Incorrect Tesla sales strategy?

June 30, 2023

I think most of us are very aware that Tesla is trying to close out the second quarter with a bang.

As a stockholder, I certainly endorse the strategy.

Unfortunately, I think they have a blind eye in one particular area that I would like to mention.

There is a vehicle in inventory that we wanted to buy and we were ready to pick it up same day or next day, but we needed to know what our trade would be worth.

Their response was that we should order the new vehicle, charge $250 to the credit card and only then would they would give us a trade-in value.

If I went into a legacy car dealer and offered to buy a particular vehicle, they would give me a trade-in value on the spot, and they certainly would not charge me anything.

I have owned 5 Teslas, all of which have been ordered, versus purchased from inventory, so I kind of understand the drill and the reasoning for the system.

However, I think this should not apply to inventory vehicles.

The long and the short of it is they lost the sale because of their inflexibility.

I will be interested to hear what you think.

 

[CTDW]

I agree...they should be able to provide a trade-in quote prior to placing an order for an inventory car.

 

[DCGOO]

June 30, 2023
I think most of us are very aware that Tesla is trying to close out the second quarter with a bang.
As a stockholder, I certainly endorse the strategy.
Unfortunately, I think they have a blind eye in one particular area that I would like to mention.
There is a vehicle in inventory that we wanted to buy and we were ready to pick it up same day or next day, but we needed to know what our trade would be worth.
Their response was that we should order the new vehicle, charge $250 to the credit card and only then would they would give us a trade-in value.
If I went into a legacy car dealer and offered to buy a particular vehicle, they would give me a trade-in value on the spot, and they certainly would not charge me anything.
I have owned 5 Teslas, all of which have been ordered, versus purchased from inventory, so I kind of understand the drill and the reasoning for the system.
However, I think this should not apply to inventory vehicles.
The long and the short of it is they lost the sale because of their inflexibility.
I will be interested to hear what you think.

When I bought my 2022 with a trade-in, they gave me a quote online, I had to take a bunch of pictures, uploaded through a form on their website. A day or few later I had my price. At the time, they were giving out crazy prices, I ended up getting $80,000 for a four year old X with 50,000 miles. No one from Tesla laid eyes on my vehicle until the day I picked up the new car. It was super easy.

 

[bookiepilot69]

When I bought my 2022 with a trade-in, they gave me a quote online, I had to take a bunch of pictures, uploaded through a form on their website. A day or few later I had my price. At the time, they were giving out crazy prices, I ended up getting $80,000 for a four year old X with 50,000 miles. No one from Tesla laid eyes on my vehicle until the day I picked up the new car. It was super easy.

Yes been there done that a few times. Fairly good approach. This is a little different animal though.

 

[Sonus]

They can't do this for free or everyone will ask them for a quote, this is not their business, and they don't have enough people to handle quotes (if it was free) they do trade-ins only if you buy a car.
You can pay the 250$ and get a quote and if you don't like it submit a cancelation (explain why) and they will, most of the time, refund the 250$.

 

[bayareaever]

They can't do this for free or everyone will ask them for a quote, this is not their business, and they don't have enough people to handle quotes (if it was free) they do trade-ins only if you buy a car.
You can pay the 250$ and get a quote and if you don't like it submit a cancelation (explain why) and they will, most of the time, refund the 250$.

Agreed. The Tesla website has an automated trade in value estimator which gives a range. I tried it last week just for fun and the estimated range was very low (about $15k below what I think they would sell the car for based on used values). I assume if I actually ordered a new car (especially a more expensive one, ie trade MY for MX), they’d be incentivized to give me a better offer, but it’s not worth my $250 to find out. They did reach out to me 2x to try to get me to order, so they are using the estimator as a sales tool, which makes sense.

Does anyone know if recent actual trade in values are better or worse or about the same as the estimator values?

 

[kpanda17]

I did two trade ins with Tesla
Be truthful with the condition and history with the automated system
As log as the vehicle doesn’t have any hidden issues that will show up on search results later
Accidents
The final offer should land in the middle of the range
I was very happy with the process and final number of my trades

 

[ATPMSD]

SCs are not dealerships and so it probably boils down to the fact that no one at an SC is authorized to make an offer.

 

[mm9351]

My experience with Tesla Trade-In left me with mixed feelings about the entire process. It took them over 2 weeks to respond with an offer, due to high volume of trades going on at the time (was end of quarter). Most people get a trade in offer within 48 hours. During that time I received two other offers from Carvana and Driveway. The Carvana offer was for $4K more. But that would mean I'd lose out on the sales tax difference. Also, Carvana wasn't clear if pick up fees would apply. Yes, they actually could charge a pickup fee if they determine the transpiration is too far. To make matters worse, Carvana wouldn't quote the fee until AFTER I decided to accept their offer. I accepted Tesla's offer because it really was hassle free. They didn't like the pictures I took in my garage, so I needed to re-take them outdoors in good sunlight. Just follow their instructions and it should work out fine. Nobody looked at my car on trade-in day; they just transferred ownership via paperwork and transferred app control of the trade and that was it. I think it's fair to ask for your $250 order deposit so as to demonstrate your commitment to proceed with the deal.

 

[lencap]

Frankly I've found that Tesla trade-in values aren't competitive. They make an offer, seemingly begrudgingly, and the entire process reflects that lack of enthusiasm. I compared Tesla's offer to CarMax, Auction Direct, Carvana and AutoNation for two different cars, Tesla was the low offer each time.

 

[Unclepaul]

GM, Ford, or other manufacturers will also not give you a trade in price, as they rely on their independent dealerships to handle all the used car stuff.

OP could have gotten a trade in price from Carvana, Carmax or other places to get an idea of it's value, then gone the route with Tesla to see which way he might wish to go.

Tesla really does not want to be in the used car business, but offers it as a service to new car buyers. They sometimes are the highest offer, but often you can get better offers elsewhere.

Tesla usually contacts independent brokers to see what they could wholesale your trade in for. This take time and ties up manpower. They really only want to go through the process if they have a reasonable expectation of selling a new car.

Tesla has their own internal policies and customers need to fit inside their guidelines.

 

[DaveG_NJ]

I’ve traded in two cars with Tesla (one a Jeep and the other a Model 3LR with FSD). Was surprised that the offers were competitive. In the case of the 3, Tesla’s offer was $3600 more than Carvana. My last delivery (a week ago) went like clockwork. I was out in 10 minutes after I inspected the new car. They didn’t even look at my trade in.

 

[mjwojtukiewicz]

June 30, 2023

I think most of us are very aware that Tesla is trying to close out the second quarter with a bang.

As a stockholder, I certainly endorse the strategy.

Unfortunately, I think they have a blind eye in one particular area that I would like to mention.

There is a vehicle in inventory that we wanted to buy and we were ready to pick it up same day or next day, but we needed to know what our trade would be worth.

Their response was that we should order the new vehicle, charge $250 to the credit card and only then would they would give us a trade-in value.

If I went into a legacy car dealer and offered to buy a particular vehicle, they would give me a trade-in value on the spot, and they certainly would not charge me anything.

I have owned 5 Teslas, all of which have been ordered, versus purchased from inventory, so I kind of understand the drill and the reasoning for the system.

However, I think this should not apply to inventory vehicles.

The long and the short of it is they lost the sale because of their inflexibility.

I will be interested to hear what you think.

I fell for that sh*t about 6 months ago. I had to PAY then they gave me an ESTIMATE range for trade in value. Order canceled, lesson learned, out $250,
Dirtbags. Actually, I'm glad I didn't pull the trigger. I'm looking to see if the safety feature and range is improved on the new model 3

 

[mjwojtukiewicz]

They can't do this for free or everyone will ask them for a quote, this is not their business, and they don't have enough people to handle quotes (if it was free) they do trade-ins only if you buy a car.
You can pay the 250$ and get a quote and if you don't like it submit a cancelation (explain why) and they will, most of the time, refund the 250$.

They wouldn't do it for me. I hope Elon loses every billion he put into Twitter. After what he did today I would say there's alot of ruffled feathers

 

[TJ21CT]

I was given a trade number on the spot at the local SC/Showroom for what it's worth. Was a Tesla vehicle too though and well below what I received from other online offers. The rep said they take them to auction so the number won't be competitive to Vroom, Caravan, etc. To me to sell elsewhere and come back.

 

[SpicyPaneer]

I was given a trade number on the spot at the local SC/Showroom for what it's worth. Was a Tesla vehicle too though and well below what I received from other online offers. The rep said they take them to auction so the number won't be competitive to Vroom, Caravan, etc. To me to sell elsewhere and come back.

Tesla purchased by beat up Prius & gave me $6400 bs dealer giving me $2k when I traded in for 23 MYLR. Can’t complain here for me YMMV.

 

[kpanda17]

Same experience here
Tesla is not trying to make money on on the trade whereas legacy dealers are gouging at every step: trade, purchase, un necessary add ons, interest rates, ugh

 

[BeanPerf]

This right here!

I’ve been eying a MYP but my purchase would be contingent on my trade in. I reached out to Tesla to see if I could get a trade quote prior to placing an order. Of course the answer was no. I ended up placing an order from existing stock last week. When I was given an option for delivery date I was only given Thursday and Friday this week as a choice. I tried calling Tesla to change the date but I had no luck. It look Tesla exactly 1 week to give me a a trade in quote and they came in $2500 lower than Carvana. We recently purchased a Prius and Toyota appraised my trade in at $35K so I wasn’t happy with Teslas offer. $35K from a local dealer, $32K from Carvana and $29.5K from Tesla… huge disparity in price.

Unfortunately, I had to cancel my order and I lost out on my $250 deposit. Losing out on $2.5K-$5.5K in trade value is just insane. I reached out to Tesla and they said all trade offers are final and non-negotiable.

That said, it would be nice if Tesla was quicker with their trade offers or give you an instant offer like Carvana. I’ll try selling my current vehicle locally and place another order soon.

 

[kpanda17]

This right here!

I’ve been eying a MYP but my purchase would be contingent on my trade in. I reached out to Tesla to see if I could get a trade quote prior to placing an order. Of course the answer was no. I ended up placing an order from existing stock last week. When I was given an option for delivery date I was only given Thursday and Friday this week as a choice. I tried calling Tesla to change the date but I had no luck. It look Tesla exactly 1 week to give me a a trade in quote and they came in $2500 lower than Carvana. We recently purchased a Prius and Toyota appraised my trade in at $35K so I wasn’t happy with Teslas offer. $35K from a local dealer, $32K from Carvana and $29.5K from Tesla… huge disparity in price.

Unfortunately, I had to cancel my order and I lost out on my $250 deposit. Losing out on $2.5K-$5.5K in trade value is just insane. I reached out to Tesla and they said all trade offers are final and non-negotiable.

That said, it would be nice if Tesla was quicker with their trade offers or give you an instant offer like Carvana. I’ll try selling my current vehicle locally and place another order soon.

In NYS we are not charged sales tax on the trade amount, only rhe balance left
Therefore for $29.5K and no tax that’s $2500 savings
When the trade in is done as a separate transaction, sales tax must be paid on the entire amount
In my first trade, Tesla was lower but only by the sales tax savings amount therefore a wash
For your example, Tesla $29.5K Carvana $32K

 

[kpanda17]

Any they only look at external photos
Don’t waste money peeping the vehicle
Keep it dirty