-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Ordered this morning, delivery for Wednesday. How late would you accept a 2018 model?
- Thread starter kh3mist
- Start date
Thank you everyone for your response! The wife and I appreciate it.
Here's where I'm at:
I'll be calling today to reschedule my appointment as I'll be out of town, but will certainly ask for some discount on the paint (I don't care for the 19" wheels nor do I trust myself with a white interior
)
Here's where I'm at:
- I chatted with a Tesla rep that was super helpful. I gave her my VIN and she said it was built on November 17 and has 25 miles on it.
- From the looks of it, I think I'll be accepting. That's pretty late in the year. Also, 25 miles isn't all that much. If anything it might indicate a couple of test drives, short ones at that.
I'll be calling today to reschedule my appointment as I'll be out of town, but will certainly ask for some discount on the paint (I don't care for the 19" wheels nor do I trust myself with a white interior
)I was offered a 2018 LR RWD VIN with no extra charge for paint (for the ones that were not black), or no charge for the 19” wheels. Then they offered me a 2019 MR that was in inventory and still agreed to give me a free 19” wheel upgrade.
I agreed to purchase the 2019 MR. When I went to pick it up this week I could see some really bad gaps in the body panels on both the doors and the hood. I’m pretty sure the car was rejected by someone else and that is why it was in stock. I rejected the car. They didn’t even question it. They could see how bad the gaps were.
I asked the delivery coordinator what will happen to the car now that I’ve rejected it for unacceptable panel gaps. He said they will just look for another customer to sell it to.
So be careful if you are accepting an inventory car. You never know what it’s history may have been and Tesla may not disclose it to you.
At a minimum, do not pay any paint upcharge if you go with the 2018 model. Otherwise just sit tight and wait for a 2019. This month is the end of the quarter and they will make a big push to fill everybody’s orders to make their first quarter numbers look better.
I agreed to purchase the 2019 MR. When I went to pick it up this week I could see some really bad gaps in the body panels on both the doors and the hood. I’m pretty sure the car was rejected by someone else and that is why it was in stock. I rejected the car. They didn’t even question it. They could see how bad the gaps were.
I asked the delivery coordinator what will happen to the car now that I’ve rejected it for unacceptable panel gaps. He said they will just look for another customer to sell it to.
So be careful if you are accepting an inventory car. You never know what it’s history may have been and Tesla may not disclose it to you.
At a minimum, do not pay any paint upcharge if you go with the 2018 model. Otherwise just sit tight and wait for a 2019. This month is the end of the quarter and they will make a big push to fill everybody’s orders to make their first quarter numbers look better.
I'm pretty sure the 2019 owner would get all the same firmware updates that the 2018 owner gets.
Point is there isn't another car maker out there that could trick you into taking a year old model for the new model price. People seem willing to overlook all these massive issues that Tesla is having for whatever reason, even though their treatment of customers seems to really stink.
There no such thing as a 2018 model or a 2019 model. Tesla doesn’t do model years. Hardware changes happen whenever they’re ready. The years are required for registration purposes but have no other meaning.
Every VIN is required to list the model year. It's the 10th character of the VIN. J would be 2018 and K would be 2019.
When I was looking at the model S, even Tesla's own used car listings list a model year.
Just looking through Manheim's MMR of wholesale sales, a 2018 mid-range model 3 wholesales at $44,100 right now. They don't yet have enough data on the 2019 year.
3/8/19 $43,000 3,752 4.8 EL/A Blue Regular Northeast Pennsylvania
2/28/19 $46,750 6,511 4.5 EL/A White Regular West Coast Southern California
2/27/19 $40,000 10,171 4.6 EL/A Black Regular Northeast New Jersey
2/25/19 $44,999 3,140 - - NON/A Gray Regular Southeast Jacksonville
2/25/19 $42,500 6,714 3.5 EL/A White Lease Southwest Dallas
2/20/19 $46,500 786 5.0 EL/A Black Regular West Coast San Francisco Bay
2/19/19 $46,000 9,198 4.4 EL/A Gray Regular Southeast Orlando
2/11/19 $46,100 3,196 - - EL/- - Black Regular West Coast Riverside
When I was looking at the model S, even Tesla's own used car listings list a model year.
Just looking through Manheim's MMR of wholesale sales, a 2018 mid-range model 3 wholesales at $44,100 right now. They don't yet have enough data on the 2019 year.
3/8/19 $43,000 3,752 4.8 EL/A Blue Regular Northeast Pennsylvania
2/28/19 $46,750 6,511 4.5 EL/A White Regular West Coast Southern California
2/27/19 $40,000 10,171 4.6 EL/A Black Regular Northeast New Jersey
2/25/19 $44,999 3,140 - - NON/A Gray Regular Southeast Jacksonville
2/25/19 $42,500 6,714 3.5 EL/A White Lease Southwest Dallas
2/20/19 $46,500 786 5.0 EL/A Black Regular West Coast San Francisco Bay
2/19/19 $46,000 9,198 4.4 EL/A Gray Regular Southeast Orlando
2/11/19 $46,100 3,196 - - EL/- - Black Regular West Coast Riverside
You read our minds. We're going to bring a flashlight and feel every corner/edge. I have a good checklist compiled from a few sources to check various issues from gaps to the trunk/frunk not properly closing. It's very possible someone waited weeks for this vehicle last fall, only to decline for some reason.
The only thing I really have to watch out for if we decline, timing wise, is the federal discount halving, but that's still some ways away.
Last edited:
Well, if that were the case then why would Tesla agree to comp the paint and tires on 2018 cars but not 2019?
If you go to sell your car in three years and put it up for a sale on a web site like Autotrader you will have to disclose what the year of manufacture is. If someone filters theirs search criteria for 3 year or newer models, your 2018 won’t even show up in the search.
I understand that people on this forum know that Tesla does not update their models on the traditional annual calendar cycle. But the average person looking for a used car may not be as knowledgeable as the people on this forum. Why put yourself at a potential disadvantage down the road for resale if you don’t get any discount for doing so?
By the way, this data seems really strong compared to current pricing of a new car in the $50k range (pre tax credit).
It's interesting though that the first car sold after the price cut with only 3,752 miles and a 4.8 condition report (very good) sold for $3,750 less then pre price cut with double the miles and only a 4.5 condition.
Tesla uses the year of manufacture because it doesn’t do model years. Model years were a marketing gimmick of the legacy auto manufacturers who changed the shape of the tail fins every fall.
Agreed, I'm trying to see if there are any further discounts otherwise I'll stick with the 2019.
This really comes down to two things:
1. How late in 2018 was the car built
2. How much of a hit will you take on resale value in, say, 5 years (give or take)?
As to #1 - most of the obvious changes seem to have occurred in the first 6 or 7 months of the year so anything from July onward is likely a decent bet. Were there others later in the year? Undoubtedly, but most are a bit more "behind the scenes".
As to #2 - You WILL take a hit on resale. Even if you consider the car to have depreciated to zero, I doubt you trade it in and say "I'm fine with you just taking it for free". You can request a cash discount of some kind or an "equivalent value" option (i.e. paint and wheels are the most likely). Here is a real-life NADA Guide comparison:
2013 Tesla Model S, 85 Kwh, 60K miles
$31,405 - Clean Trade-in
$35,275 - Clean Retail
2014 Tesla Model S, 85 Kwh, 60K miles
$34,850 - Clean Trade-in
$39,575 - Clean Retail
Assuming you normally trade-in, these two nearly identical cars with the same mileage have a $3,400 delta. Now, the Model S is more expensive than the Model 3, so it's delta will generally be less. For fun, let's say the delta for the Model 3 is $2500-$3000 at 5 years out. Only you can decide how much that "stings".
If it were me, I would either request a 2019 OR at least a wheel or paint upgrade (for free). I am really partial to the "red" so getting the "red" in "trade" for the "year" would likely be acceptable for me. You might feel differently. One thing is definitely true - that red paint and those nicer wheels definitely don't "cost" Tesla $4000 combined so it's easier for them to "deal" on the options than just flat out give you a discount.
1. How late in 2018 was the car built
2. How much of a hit will you take on resale value in, say, 5 years (give or take)?
As to #1 - most of the obvious changes seem to have occurred in the first 6 or 7 months of the year so anything from July onward is likely a decent bet. Were there others later in the year? Undoubtedly, but most are a bit more "behind the scenes".
As to #2 - You WILL take a hit on resale. Even if you consider the car to have depreciated to zero, I doubt you trade it in and say "I'm fine with you just taking it for free". You can request a cash discount of some kind or an "equivalent value" option (i.e. paint and wheels are the most likely). Here is a real-life NADA Guide comparison:
2013 Tesla Model S, 85 Kwh, 60K miles
$31,405 - Clean Trade-in
$35,275 - Clean Retail
2014 Tesla Model S, 85 Kwh, 60K miles
$34,850 - Clean Trade-in
$39,575 - Clean Retail
Assuming you normally trade-in, these two nearly identical cars with the same mileage have a $3,400 delta. Now, the Model S is more expensive than the Model 3, so it's delta will generally be less. For fun, let's say the delta for the Model 3 is $2500-$3000 at 5 years out. Only you can decide how much that "stings".
If it were me, I would either request a 2019 OR at least a wheel or paint upgrade (for free). I am really partial to the "red" so getting the "red" in "trade" for the "year" would likely be acceptable for me. You might feel differently. One thing is definitely true - that red paint and those nicer wheels definitely don't "cost" Tesla $4000 combined so it's easier for them to "deal" on the options than just flat out give you a discount.
Similar threads
