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Hi folks,

I am new here and I appreciate your attention to this in advance. My situation is that i live in Michigan so I have neither a Tesla dealership nor a Carmax near my home. Nearest ones are 3 hours away. I am very close to placing my order with Tesla for my model S but my struggle is the complete lack of help with trading in my current vehicle. I cannot afford to keep two neither have any need for two cars. Tesla tells me they'll offer it up to the wholesale market and get the best bid. Well the best bid was pretty crappy. it was $1,000 below kbb fair trade in value. And they're not even trying to better it.

The second issue is that even if I were to take this sub-optimal trade-in deal, I am still left without a car for at least 6 weeks while Tesla gets my order ready and delivered. They don't give a set delivery date and just say "December delivery".

So here are my questions for some of you who may have gone through the throes of concerns and doubts with this whole process:
  1. What did you do about your trade-in? Did you get a better value through Carmax vs. what Tesla was offering?
  2. If you did trade-in, how long did your custom order take to arrive? What did you do during that period having surrendered your car to Tesla. I know having a second vehicle at home would be helpful but I'm not in that camp. We are a one car family.
  3. Any other thoughts/ suggestions for someone in my situation in how to best manage the trade-in dynamic vs. delivery timing of the Tesla and what could be the best option to get a good value for my trade-in (excluding private party, I just don't have the time and patience for that).
Thanks a ton for your suggestions.
 
In Michigan, are trade-ins able to reduce your sales tax on the new car? If so, a less than optimal trade-in value might still be able to work in your favor in sales tax reduction. Selling private party might be your best bet, but can be a hassle and pain.
 
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I didn't have the distance challenge, having a store/service center within 40 miles, but I wasn't sure what to do with my trade-in. Turns out Tesla was several thousand under what Carmax offered me, even with the sales tax offset mentioned above, so I sold my trade to Carmax the day before I took delivery of my Model S. Carmax will honor their offer for seven days, and if you go beyond that time, you just have it rechecked - unless there's any significant changes, like damage, the offer likely won't change.

Even with a Tesla trade-in, I don't think you have to give up your car until you take delivery of the Tesla, but I could be wrong - I'd verify that with the Tesla store to see if it may work for you.
 
I didn't have the distance challenge, having a store/service center within 40 miles, but I wasn't sure what to do with my trade-in. Turns out Tesla was several thousand under what Carmax offered me, even with the sales tax offset mentioned above, so I sold my trade to Carmax the day before I took delivery of my Model S. Carmax will honor their offer for seven days, and if you go beyond that time, you just have it rechecked - unless there's any significant changes, like damage, the offer likely won't change.

Even with a Tesla trade-in, I don't think you have to give up your car until you take delivery of the Tesla, but I could be wrong - I'd verify that with the Tesla store to see if it may work for you.

Thank you for the response. Seems more and more practical to go the Carmax route. You are the 4th or 5th person who said they received a better deal at Carmax than at Tesla. I just wish I didn't have the distance issue so I could've just taken my car to a close by Carmax and got the appraisal and firmed up things in my mind in what to do. This way I am in limbo not knowing what to do and don't feel fully convinced to move forward with the order based on the value Tesla is giving me. Thanks again.
 
In Michigan, are trade-ins able to reduce your sales tax on the new car? If so, a less than optimal trade-in value might still be able to work in your favor in sales tax reduction. Selling private party might be your best bet, but can be a hassle and pain.

I'm not sure, perhaps I need to do some research on that. Thanks for the tip. But even if I did get some tax credit in Michigan, it would still be prudent for me to try to get as much value for my trade in as possible and what Tesla is offering is pretty crap for my beautiful vehicle.
 
I'm not sure, perhaps I need to do some research on that. Thanks for the tip. But even if I did get some tax credit in Michigan, it would still be prudent for me to try to get as much value for my trade in as possible and what Tesla is offering is pretty crap for my beautiful vehicle.

Is the CarMax on the way to the Tesla store? If so you could ask Tesla if they will match a CarMax quote then make a road trip for valuation to zero in on your final numbers?

Michigan charges 6% sales tax on cars.

Michigan does have sales tax "credit" for trade-ins, sounds like it is capped at $3,000:
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/sos/PA_159__160_of_2013_Announcement_442197_7.pdf
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/sos/PA_159__160_2013_FAQ_442206_7.pdf
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signs tax break for car, boat buyers with trade-in: 'They deserve it'
According to the article the cap increases $500 each year for 25 years.

This means that for a $20,000 car purchase with a $10,000 trade in you are still taxed on $17,000 even though you only paid $10,000 "out of pocket" for the new car. The maximum tax you could save with a trade-in in Michigan this year is $180.
I would pursue private sale first then do the CarMax route, unless the logistics are absolutely awful and the cost difference is worth it to you for the convenience of dropping the car off as you pick up the Tesla. Heck, if you list it privately and it sells for $2,500 more than the Tesla offer you could even think about a longer term rental car while you wait for the Tesla ($1,100 for 5-6 weeks?). The math may or may not work out but it's worth looking at.


In Minnesota (and I am sure some other states) we get the WHOLE trade-in price credited toward the sales tax reduction. So in the example above I would only have to pay tax on $10,000.
 
I used to always trade the old car in. But not anymore. Private sale will invariably produce a better result financially. I looked at the KBB estimate for private sale (not straight blue book trade-in) value and, for the 2 sales I've done, it has been 30% and over 100% better and my results bore that out. Sold a 2004 RX-8 in 2011 on Autotrader for $12000 when the trade-in was only $9k. Then, when I got the Tesla, I sold a 1999 MB on Craigslist for $2600 the second day on Craigslist when the trade-in value was less than $1000. Also looks like Autotrader is no longer the way to go as I had no legitimate inquiries from them while I got 3 or 4 from Craigslist almost immediately.
 
@Tribaltech try Autonation AutoNation Trading Your Car

You can enter all of your information online and get a quote back via email within 24 hours. If you like their offer, they will make an appointment to send an appraiser to your house to look at the vehicle and as long as you didn't misrepresent anything to them they will buy it and pick it up from your house.

In the early days Tesla used Autonation for their trades. I have personally sold them 2 vehicles and been very happy with both their offer price and the ease with which the transaction took place.

Mike
 
Is the CarMax on the way to the Tesla store? If so you could ask Tesla if they will match a CarMax quote then make a road trip for valuation to zero in on your final numbers?

Michigan charges 6% sales tax on cars.

Michigan does have sales tax "credit" for trade-ins, sounds like it is capped at $3,000:
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/sos/PA_159__160_of_2013_Announcement_442197_7.pdf
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/sos/PA_159__160_2013_FAQ_442206_7.pdf
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signs tax break for car, boat buyers with trade-in: 'They deserve it'
According to the article the cap increases $500 each year for 25 years.

This means that for a $20,000 car purchase with a $10,000 trade in you are still taxed on $17,000 even though you only paid $10,000 "out of pocket" for the new car. The maximum tax you could save with a trade-in in Michigan this year is $180.
I would pursue private sale first then do the CarMax route, unless the logistics are absolutely awful and the cost difference is worth it to you for the convenience of dropping the car off as you pick up the Tesla. Heck, if you list it privately and it sells for $2,500 more than the Tesla offer you could even think about a longer term rental car while you wait for the Tesla ($1,100 for 5-6 weeks?). The math may or may not work out but it's worth looking at.


In Minnesota (and I am sure some other states) we get the WHOLE trade-in price credited toward the sales tax reduction. So in the example above I would only have to pay tax on $10,000.

Wow this is so helpful. Thanks a ton for the information.
 
@Tribaltech try Autonation AutoNation Trading Your Car

You can enter all of your information online and get a quote back via email within 24 hours. If you like their offer, they will make an appointment to send an appraiser to your house to look at the vehicle and as long as you didn't misrepresent anything to them they will buy it and pick it up from your house.

In the early days Tesla used Autonation for their trades. I have personally sold them 2 vehicles and been very happy with both their offer price and the ease with which the transaction took place.

Mike

Super helpful. I had never ever heard of Autonation. And the fact that they give you a quote online makes it pretty cool. I will fill out my info and see what they come back with. My situation is a bit crappy though because I am in the 1st year of my current vehicle. I know, I know the depreciation is nasty in the first year from what I have heard. But I've driven it pretty low miles so lets see what happens.
 
I'm in the mid of my trade-in with Tesla. I reserved my 75 D this past Saturday, but it is an inventory car, so I get to keep my car until delivery. If you like to trade in to Tesla, they will send 3rd party inspector to your home or office to look at your car. Their offer is quite fair in comparison to other dealers.
 
I traded in my 2015 Corvette for a 2016 Model S 90D. I tried to sell my car to private buyers for about a month because Tesla's trade-in offering was too low for my liking. After 30 days of haggling and gaggling with private buyers and not getting any significantly better offers, I accepted Tesla's trade-in offer. I only wish I had done it sooner and saved the 30 days of aggravation searching for a better deal.
 
I'd say list it privately (Craigslist / Autotrader) for the period of time leading up to when you make your purchase. Worse case scenario, you have a trade-in to fall back on, but you very well could sell it for a few thousand more than the trade in was. That's what I did, worked out pretty well.
 
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Certainly a private sale will likely net you the most for your car. Tesla offered me $2100 for my Prius. I sold it through an auction company (after I bought new cheap tires and washed it) for $4,200, so I am definitely not impressed by Tesla's trade-in.