Model S Trade In - Ridiculous Offer

[ChrgdTeCHick]

If Carvana is willing to give you $25k, what's the problem? Take the money and run

I live in FL where the trade in amount reduces your overall tax.

In my case, not trading in would result in tax of about ~$3400.
- Trading in at their $18k offer is $2400 in taxes
- Trading in at $24k would be $1900 in taxes

I would be willing to trade in with Tesla with a lower offer where the offset of tax and equity is just a little less to save the hassle, but not when it's $5k+ less in equity and the difference of not trading in and trading in at $18k is $1k in taxes.

 

[ChrgdTeCHick]

Its crazy how fast cars depreciate... Even EV's... Its almost like they are all overpriced from the get go...

Funny you say that... in addition to, I paid roughly the same for my S than I'm about to for my Y and the S was used/3 yrs old at the time of purchase.

My S is a beauty and such a fun drive though. Almost hate to part ways but I feel it's a better move to do so.

 

[threeputts]

When I bought a Y in December I also got a much lower trade-in offer from Tesla than Vroom, Carvana and CarMax (vehicle was not a Tesla). Tesla would not match. It seems to me they very much do not want to be in the business of selling used cars.

 

[ChrgdTeCHick]

I just had the same experience selling my '13 P85 (136K miles) ahead of getting a new LR S. Tesla offered me $11K and Carvana offered $15K so it was an easy decision. BTW, Carvana was a great experience.

If it wasn't for the fact Tesla offered me $24.5k just 6 months ago and now wants to offer $18k while Carvana and Vroom are offering me $24k now (and the tax benefits) is why I'm still in limbo. Obviously $24k is the better decision, just would have liked to have had a better one from Tesla since they offered the same just ~250 miles ago

 

[ckoval7]

Just to add a datapoint to this thread, I did a trade-in quote for my car last week. 2015 P85D with 92k miles. Techically it'sa P90D now that it has a 90kWh battery, but Telsa didn't give me the option to pick P90D. They offered $28k, Carvana offered $25k.

 

[ChrgdTeCHick]

When I bought a Y in December I also got a much lower trade-in offer from Tesla than Vroom, Carvana and CarMax (vehicle was not a Tesla). Tesla would not match. It seems to me they very much do not want to be in the business of selling used cars.

The not wanting the business is well known so where you can expect Tesla to be somewhat lower. And now that they don't price match Carmax it's even more evident. What surprised me was the quote differences from the two I got with them.

Wonder what a quote would have looked like on Dec 31 and Jan 1st to catch a sign of a year trigger on their formula. Or maybe the refresh Model S/X date was a trigger (but I think I requested the quote before the announcement, but it could have still been in the calculation)

 

[ChrgdTeCHick]

Just to add a datapoint to this thread, I did a trade-in quote for my car last week. 2015 P85D with 92k miles. Techically it'sa P90D now that it has a 90kWh battery, but Telsa didn't give me the option to pick P90D. They offered $28k, Carvana offered $25k.

Thanks for your reply. I'm going to do what a post above mentioned and look at the soft offer here and there until delivery (the one that you see on the site before you request the official email offer) and see if it happens to jump up. With you getting a higher offer than Carvana just a week ago leads me to believe that it's not an across the board pushback; the algorithm may vary with time/events in some way where timing the offer may matter.

 

[ChrgdTeCHick]

Used car is worth whatever someone will pay for it.

Tesla is really not interested in taking your trade. Ask me how I know. I actually had a Tesla person in Las Vegas ask me, "Can you just not trade your car in and remove it from the deal, it would make things a lot easier."

I would sell your car to Vroom if you've gotten an acceptable offer. I think you've gotten most of the reasons why they dropped their price in the last 6 months. I think it's a combo of the new MY and the refresh pushing your price down. You never said how many miles you have. For a 2013 Model S Performance, the average auction value is about $26k with 73k miles.

I can understand their mentality. I was just shocked to see such a big difference in their own quotes, but the replies I've seen here are all over the place so I'm not so socked. When I did my ICE trade for my S they gave me a great offer so I've had good experiences like others.

it has ~67k miles, so $18k is definitely too low, but the Carvana offer is decent but lower than private sale.

I still prefer trading in, where we just swap keys and drive off, plus tax savings, but not with this low of an offer. The feedback I'm seeing on using Carvana is positive so at least if I chose that route it saves some hassle over private sale.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Congress has introduced a fresh $7,000 Federal Tax Credit for an additional 400,000 cars from Tesla.

If this goes into effect it obviously would effect the buy/sell decision of many wanting to trade up to a new/newer Tesla.

Many people complaining about depreciation on their EVs fail to take into full consideration the initial tax credits and rebates they originally purchased their cars.

Perhaps the recent price hike on refreshed S/X has taken this into consideration as well.

 

[cylonmode]

To be totally transparent here, I bought my Tesla used from Vroom and it was an awesome experience as well. Traded in my 2019 Ford Ranger... They delivered the Tesla, we swapped keys and they took my truck.

 

[_tb_]

Got quotes from Vroom and Carvana this month

Try TrueCar as well. Interestingly enough, they were recommended to me by a Tesla customer service rep after I mentioned that I though what they offered for my '19 Model 3 was low-ish. TrueCar came in at $1K higher than Carmax and Vroom, and they got my car.

 

[Wilber]

Good question:
2013 P85 with 100% charge around 230 last I checked
- Rear Facing Jump Seats
- All Glass Panoramic Roof (Opens/Closes without issues)
- 21" Grey Wheels
- Performance interior carbon Fiber Décor & Spoiler
- Free Supercharging and Free Premium connectivity
- Tech Package/ HomeLink
- Smart Air Suspension
- Premium Sound

Additional Specs:
- Tinted windows (all around and sunroof)
- "Microwave" Space frunk; largest frunk of all the Tesla cars
- MCU1 Upgrade (with LTE, and tire pressure monitoring)
- Center Console (the S's used to come without them for those that don't know)
- 3D MAXpider Front & Second Row Custom Fit All-Weather Floor Mats
- Updated interior lights
- Aluminum Sports Accelerator and Brake Pedals
- Tires replaced ~2k miles ago (right as Covid-19 hit and now only drive her 2-3 times a month)
- Little to no wear on seats, kept covers during use


The car in in excellent contrition and I've loved everything about it, but with it being from 2013 and the warranty running out this summer, I wanted to upgrade. Wanted to upgrade to another S but the price for new is more than what I'd like to pay right now so I decided on a Model Y.

Everyone that rides in it can't believe it's 7-8 years old. I never saw a Tesla in person in 2012/2013 but I can imagine how ahead of its time this car looked back then.

View attachment 635844 View attachment 635845

Thanks for all the good details. That is one beautiful car! If i lived nearby i would buy it from ya for more than Tesla is offering! One possible explanation for the quick reduction in their offer is the recently announced official federal recall of old Teslas for the MCU1 problem. From your description I am not sure if you have had the latest upgrade for MCU1 done or not. Even if you have, i suspect the publicity for the 'recall' may have lowered value for all old MCU1 Teslas even if they have the 'recall' upgrade. Looks like Carvana and thos other car buying companies are the way to go as long as their offer is high enough to compensate for the additional sales tax on your MY. I do hope you have test driven and thorougly scoped out the MY. It is a much more basic car, with a rougher ride, and not as elegant as your MS. I would have a tough time adjusting to the simplicity of the MY. But, of course, it has newer tech in a wide variety of ways, so cant ignore that! Good luck!

 

[ChrgdTeCHick]

Thanks for all the good details. That is one beautiful car! If i lived nearby i would buy it from ya for more than Tesla is offering! One possible explanation for the quick reduction in their offer is the recently announced official federal recall of old Teslas for the MCU1 problem. From your description I am not sure if you have had the latest upgrade for MCU1 done or not. Even if you have, i suspect the publicity for the 'recall' may have lowered value for all old MCU1 Teslas even if they have the 'recall' upgrade. Looks like Carvana and thos other car buying companies are the way to go as long as their offer is high enough to compensate for the additional sales tax on your MY. I do hope you have test driven and thorougly scoped out the MY. It is a much more basic car, with a rougher ride, and not as elegant as your MS. I would have a tough time adjusting to the simplicity of the MY. But, of course, it has newer tech in a wide variety of ways, so cant ignore that! Good luck!

Thank for the reply. The recall could be a contributing factor. Mine was replaced before the recall so it would be a "perk" for someone buying it to not deal with a recall (but that would be more of a a factor in a private sale)

I did an overnight test drive with the Y to help my decision because I wanted a good feel for it. I was worried I wouldn't like it enough for it to be a switch I'd be fine with since I have nothing negative to say about my S. While the Y is no S in many ways, they are both really good vehicles. The concerns I had (such as rough drive due to no air suspension) ended up not being what I imagined. May be that my S is on 21's so even with air suspension it feels more on the rough side, but they were both quite equal on that aspect. The look of it is certainly not as "sexy", the lack of an opening sunroof is a bummer (but the new S' don't have that anyway) and the simple things like the lack of keyfob and HomeLink that are standard with the S makes me scratch my head (although from Tesla's point I certainly see the cost benefits).

From the time I spent with the Y, it is a fair replacement to my S when you factor in the drastic difference in price. Had I had a newer S or buying a used Y I don't think I could make the switch! Thanks for pointing it out though as it could have certainly been a shock had I not considered it.

 

[acarney]

The warranty running out might also be driving the price down. Tesla no longer offers an extended warranty when buying CPO. They really don't want to deal with used cars.

 

[ohm-ms]

Tesla uses a 3rd party for pricing and purchasing trade-ins. That 3rd party offers wholesale pricing. I've confirmed this by comparing estimates I've received over time against Manheim Auctions MMR and they are within a few hundred dollars consistently.

Tesla pricing is very volatile, more than any other car I've owned given the rate and magnitude of the advancements that are introduced. Electric cars are still in the growth phase of the product maturity curve compared to ICE. As an example, I bought a 75D in 2018 with a 259 mile range, 0-60 in 4.2s for $80k. Within a year of buying it, the price went down significantly and range and performance increased significantly.

The quote I received from Tesla a few weeks ago was $41k. Ouch!

 

[Darmie]

I'm looking at a Model S here locally to add to my turo fleet. I was surprised that Facebook Market place actually had some Model S vehicles. I would recommend trying there for the sale and see if you get what you are asking for.

 

[seniorcitizen]

Private party sale will get you the best price. Tesla offered my $5700 for my 2008 Azura MDX. It was in excellent condition. Carvana, carmax offered 6500.
Sold it on Craigslist for $9500 in less than 24 hours. There were many buyers interested because car was in great condition and had low miles.

 

[ChrgdTeCHick]

Just thought I'd update those that replied on here but I ended up selling my S to AutoNation. Tesla went no higher than $18.5k, Carvana and Vroom were around $24k. AutoNation was $26.5k. Would have likely gotten more private sell but really didn't want to deal with that hassle.

They cut me a check on the spot for my equity and are paying off my loan with the bank direct. I've heard some negative reviews about them paying it off in time, but I'm paid through May on my loan so I'm not concerned but will keep an eye on it of course.

 

[Darmie]

Just thought I'd update those that replied on here but I ended up selling my S to AutoNation. Tesla went no higher than $18.5k, Carvana and Vroom were around $24k. AutoNation was $26.5k. Would have likely gotten more private sell but really didn't want to deal with that hassle.

They cut me a check on the spot for my equity and are paying off my loan with the bank direct. I've heard some negative reviews about them paying it off in time, but I'm paid through May on my loan so I'm not concerned but will keep an eye on it of course.

That's great news. I'd love to have one of the older model S. It would be like owning and driving any older classic car. A few times when a loaner was available, I love driving the original S's.

 

[rocketshipp85]

I had a 12 P85 back in the day that was totaled after someone hit it, and previously had some older S’s in my rental fleet. But would be very interested in a pre AP S again and/or would be interested in anybody’s older S’s if anybody is looking to sell!