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Last CPO added 12/17 per ev-cpo

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In another thread, CPOs were said to be used for loaners / demos moreso than new cars. Which makes sense to do. Visit a Tesla store and ask if they have any CPOs available, there probably would be some for sale through a sales center.
 
The listings are flooded with 90D's, even the 70's are starting to disappear and no CPO's have been added since 12/17.

Yeah. Something is definitely going on, which has been clear for a while (a few weeks ago, Tesla abruptly pulled hundreds of CPO cars off of the site in a single day, with no explanation, and as far as I can tell hasn't added any since, despite all the trade ins they are likely receiving in connection with Model X deliveries.)

Exactly what is happening isn't clear - as bonaire said, we've heard that they are using the CPOs as loaners, and a gallery employee also told someone that they were going to build a couple of big "used car" sites to sell them all face to face and avoid the month long typical CPO process from before.

Reading some of the threads, it also seems like doing CPO business was getting rather expensive for Tesla (replacing all sorts of slightly worn/damaged parts to make people happy at/after the sale,) so it's possible they've decided it's not cost effective for them.

I'm guessing we'll hear something at the Model 3 event or shortly after that will explain where all the cars went/are going and what the shape of the CPO world will become - it seems like a lot of things are changing in early April (new options and almost certainly a new larger battery available for the S, the 3 unveiling, the CPO situation.)
Walter
 
and a gallery employee also told someone that they were going to build a couple of big "used car" sites to sell them all face to face and avoid the month long typical CPO process from before.

Wow, physical car lots? Like CARMAX? That would be a huge PR disaster for Tesla, to have huge used-car lots of CPO Model S sitting there unsold. I think whoever said that was pulling that out of their arse.
 
I think Tesla pulled all the trade ins from the CPO site to sell off loaners and inventory cars to help financials for the first quarter.

Pulling the trade ins off also helps push Model 3 reservations since the low priced Model S trade ins are not displayed. After the Model 3 reveal and reservation deposits are in and boost their coffers so they can finance the rest of development without touching capital they can reinstate the trade ins. Some will ask for deposits to be moved over to a CPO but if you think about it, it really helps them raise a metric f-ton of crowd sourced money to finish the Model 3 and prep the factory.
 
My guess is most of the CPOs were sent to auction. If anyone wants to verify this do the following.

1. Get a history subscription to ev-cpo.com ($4).
2. Pick a short VIN from the list that was removed February 17-18, 2016 (e.g. P18289).
3. Convert the short VIN to a full VIN (see VIN Decoder | TeslaTap and cars listed on cargurus.com as examples).
4. Use the full VIN on carfax.com ($55 e.g. 5YJSA1DG8DFP18289)
5. Repeat 2 to 4 until you understand what is going on.

As you can tell I have done most of that list but I'm unwilling to pay the $55 to Carfax for unlimited searches. I was hoping to find cars listed for sale on the internet using this method but the five VINs I checked didn't find anything.
 
I was hoping to find cars listed for sale on the internet using this method but the five VINs I checked didn't find anything.

This is the most interesting part IMO. Granted, 5 random VINs isn't a huge sample, but the fact that none of them showed up somewhere else is telling I think - suggesting that maybe they haven't been dumped and will likely show up for sale again at some point after Tesla finishes making use of them.
 
I'm just curious where all of those 2012 and 2013 CPO cars are at physically. I guess it is possible they have been distributed to all the service centers as loaners. I prefer to imagine that there is some vast lot with 100s of Teslas hidden somewhere.

I think the CPO process would be a lot better in a physical lot. then people could just drive or fly there, look at the cars, pick the one they want, buy it, and drive it home. Tesla could say that the cars are "as is" to avoid the process where the buyer complains and demands that parts get replaced due to minor blemishes. That seems like it would destroy the profit margin.

It took almost 5 weeks for me to get my CPO car after I ordered it, which was very frustrating. It was also kind of uncomfortable ordering a car that was used and by far the most expensive car I have ever purchased without seeing it first. But as a person who wanted an 85 or higher battery and didn't want to spend more than 60K, I'm glad I got in on a CPO when I did!
 
Wow, physical car lots? Like CARMAX? That would be a huge PR disaster for Tesla, to have huge used-car lots of CPO Model S sitting there unsold. I think whoever said that was pulling that out of their arse.
It could of been a post from me that's being referenced that did not emanate from my "arse". I asked and was granted a chance to see the trade in car at the Fremont factory a few months back. What I wanted to see was how the cars were wearing before they went through the refurbishment process.

I had an appointment at the delivery center with a young woman from the CPO division. We drove a CPO P85 the short distance to the North side of the factory where about 50 Model S's were parked. They were all dirty and most had been marked up with grease pencil and tape to identify dents, chips, dings etc. While we were walking and making small talk she told me that she would be responsible for the CPO car lot that was going to be placed in the Bay Area. She said there would also be an East coast lot as well but that was not her responsibility. She did mention that she hoped she would not get stuck with the East coast non-D drive cars since East coast cars were in a poorer overall state due to the harsh winters but she feared that would be the case since non D cars were less desirable on cold climates.

Now, what struck me as odd in hindsight is that she said they were already building inventory for these lots and some of the ones I saw might be destined for the lot. That was over 5 months ago and yet nothing has come of it. Maybe it was delayed, scrapped etc.

She said the plan was that the cars would all be refurbished and placed on the lot. People would be able to compare, test drive, purchase and leave with their new car, same day. I suppose this is exactly the Carmax model and I for one think it's a much better way to buy CPO.

I also disagree that it would be a "huge PR disaster" in any way. The way the cars were being listed, ordered, delayed, shipped and ultimately inspected was/is really inefficient. Just about any other sales and delivery model will be an improvement IMHO. Think about it for a moment; when a third party (like you Hank) goes ahead and creates a site that dramatically improves upon Tesla's own AND can charge for it and get many satisfied paying subscribers, that's an indication to a company all is not well with the business model they've built.
 
I also disagree that it would be a "huge PR disaster" in any way. The way the cars were being listed, ordered, delayed, shipped and ultimately inspected was/is really inefficient. Just about any other sales and delivery model will be an improvement IMHO. Think about it for a moment; when a third party (like you Hank) goes ahead and creates a site that dramatically improves upon Tesla's own AND can charge for it and get many satisfied paying subscribers, that's an indication to a company all is not well with the business model they've built.

My take on Tesla not designing their own better CPO/Inventory site:

I don't think it has anything to do with their business model. Although I certainly think that their current option leaves a lot to be desired, given all the information is there they just don't allow you to search by it. They have made the data readily available. If they didn't want others to create search sites, they could very easily eliminate the data being put out there. Perhaps they are seeing what others can come up with to see what works and what doesn't. Also how people are wanting to search and what criteria people are wanting to search. Also when others create it for them, we are all saving them hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Thanks Erik
 
I don't think they made the data available on purpose and had no clue that anyone would create an ancillary site to re-publish and re-present the data. That took them completely by surprise (I know, the head of the CPO program called me to talk about it). They offered to bring me in as a consultant to help them incorporate the features of EV-CPO into their platform, but then later decided to 'use in-house resources' instead (but I think it was more of the 'Not Invented Here' syndrome at play).

I've also heard more recently that the current scenario is nearing an end.
 
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. Think about it for a moment; when a third party (like you Hank) goes ahead and creates a site that dramatically improves upon Tesla's own AND can charge for it and get many satisfied paying subscribers, that's an indication to a company all is not well with the business model they've built.

I don't think it has anything to do with their business model.

I agree. The limited functionality of the Tesla CPO site is totally separate from their CPO business model. The head of the CPO program told me they had created three different CPO sites with increasing levels of searching, sorting, and filtering sophistication (similar to, but not advanced as, EV-CPO), and showed them all to Elon. Elon choose the most simple of the three, and that's what they went with.
 
There were plenty of CPOs added in January, February, and possibly even early March, but when the majority were removed en masse, it makes it appear that none were added since December. Therefore it gives the illusion none had been added since then, but its technically not correct. I am pretty sure none had been added since the "purge". Only inventory cars to push sales for the end of quarter, my theory anyways.