Is it worth it to buy my lease and sell it?

[Thirstyturtle]

Hey guys, I need some help here. I am nearing the end of the lease on my 2010 2.5 Sport (#1140). I don't want to keep the car (now own Signature Model S) but I'm toying around with the idea of buying the Roadster from Tesla merely to turnaround and sell it.

The car has the following options:
-Electronics Group (upgraded stereo head unit with navigation, Bluetooth connectivity, Sirius satellite radio, premium 7-speaker sound with subwoofer, Homelink door opener)
-Executive Leather Interior
-Premium Seats
-Forged Sport Wheels (silver)
-MC 120 & MC 240 cables

I can buy the car back for about $65k and I'm trying to get an idea of how much I could sell it for. It is all silver (no carbon-fiber accents), silver wheels, and has the hard top. 21k miles, no problems. Gets 181-183 Ideal Miles on a standard charge.

My first thought would be to list it on eBay with a reserve above what I paid for it so I don't lose money and then see how high it goes.

What do you guys think is a reasonable guess for what I could get for this vehicle...$80k? $90k?

Thanks!

 

[bart513]

The 2010 2.5 sport with those miles is selling for between $72 and $85K depending on the options that the car has. It's always a toss up.

 

[hcsharp]

How many miles?

 

[AlMc]

How many miles?

he indicated 21K. TM is selling the Roadsters they have with a warranty. The warranty is probably worth 5-6K. They are selling their Roadsters for 75-90K. I don't know, but does KBB have a 'used car price' for it?

 

[shrink]

Take it to CarMax and see what they'd offer you. KBB doesn't seem to have resale data, but NADA does.

New Tesla Motors Prices - NADAguides


Good luck. Hope the car finds a great new home.

 

[Thirstyturtle]

Thanks for the help so far. It seems like $70k is the low end of people's guesses. I was thinking that since this is a 2.5 and a Sport, it would be on the high side of the typical selling price. The miles are a bit high for some people's tastes but it's still a 3-year old car that has been daily driven and only averaged 7k miles a year.

I did a bit more digging and realized that I also have the paint armor and solarguard windshield.

Regardless of final sales price, do you guys think there's any serious risk of NOT being able to get my money back out of it?

As long as I can make at least a few grand on it, I'm willing to front the $65 to buy it. I've already paid for a huge chunk of the car by leasing it for 3 years, I might as well try to recover some of my sunken costs.

 

[bart513]

When does the warranty expire. That's a selling point

 

[hcsharp]

Thanks for the help so far. It seems like $70k is the low end of people's guesses. I was thinking that since this is a 2.5 and a Sport, it would be on the high side of the typical selling price. The miles are a bit high for some people's tastes but it's still a 3-year old car that has been daily driven and only averaged 7k miles a year.

I did a bit more digging and realized that I also have the paint armor and solarguard windshield.

Regardless of final sales price, do you guys think there's any serious risk of NOT being able to get my money back out of it?

As long as I can make at least a few grand on it, I'm willing to front the $65 to buy it. I've already paid for a huge chunk of the car by leasing it for 3 years, I might as well try to recover some of my sunken costs.

Risk? Let me put it this way, I'll give you 70k for it because I'm confident I could flip it and make some money. There aren't any 2.5 Sports going for that low of a price.

 

[bart513]

A similar model sold in the low 70's a few weeks ago. I think prices will start to rise soon. If time isn't important I agree with Henry.

 

[Thirstyturtle]

Okay, well at this point I'm pretty comfortable moving forward with this. The difficult thing now is settling on an asking price...this may be a bit convoluted since I will end up posting the car on this website (as well as other resources) but do you guys have a suggested asking price? I'll probably put it on some forums, craigslist, cars.com, etc. until the lease runs out to see if I get any interest but once I buy it I think I'll put it up for bid on eBay.

My first thought for the initial listings is to ask $90k and see what sort of offers I get

 

[pgwoosley]

Be sure to check out what, if any, sales tax liability you would have in your state.

 

[Owner]

I learned a lot through the selling process with my Roadster. I sold it through a 3rd party and the guy was pretty chatty. These cars have a "season". People typically buy convertibles in the summer even in California. And very few cars sell during the holidays as people are busy with other things. These thoughts are general trends for high end sports cars, not all cars in general. Also the federal tax refund season is the same time when whether starts to warm up.

Selling the Roadster | Tesla Owner

 

[hcsharp]

I learned a lot through the selling process with my Roadster. I sold it through a 3rd party and the guy was pretty chatty. These cars have a "season". People typically buy convertibles in the summer even in California. And very few cars sell during the holidays as people are busy with other things. These thoughts are general trends for high end sports cars, not all cars in general. Also the federal tax refund season is the same time when whether starts to warm up.

Selling the Roadster | Tesla Owner

In addition, many people don't drive their Roadsters in the winter. Activity slows way down and picks up again in the spring.