Sick of waiting? Vent here

[mrkymarc]

Definitely feeling frustrated/sad. Not because the delay in general, more about the bait and switch with SR timing and options pricing. It seems now that the car I will end up buying will not be my ideal configuration and/or will cost significantly more. I'm a non-owner, reserved online as soon it opened.

Below were my somewhat informed expectations at different points:
At reveal: Base car with AP, AWD, glass roof, hitch receiver (for bike rack), get full tax credit
35 + 3 (AP1 price) + 4 + 1 + 0.5 - 7.5 = 36
Delivery hopefully Q1 2017, definitely Q2 2017

At July '17 launch: Base car with AP, PUP, full credit
35 + 5 + 5 - 7.5 = 37.5
More expensive, fancier seats and audio that I don't need, no AWD
Delivery hopefully Q2 2017, definitely Q3 2017

Now: Base car with AP, PUP (maybe), half credit
35 + 5 + 5 - 3.75 = 41.25
Delivery hopefully Q4 2017, definitely????

I can afford the price increase, I could likely afford the "1st production" version, but I don't need it and it definitely wouldn't be the smartest financial decision when my current car is fine, if a bit old. It's just frustrating and sad to have the slow degradation of my expectations combined with increase in cost.

When you combine that with my grave concern about the climate and my suspicion that if Tesla fails to make a true mass market car ($50k isn't) then the other manufacturers will drastically slow their transitions that is just a cherry on top of my sadness and frustration.

Ugh.

(I'm not cancelling, I still think it is a great car, the wait won't kill me, but I did need to vent)

 

[Garlan Garner]

That makes no sense. Yes, people don't need to buy a Tesla, however, many people do need to have a car. When you are deciding on a car, it is important to budget what you can afford - whether it is a Tesla or a BMW or a Honda or a POS. If the Tesla with the tax credit is within the budget, than you can buy it over the Honda. If you lose the tax credit, then the Tesla may not be within budget anymore and you need to go with the Honda.

At that point, why not just say "If you are depending on having a job to afford a car.....then you shouldn't have the car."

A person doesn't get a tax credit instantly.

Your car note will not have anything to do with a tax credit. The only thing you can do with a tax credit is pay down on you car - eventually.

Yes it does make sense.

 

[eCharcoal]

Mine got pushed back 6 months. From Mid 2018 to Early 2019. Was gonna get SR RWD. Now the dual motor would actually arrive earlier than the single motor. I might get the dual motor if that’s the case. I don’t mind waiting as I just replaced the brakes and belts on my current daily driver. It should hit 145k miles by the end of the year. But the delay is disheartening nonetheless. So yes. This is still me venting.

Speaking of luck, I can’t believe my car just died on me on the freeway less than 12 hours after I post this. I have a 08 Prius and it lost all power while I was going 75 mph. The “red triangle of death” came on on the dash. Prius folks would know what the red triangle is. There is the possibility I might need a new hybrid battery.
Now the wait is getting more difficult for me. If it really is the battery pack, I don't want to shell out $3000 for a new battery. Fingers crossed. Is this telling me I should get a new ICE for now?

 

[gekcut]

Our remaining reservation is a day one, east coast, 5th in line. Today the estimated delivery time for base model went to late 2018. If correct, that means we will probably not get the full tax credit. If that becomes certain, we will cancel.

 

[Garlan Garner]

Tesla Stocks are down 4% after earnings call. This is getting ridiculous.

 

[IhateOPEC]

That’s a bs arguement.

This is not France and we’re not talking about starvation. We’re talking about a car. It’s not a need it’s a want, no matter how you try to justify it.

No one will die without a Tesla.

If your payment on a want is such that a tax credit would cause significant hardship on your finances, you should not get the car. It will not bring happiness.

Says the guy who is getting the tax credit.

 

[R.S]

If you need the tax break in order to just afford the car, then you really shouldn’t be getting the car, after all it’s just a car. Shouldn’t stretch yourself financially just to buy one.

Car payments that are backbreaking doesn’t make for happiness.

Wait, aren't you one of those guys, that tried to sell their Model 3 reservation for $7500? Because "it's a good idea, since the tax credit will be gone soon" ?

Tesla Model 3 in NJ

Sure you don't have a problem with the tax credit ending...

 

[Runt8]

A person doesn't get a tax credit instantly.

Your car note will not have anything to do with a tax credit. The only thing you can do with a tax credit is pay down on you car - eventually.

Yes it does make sense.

It's easy enough to change your withholdings so you are effectively earning more each month to offset the higher monthly payment. It absolutely makes no sense to say if you can't afford a higher priced item, then you also can't afford a lower priced one.

 

[Garlan Garner]

It's easy enough to change your withholdings so you are effectively earning more each month to offset the higher monthly payment. It absolutely makes no sense to say if you can't afford a higher priced item, then you also can't afford a lower priced one.

What?

Who said anything about withholdings? I didn't say that if you can't afford a higher priced item, then you can't also afford a lower priced one? I didn't mention having a job to have a withholding to adjust. One could be retired or living on welfare - a bank robber or who knows.

I didn't mention any of that.

If you can't afford a Car...then you shouldn't buy it. That's it. If you can't afford a car "like a model 3" then a tax rebate won't make you able to afford it. The car is in the $40k - $60k range right now. A $7500 credit rebate ( RECEIVED NEXT YEAR) won't do anything concerning monthly payments right now. That's my point.

Thanks for again misunderstanding all of my posts and disagreeing with all of them - as usual.

 

[ProphetM]

What?

Who said anything about withholdings? I didn't say that if you can't afford a higher priced item, then you can't also afford a lower priced one? I didn't mention having a job to have a withholding to adjust. One could be retired or living on welfare - a bank robber or who knows.

I didn't mention any of that.

If you can't afford a Car...then you shouldn't buy it. That's it. If you can't afford a car "like a model 3" then a tax rebate won't make you able to afford it. The car is in the $40k - $60k range right now. A $7500 credit rebate ( RECEIVED NEXT YEAR) won't do anything concerning monthly payments right now. That's my point.

You seem to have missed his point that "received next year" is not necessarily the case. The whole point of the tax credit is to make an expensive car less expensive. It absolutely CAN help someone afford it who wouldn't otherwise. The mechanics of whether, or how, that applies to any specific person is a factor of their own situation. We don't misunderstand you; we just think you're wrong.

 

[devilmountain]

I leased a car about 1 1/2 years ago, expecting Tesla to be a full year behind original delivery dates. I admit seeing the videos on YouTube makes me jealous. I will continue to wait. Why get out of line now? I have waited two years, I can wait another six to twelve months. Since this is the third delivery date that has changed I believe they will hit my new time frame of April - June. If they miss again, I will still wait.

I originally posted here considering a used S. I weighed the pros and cons everyone gave me and decided a 3 was a better fit for me.

There are very few hybrids and electric vehicles that I consider good looking cars. If I don't like the looks of a vehicle I won't even consider buying it. I think Tesla makes good looking vehicles and I want to own a Tesla one day. I am really antsy to ditch my first car with a four-cylinder for something with more power. I have always owned eight and six-cylinder cars and I miss the power. That being said I will patiently wait.

My original delivery estimate was Dec - Feb, then it was Jan - Mar, and now it's Apr - Jun. I will only be concerned if my lease was coming to end or if I had a beater car that was dying.

 

[Garlan Garner]

You seem to have missed his point that "received next year" is not necessarily the case. The whole point of the tax credit is to make an expensive car less expensive. It absolute CAN help someone afford it who wouldn't otherwise. The mechanics of whether that applies to any specific person is a factor of their own situation. We don't misunderstand you; we just think you're wrong.

You have received a tax credit outside of the window of when you filed your taxes? You think the automotive tax credit is immediate during purchase?

The credit is a federal govt. tax credit just like the credit you receive when donating your car to a charity like kars-for-kids or something.

Please show all of us how to file the irs tax form required for this early so that you can use the $7500 during the purchase.

Please explain how the tax credit WILL make the car more affordable at the time of purchase.

 

[MarcusMaximus]

You seem to have missed his point that "received next year" is not necessarily the case. The whole point of the tax credit is to make an expensive car less expensive. It absolute CAN help someone afford it who wouldn't otherwise. The mechanics of whether that applies to any specific person is a factor of their own situation. We don't misunderstand you; we just think you're wrong.

To be clear, "received next year" absolutely is necessarily the case. You do not receive the $7,500 federal tax credit until you file your taxes for that year, and it is included in your tax refund or reduces your taxes owed if you have insufficient witholding. Any state rebate may be different(in CA, for example, it's given in the form of a rebate check sent typically within 90 days of your application being accepted).

If you're buying the car outright, then that's essentially $7,500 off the cost of the car that you have to just wait a while to get back. If you take out a loan, it's a bit more tricky to budget as your monthly payments will likely be based on the principle when the loan is originated and stay constant throughout the life of the loan. You could play with your witholding to try to spread the $7500 out, but that's only really easy to do for the first year.

 

[TT97]

• Please show all of us how to file the irs tax form required for this early so that you can use the $7500 during the purchase.

Ask your employer (or download online) for a W-4 form and you can adjust your allowances to adjust your tax withholding. I would recommend talking to your financial adviser or accountant and not go based on advise from a Tesla forum.

 

[bthienthai]

You have received a tax credit outside of the window of when you filed your taxes? You think the automotive tax credit is immediate during purchase?

The credit is a federal govt. tax credit just like the credit you receive when donating your car to a charity like kars-for-kids or something.

Please show all of us how to file the irs tax form required for this early so that you can use the $7500 during the purchase.

Please explain how the tax credit WILL make the car more affordable at the time of purchase.

Not everyone is buying things based on if the monthly payment can fit into the paycheck. I think that's what they call living paycheck to paycheck. And just because people don't buy a car at a certain price doesn't mean that they can't afford it. I can buy a Mercedes S class outright with cash, but I would never do it in my lifetime (that thing is a beauty). So, the point is, the tax credit makes the car cheaper psychologically; people can tell themselves, "I could buy this". Just as you would never pay $30 for a hamburger, some people would not pay over $50k for a car.

 

[djplong]

The problem with people who were worried that the car that SHOULD have been weeks away is now MONTHS away - and are afraid of the tax credit running out and THAT was making the car affordable...

How were you going to afford the car payments between now and 2018 when you file your taxes?

I mean, that's the situation I'm in - hunting for the best loan deal, trying to figure out how much money I've saved will go towards the down payment and how much will have to go towards other one-off costs (like the huge registration bill I'll have, etc).

I have to make sure that I can afford the monthly payments for nearly a year before I see that $7500. And even then, I could put the whole $7500 towards the loan, but that will only cut my number of car payments, not the payment amount.

 

[206er]

Was sick of waiting and upset about the new SR and AWD delivery delay estimates of Late 2018. Deemed it simply unacceptable at this point for a line waiting Day 1 West Coast reservation holder.

So I cancelled.

 

[Garlan Garner]

Ask your employer (or download online) for a W-4 form and you can adjust your allowances to adjust your tax withholding. I would recommend talking to your financial adviser or accountant and not go based on advise from a Tesla forum.

Oh...indeed.

I'm fully aware of how to adjust my withholdings...however I would never to do anything like that to get anything less than a house.

AND I'm aware that not being willing to adjust my withholdings for nothing less than a house is a personal decision.

 

[kimberj]

Non owner reserved online 03/31 11PM CST, now shows early 2019. Thinking about cancelling my reservation, not because I need the money, but feeling d**b for believing that I could get a Model 3 for 27,500 + TTL after tax credit.

I never thought they would make the initial early 2018 date, but expected 03/31 reservations to be delivered by Sept 2018. I now realize that TSLA is not capable to deliver this car, both financially and technically, not at that price I was lead to believe in 2016. What a disappointment after almost 2 years of waiting.

 

[kimberj]

Why get out of line now?

It sounds reasonable on first thought, but if your current delivery is early 2019, then for TSLA to make that date they are expecting 5k/week production. If they do meet that goal, then difference between you and new reservation in 2019 will be at most few months (assuming US orders have higher priority).