Should I be upset about receiving a 2018 car?

[Olds442]

congrats scott7!

both times i that i think i did the best on a new or used tesla is when i spoke to a sales person about what i needed to have, and what i could live without, and what they had within reach. each time a non-internet car poked it's head up and said, buy me.

congrats and welcome to the family.

 

[Scott7]

Thanks, Olds!

I had a reservation since the day of launch (since cancelled, different story) so it’s pretty overwhelming to think it’s finally my time next week!

As long as the car doesn’t have any issues at delivery, the Dec 2018 build doesn’t bother me at all. My goal is to keep it 6 years minimum.

 

[Gordon87]

@Gordon87 hmm, this does makes me wonder - at what point does the odometer mileage warrant a discount? This is definitely subjective, but my feeling is that it should be anything over 100 miles. I guess you could ask where the mileage came from but who knows if what they tell you is truthful. If it were me, I would ask for a discount or wait for something else.

I once leased a car that had 400 miles on it because it was a dealer transfer. It didn't bother me because it was a lease and I knew I would be returning it. But if it was a purchase I probably would have walked. That's just my personal preference though, YMMV.

Thanks. I decided to take the car. Last night, I refreshed my online Tesla account and it showed the detail of the pricing with the price adjustment AND a scheduled delivery appointment of next Wednesday. Quite excited.

The only question I have is that the VIN is 146XXX and the Tesla rep said the build date was 12/24/2018, but I have read online in the Tesla blogs that others have gotten 12/2018 build dates with VINs of 180XXX. So, it may be that my build date is a bit earlier. I don’t think I’ll reject it for that though.

Also, I asked the Tesla rep where the car was and he indicated a Tesla store which was recently closed, so the Tesla store which was selling it and offered the price adjustment may be charged its liquidating the inventory of the closed store.

 

[hcdavis3]

Thanks. I decided to take the car. Last night, I refreshed my online Tesla account and it showed the detail of the pricing with the price adjustment AND a scheduled delivery appointment of next Wednesday. Quite excited.

The only question I have is that the VIN is 146XXX and the Tesla rep said the build date was 12/24/2018, but I have read online in the Tesla blogs that others have gotten 12/2018 build dates with VINs of 180XXX. So, it may be that my build date is a bit earlier. I don’t think I’ll reject it for that though.

Also, I asked the Tesla rep where the car was and he indicated a Tesla store which was recently closed, so the Tesla store which was selling it and offered the price adjustment may be charged its liquidating the inventory of the closed store.

You are lucky. A July 2018 vin last week and they gave me no discount and I bitched mightily 3 times.

 

[mattjs33]

Also, I asked the Tesla rep where the car was and he indicated a Tesla store which was recently closed, so the Tesla store which was selling it and offered the price adjustment may be charged its liquidating the inventory of the closed store.

I don't think this is how it works? All the dealers and all the inventory is owned by Tesla. All they have to do is move the inventory from one place to the other.

 

[happyzod]

You are lucky. A July 2018 vin last week and they gave me no discount and I bitched mightily 3 times.

July builds still have the rainbow roof on the back glass. Make sure it's isn't a demo/showroom car.

 

[hcdavis3]

July builds still have the rainbow roof on the back glass. Make sure it's isn't a demo/showroom car.

Mine has no rainbow roof. It says on my purchase agreement new, service demo. 60 miles on the ODO when I took delivery.

 

[happyzod]

Mine has no rainbow roof. It says on my purchase agreement new, service demo. 60 miles on the ODO when I took delivery.

You should have refused delivery if you didn't get a discount. Strange that your car doesn't have the rainbow on the back half since I was under the impression that July builds all have it (My car is a july build).

 

[hcdavis3]

You should have refused delivery if you didn't get a discount. Strange that your car doesn't have the rainbow on the back half since I was under the impression that July builds all have it (My car is a july build).

You’re right, but waiting on a 2019 VIN with a locked in trade in was something I didn’t want to risk by waiting. I bitched mightily 3 times and Boston Tesla or Fremont Tesla would not budge. I’m still pissed because I read on the forums LOTS of people got significant discounts. Just happy to be driving now.

 

[Scott7]

My read on the situation is discounts beyond waiving optional paint/wheels are the exception. I think no discounts at all is probably the norm. Really hard to know for sure though!

 

[happyzod]

You’re right, but waiting on a 2019 VIN with a locked in trade in was something I didn’t want to risk by waiting. I bitched mightily 3 times and Boston Tesla or Fremont Tesla would not budge. I’m still pissed because I read on the forums LOTS of people got significant discounts. Just happy to be driving now.

Well look on the bright side, you paid less than Fall 2018 buyers for that LR RWD. You may also have a lower excise tax because it's a 2018 model.

 

[hcdavis3]

Well look on the bright side, you paid less than Fall 2018 buyers for that LR RWD. You may also have a lower excise tax because it's a 2018 model.

Thanks. The lower excise tax bill was exactly what I’m hoping for. Stay tuned on that one. Like I said I’m driving not waiting in 2019 VIN limbo.

 

[SoCal Jimmy]

My read on the situation is discounts beyond waiving optional paint/wheels are the exception. I think no discounts at all is probably the norm. Really hard to know for sure though!

Depends on the car.

We just picked up our P3, and after option discount promo they were running and a price adjustment for being an inventory car, we got just over $11k off the price of the car. I removed EAP as we don't care for it, so in the end, I paid less for a practically brand new '18 P3 than I did our LR RWD 6 months ago.

Thanks tesla and Elon

 

[gobble]

How do they have so many 2018's sitting around that have gone unsold? Were these cars that didn't pass inspection when they came off the line and are finally fixed and ready for delivery?

 

[hcdavis3]

How do they have so many 2018's sitting around that have gone unsold? Were these cars that didn't pass inspection when they came off the line and are finally fixed and ready for delivery?

Good question. Mine was July 2018 car with 60 miles on it . Picked up last week. Sales person couldn’t tell where the car had been all that time.

 

[diamond.g]

How do they have so many 2018's sitting around that have gone unsold? Were these cars that didn't pass inspection when they came off the line and are finally fixed and ready for delivery?

I think for the 3 and Y they are going to switch to more inventory versus special order due to the volume of cars they are making.

 

[Olds442]

How do they have so many 2018's sitting around that have gone unsold?

before the end of the year they built up some stock prior to switching to EU or China vehicle production. They picked orders out of that stock since and as Q1 comes to an end they have begun offering discounts on 2018 builds to clear out that stock.
i agree with @diamond.g that they'll continue to stock up from time to time but i think custom ordering will always be the primary way people buy a new Tesla.

had they not built up that stock, many in the US would still be waiting for a car. my LR-D was sitting in stock from dec to last week, so i'm glad they did.

 

[gobble]

If they had all this stock built up why did the people with deposits have to wait until now to get their cars?

 

[adys123]

If they had all this stock built up why did the people with deposits have to wait until now to get their cars?

Yes exactly, this is a very important question.

 

[OCR1]

It just depends which model you are looking for. They stopped making the LR RWD model in Q4 2018 and sold out of most of those units, so for those of us waiting on a LR RWD model we have longer waits because they just reintroduced that model on February 28. There seem to be plenty of MR models and LR AWD models in inventory now. I was offered a discount on a 2019 LR AWD inventory model but I just don’t need AWD in So Cal.