Payment on delivery?

[sceptic]

My SA says I can make the final payment when my car is delivered by personal check. After reading on here I emailed him and he again confirmed that this is okay.
Since many people on here have said they paid with certified check I am hesitent to believe him - since I won't be in the country before my (hoped for) delivery date arranging for a cashiers or other than personal check would be a pain -and this is (maybe) happening on the last business day of June - so
Can the people who have had car delivered in Calif say what form of payment is accepted at delivery? (No trade in and no financing)

 

[woodisgood]

I got my car delivered 9 months ago and the morning of was a little stressful because I couldn’t get ahold of anyone to find out how I could make the final payment at delivery.

I went to the bank and got a cashiers check just to be safe since the car was going to be delivered to my home. Took 5 minutes. Lot of stress for nothing, really. Would have taken even less time if the teller hadn’t misspelled Tesla on the first check.

It later turned out a personal check would have been okay too (according to the DA). If your SA is saying it will be ok, should be ok.

 

[PoitNarf]

Pay for the car in full with a personal check?? I don’t think that would fly. If it was just for a few thousand dollars then a personal check may be ok, but I’d be shocked if Tesla would accept a personal check for $30K+.

 

[ngogas]

Cashier check for me. No personal when I took delivery. Perhaps they changed?

 

[OCR1]

Yes, they will take a personal check. You can also just use the ACH option by entering your routing and account number info on the payment screen on your account. After you’ve fully inspected the car and are ready to leave just login to the account and enter the info on the screen. They can provide you an IPad or you can just do it on your phone while they are watching. That’s what I did for both of my deliveries. They don’t need proof of funds or proof of delivery. It’s pretty casual.

 

[dwalme]

I paid with personal check in Cleveland Ohio.

 

[Triplett]

I'm driving off the lot and making them wait 7 weeks for payment.

I'll tell them to just keep checking their account daily for updates.

 

[ChrisH]

In WA state I could have done a personal check up to $10k. This was last August.

 

[Joshan]

They would not let me do personal check in Illinois. I did ACH 2 days before pick up.

 

[mact3333]

I paid for entire amount with personal check...they wanted direct deposit which I said fine to, but they had computer issue sat delivery center so I paid with personal check...all car companies I have dealt with in the past have accepted personal checks...BMW, Honda, Mini, Acura.

 

[OCR1]

Prior to delivery you will get a call from someone at Tesla to confirm your delivery date and go over the payment details. These people read from a script, and the script includes the no personal checks and payment must be made prior to delivery lines. They are told to say that.

My personal experience with four deliveries (fifth taking place on Monday) is that you can ignore the people reading from these scripts. Just say OK to whatever they tell you and ignore them. Show up at the delivery center, inspect your vehicle, and then hand them the payment or make the payment online via ACH.

While the script readers are very rigid in what they are allowed to say, the actual deliver center advisors will do whatever you want and have a lot of flexibility to go with whatever works best for you.

 

[sceptic]

Prior to delivery you will get a call from someone at Tesla to confirm your delivery date and go over the payment details. These people read from a script, and the script includes the no personal checks and payment must be made prior to delivery lines. They are told to say that.

My personal experience with four deliveries (fifth taking place on Monday) is that you can ignore the people reading from these scripts. Just say OK to whatever they tell you and ignore them. Show up at the delivery center, inspect your vehicle, and then hand them the payment or make the payment online via ACH.

While the script readers are very rigid in what they are allowed to say, the actual deliver center advisors will do whatever you want and have a lot of flexibility to go with whatever works best for you.

 

[mact3333]

what does ACH stand for???

 

[sceptic]

Thanks to everyone who posted their ACTUAL experience. No one will be able to reach me by phone until the afternoon before the planned delivery (June 28) since I'll be in the air most of the two days before. I live in N Calif. ACH could be a backup plan but no way am I paying before I inspect the car.
Of course all this may be useless if they don't deliver as promised (I'm not counting on it) but I figure I need to be prepared just in case I actually get the car before the rebate gets cut in half. It's just weird that I happen to be out of the country until that day - but it is so I'm trying my best to make it work.

 

[sceptic]

what does ACH stand for???

It's a way to transfer funds from a bank or a brokerage, etc electronically (automated clearing house)

 

[SurferJD]

My DA also said personal check is fine (picking up in CA) and my DA sent an email confirming. The email noted that they will need verification of funds, which I'm guessing I can do by logging into my bank app when I write the personal check.

 

[ammulder]

I’d be shocked if Tesla would accept a personal check for $30K+.

They did for me in Devon (PA). Cherry Hill (NJ) also told me that was OK, IIRC. They also offered me use of a terminal to make a electronic transfer, but said they had no preference, so I gave them the check.

I've heard other people say they required a cashier's check, so I guess it just depends on the location or service center preferences.

 

[Triplett]

"you guys don't have a problem with a fourth-party endorsed, out-of-state check, do you?"