Purchase Conundrum

[Joel20042002]

I have finally saved enough to buy my Tesla! I am currently living in Hawaii but I will be moving in April to somewhere new. Not sure of the location yet (military) but it will be in the mainland. I am trying to decide how to purchase. The goal is to for my wife and I to be able to pick up the car in LA and drive it to our next home. We have family nearby and across the country. Also, what better way to get to know a new car than with a Tesla road trip across the country! I have been reading a lot about delivery timelines and issues and I want to avoid them as mush as possible. A main reason being that I might end up living somewhere that doesn't allow the sale of Teslas in the state (I know this is going to make service a nightmare if it happens). Below are the options I am considering. It should also be noted that I do not have a garage and access to convenient charging on island which is why I have not bought it yet, that and I want to pay cash and had to finish saving.

First, I plan to buy a new Model S Long Range via custom order or current inventory.

Option 1: Buy online new and have it shipped via Tesla to Hawaii (+$2500) hoping to time it to only have it on island a few weeks and then ship it back to LA (~$2000). This way I can pick it up from the port.

Option 2: Same as option 1 except I buy a car from inventory saving the Tesla shipping costs, but this is hoping they have the car I want, specifically, in Blue. Saving the Tesla shipping costs.

Option 3: Hope there is the car I want in inventory somewhere in LA when I move and can go buy it. I am concerned here that it won't be as easy as me showing up to the Tesla Showroom and driving off with it. I am hoping it will be since there will not be the need for loan paperwork and such. This option would force me to consider other colors since I really don't want to keep waiting for the car. Looking for advice if this is possible.

Option 4: Buy online as custom with delivery information for surrounding LA area (family in the area) and hope I can time it right for it to be ready around the time I can here there in April. So I would order in late January. If I am not there would Tesla hold it? When I do get there can I just find out where it is an go get it?


Options 1 & 2 make me a little more comfortable since I would be in charge of the shipping to LA and could more accurately time it but it costs more and that's lame.

Option 3 is my favored but I am not sure if the purchase will be as quick as I want and I don't want to spend a bunch of wasted time in LA waiting.

Option 4 seems to have the most unknowns and risks.

I have been waiting 4 years for this car and I'm thrilled. I'm just trying to do everything I can to line things up so I can enjoy it and avoid some of the horror stories of the buying experience. What am I missing or haven't considered?

Thanks for any thoughts and advice!

 

[HankLloydRight]

Seriously, I would suggest a different option: Wait to see where you end up and order new from there.

If you buy in California, you'll have to pay CA sales tax, regardless of where you take the car.
Paying round-trip shipping to/from Hawaii seems like a waste of cash.
Trying to "time" ordering and delivery is a fools game. You'll lose one way or another. There are many stories of Tesla sales centers having no tolerance for 'holding' cars for any more than a day or so.

They also are not keen on letting 'family' pick up a new car. You have to be there (varies by location).

You can monitor https://EV-CPO.com to watch inventory in Hawaii. Right now, there are only 2 LR+ Model S, both in red.

What state(s) do you think you'll end up? Selling Teslas is different from servicing Teslas.

 

[Joel20042002]

Hank, you’re probably right. I think I’m just getting impatient because I’m so close and have been waiting so long. I watch ev-cpo religiously and my exact car was here on island just the other day and it got me thinking about it. The other part was the wife and I really are hoping to make that road trip. I’ve not lived in the mainland for 10 years now and she loves road trips. We wanted to just take the time and enjoy it.

I’m really not sure where I’ll be. I’ll find out in November where it’ll be for certain. The most likely options are NC, SC, FL, MO, LA.

Can you walk into a Tesla showroom and walk out with a car? If you have the funds and they have a car? I can’t seem to find any confirmation stories of this. I’d that’s the case we’d probably just wait and buy from a store in or around LA when we get there.

 

[HankLloydRight]

Can you walk into a Tesla showroom and walk out with a car?

Not that I've ever heard. They have a fixed process, mostly online, that you have to follow. You find an inventory car you want, put down a deposit, and then most of the transaction happens at HQ and/or behind the scenes. In a week or two you get a delivery date assuming there are no other issues. I don't think the typical Tesla sales office is equipped to handle "walk-ins" like that. Also, just because a car might have a location as "Los Angeles" it really could be anywhere. They still have to locate it, prep it, and deliver it to the sales center -- even if the car is in their back lot.

Tesla sales centers have very little resemblance to traditional car dealers who actually have saleable inventory on the lot, ready to go.

 

[Joel20042002]

Thanks for that info! I also didn’t even think about the sales tax thing! It would be nuts for me to buy it in CA if I don’t have to. If I do end up getting it early it’ll be to Hawaii and I’ll ship it because even the sales tax in Hawaii and shipping to LA is less than the sales tax I’d pay!

 

[ks1972]

FWIW, I ordered an inventory car at the “showroom” and picked up the car a couple of days later. This was back in March in Alpharetta, Georgia for a 2020 LR+
If I didn’t have a trade in, I could potentially have picked up the car next day.

 

[Joel20042002]

I think I’ve decided to buy it here and ship it. With the taxes, even if it costs me $2000 to ship which is high for the quotes I’m seeing online for roll on roll of shipping it’s still $2300 cheaper to buy it here vs California. Now I just have to check the inventory of the Honolulu showroom every day.
HI tax is 4.5% vs the CA of 9.5%

 

[nomis_nehc]

You should probably wait. Local laws typically have an issue with what you're doing with the car's taxes. If your car isn't in Hawaii for an X period of time, you'll end up paying taxes again whichever state you end up at. That... makes no sense.

 

[Joel20042002]

I wonder if it matters based on registration. I’d get it and register it here with Hawaii plates and keep those on it until they expire. I need to look into the military portion of it. Some kind of exception.

 

[HankLloydRight]

That's probably more illegal to drive a car around from a state where you are no longer a resident. Most states have a law that says you need to register out-of-state vehicles within a month (or less) if you are changing your state of residence. If you are keeping your Hawaii driver's license that might work, but still "iffy".

 

[Joel20042002]

Being in the military and I do have a Hawaii license that I’ll keep might be a way to avoid this issue. There are a lot of provisions for military members since we have to move a lot. I’m going to have to look into all the specifics. I mean what would be the difference if I was sent to a state that doesn’t allow Tesla sales and drove to one, bought it and drove back? Don’t people do that?

 

[ks1972]

Being in the military and I do have a Hawaii license that I’ll keep might be a way to avoid this issue. There are a lot of provisions for military members since we have to move a lot. I’m going to have to look into all the specifics. I mean what would be the difference if I was sent to a state that doesn’t allow Tesla sales and drove to one, bought it and drove back? Don’t people do that?

You’re right, in Georgia ad Valorem taxes are 6.6% if you register a vehicle for the first time, but, there are special provisions for active military personnel.
Thank you for your service btw.

 

[Joel20042002]

I know the military thing always adds a bunch of craziness to taxes, registrations and what’s okay and not. Once I find out in November where I’m headed I’m planning to research it all and make sure I’m legal to do something before I make a decision.

Its my pleasure

 

[HankLloydRight]

Being in the military and I do have a Hawaii license that I’ll keep might be a way to avoid this issue. There are a lot of provisions for military members since we have to move a lot. I’m going to have to look into all the specifics. I mean what would be the difference if I was sent to a state that doesn’t allow Tesla sales and drove to one, bought it and drove back? Don’t people do that?

Of course! I live in CT where Tesla can’t sell cars. I bought mine in NY. Or I could have gone to MA or NJ.

Either way, my Service Center is 10 minutes away, in CT.