Ridiculous Tesla Trade-In Policy [tesla will only take trade in on vehicle delivery]

[GregoryK]

What's with this policy. Makes zero sense to me
Ordered an M3. Decided to get the trade-in price - this was low but not horrible.
Thing is, the Tesla is 4 to 14 weeks away and the price is only good for 30 days! So I call the dealership and ask if I can drop the car off early and say that they don't do that. They only trade the car when you pick up your new car. What! Can anyone understand the Tesla perspective on this?
I was told that they are just trying to get gas cars off the road....and I should drive the car and just apply for a reevaluation when and if the new car does not show up before it expires,
I am starting to get this vibe from the whole Tesla experience. It is this. Change can happen at any point and you take what you get and you should be happy with that. Right? I'm all for innovative change but why can't I trade my car early so I get the guaranteed value and have some control over my finances?

 

[tdub82]

I don't know if they operate in Canada, but check out CarMax or something similar that will buy your vehicle. I got a offer for $5,200 over what Tesla offered from CarMax, went and sold it to them that day. Then I just emailed in to Tesla asking them to modify my financing to no longer be trading in a vehicle.

 

[jaybopp82]

What's with this policy. Makes zero sense to me
Ordered an M3. Decided to get the trade-in price - this was low but not horrible.
Thing is, the Tesla is 4 to 14 weeks away and the price is only good for 30 days! So I call the dealership and ask if I can drop the car off early and say that they don't do that. They only trade the car when you pick up your new car. What! Can anyone understand the Tesla perspective on this?
I was told that they are just trying to get gas cars off the road....and I should drive the car and just apply for a reevaluation when and if the new car does not show up before it expires,
I am starting to get this vibe from the whole Tesla experience. It is this. Change can happen at any point and you take what you get and you should be happy with that. Right? I'm all for innovative change but why can't I trade my car early so I get the guaranteed value and have some control over my finances?

Mine expired yesterday. All I had to do was fill in the current odometer reading and the offer was back in about 12 hours. No big deal at all.

 

[Star Platinum]

What's with this policy. Makes zero sense to me
Ordered an M3. Decided to get the trade-in price - this was low but not horrible.
Thing is, the Tesla is 4 to 14 weeks away and the price is only good for 30 days! So I call the dealership and ask if I can drop the car off early and say that they don't do that. They only trade the car when you pick up your new car. What! Can anyone understand the Tesla perspective on this?
I was told that they are just trying to get gas cars off the road....and I should drive the car and just apply for a reevaluation when and if the new car does not show up before it expires,
I am starting to get this vibe from the whole Tesla experience. It is this. Change can happen at any point and you take what you get and you should be happy with that. Right? I'm all for innovative change but why can't I trade my car early so I get the guaranteed value and have some control over my finances?

Do you really need to create new thread to complain about this. Most people know about this already and nobody is complaining.

 

[CapitalTM3]

Either sell it privately for an increased price (Carvana, vroom or CarMax) if you want to sell it now—or follow what Tesla wants you to do for a trade in. Nobody is forcing you to use Tesla—and honestly, you’ll probably get a higher value if you don’t.

 

[GregoryK]

Do you really need to create new thread to complain about this. Most people know about this already and nobody is complaining.

I rest my case.

 

[GregoryK]

Mine expired yesterday. All I had to do was fill in the current odometer reading and the offer was back in about 12 hours. No big deal at all.

Did the price change?

 

[CapitalTM3]

Also: I’m not aware of any vehicle manufacturer that will accept a trade in w/out a vehicle to sell. I could understand frustration if you already had a vin assigned and/or the car was physically at the lot—however right now you literally have no vehicle assigned to you, hence there is no way they could take your existing vehicle in as a trade.

 

[travis3000]

What's with this policy. Makes zero sense to me
Ordered an M3. Decided to get the trade-in price - this was low but not horrible.
Thing is, the Tesla is 4 to 14 weeks away and the price is only good for 30 days! So I call the dealership and ask if I can drop the car off early and say that they don't do that. They only trade the car when you pick up your new car. What! Can anyone understand the Tesla perspective on this?
I was told that they are just trying to get gas cars off the road....and I should drive the car and just apply for a reevaluation when and if the new car does not show up before it expires,
I am starting to get this vibe from the whole Tesla experience. It is this. Change can happen at any point and you take what you get and you should be happy with that. Right? I'm all for innovative change but why can't I trade my car early so I get the guaranteed value and have some control over my finances?

Im also in Canada, so my reply might be a bit more relevant haha. I ordered my car 4/4/21 , and purposely didn't apply for my car trade in until May 14th so that it would be a better chance of holding that quote. In fact when Tesla first gave me a price on my car in early April, I declined it and tried to sell privately. It was a pain in the ass so on May 14th I called Tesla and they re-appraised my car, the value went up by $1000 so I accepted their offer. I am hoping my car will be in by June 14th otherwise I will be in the same boat as you haha.

I will admit, the process is pretty annoying and long term they will have to alter this if they truly want to go mainstream and compete with the big guys. If you want exact numbers and stability then Tesla unfortunately isn't the car company for you.

There is no CarMax, Vroom or Carvana in Canada. I would try two options: AutoTrader (you can sell privately for free on the site or request a trade in value from a dealership near you). Or try Facebook Marketplace.

Remember that although Tesla's quotes might be a tad low there is a tax (HST) benefit by trading it in with them. If for instance your car is worth $10,000 , you would instantly save $1300 (13% HST) off the price of the Tesla which would lower your monthly payment. Something to consider. But I do hear you man, the process is not the greatest and there is never a 100% absolute guarantee. The car is amazing though so once you get that , you should be very happy.

 

[jjrandorin]

What's with this policy. Makes zero sense to me
Ordered an M3. Decided to get the trade-in price - this was low but not horrible.
Thing is, the Tesla is 4 to 14 weeks away and the price is only good for 30 days! So I call the dealership and ask if I can drop the car off early and say that they don't do that. They only trade the car when you pick up your new car. What! Can anyone understand the Tesla perspective on this?
I was told that they are just trying to get gas cars off the road....and I should drive the car and just apply for a reevaluation when and if the new car does not show up before it expires,
I am starting to get this vibe from the whole Tesla experience. It is this. Change can happen at any point and you take what you get and you should be happy with that. Right? I'm all for innovative change but why can't I trade my car early so I get the guaranteed value and have some control over my finances?

Tesla doesnt actually want your used vehicle, at all. They are going to send it straight to auction, unless it is a tesla and even most of those will go to auction. They are not like a regular used car dealer, who is "happy to see you" and offers you "top dollar for your trade!" because they are going to work the numbers and get it from you in the new car deal.

If you want to "drop it off now" do that with carmax or vroom or one of those online sellers. Tesla doesnt really want to do trades ins, they just do because its part of the purchasing experience, and many people cant buy the vehicle without the money from the trade in.

So, since they dont operate for used car trade ins how its convenient for you, or how you want it to be, sell your car somewhere else.

 

[GregoryK]

Also: I’m not aware of any vehicle manufacturer that will accept a trade in w/out a vehicle to sell. I could understand frustration if you already had a vin assigned and/or the car was physically at the lot—however right now you literally have no vehicle assigned to you, hence there is no way they could take your existing vehicle in as a trade.

Many years ago I had a job as a car salesman. Tesla sells the cars they trade to a wholesaler. The wholesaler gives them cash which they apply to the new vehicle on your behalf. I am not understanding why they could not take the "deposit" they are getting in advance. You are committing to buy giving a $100 deposit - that's a legal contract. I am personally not seeing the relevance of the VIN # arguement.

 

[jaybopp82]

Did the price change?

No, it stayed the exact same.

 

[GregoryK]

Im also in Canada, so my reply might be a bit more relevant haha. I ordered my car 4/4/21 , and purposely didn't apply for my car trade in until May 14th so that it would be a better chance of holding that quote. In fact when Tesla first gave me a price on my car in March, I declined it and tried to sell privately. It was a pain in the ass so on May 14th I called Tesla and they re-appraised my car, the value went up by $1000 so I accepted their offer. I am hoping my car will be in by June 14th otherwise I will be in the same boat as you haha.

I will admit, the process is pretty annoying and long term they will have to alter this if they truly want to go mainstream and compete with the big guys. If you want exact numbers and stability then Tesla unfortunately isn't the car company for you.

There is no CarMax, Vroom or Carvana in Canada. I would try two options: AutoTrader (you can sell privately for free on the site or request a trade in value from a dealership near you). Or try Facebook Marketplace.

Remember that although Tesla's quotes might be a tad low there is a tax (HST) benefit by trading it in with them. If your instance your car is worth $10,000 , you would instantly save $1300 (13% HST) off the price of the Tesla which would lower your monthly payment. Something to consider. But I do hear you man, the process is not the greatest and there is never a 100% absolute guarantee. The car is amazing though so once you get that , you should be very happy.

Got you. I have it on Autotrader. My car trade car is worth more than most so any fluctuations would be bigger. I, therefore, feel more "exposed".

 

[Remesar]

I agree with you OP. Would've loved to just hand my car over get everything filled out and signed for and just have the car get delivered to the house when it's here. This car buying process is very strange.

My car is sitting in the garage because I don't want to put any miles on it.

 

[travis3000]

Got you. I have it on Autotrader. My car trade car is worth more than most so any fluctuations would be bigger. I, therefore, feel more "exposed".

Auto Trader offers an option Instant Cash Offer at a local dealership near you.

Sell My Car Online | AutoTrader.ca

Sell your car privately online, or get a free, no-obligation instant cash offer for your vehicle in under a minute from dealers

www.autotrader.ca

Check it out. But I do warn you... they appraise high then when you take the car in they get out the magnifying glasses and start pointing out every stone chip, leather wear, rust, scratch, tire degradation, etc and naturally the price they offer goes down. But if your car is in REALLY good shape then they might keep the price high. It's at least an option.

It turned out Tesla offered me more than this option. But I think every car is different.

 

[orion2001]

Many years ago I had a job as a car salesman. Tesla sells the cars they trade to a wholesaler. The wholesaler gives them cash which they apply to the new vehicle on your behalf. I am not understanding why they could not take the "deposit" they are getting in advance. You are committing to buy giving a $100 deposit - that's a legal contract. I am personally not seeing the relevance of the VIN # arguement.

That's the thing though, that $100 isn't really a binding contract. Plenty of people have canceled their orders and walked away, just losing that $100 deposit in the process. That's why it doesn't make sense for Tesla to accept your vehicle now and credit your account. It's worth it for them to do that when they have a guaranteed sale in lieu of that, not if they go through all that hassle and someone then ends up walking away and they have to pay them back cash for the trade-in vehicle.

 

[GregoryK]

That's the thing though, that $100 isn't really a binding contract. Plenty of people have canceled their orders and walked away, just losing that $100 deposit in the process. That's why it doesn't make sense for Tesla to accept your vehicle now and credit your account. It's worth it for them to do that when they have a guaranteed sale in lieu of that, not if they go through all that hassle and someone then ends up walking away and they have to pay them back cash for the trade-in vehicle.

I don't see it quite like that. I would see it as a larger deposit. You are just putting more money down - and they could word their contract that way.....meaning that you are more financially committed. You are not going to walk away. It's a Win Win for everyone......especially Remesar who is too afraid to drive his "Deposit" cause they won't take it!

 

[sroy]

That's the thing though, that $100 isn't really a binding contract. Plenty of people have canceled their orders and walked away, just losing that $100 deposit in the process. That's why it doesn't make sense for Tesla to accept your vehicle now and credit your account. It's worth it for them to do that when they have a guaranteed sale in lieu of that, not if they go through all that hassle and someone then ends up walking away and they have to pay them back cash for the trade-in vehicle.

This is not true. It is a binding contract. There are provisions that allow you to not end up buying but technically you bought the car with the deposit. Which is unrelated IMO to the trade in which involves another contract.

 

[jjrandorin]

This is not true. It is a binding contract. There are provisions that allow you to not end up buying but technically you bought the car with the deposit. Which is unrelated IMO to the trade in which involves another contract.

Right, selling a car and buying one are two different transactions, although car dealers have trained people to think of them as one. For a regular car dealer, its easier to bundle it together, because they have more areas to "do the math" to extract money from the customer that way, while making them believe they are getting a great deal.

I also think that putting the deposit down is a contract to purchase the vehicle, although in many places its cancellable by either side. You can put a deposit on a car at a regular dealership but they can pull out, and so can you. With that being said, thats one reason why Tesla doesnt raise the price on people when they have a deposit in, and later there is a price increase (as long as they dont change the order).

When someone changes the order, in effect, they are giving up the old contract and executing a new one, which is why tesla gives "pricing in effect at the time the change is made".

 

[CapitalTM3]

This is not true. It is a binding contract. There are provisions that allow you to not end up buying but technically you bought the car with the deposit. Which is unrelated IMO to the trade in which involves another contract.

No. You technically did not “purchase” the car with the $100. By placing a deposit, you pay for the strict performance under the contract of reserving, transporting, vehicle prep. NOT for the vehicle itself. Up until you sign the final contract and remit payment, the performance of the contract is solely for reservation related items (see: damages section of order agreement).