New vehicle purchase frustrations

[zebrafish]

Buying my 4th Tesla— incredible this company can’t seem to get better in the ordering/delivery/precision build categories.

Trade in offer for my 2018 MX was insulting — even with 5k unlimited supercharging “bonus” for trade-in, I managed to sell my car for $10,000 more than Tesla offered me.

My first new S at time of delivery had a 1” scratch through all paint layers and a dent in the door. I rejected it.

I went in to the purchase almost expecting these things to happen. And the company wonders why sales are terrible?

 

[LydieCakes]

Buying my 4th Tesla— incredible this company can’t seem to get better in the ordering/delivery/precision build categories.

Trade in offer for my 2018 MX was insulting — even with 5k unlimited supercharging “bonus” for trade-in, I managed to sell my car for $10,000 more than Tesla offered me.

My first new S at time of delivery had a 1” scratch through all paint layers and a dent in the door. I rejected it.

I went in to the purchase almost expecting these things to happen. And the company wonders why sales are terrible?

I got U beat.
We are military. Suppose to take delivery tomorrow and they are refusing to sell us the car unless we register it in a state we don't technically live in (we are military) and the state we are buying in isn't out home of record state.

 

[Evee]

where did this whole d o u c h e attitude come from from customer service lol

 

[E90alex]

Trade in values are low on purpose so they can make more money on your car when they sell it. Happens everywhere and you’ll always get more money selling it yourself.

The rest of it seems par for Tesla and they don’t seem inclined to improve the experience. With as low volume as the S and X are, every single one coming off the line should be perfect. And the delivery experience should be more befitting of a $100k+ vehicle. But they still act like they’re the ones doing you a favor for allowing you the privilege to purchase one of their vehicles.

 

[Evee]

That’s an excellent way to put it

 

[EVRider-FL]

Sales aren’t “terrible” and we’re still buying these cars. That’s why service and delivery have gone downhill. When Tesla needs to become more competitive, things will improve.

 

[aerodyne]

where did this whole d o u c h e attitude come from from customer service lol

I'd say the fish rots from the head, but I've been told this is not accurate.

Imagine a billionaire with no filters and Asperger's is the root cause.

 

[zebrafish]

For the record:

Tesla offered me 28K + 5K = 33K for trade in (5K "bonus" for FUSC)
Carmax = 35K cash
Private dealer auction = 37K cash (didn't meet my 40K reserve, so I didn't sell for this)
Private sale = 43K

Being the economic genius that I am, I took the private seller

So the difference in my X tesla trade-in vs actual sale was $15,000 if you don't take into account the $5000 FUSC bonus. That's a huge difference. If you consider I spent maybe 15 hours dealing with online ads and people coming to look at the car (only 2 people ultimately looked at it in person), that's like $1000/hr for that time. That isn't chump change.

 

[Kare101]

I got U beat.
We are military. Suppose to take delivery tomorrow and they are refusing to sell us the car unless we register it in a state we don't technically live in (we are military) and the state we are buying in isn't out home of record state.

That crazy because I am picking up a car in New Jersey but registering it in Louisiana. I travel for work which mean I won’t be in LA to pickup so I opted for closet pickup area that allows out-of-state pickup. You need to speak with their Registration Department to see what is the closet state you can pickup car

 

[Tessd]

Sales aren’t “terrible” and we’re still buying these cars. That’s why service and delivery have gone downhill. When Tesla needs to become more competitive, things will improve.

Honestly… I don’t think I will replace my Model S with another Tesla. There are a lot of good things but service is not good and I just don’t like all the pricing games. Buying a car in this price range is in large part an emotional purchase.

 

[EVRider-FL]

For the record:

Tesla offered me 28K + 5K = 33K for trade in (5K "bonus" for FUSC)
Carmax = 35K cash
Private dealer auction = 37K cash (didn't meet my 40K reserve, so I didn't sell for this)
Private sale = 43K

Being the economic genius that I am, I took the private seller

So the difference in my X tesla trade-in vs actual sale was $15,000 if you don't take into account the $5000 FUSC bonus. That's a huge difference. If you consider I spent maybe 15 hours dealing with online ads and people coming to look at the car (only 2 people ultimately looked at it in person), that's like $1000/hr for that time. That isn't chump change.

In my case, Tesla’s trade in offer was much higher than the alternatives from CarMax, Carvana, and Driveway. I’m trading a 2018 S100D with 26.2k miles and FSD. No FUSC bonus. Every situation is different, so don’t assume Tesla will always lowball you. I was a little worried when I had to get a new trade in offer after the first one expired, but it only dropped $300.

 

[DayTrippin]

In my case, Tesla’s trade in offer was much higher than the alternatives from CarMax, Carvana, and Driveway. I’m trading a 2018 S100D with 26.2k miles and FSD. No FUSC bonus. Every situation is different, so don’t assume Tesla will always lowball you. I was a little worried when I had to get a new trade in offer after the first one expired, but it only dropped $300.

Lucky you only dropping $300 on your Tesla trade offer. Mine dropped $10k on my 2022 MS LR. Tesla was also the second lowest offer.

If there is any pattern I've seen with Tesla, is that if you have an older model such as last gen or 2-3 years old of the current model, they sometimes are competitive. Lately they have been ~10k below the best wholesale prices I could get.

 

[Kare101]

Lucky you only dropping $300 on your Tesla trade offer. Mine dropped $10k on my 2022 MS LR. Tesla was also the second lowest offer.

If there is any pattern I've seen with Tesla, is that if you have an older model such as last gen or 2-3 years old of the current model, they sometimes are competitive. Lately they have been ~10k below the best wholesale prices I could get.

I figured out the trick. Don’t add trade to profile until you’re assigned a vin. Then you’re less likely to experience a drop in trade value due to the 30 day clause.

 

[jebinc]

Aside from low offers, has anyone ever had Telsa renege on a formal offer WITHIN the “30 day/1000 mile” terms of said offer, right before delivery? If so, please explain…

 

[aerodyne]

Opining...sounds like typical Tesla

 

[jebinc]

Opining...sounds like typical Tesla

But, on what basis? They say the offer is good for 30 days or 1000 miles. There is no other fine print attached to the offer - that only arrives via the app.

 

[lowtek]

And the company wonders why sales are terrible?

Eh?

 

[Rascoe]

Aside from low offers, has anyone ever had Telsa renege on a formal offer WITHIN the “30 day/1000 mile” terms of said offer, right before delivery? If so, please explain…

They tried to do that with me back in 2019. I was buying a used MS from them. Had everything set with trade in but there was unexpected damage on the MS so I declined the car and found another one well with the 30 days. Right before buying they reneged on the trade in price and I told them to cancel as they wouldn't honor their own contract. Their delivery coordinator called, I explained the error of their ways and they agreed to honor the trade in price and I bought the car.

 

[jebinc]

They tried to do that with me back in 2019. I was buying a used MS from them. Had everything set with trade in but there was unexpected damage on the MS so I declined the car and found another one well with the 30 days. Right before buying they reneged on the trade in price and I told them to cancel as they wouldn't honor their own contract. Their delivery coordinator called, I explained the error of their ways and they agreed to honor the trade in price and I bought the car.

Thanks for sharing!