Opting for December delivery changes model year?

[banterer]

Hi, I'm new to the forum.

I got an email asking if I would like a December delivery and I opted in. My original delivery was going to be February/March and my paperwork said that I was getting a 2013.

I got a VIN # on December 18th but did not get my final Model S paperwork until December 22nd. I was about to sign it until I saw that even though it was only my delivery date that had changed, I was now getting a 2012. This means that traditionally, as soon as 1/1/13 rolls around, my car will in essence be last year's model. Can anyone tell me whatup? I have left messages and sent emails but of course, everything is shut down for the holidays so I have gotten no response.

I did some searching on the forum and did searches for "model year" and saw that some actually desire a 2012 model and others say that the day your car rolls off the assembly line determines the "model year". I expect to want to keep the car forever but as we all know, if/when I want to resell the car, the model year usually plays a big part in resale value unless it is some kind of classic or collectible (I do not know if an "S" is collectors item or not).

Can some of you weigh in on this? I have not signed my paperwork yet since I am waiting to hear from them if it is simply an error or if I should just wait (if I even have that option) until after new Year's for another vehicle. I realize that they will all be basically the same car but when reselling the car, the first thing people look it is the model year.

Thanks,
Jorge

 

[LuckyLuke]

Model year is in the VIN, digit 10:
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/7638-Decoding-Tesla-Model-S-VINs
Besides, that car is already being produced to your spec, so there is no such thing as "waiting for another vehicle"

 

[gregincal]

Um, yeah? You were going to get a 2013 car, they asked whether you wanted a car in 2012 instead and you said yes. Somehow you expected to get a 2013 car in 2012??? I really don't think it will make any difference with Tesla's, since the two model years will be identical.

 

[dsm363]

The cars will be the same. Unless you're planning on selling the car right away I don't think it will matter. If you want the car earlier, go ahead and get the 2012 Model S. There will be no difference in the 'model year' like there are often times with traditional cars.

 

[sp4rk]

Hi, I'm new to the forum.

I got an email asking if I would like a December delivery and I opted in. My original delivery was going to be February/March and my paperwork said that I was getting a 2013.

I got a VIN # on December 18th but did not get my final Model S paperwork until December 22nd. I was about to sign it until I saw that even though it was only my delivery date that had changed, I was now getting a 2012. This means that traditionally, as soon as 1/1/13 rolls around, my car will in essence be last year's model. Can anyone tell me whatup? I have left messages and sent emails but of course, everything is shut down for the holidays so I have gotten no response.

I did some searching on the forum and did searches for "model year" and saw that some actually desire a 2012 model and others say that the day your car rolls off the assembly line determines the "model year". I expect to want to keep the car forever but as we all know, if/when I want to resell the car, the model year usually plays a big part in resale value unless it is some kind of classic or collectible (I do not know if an "S" is collectors item or not).

Can some of you weigh in on this? I have not signed my paperwork yet since I am waiting to hear from them if it is simply an error or if I should just wait (if I even have that option) until after new Year's for another vehicle. I realize that they will all be basically the same car but when reselling the car, the first thing people look it is the model year.

Thanks,
Jorge

Something is odd? Refer my bolding above. No paperwork? Not even finalize paperwork? And you got your VIN?

 

[banterer]

Correct, they emailed me the VIN on the 18th and said I should look out for the final paperwork to be in my "inbox" the next day. A few days went by and when I called to tell the young lady who is working with me that I hadn't gotten anything, she told me that they were just about to open or "release" something in Canada and that they were concentrating on that. That I should not worry because as long as I got my VIN, the car would be going into production and would not be delayed because of the paperwork. I did get the paperwork as I said on the 22nd.

- - - Updated - - -

Yes, I was thinking that there may in fact be no physical difference in the vehicles but that may not necessarily make a difference when purchasing one used. I however did not know if somehow a Tesla was a different beast since it is not being produced by a traditional car mfg.

 

[ClearwaterBchSteve]

banterer... 2012 is the "first" year of the Model S which is important. I consider my Model S a collector's item (one of the first 2000 manufactured) and you are lucky to be offered to get it sooner. It's not just another "car".

 

[banterer]

Hi Steve,

I have not had too many very high priced cars but I know that when it came to resale, they all dropped like a rock and that model year did account for a few thousand dollars when it came to their resale value. The only car I have ever loved was a Cayman S but that car too plummeted in value. I do however think that this particular car is a game-changer and expect to hold onto it for a long time. The Cayman and two previous Lexus' and a couple of other cars also were all about half their value when I sold them or turned in at the end of their leases.

 

[Ceilidh]

Tesla placed up a post at one point describing how they are not using model years in the way all other auto manufacturers do. The year of your car is simply the year it was built/delivered, primarily related to VIN requirements and conventions.

With the Roadster, they followed software conventions (2.0, etc) for differentiating between variances in vehicle build type.

So your issue lies in thinking about the Model S in terms of industry standard vs they way Tesla operates.

As others have said, it makes little to no difference.

Cheers

 

[shokunin]

Something is odd? Refer my bolding above. No paperwork? Not even finalize paperwork? And you got your VIN?

Yes, you get your VIN and then the "final" MVPA versus the preliminary MVPA after configuring your car. The final MVPA will have your VIN, estimated delivery and so forth. If you financing, this is the document that your bank/credit union will request.

 

[timdorr]

Can some of you weigh in on this? I have not signed my paperwork yet since I am waiting to hear from them if it is simply an error or if I should just wait (if I even have that option) until after new Year's for another vehicle. I realize that they will all be basically the same car but when reselling the car, the first thing people look it is the model year.

To put it simply, you're not going to want to sell this car

But all kidding aside, being able to sell a car from it's "rookie" year actually adds value to the vehicle. Being one of the first two or three thousand produced is very significant. This is the very first luxury all-electric sedan. This will undoubtedly be a collectors item in the future. If I was a collectible car guy in the future, I would definitely want as close to car #1 as I could get.

 

[lolachampcar]

banterer,
I said yes as well knowing that would take me to a MY12 car. I have not received a ViN and thus will likely get mine in the first few weeks of January. I had hoped for December but am happy to take the MY13 ViN.

Yes Tesla is different but I think that difference is important to Tesla and not to a future buyer. I too feel that one year newer will make a difference as I will be selling a three year old car, not a four year old car. With respect to the collector's value of a first year car, I can not help but feel Tesla is going to make a boat load of the Model S. A commodity is a commodity and having the first year of production may not make any positive difference on resale.

The above is my justification for the bright side of not getting a ViN. I would happily have taken a ViN and the car in 2012!

 

[banterer]

Ok signed and having $$ wired.

I don't know how to create those auto signatures so I will just write my options in here:

Model S Performance, Black, All Glass Panoramic, 21" Grey Wheels, Black Nappa Leather/Alcantara with Red Piping, Obeche Wood Matte Décor, 85 kWh, Tech Package, Sound Studio Package, Active Air Suspension, Twin Chargers, High Power Wall Connector, Supercharger Hardware

Basically, everything except the 2 trunk seats because they were only rated for children up to 77# so I saw no use for them.

I did not get the paint armor and am wondering if I should have done it or if I should get them done after I get it. Opinions?
Jorge

 

[dailydriver]

Ok signed and having $$ wired.

I don't know how to create those auto signatures so I will just write my options in here:

Model S Performance, Black, All Glass Panoramic, 21" Grey Wheels, Black Nappa Leather/Alcantara with Red Piping, Obeche Wood Matte Décor, 85 kWh, Tech Package, Sound Studio Package, Active Air Suspension, Twin Chargers, High Power Wall Connector, Supercharger Hardware

Basically, everything except the 2 trunk seats because they were only rated for children up to 77# so I saw no use for them.

I did not get the paint armor and am wondering if I should have done it or if I should get them done after I get it. Opinions?
Jorge

Opinion: Nice job - I love how you have speced your car!

 

[strider]

Tesla does not follow the "model year" convention of other car makers wherein they start selling 2013 models in the Fall of 2012. With Tesla the year of the car is the year it was made. If the year that is listed on your title is important to you then you should defer. But know that the car will be identical - at least with the Roadster, Tesla has a "Version" convention that tells people what features the car has and to identify when things change. They implement changes to the vehicle when they're ready and don't wait for model year boundaries.

 

[jerry33]

I did not get the paint armor and am wondering if I should have done it or if I should get them done after I get it. Opinions?

The factory paint armour only covers half the hood so many folks think that it's better to get done locally. However, one person has reported that Tesla didn't do theirs at the factory and they were offered the choice of a full hood for a few hundred dollars extra.

Everyone agrees that the paint armour protects against rock chips.

 

[banterer]

You can track a toothbrush yet you can't track a 100k car???? Not even Tesla really knows where it is. They told me that according to their last status it was supposed to be delivered yesterday afternoon. I told them that I was told that I would usually get a 24 hr window and had not gotten a call from anyone yet. I asked if they deliver on the weekend, he checked and said "yes" but again, since I have not gotten any calls about delivery, I suppose I probably won't get it until Monday?

 

[Letrit]

Tesla does not follow the "model year" convention of other car makers wherein they start selling 2013 models in the Fall of 2012. With Tesla the year of the car is the year it was made. If the year that is listed on your title is important to you then you should defer. But know that the car will be identical - at least with the Roadster, Tesla has a "Version" convention that tells people what features the car has and to identify when things change. They implement changes to the vehicle when they're ready and don't wait for model year boundaries.

I get that the 2012 built cars are called 2012 but why will my car that will be completed in 2013 still be called a 2012. My original window was Feb/Mar but I said yes to December 2012 delivery. Obviously that's not going to happen and I'm okay with mid to late January as I've just been told. What I don't get is why I'll be getting a 2012 when it clearly won't be completed until the first weeks of 2013.
My DS's answer: "The “year built” is more of a legal term than anything else and doesn’t reflect any actual differences to the car. What model year is on the car is actually determined in the early stages of production rather than when the car finishes production. A late 2012 model and an early 2013 model are actually identical cars, but legally they have to have a year. If we could build them without years we probably would. Model S is more like technology in the way that currently Model S 1.0 has been released and there will be further “models” like 1.5 or 2.0 in the future."
Doesn't seem right to me..... If it's completed in 2013 - I want a 2013!

 

[tdiggity]

Doesn't seem right to me..... If it's completed in 2013 - I want a 2013!

You're holding onto an old paradigm. Anyone shopping for a used model S will be looking at the version number not so much the year. Look at used roadsters in the for sale forum, people list by 1.0/1.5/2.0 instead of year. The version number tells you what features it has. The mileage tells you wear and tear.

If you insist on holding onto the year a tesla was made, then you're voting for tesla to hold back innovation and updates to a yearly basis instead of whenever it's reasonable to release new features.

 

[strider]

I get that the 2012 built cars are called 2012 but why will my car that will be completed in 2013 still be called a 2012. My original window was Feb/Mar but I said yes to December 2012 delivery. Obviously that's not going to happen and I'm okay with mid to late January as I've just been told. What I don't get is why I'll be getting a 2012 when it clearly won't be completed until the first weeks of 2013.

It's when the VIN is assigned. Since the VIN is stamped onto various panels it needs to be assigned before the car enter production. So even if it doesn't complete production until 2013 it may enter production before and so will be assigned a 2012 VIN. Once you get your car you won't care