Interested in Selling Model 3?

[SageBrush]

It does seem that any Model S owners who do not want both reservations for themselves are in a position to flip a car or two. I hope Tesla turns off the extra car reservation option soon to avoid encouraging a speculator market. That, or deliver the second car 3-6 months later than the first.

 

[JamesL6]

That sounds like a generous offer. You do realize that you will pay taxes again, right ?

Yes, as I said above, I will be paying for the taxes. But two offers are from states who don't charge a sales tax on EV's, so that saves a lot of money there.

 

[JamesL6]

And CA registration fees and shipping......since early buyers will be in CA.

I have no need and guessing that I could leap the line with a new order, how does Nov strike you, would you like to cut a deal? You might beat my previous yield.

I'll shoot you a DM soon! Two of the offers are from states with no sales tax on EV's and are conveniently located in the state next to me, so that saves some money

 

[NikeWings]

I'll shoot you a DM soon! Two of the offers are from states with no sales tax on EV's and are conveniently located in the state next to me, so that saves some money

No No No.....I'm sorry James, I was only kidding.

 

[JPUConn]

I have 2 early (before release) reservations and am a current owner. I plan to spec them how I would want them and if they work well for my family/lifestyle I'll keep them and sell the S. If it's not large enough for my family I may sell one of them but hope not to.

 

[JamesL6]

No No No.....I'm sorry James, I was only kidding.

Ouch, just got burned

 

[Hrhkee]

I have not cancelled my reservation as yet. I thought of flipping my 3 but it would have to be a desperate rich buyer to pay all my acquisition costs + my 100kw battery upgrade. I'ld only do this under contract and that's my only and final offer. If no buyer found, I'll get my refund and forget the headache. I already have my S.

 

[Jason S]

I'll shoot you a DM soon! Two of the offers are from states with no sales tax on EV's and are conveniently located in the state next to me, so that saves some money

Even if Tesla really does make 5k cars per week starting in July, I think the rest of 2017 is easily just California sales. Anything next to Pennsylvania is looking at Q2 2018, optimistically speaking.
Good luck anyway. I think you'll need to budget for getting the car across the country as well, tho that is prolly in the noise for overall costs BUT you'll end up using your supercharger credits right away too if you plan to drive it from CA to PA.

 

[jsmay311]

$7500 credit cannot be taken if resold. It's quite clearly stated

The instruction for IRS form 8936 state this requirement thusly:

"The following requirements must be met to qualify for the credit.
[...]
•You acquired the vehicle for use or to lease to others, and not for resale."

So then you just buy and title the car, drive it a couple hundred miles, and THEN "decide" it's not for you and sell it.
Or your wife "decides" she doesn't like and makes your sell it.
Or any number of other plausible/legally defensible excuses.

It would certainly be against the spirit of the law, but I don't see how you could get in trouble -- unless you publicly state your nefarious intentions on an Internet forum or something like that.

I'm half joking, but given that it might not be possible to take a test drive before ordering (still hoping it will be), I've wondered if early used market demand could be strong enough to open up the possibility of treating the first days/weeks of ownership as an "extended test drive" after which, if I decide I don't like it for whatever reason, I could sell it without losing (much) money or maybe make a little. I'm pretty sure that wouldn't run afoul of the tax credit law since I legitimately would not have acquired it for resale.

 

[azred]

While living in Palo Alto during the 2000 tech boom, I sold my 3rd spot in line for a 911, for $25k. Only car I ever made money on, and I actually never owned it. $5K deposit for <3 months yielding 500+%. Stupid money.

Keep the cash in your pocket @JamesL6 , something better will be along soon after production cranks up.
It's Tesla, and you'll want it.

Wow, $25k premium to get the first water cooled Porsche, the thoroughly forgettable 996? On hindsight that might be the worst $25k ever spent.

 

[roblab]

It's in your best interest to pre-order one and get a junker between now and then or a Nissan Leaf, I heard those are becoming dirt cheap.

If you get a reservation holder to sell you their car they will likely take the tax credit and sell the car to you for a premium, meaning if you were to pay $3000ish impatient tax above the brand new price and considering the owner would get the $7500 tax credit, you'd be out over $10,000 since you forgot to reserve one last year.

That or look for a used Model S, here's a few in a similar price range to Model 3.
Pre-Owned Model S | Tesla

I understood that you can't take the tax credit if you sell your EV before using it 3 years. So if I were to sell mine, the impatient tax would be higher. The new owner could get the credit, I believe, if he keeps it.

 

[JeffK]

I understood that you can't take the tax credit if you sell your EV before using it 3 years. So if I were to sell mine, the impatient tax would be higher. The new owner could get the credit, I believe, if he keeps it.

Nothing as far as I know says you have to keep it three years, you simply can't buy it with the intention to take the tax credit and immediately flip the car (buying it for resale). The new owner is ineligible for the tax credit since it's no longer a new car.

(2) The original use of the vehicle commences with the taxpayer;
(3) The vehicle is acquired for use or lease by the taxpayer, and not for resale;

 

[tracksyde]

I understood that you can't take the tax credit if you sell your EV before using it 3 years. So if I were to sell mine, the impatient tax would be higher. The new owner could get the credit, I believe, if he keeps it.

You're thinking of the CA $2500 rebate. That one requires that you keep the car for 3 years. How they would ever know you kept it though is a different issue since they have nothing to do with the DMV.

 

[MX1000]

I have reserved for two, with the intent of buying both. The odds now are not as high that I buy both. I have read this post but really am at a loss on what I would do should I only need 1 car. I suppose getting a refund is an option at some point. Although it would be effort wasted for waiting in line that morning and then possibly not using it when there are many people out there who would love to have this position. I was thinking about asking around if family members would want to buy the car, then I could still use it and not necessarily transfer the title over immediately. However, I don't think I've identified anyone yet. Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[JeffK]

Does anyone have any ideas?

Ideas for which of your family members? It'd have to be your cousin Cleetus's half sister's monkey's uncle.

If you don't need two vehicles right away and you can't find someone in your close or immediate family who needs a vehicle right away then just get the refund and allow someone else to move forward in line. They'll be able to get a long range EV for a great price and there's an even better chance that person will be eligible for the full tax credit.

Let's say you did actually want two Model 3s, you could always get one later (late 2018) at a reduced tax credit and it'll probably either be better build quality or might even have more features by that time.

Personally I'm going to go for a fully loaded Model 3 and when Model Y comes out in 2019/2020 I'll get one of those too.

 

[GG1996]

I'm looking for anyone that is an early reservation holder that is considering selling their Model 3. Looking to get a new car in the next 4-8 months and the Model 3 is my current choice. Thank you!

I have an early reservation and I will likely be a seller.

Thx

 

[DrivingTheFuture]

It's in your best interest to pre-order one and get a junker between now and then or a Nissan Leaf, I heard those are becoming dirt cheap.

If you get a reservation holder to sell you their car they will likely take the tax credit and sell the car to you for a premium, meaning if you were to pay $3000ish impatient tax above the brand new price and considering the owner would get the $7500 tax credit, you'd be out over $10,000 since you forgot to reserve one last year.

That or look for a used Model S, here's a few in a similar price range to Model 3.
Pre-Owned Model S | Tesla

Darn you Jeff... Ruining my top secret master plan

 

[Siciliano]

You guys do realize he could be trolling you...?

 

[JoaoD]

I have reserved for two, with the intent of buying both. The odds now are not as high that I buy both. I have read this post but really am at a loss on what I would do should I only need 1 car. I suppose getting a refund is an option at some point. Although it would be effort wasted for waiting in line that morning and then possibly not using it when there are many people out there who would love to have this position. I was thinking about asking around if family members would want to buy the car, then I could still use it and not necessarily transfer the title over immediately. However, I don't think I've identified anyone yet. Does anyone have any ideas?

If you don't need the money you can wait, order one and after you get it if someone in your family tries it and likes it you can ask Tesla to transfer the reservation. I'm sure Tesla won't oppose the transfer after you have already bought one and many of the reservations have already been converted to purchases, if you ask them politely.

 

[jbcarioca]

People can make a lot of money or lose their ass trying to flip 'hot' cars. Usually it only occurs for limited edition cars.

...
I'll bet a portion of those folk are 'flippers'. I'm going to guess 90% of them lose or break even. The car is too inexpensive for it to be worth it.

Well, I have never reserved a car with the intention to flip, but I have flipped some because I ended out not liking the car I ordered:

1977 Honda Accord- sold the day after I took delivery after a six month wait, at a 25% profit. That was in Bahrain.
1966 Rover 2000TC- sold for a 10% profit two weeks after I bought it. I was transferred and did not want to ship it out of the US.
1968 Morgan +8- this was another Middle Eastern sale. I made 250% on that one

All three were backorders when I bought them, and the Honda certainly would not qualify as anything exceptional. The other two were certainly odd, but only the Morgan could have ben called "limited edition".
From my own experience I suggest almost any product that is in short supply with higher demand than supply can sell at a premium. I'd be astonished were some Model 3's not to be sold that way at the beginning.
The only question is how long the beginning will end out being, and that is probably a function of factory rampup, how quickly Tesla moves to new countries, and how quickly new features and options enter the market.

Of course, these are my opinions but I certainly don't claim any particular expertise. I'm probably conditioned to expect Model 3 premier due to my own experience back when the new, original, Honda Accord was coming out and lots of people were enamored of what it might be. At he time most people had never heard of Honda, just as most today have never heard of Tesla.