Purchasing a Loaner after Trading in Current MS

[highedu]

Has anybody actually gone through the process of trading in their MS for one of the service loaners?

I'm interested in how they calculate the value of your car, their, payment of the difference, etc. Also do you just hold onto the loaner until the paperwork is done, who handles DMV, etc.

Thanks.

 

[lolachampcar]

my offer from Tesla was 17% off full list (not including state taxes) and 1% per month. I went retail.

 

[MATTEmarc]

I was about to, but I live in NY and the car needs to be sent to Fremont. Your best bet is yo go straight to the factory.
About the paperwork... The service center handles it with one of the corporate sales reps.
Once you give a $2500 deductible then the loaner is set aside for you so I assume you keep it.

 

[MikeC]

With the reports that many service centers can't keep them in stock, I'm surprised I've never come across any posts from someone who actually bought a loaner. I've read people who were offered demo cars, but no one who's picked up a loaner.

 

[rekoh]

was at the service center today and asked: here is how it works:

On your trade, they take of 17% of msrp. then they take 1% off for each month you have owned it. then they tak off $1/mile on the odometer. so a $100k car owned for 4 months with 6000 miles = $100k (what you bought it for) - 17k -4k -6k = $73k is what they would pay you to buy it back....

 

[highedu]

was at the service center today and asked: here is how it works:

On your trade, they take of 17% of msrp. then they take 1% off for each month you have owned it. then they tak off $1/mile on the odometer. so a $100k car owned for 4 months with 6000 miles = $100k (what you bought it for) - 17k -4k -6k = $73k is what they would pay you to buy it back....

Yikes.....pretty steep hit.

 

[ahaer]

was at the service center today and asked: here is how it works:

On your trade, they take of 17% of msrp. then they take 1% off for each month you have owned it. then they tak off $1/mile on the odometer. so a $100k car owned for 4 months with 6000 miles = $100k (what you bought it for) - 17k -4k -6k = $73k is what they would pay you to buy it back....

Is the formula for figuring out the cost to purchase the loaner the same?

 

[lolachampcar]

loaner purchase is 1% per month and $1 a mile.... I guess the 17% haircut is the wholesale to retail difference.

Keeping this all in perspective, do not try selling a six month old S Class with 5,000 miles on it for anywhere near what I got for my P85.

 

[dennis]

With the reports that many service centers can't keep them in stock, I'm surprised I've never come across any posts from someone who actually bought a loaner. I've read people who were offered demo cars, but no one who's picked up a loaner.

I think it is much more likely that the "service loaners" are being sold to new buyers who don't want to wait for delivery. I have a friend who bought one this way and saved two months.

 

[Majerus]

If you buy a service car, do you still receive the government rebates?

 

[dennis]

If you buy a service car, do you still receive the government rebates?

Yes, since you are the first to title the car.

 

[lolachampcar]

I believe it is Tesla's way of becoming a stocking dealer without the inventory (as the inventory is assigned to service). Chalk another one up for Tesla thinking differently.

 

[fiksegts]

my current car was a loaner...

 

[brianman]

my current car was a loaner...

Can you give us some details on it? More specifically, let us know the interesting parts -- what surprised you about the process of getting one? Did you trade your previous one in, or was this a new owner purchase for you? How long did the math and paperwork take, etc. Thanks.

 

[GlennAlanBerry]

Tesla has also been selling the display cars from show rooms (at least in Denver). The Tesla store in Park Meadows had a white P85 for a long, long time. Then they got a red P85, but only had it for a few weeks before they sold it and got a blue P85 as a replacement. I asked them what happened to the red one, and they told me they had sold it. Personally, I would not really want a loaner or a car that had been in the showroom for any period of time. I used to work retail back in college, so I have seen how many people treat merchandise in stores. Even in the Tesla store, I have seen how many people will let their kids treat a $100K Tesla like a jungle gym, climbing all over it, running into it, etc.

 

[Kaivball]

. Even in the Tesla store, I have seen how many people will let their kids treat a $100K Tesla like a jungle gym, climbing all over it, running into it, etc.

Ah, that's what you do to show and tell cars.

You get in and out of every seat. Flip switches, press buttons, lower seats.

Just like kids do in a real car.

If Tesla doesn't want that they can put a rope around the car or not allow children (which of course would go over like a lead balloon... )

 

[Zaxxon]

Tesla has also been selling the display cars from show rooms (at least in Denver). The Tesla store in Park Meadows had a white P85 for a long, long time. Then they got a red P85, but only had it for a few weeks before they sold it and got a blue P85 as a replacement.

I can confirm this. In fact, I was there this past Sunday and they not only have a blue, but also a black in-store now.

 

[GlennAlanBerry]

Tesla obviously has to let people sit in the cars and pretty much do whatever they want (outside of obvious vandalism). I just think it is a little sad that people will damage the showroom car through carelessness. My main point is that I don't want a thrashed showroom model for a relatively small discount, but that is just me...

 

[viperboy]

Yikes.....pretty steep hit.

Yes, but this also accounts for the "new vs used" pricing model. I've always used the rule of thumb that a new car loses 10-20% of its value as soon as it's driven of the lot. This is pretty standard for ICEs too.

 

[adiggs]

I believe that part of the rapid turnover of service loaners and showroom cars is that all of them in the country are in a single database, and all of the showroom people have access to the full database. You can buy a Portland loaner in CO, or vice versa (as long as your state allows the showroom to sell cars I assume). So you don't need somebody in Portland to buy the Portland showroom or service loaner - they can be shipped out. It also means that people buying using that model get to select from a range of colors, configurations, and so forth.