How much more damage will Remarketing do to Tesla sales before they figure it out?!?

[AnxietyRanger]

Pretty much sums up the entire thread...

Before you stray too far, @St Charles, I would suggest you at least acknowledge the different nature of Tesla's CPO program compared to usual used car sales:

- Stripping used cars of everything not associated with a current new Tesla sale
- Deducting compensation for positive modifications, instead of adding or at least not deducting because of them
- Selling used cars as faceless renders on Tesla.com, instead of the individuals that they are
- Usually no ability to see the car before delivery

I mean, when you see Tesla strip the CPO from everything like winter mats and Level 2/Type 2 charging cables, just because they are no longer an item a person could order on Tesla.com (even though they once were), or reducing the compensation for a perfect Xpel protection (because it has to be removed due to policy), you can see an inherent difference.

Tesla is not treating CPO's as used cars, but as sort of refurbishing material, without really doing any kind of massive refurbishing for them in the end. As contrast, most dealerships treat used cars as they are, individuals to be cleaned up and presented as well as they present (with the occasional fix to be made), but still as individuals.

This means dealerships don't have to punish the customer for positive modifications (unless they are too weird) or remove features from the cars that could help seal the deal, like throwing away an expensive charging cable or peeling away Xpel. And presenting the cars as individuals, with photos and the ability to see the car before delivery, allows the dealerships to highlight whatever features make the unit in question stand out.

This, even before we consider the price Tesla offers for their trade-ins, was a part of also @TSLA Pilot 's point, if you read his early messages carefully.

 

[St Charles]

Before you stray too far, @St Charles, I would suggest you at least acknowledge the different nature of Tesla's CPO program compared to usual used car sales:

- Stripping used cars of everything not associated with a current new Tesla sale
- Deducting compensation for positive modifications, instead of adding or at least not deducting because of them
- Selling used cars as faceless renders on Tesla.com, instead of the individuals that they are
- Usually no ability to see the car before delivery

I mean, when you see Tesla strip the CPO from everything like winter mats and Level 2/Type 2 charging cables, just because they are no longer an item a person could order on Tesla.com (even though they once were), or reducing the compensation for a perfect Xpel protection (because it has to be removed due to policy), you can see an inherent difference.

Tesla is not treating CPO's as used cars, but as sort of refurbishing material, without really doing any kind of massive refurbishing for them in the end. As contrast, most dealerships treat used cars as they are, individuals to be cleaned up and presented as well as they present (with the occasional fix to be made), but still as individuals.

This means dealerships don't have to punish the customer for positive modifications (unless they are too weird) or remove features from the cars that could help seal the deal, like throwing away an expensive charging cable or peeling away Xpel. And presenting the cars as individuals, with photos and the ability to see the car before delivery, allows the dealerships to highlight whatever features make the unit in question stand out.

This, even before we consider the price Tesla offers for their trade-ins, was a part of also @TSLA Pilot 's point, if you read his early messages carefully.

Is this your argument this time or are you going to deflect again?

I have read these posts, carefully. It all boils down to an owner thinking their car was worth more then reality. The rest is a thinly veiled argument that this is somehow Teslas fault because they should do more to assume the risk of selling a used car.

The rest of the argument is based on fundamental misunderstandings about the realities of the used car market. The hilariously bad argument that Tesla should do better purely for the financial benefit of their current customers ignores the fundamentals of business. Attempting to back this up with "SELL MORE TESLAS, DAMMIT!" is utterly laughable. Especially since they already sell 2x-3x more than any other brand in their market space, combined with a record sales quarter, and a several months backlog for ordered vehicles.

I have seen no counterargument from the OP that is worth a damn. Loss leading does not work in a 1:1 transaction. Assuming risk from modified cars in a CPO program is a violation of good business sense. The entire basis of the used car trade-in market is about convenience to the customer. There is no car company or dealership that offers more on a trade-in then they can get selling it outright immediately unless they are rolling that loss by inflating the price of a new vehicle. I, and several others, pointed this out already. I cite every used car lot in America as a shining example of this business model.

Let's also not discount that the OP continually deflects counterarguments with "You are missing the point" rather than address the argument and defend his own standpoint. Several posters, myself included, have offered to explain the realities of the used car market from a business and profitability standpoint.

But, above all of this, the most hilarious part is that the OPs home state actually solved this problem for him. The trade-in tax advantage offered in his state already gives him exactly what he wants. The OP was soo myopic about the top line trade-in offer from Tesla that he clearly didn't bother to do the math and see that the bottom line actually gave him what he wanted, more money in his pocket.

Can Tesla so better? Yes. I even offered my own take on a direction that would allow Tesla share the risk/profit of selling a used vehicle with an owner. The response I received was "you missed my point" followed by a bunch of additional garbage about how his idea was somehow the magic bullet solution. In the end, if the OP wanted CPO prices for his used Tesla he should have sold it himself. It is ignorant to assume Tesla will do all of the work and pass all of the money to him.

Here is a Cat!

 

[AnxietyRanger]

@St Charles Last post is my view too. In fact I'd say it is merely stating a fact: Tesla sells used cars in a different way. They shoehorn unique used cars into a generic database and have to shed value in the process.

As for the rest: yes you miss the point and no that is not my opinion. Still, if Tesla loses a new car sale due to trade-in evaluation, that is lost profit. I can see the logic being debatable.

 

[FlatSix911]

Tesla Model S sells faster as used car — and for more money — than peers do, study finds

Used Model S sedans had the briefest time on the market of all vehicles included in the survey, taking, on average, 87 days to sell. That was about 5% quicker than the average for vehicles in the model’s peer group, which included the Audi A7, the Porsche Panamera, the BMW 6 Series, the Mercedes-Benz CLS and the Lexus LS 460.

The listing prices of used Tesla Model S sedans were between 3% and 5% above their peer-group average for the past year, after controlling for price differences among the models, Autolist.com said.“ We would expect top-performing vehicles in a peer group to have prices [about] 2% above our adjusted expectations for the segment. But 3% to 5% above, and maintaining that level of performance over the past year? That’s surprising,” Alex Klein, Autolist.com’s vice president of data science, said in emailed comments.

 

[Whistle2Whine]

*Nods emphatically* This is mainly a summation of many of my current frustrations that others have mentioned throughout this thread:

1) This business of the CPO inventory being out in the world as loaners is flat-out bonkers. ESPECIALLY given the situation with them regularly wiping their slate clean by shipping them off to auction. Which actually wouldn't be such a big deal IF:

2) the motherf***ing warranty restriction. My parents, a few years back, were able to find a great deal on a used MB E-class, sitting on a Nissan lot that had been bought at auction when the Merc dealer sent it there after trade-in. I was adamant they buy an extended warranty, since the Merc warranty was almost up. To my knowledge you STILL can't do this with a used Tesla, and there's no-way to buy an extended warranty from Tesla itself as the 2nd or third owner. W...T...F.

3) So this unnecessarily funnels the market for used Teslas to the CPO program which is OBVIOUSLY not staffed and resourced or organized properly to this day.

4) The above, and also the amazing 3rd QTR deals, is what made me lease a Tesla. There's NO WAY IN HELL I'd buy a brand new one, given what's happening in the remarketing system. Do we know what executive is in charge of such things? His email and twitter need to be blowing the f**K UP. I've said it on other threads but it bears repeating ad nauseum: They CANNOT keep going like this with Model 3.

 

[TBot101]

The latest CPO blunder. I am surprised this didn't make the news on any major Tesla websites

CPO discounted 42 Model 3s by ~30% on Friday night. All cars sold within minutes.

Took them 4 days to notify the buyers and provide a new price.

The way they handled it was very rude. Either pay the new price by EoD or we are canceling the order.

4 days is a long time. In my case, I already sold my car and purchased 4K worth of accessories and Rims.

Now I have no car and 4K of accessories for a car I don't own.

When I tried to escalate to a manager, the SA said that it is better if I don't waste my time.

I will never buy a tesla in my life. A company that can't take of its customers is doomed to fail. Technology can be re-created but customer loyalty is lost forever.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Some might say you saw a mistake by Tesla and attempted to take advantage of them. They figured it out, and re-priced more market correct.

Some would also say their response was not rude, but very business like and precise.

People were bragging on the internet that they saw these cars mispriced. Hoped they could get away with a great deal...but alas...not to be.

 

[adamtc4]

It has happened twice more since the first time and those new price glitches have been honored thus far. Just FYI.