experiences with Mercedes, Audi, Honda, Volvo and Nissan since the late 80's.

 

[dhanson865]

Where did you get this? Would like to see the same for Model X since it’s a different segment of vehicle.

Tesla Introduced A Business Model The World Has Not Seen Before is the source article but, no they didn't make a similar model X chart.

 

[rjdoc74]

Yeah, because EVERYONE is a business owner. I've bought 5 used Model S now & I've made money selling every single one. From a little to amounts you wouldn't believe if I told you. You'll lose money on a lease no matter what you do.

Leasing is a terrible idea for most unless the ONLY option is new & the person is a business owner with a sizeable tax liability. The best financial advice for a majority of the populace is to buy used & not take the depreciation hit of new & pay cash. Never finance a depreciating asset. Not if the financial aspect is the chief concern. If impressing your neighbors, friends, family & complete strangers regardless of financial impact is all that matters... Do whatever you want.

Bottom line, ignore anyone who says leasing is the ONLY way to buy cars as a blanket statement w/o knowing anything about the individual's status.

We're getting way off topic now though. Tesla "customer service" sucks. Period.

Do you even read posts before responding?

Where did I say anything about financing a depreciating asset? What does “impressing friends and neighbours” have to do with lease vs finance decisions? Where did I say that lease is the only option?

Bottom lines is you have no idea what you are talking about. Just because you sold a few used Teslas and made a few bucks, that doesn’t make you an expert in lease vs buy tax implications. And clearly you are not. Cheers.

 

[abasile]

It's unfortunate that folks in/around Los Angeles have been experiencing service issues.

We are in the mountains above the Inland Empire (east of LA) and have always had great service experiences. The Rancho Cucamonga and Cathedral City (Palm Springs) service centers have been good to us, as has Mobile Service. For some folks in LA County or Orange County, perhaps it might be worth driving a bit further to an inland service center. It shouldn't be necessary to do this, of course.

My primary complaint about Tesla service is that corporate management does not want to field service-related phone calls. It didn't used to be this way.

The upside is that our family's Model 3 has required very little service in two years, quite a bit less than our "classic" Model S has.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Since you have bought FIVE Model S, would you still recommend Tesla from someone (me) that had great customer service experiences with ICE cars? This is just my experiences with Mercedes, Audi, Honda, Volvo and Nissan since the late 80's.

If customer service is important to you about Tesla like COVID.

 

[ChuckieCheese]

If customer service is important to you about Tesla like COVID.

Sorry, but I am not following this. Are you saying that Tesla customer service is so bad that I should avoid it like COVID?

 

[Ostrichsak]

Sorry, but I am not following this. Are you saying that Tesla customer service is so bad that I should avoid it like COVID?

That's correct. If that's something that's important to you. Know that in most regions it's basically broken with a few members reporting decent response and assistance from a very small # of service center locations.

 

[ChuckieCheese]

If that's something that's important to you

I think good customer service is something that the majority of people want, not just me. If it's bad, it's the question of how bad it is. Like, is Tesla customer service as bad as Comcast? I dunno...

I think it is not (yet), because probably you would have sold your Tesla rather than owning 3 of them.

But I just want to get the some consensus, so keep up with the real-life examples!