I'm in a situation where the car I'm trading in is under a family member's name. He is only available on Sundays when Tesla doesn't do deliveries. My ISA recommended I pretrade the car on Sunday and pick it up the next day. I haven't heard of this before and I'm reluctant because of any surprises such as giving me a lower value on delivery day. Looking for opinions and things to be cautious of. I'm in NY.
I have the same issue of needing my family members signature to trade in. My ISA recommended that as well if I needed to do it. Luckily my family member is available on my delivery day.
Here's what I did when I traded in my Chevy Volt. I just took pictures of the car, send them the paperwork (registration, drivers license). Then, I get a quote. This is all done without even going to the service center to trade in. It's a self-inspection. Then, the day they deliver was the day they took the Chevy Volt. I never had to bring the Chevy Volt in.
I think in OP’s situation, the family member needs to be there at delivery day in order to sign the title off to Tesla. OP, maybe you can ask if they can send the DMV documents beforehand and have the family member sign them? Or avoid the hassle and do a trade in with CarMax, and pay off the remaining balance with a check to Tesla? It’s unfortunate that we’ve come to expect issues/delays on delivery day— but rightfully so. Too many posts regarding cancellations at the last minute to feel confident.
Depending on value of trade it maybe beneficial to trade in to Tesla for two reasons. It is widely reported that they match CarMax quote and they apply the trade in at a pre tax price so it could be a decent amount if high enough number. Obviously if its low then the convenience to get it done before hand maybe a higher priority.
Thanks for letting me know, I thought this would be nationwide. It does apply in NY where OP is from.