Lots of CPO cars with good prices -- suddenly?

[David29]

I have been keeping half an eye out on the CPO prices, mainly because my lease is ending and I am thinking of buying my car, so i want to see how the buy-out price compares to the market. The CPO prices seem to have been about the same, until this week.
Maybe it is my imagination, but it seems as though there are suddenly many Model S CPO cars at prices at or meaningfully below my lease buy-out price. in fact, it looks as if i could get a similarly-equipped 85D for about the price I'd pay the bank for my 70D! That is a surprise, given the large price difference when new.
Of course, the trouble with comparisons is finding an exact match of features. For example, I bought the premium upgrade package at the time, and that is never mentioned in the CPO descriptions. The closest the listings come is to say if there is a "Power Liftgate." When i ordered, you had to order the PUP to get the power liftgate. But not every car whose listing says "power liftgate" necessarily has the full PUP -- it would depend upon when the car was made
There is also the location issue. In my case, there are a few attractive cars with locations listed as Massachusetts, but more in New York. i have read that Tesla no longer delivers CPO cars, you have to pick them up. But even if I stick with local cars, there do seem to be some good deals.

Anyway, it looks to me as if the prices for CPO cars are pretty good right now. Maybe they always are and i just have not paid enough attention!

 

[KJD]

Yes it does appear that they have discounted the price on the used cars in the past few weeks. With all the trade ins they have taken in the last month or so, it was bound to happen.

You might take a look at EV-CPO.com - Tesla New, Used, and CPO Inventory Listings for comparisons. Its a lot easier to filter and sort than the Tesla web site.

 

[David29]

Yes it does appear that they have discounted the price on the used cars in the past few weeks. With all the trade ins they have taken in the last month or so, it was bound to happen.

You might take a look at EV-CPO.com - Tesla New, Used, and CPO Inventory Listings for comparisons. Its a lot easier to filter and sort than the Tesla web site.

I have tried that site but I have trouble making the filters work. User error, i am sure!

 

[Uncle Paul]

Probably taking lots of trade in cars from customers getting all those Model 3.

S and X owners are noticing that they can get a brand new Model 3 for about the same price as trading in their earlier cars.

Supply and demand at work.

One huge advantage of buying out your own lease is that you know exactly the condition it is in and how it has been taken care of.
Buying one from out of state and only seeing pictures involves more risk than just keeping your own car.

 

[Donz_S]

I spent over 3 months combing through the CPO market before buying my 2013 MS 85. I did look outside of Tesla website but only for comparisons. Things I noted from the Tesla site:
1. It picks up my local zip code. So, my workaround was to bookmark multiple zip code searches and then open each one each day to check prices and availability.
2. Prices tend to drop $900-1,000 everyday. As the price drops low enough, someone is always there to buy.
3. Tesla used to ship and prep the CPO's but, during the time I was in my search mode, they went from $1,500 ship and prep regardless of location, to "you come get your car where you bought it from" (and no $1,500 charge added to the sale).
4. A $400 plane ticket and up to 3 days of driving my new purchase was WELL worth the time and $$.
5. I had read that the "Free" SuperCharger (SC) would only be valid if the vehicle was purchased directly from Tesla. This may or may not be fact.
6. That "Free" SC? At the time of initial sale, the previous owner purchased this option and it rolls with the vehicle, not the previous owner. For me, unlimited access to SCs was a BIG deal. A value added of about $10K over the life I expect to own and use my vehicle.
7. You are correct that, "details" is hardly anything like what I'd expect. Tesla does say they perform the 70 point check, and I was VERY happy with the condition of my CPO.
8. Zipcodes I used:
a. 98660, Vancouver, WA
b. 33166, Miami, FL
c. 20175, Leesburg, VA
d. 00000, No Zip (only works inside my company's firewall)
e. 77059, Houston, TX
f. 85364, Yuma, AZ
g. 92128, San Diego, CA

 

[David29]

Probably taking lots of trade in cars from customers getting all those Model 3.

S and X owners are noticing that they can get a brand new Model 3 for about the same price as trading in their earlier cars.

Supply and demand at work.

One huge advantage of buying out your own lease is that you know exactly the condition it is in and how it has been taken care of.
Buying one from out of state and only seeing pictures involves more risk than just keeping your own car.

I agree wholeheartedly. Reducing uncertainty is worth something. I got pictures of one car that looked good, but it has cosmetic issues that would be a pain to deal with, and might be more costly than I imagine. I know my car is in good shape, I know what the cosmetic problems are, and can live with them. Still, it would be nice not to over-pay the bank for my car, if the market values are dropping because of tesla's overstock of recent trade-ins (assuming that is indeed the case).

Unfortunately, I suspect that whatever mechanism the banks might have for adjusting their residual values probably is slow and won't immediately reflect a drop in market values, if there is one. It would take a while for actual sales to drive down the values in the Blue Book and other sources. So it is probably useless to try to argue with the bank based upon advertised CPO prices.

 

[MC408]

Yes. You are correct.

I’ve been tracking for the last few months and bought my P85D around a month ago for $54,800. They were all hovering in the $58-$68k range and the lowest I saw one get to was $51,800. I saw one today drop below $50k so if you use that as the low benchmark. I am now watching all model S and see them in the low $30s. If one drops below $30k it will be a first for as long as I’ve been watching.

 

[whitex]

Maybe it is my imagination, but it seems as though there are suddenly many Model S CPO cars at prices at or meaningfully below my lease buy-out price. in fact, it looks as if i could get a similarly-equipped 85D for about the price I'd pay the bank for my 70D!

Keep in mind that the way Tesla does leases, they add the $7,500 federal tax rebate to your buyout price, which means it was artificially inflated by that much. It's a nice little accounting trick to give the leasing company a little bonus for every customer who buys out their lease, plus have the all customers pay interest on the $7,500 for the lease duration. It also gives Teslas a higher perceived resale values. Other EV's, like Nissan Leaf for example, just subtract the $7,500 from the price of the car, meaning you don't pay interest on it, and you don't have to pay it if you choose to buy out at the end.

That is not to say that CPO's haven't dropped in price in Tesla's year end push for cash, just remember that when comparing lease residual to car prices, you start with a $7,500 premium already. Your car trade-in value would be about $10K below what the same CPO's sells for. I suspect your residual is more then $7,500 higher than the trade-in value you'd get on your car, so yes, CPO's have dropped in price.

 

[EV-CPO]

I have tried that site but I have trouble making the filters work. User error, i am sure!

Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions or I can help at all. Most people find it pretty easy to use.

If one drops below $30k it will be a first for as long as I’ve been watching.

There already have been a few!

 

[whitex]

Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions or I can help at all. Most people find it pretty easy to use.



There already have been a few!

View attachment 350984

Tesla sold a 60D in 2013?!?

 

[MC408]

@EV-CPO , your site is awesome and a great tool for car hunting.

.

There already have been a few!

View attachment 350984

Thanks. Was wondering but mostly searching my local area.

Is there a way to look at archives or price history of specific vehicles, to see where they stated and how much they dropped before selling? I haven’t played around enough on your site so sorry if asking a simple question.

Thanks.

 

[Omer]

ev-cpo might be might favorite site on the internet

 

[henderrj]

Tesla sold a 60D in 2013?!?

Did they not start with the 85, 60, and 40? The 40 was, I am sure, a dumbed-down 60 without the option for supercharging.

 

[David_Cary]

There was no D of any kind in 2013

 

[whitex]

There was no D of any kind in 2013

Exactly, the data seems wrong, 2013 60D which didn't exist, for sale for $28,800 with high mileage but with standard 4 year CPO warranty, something doesn't add up.

 

[EV-CPO]

Tesla sold a 60D in 2013?!?

There was no D of any kind in 2013

Exactly, the data seems wrong, 2013 60D which didn't exist, for sale for $28,800 with high mileage but with standard 4 year CPO warranty, something doesn't add up.

This is correct, the data is wrong. But that's exactly the way the data came in from Tesla!

I have a screen grab somewhere, I can dig it out this weekend.

 

[EV-CPO]

@EV-CPO , your site is awesome and a great tool for car hunting.

Thanks!

Is there a way to look at archives or price history of specific vehicles, to see where they stated and how much they dropped before selling? I haven’t played around enough on your site so sorry if asking a simple question.

Yes, when looking at any car listing, you can click on the "gear" icon to bring up the options display, and if there are historical prices, there ill be a button to display the dates, prices, and a chart.

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

Still waiting on my CPO April 2018 X100D for $80k come on April 2019!

 

[SBDPlaid]

Great info thanks!
Is the only way to purchase a CPO to buy directly through Tesla? Is there a benefit other than the extended warranty? (ie, would it be cheaper to buy a used MS from a private party/non Tesla dealer instead and purchase an aftermarket warranty?)
Does Tesla offer financing programs with special interest rates on the CPOs like they do on their new orders?
Thanks!

 

[Donz_S]

Great info thanks!
Is the only way to purchase a CPO to buy directly through Tesla? Is there a benefit other than the extended warranty? (ie, would it be cheaper to buy a used MS from a private party/non Tesla dealer instead and purchase an aftermarket warranty?)
Does Tesla offer financing programs with special interest rates on the CPOs like they do on their new orders?
Thanks!

From my post above...
5. I had read that the "Free" SuperCharger (SC) would only be valid if the vehicle was purchased directly from Tesla. This may or may not be fact.
6. That "Free" SC? At the time of initial sale, the previous owner purchased this option and it rolls with the vehicle, not the previous owner. For me, unlimited access to SCs was a BIG deal. A value added of about $10K over the life I expect to own and use my vehicle.

This is the only information I had at the time of my CPO (used car) purchase direct from Tesla. Caveat: I do not know for sure that it is true, only that this is what I read (and believed to be true) at the time I was looking to buy used vehicle.