In need of delivery advice

[Rogue Synapse]

I’m taking delivery of my used P85D+ next week. For reference:

My Unicorn came along - Pulled the trigger on used P85D!

I’m moderately terrified after spending too much time reading horror stories on this forum about cars in terrible condition, features not enabled or absent, having to create due bills for damage, rejected deliveries, and unable to get answers about all of the above despite texting, calling, emailing, and tweeting everybody at Tesla repeatedly.

I could sure use some guidance about how to pull this off smoothly. A few questions:

1. How to pay? My delivery advisor said I would be sent instructions the day before delivery about doing an ACH transfer. Ordinarily, I strongly prefer to keep everything electronic and digital because I typically keep track of things that way, so ACH bank transfer would be fine. But wouldn’t it be a better idea to show up with a cashier’s check in hand, in case the car is totally unacceptable? That way I won’t have to fight for a refund instead of just rejecting delivery?
2. How to verify the car is acceptable? There are a few great checklists out there. I really like vpblur’s checklist on this post:
2015 85D CPO Experience
Any other recommendations for delivery checklists? How thorough are you and how much time have you spent doing this? I know the folks at the delivery center are swamped and I don’t want to be a primadonna but also don’t want to discover unpleasant surprises after I’ve already left (with an ~11 hour drive back home after delivery, not counting charging stops - yes, I’m breaking it up over two days).
3. My car’s specs included Tech Package with Autopilot, which I understood to mean AP1 fully enabled, but I’ve seen so many horror stories that I want to really make sure of this. How best to verify Autopilot is activated, short of taking it for a test drive before I sign for the car? (Is that even an option?)
4. I’ve read a million times to get things in writing when being told that Tesla will repair or replace things noted at delivery. How have you gone about doing this for a due bill?

Of course I’m very excited about the car and full of hope that everything will go smoothly. I sure would appreciate your help being prepared if it doesn’t.

 

[P85_DA]

Congrats on picking that car P85D was my second Tesla and overall great car !

1) cashiers check is fine
2) I wouldn’t get too hung up on “checklists” only you can decide what is acceptable for a used car etc ..some folks have different levels of perfection ..cosmetic items are easy to check for ..mechanically in 3yrs my P85D never went into shop in over 70k miles

3) in the menu if autopilot is active you will have settings you can adjust if you don’t see those buttons than not enabled

4) Getting in writing never hurts however my service center has always been good to me on the few times I did go for the most part without having to get things in writing

Enjoy the car!

 

[darxsys]

Congrats on picking that car P85D was my second Tesla and overall great car !

1) cashiers check is fine
2) I wouldn’t get too hung up on “checklists” only you can decide what is acceptable for a used car etc ..some folks have different levels of perfection ..cosmetic items are easy to check for ..mechanically in 3yrs my P85D never went into shop in over 70k miles

3) in the menu if autopilot is active you will have settings you can adjust if you don’t see those buttons than not enabled

4) Getting in writing never hurts however my service center has always been good to me on the few times I did go for the most part without having to get things in writing

Enjoy the car!

2) Absolutely check everything you can. It will potentially save you a lot of headache. Trust me.
3) you will have "autosteer" as an option, if autopilot is enabled.

 

[Rogue Synapse]

Thanks for the tips. Has anybody actually paid with the ACH bank transfer like Tesla is suggesting?

 

[Ole Capt]

Don’t do ach. Take a check

 

[Lasttoy]

I think u r buying CPO? Good luck
Pay with check. No excuses. They have money in hand. I did and it went faster.
Make sure u put in writing every defect u find.

 

[Ostrichsak]

I think u r buying CPO? Good luck
Pay with check. No excuses. They have money in hand. I did and it went faster.
Make sure u put in writing every defect u find.

Tesla hasn't sold CPO cars in months. They now sell used cars.

 

[Rogue Synapse]

Ok, so bring a cashiers check. Problem is, I don’t know how much to get it drawn for (I’ll have to get the check mailed to me from my bank, USAA, in the next couple of days).

I emailed my delivery advisor this:

I'm looking forward to taking delivery of my P85D on Tuesday at Paramus, NJ. I am planning on paying with a cashiers check in person at the delivery center. Will I be able to use a credit card to pay for any difference between the amount of the cashiers check and the final amount due with fees, etc? If so, how much total can be put on the card? I need to have the cashiers check prepared several days in advance with an exact amount, but understand I won't get the final bill until probably the day before delivery.​

Got this response:

No Credit Card. You can bring another cashier’s check or pay on mytesla via ACH 24 hours before your scheduled delivery date and time. The amount will show on your Mytesla 24 hour before you scheduled pickup appointment time

Thank You

David Li | Inside Delivery Advisor, Remarketing
​

So, I can’t get a cashiers check mailed to me for the right amount with that little notice. Do I just guess? $44,100 minus $2,500 deposit, plus some doc fee? How have you handled paying with a cashiers check?

​

 

[P85_DA]

How have you handled paying with a cashiers check?

On my last car I brought cashiers check and there was a small amount due that I paid with a personal check ..

 

[garsim]

I paid with personal check.
Check for cracks on the windshields.

 

[Ostrichsak]

They should be able to provide you with the # due at signing. This should have been emailed to you in your MVP documents and your SA/DA or both should be able to provide you with this figure. There was no doc or dealer handling fee like you see with car dealerships. The list price plus the amount the collect for state tax minus your $2,500 CC deposit and any down payment you want to put. Simple as that.

In my case, they botched the first delivery and the amount differed for the 2nd due to being in a different state and the tax collection differences. Tesla would have refunded me the difference (since it was less than what I brought) but I wanted them to put the entire amount as a down payment. The DA had his finance guy change the paperwork which took probably 15min or so and the actual amount I had in the form of a cashier's check was used as the down payment adjusting the remainder of the numbers. In our case, we planned to pay the entire not off right away anyway so I didn't want to hassle with getting some check in the mail a few weeks later for the overage.

So get the total from them for the cashier's check prior to having it drawn and if there's any concern get it for slightly over and they can refund the difference or rework the #'s but I'd feel safe just going off of the figure they tell you is due at signing.

 

[Rogue Synapse]

That's the problem: they won't tell me the figure that is due at signing until 24h prior to delivery. It will take more than 24h to get my cashier's check because I have to get it mailed to my home (my bank has no physical branches). I'm paying cash, so I need to get it right. I guess I'll assume they'll take a personal check for smaller amounts of a few hundred or thousand if my cashier's check is off the mark.

 

[Heal_Piece]

That's the problem: they won't tell me the figure that is due at signing until 24h prior to delivery. It will take more than 24h to get my cashier's check because I have to get it mailed to my home (my bank has no physical branches). I'm paying cash, so I need to get it right. I guess I'll assume they'll take a personal check for smaller amounts of a few hundred or thousand if my cashier's check is off the mark.

I would try to email or call them again and request a purchase agreement. Although I'm financing through a credit union the end result is the same, I'm bringing them a cashier's check. I put my non refundable deposit down on 4/19 and was able to get a purchase agreement on 4/24 for my CU. I don't even have a delivery date yet as of today, so obviously they were able to get that amount to me way before 24 hrs before pickup.

 

[Ostrichsak]

That's the problem: they won't tell me the figure that is due at signing until 24h prior to delivery. It will take more than 24h to get my cashier's check because I have to get it mailed to my home (my bank has no physical branches). I'm paying cash, so I need to get it right. I guess I'll assume they'll take a personal check for smaller amounts of a few hundred or thousand if my cashier's check is off the mark.

If there's an overage they'll send a refund check but there really shouldn't be in a straight cash sale. If you've already placed a deposit I really have no idea why they can't get you a total right now. I don't understand the requirement to wait until 24hrs prior to delivery. I'd talk to someone else.

 

[SpudLime]

My bank let me fill in the final amount on the check. I just couldnt go over what I was approved for. So that might be an option to discuss with your bank.

 

[random155]

If you have the funds in your account just pay with a personal check.

 

[Rogue Synapse]

I do have the funds sitting in my account. Will they take a personal check for $44k? Of course they’re no longer answering my emails.

It looks like it may be too late to get a cashiers check mailed to me from USAA anyway. I guess as a last ditch I can just do the ACH route they seem to want me to do, and go through the painful process of requesting a refund if the car is FUBAR and I reject delivery.

 

[ordel]

They take personal checks. You’re fine.

 

[random155]

I do have the funds sitting in my account. Will they take a personal check for $44k? Of course they’re no longer answering my emails.

It looks like it may be too late to get a cashiers check mailed to me from USAA anyway. I guess as a last ditch I can just do the ACH route they seem to want me to do, and go through the painful process of requesting a refund if the car is FUBAR and I reject delivery.

Yes the take personal checks for the full amount. Dont do the ACH route in case you dont want to take delivery. I can't imagine the hoops you would hve to go through to get your money back if you dont take delivery. Good luck with your purchase.

 

[Rogue Synapse]

Talked to Paramus delivery center on the phone today, who was just locking in all my details and said a personal check would be fine. Then about an hour later, finally a response from Delivery advisor David Li:

No personal check. You can use routing number and account number to pay on your MyTesla Portal 24 hours before your scheduled pickup time
​

Whatever dude. I’m sure they’re pushing the bank transfer route because it makes refusing delivery harder. Hopefully that’s a moot point. Also, I get the sense that David is too busy too punctuate the end of his emails and just hits send the instant he’s done typing