I have read on the Tesla Forum that many Tesla owners are selling their cars back to Tesla as they upgrade to the new Model Ds. In the process Tesla takes those cars and sells them to dealers such as Starwood Motors or Earth Motors or closer to me in Southern California Phillips Auto. These dealers then mark up the cars significantly and in the process both the old Tesla owner (you) and the new Tesla owner (me) lose on the deal. I would like to eliminate the middle man which in this case are those dealers who are buying directly from Tesla. I am willing to offer you one to three thousand dollars more than what Tesla is offering you. I have cash and can close the deal quickly. You can send me a private message or reply to this post if you want to tell me about your vehicle. The following describes my preferences. As you can see I am fairly flexible. My preferences are: Must be either White (plain or Pearl), Grey, or Silver P85 - But would consider a P85+ or 85 depending on the other options and the price Tech package (the only true must have Rear facing seats - I realize this is not the most common option so it is not a deal breaker but my kids would love it. 19" Silver Cyclone Wheels - again, I realize this is not the most common option and would consider other types of wheels Smart Air suspension - not a deal breaker but would be nice Parking sensors - not a deal breaker but would be nice Carbon Spoiler - not a deal breaker but would be nice Options that don't really matter so I can go in almost any direction regarding: Seats - I even like the textile seats Roof - either Pano or not, no big deal Sound - No big deal Fog lamps - No big deal Alcantara Headliner - No big deal Decor - No big deal Interior Lighting - No big deal Parcel Shelf - No big deal Paint Armor - No big deal Yacht floor - No big deal Calipers - Any color Subzero - Are you kidding in SoCal, but while I would never order this, it is not a deal breaker depending on other options and price Charger - Single or dual - No big deal and again, while I would not order, it is not a deal breaker I think I covered everything. I hope I find someone who I can buy from so we can both come out ahead on the deal. Sincerely, Robert
For anyone where sales tax matters, one to three thousand means you are effectively offering them less.
How do you figure? Let's say Tesla is going to give them $80,000 and I offer them $82,000 how is that less? Am I missing something?
I think because some states will allow you to reduce the (taxable) purchase price of the new car buy offsetting it with the trade-in value, thus on a $120k car, with a $70k trade-in, you'll only pay sales tax on $50k, rather than the full $120k.
Yep.. Your 1-3k over offer is good though for sellers in states that collect sales tax on the full amount.
That makes sense. I live in California and you pay tax on the trade-in value as well as the difference in price, so my offer would be good, but you are right in states where you only pay tax on the difference between the new car and the trade-in, my offer is worthless, it is much better to take the tax break. My offer is still good for people living in states like California. I did a little googling and according to what I found on the Edmunds.com website, these are the states that would benefit from selling to me rather than trading in the car: California, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, and Virginia. So if you live in these states my offer is good. My offer is also good in any state if you don't trade your car into Tesla, rather you just want to sell your Model S. I am going to call Tesla tomorrow and check to make sure this type of transaction with Tesla is a trade in and not a separate sale of your old Model S to Tesla and then the purchase of a new one from Tesla, rather than a trade-in. Robert
California, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, and Virginia. You should also include New York or any other state that will not allow Tesla to operate in. As the tax brake can only be granted by a licensed dealership.
Good point. I know it has to be traded to a licensed dealership, so I guess that is what Tesla is considered, even though they are not dealers. Weird. Anyway, I think you are right, those states like New York probably don't have the option of trading in to avoid the tax. The whole process is strange given the different rules in different states.
If you are offered a car with the standard 19" wheels, which it seems you do not want, consider these. I just got them and love them so far. TST Tesla Aftermarket Wheel 19x8.5
Sweet, I will remember these. Do you think they would fit as replacements on a P85+? It opens up possibilities because then for ~$1,800 you can replace the regular 19" wheels. Thank you.
Others would be able to answer this, since I just have a S85, but I think you need 21" wheels on the P85+. The Tsportline wheels were created for people that love the 21" Tesla wheels, but wanted 19". For some reason Tesla did not address this demand. Many people bought the Rial Lugano wheels from Tirerack, but if you do a search you'll see that some have had issues with them being too weak. IMO the TST wheels look better than the Rials anyways. Tell them you'll only buy them if they offer free shipping as they have had that promo in the past. They seem quite customer service oriented so they will probably go for it. FWIW, now that I have two sets of wheels, I keep my all season tires on one set and my winter tires on another. I bought an extra set of TPMS so switching the wheels is quick and cheap.