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Lease/Loan Calculation Mix Up

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Hello all-


I’m looking for some advice and guidance from the community about a snafu that I have encountered with an order that is soooooo close to being delivered ☺.


First a little background – I have been working with my OA for the better part of a month and they have been great, very responsive and informative throughout the process. They were very active in sharing inventory options based on what I was looking for in a model X and we ended up landing on one with all the options I was looking for, and a great discount that in turn, translated into a monthly lease payment that fell in line with my budget. I was able to connect with them to get a deposit locked in and they quickly took the X out of inventory and arranged delivery. Within a couple of days, I had heard from my local delivery specialist and all seemed to be moving smoothly.


I was asked to complete my credit application and this is where we ran into the issue at hand. My application was approved, and all looked well until it came to the residual value of the car at the end of the lease on the document that I received after submitting my application. This residual value was $4,200.00 less than the one on the payment estimator that I originally received from my OA. Since a deposit had been placed I was under the impression that this action indicated to Tesla that I had agreed upon the values that were presented to me and the deposit would ensure that these are the values that were present at delivery. Perhaps this was an misguided assumption, but I questioned with the team about the discrepancy and they shared with me that my OA had accidentally used a calculations sheet that was for the previous quarter and this is why the residual on the most recent payment estimator I received is much less than the first. This mix up increases the lease cost by $3,600.00 over the life of the lease. My OA continues to be responsive, however they have indicated that as a policy they are unable to make changes to the price of the car, and it is starting to feel like we are coming to a dead end on options. I do understand that they are unable to change the price of the car, however I don’t feel that the policy that is be referenced was put in place for a situation like this. They have offered one year of free service, and are looking into all-weather mats, but if feel that the value of these things aren’t adding up to the additional cost that I am set to incur.


I wanted to see what the groups thoughts were about the situation, if anyone has gone through something similar, if I was stuck, or if their might be an opportunity to explain the situation so that as the customer, I do not have to bare the effects of the mistake that was made.


Thank you all for your time and I look forward to your thoughts and feedback – this community has been great and instrumental in my goal to become a Tesla owner.
 
Just speaking from prior experience of leases, the residual and interest rates change every month so you may have been having discussions with an earlier set of numbers that changed later in your process. So it's usually good to move fairly quickly on this stuff to lock things down.

The OA estimates in pretty much all cases are just estimates of things like sales tax, fees, etc. Of course it usually doesn't make as bit of a difference as what you are seeing.

It also would have been nice if your OA was a little more clear in saying things like "not to push you but on Monday these rates can change", etc.

Sounds like there is nothing more than Tesla is planning to do beyond what they've offered so the decision at this point is up to you. With a traditional dealership you would have more room for price reductions, cap cost reductions, etc.
 
I certainly agree a notification would have been appropriate, but I don't think there was one to be had here.

I apologize I wasn't very clear on this in my first post, so let me know if your thoughts change after hearing this.

What I am being told is the form that was used to generate the first OA estimate on 10/14/17 was a form that expired at the end of Tesla's second quarter. So, the first OA estimate that I received was wrong because the calculation that was used was based on numbers that expired a month before and not because two days passed between me receiving it and placing my deposit and the rates changing over that time.
 
Hi John,

I'm just one guy giving an opinion, that's all. I don't work for Tesla or have any power to do much of anything.

I think this is just an unfortunate case of a mistake that the OA made. If it's systemic and the OA purposely does this to try to get more business, etc. then it would be unethical but if it's just a mistake of using an old form, etc. then I think it's just an unfortunate mistake like a pricing error, etc.

It's obviously not your fault and it's the OA's fault but he's not perfect and it sounds like he's owned up to his mistake, apologized, and is trying to a little something to help out (free service for a year), etc.
 
This seems unfair to the purchaser who has already put a deposit down and run credit for the vehicle. The OA should be held accountable for the mistake since we make decisions based on quoted numbers. Especially since the discrepancy is significant. Can anything be done @JonMc ?
 
Do you happen to have a 75D on order?
The residuals from Q3 to Q4 got worse by 1-2% on the 75 and P100 models and got better on the 100D.

My guess is you were quoted by the OA on s Q3 lease sheet and Finance is now working off a Q4 sheet.

Happens with ICE manufacturers too. Lease numbers change monthly for some of them and unfortunately it sounds like it bit you in the arse.

We have a 100D we’re picking up next week and the payment from Q3 to Q4 dropped $110 due to the residual change.
 
Yes - it is a 75D - might have gone for the 100D knowing that. We had some that were very close when we were looking at inventory, but I imagine that the estimations that I was getting on the 100D were also using the old form so the pricing was inflated and we ruled them out.
 
I would expect the numbers given by the OA to be accurate within at least a percent. You're talking what 5%? That's huge, and I would push on them to honor the original deal. They certainly can adjust the price of the inventory cars. The downside of the direct sales model is that if they aren't willing to, there isn't much you can do. Its not like you can just go to a different dealership or anything.
 
Unfortunately, I’m finding myself in a place where I’m being told that there is nothing more that can be done. And now we are in a climate where inventory cars are low, and with potential changes to tax rebates looming, more buyers are now expressing a higher rate of interest than they once were.

I would have loved to have worked this out, however I’m sure I will still enjoy the car.
 
Are you locked into delivery of that specific car? Can you find another inventory car that is falls in the planned budget range? I know that Tesla usually aims for conservative estimates so that you can be surprised on final paperwork (in a good way).

We had a catastrophic EAP fail on the test drive and it pretty much chased us away from the car. Tried to use it as a bargaining advantage but they do not move on price at all.

Btw, according to their website you can sell back the unused portion of your service plan.... so... make them tack on another 2 years of service plan and then cancel it after you take delivery. You'll get about half of your money back right there alone.

Good luck man!