Significant increase in trade in value of my current ICE from Tesla [Dec 2021]

[Nj732]

Just a heads up, as it may help some people... Not sure if this is just me getting lucky or what, because I've heard horror stories of Tesla lowballing trade in offers. I had received an offer for my 2016 Mazda 3 (less than 80,000 miles) from Tesla a little over a month ago of $8,100. I declined the offer, as I still had some time to shop it around until I received my VIN. Looked at the usual suspects (Carmax, Carvana, etc.) and found they all were offering more than Tesla (as much as $9,300).

Fast forward to last week, I received my VIN and decided to get another offer from Tesla just to see if it had increased or decreased. To my surprise, Tesla now offered me $9,700 for my Mazda - an increase of $1,600 for seemingly no reason. This offer is now higher than the comps from the other sites, so unless I decide to try to go private sale, I will likely be going with Tesla. I had hoped I could get close to $10k for my current car, so Tesla's new offer is really enticing, plus it will make the trade in process much easier, as I can just drive my current car to them when I go to take delivery.

It may be worth it for others to see if Tesla's trade in offers have changed for them.

Good luck!

 

[hsmithmiller]

there is a US nation wide shortage of used cars - negotiate firmly when selling to either a dealership or privately

 

[Probllama]

I was pleseantly suprised too by the trade-in offer I have received. They offered $60,700 on an X5 that I have just traded it in to a BMW dealer for $62k. They used to really lowball with their trade-in offers and looks like they now might be within couple of percentage points with the highest offers.

 

[Two-rocks]

Still way way off ($10,000) on my model 3 sr+.
What does that say ….

 

[Renoir]

Congrats and thanks so much for sharing! I’m trading in a RAV4 for the M3LR and received a nice offer from both Carmax and Carvana in the $18k range. I figure if Tesla can give me $17k I will net more than selling due to sales tax savings. Keeping my fingers crossed…

 

[raptor5244]

In my experience, Tesla has been fairly competitive when it comes to ICE based vehicle trade-ins but they are absolutely horrible when it comes to trading in an existing Tesla for another.

 

[bro1999]

In my experience, Tesla has been fairly competitive when it comes to ICE based vehicle trade-ins but they are absolutely horrible when it comes to trading in an existing Tesla for another.

This. When I was shopping my Blazer, Tesla's trade-in offer was more or less in line with other local dealers (on the low end, but still competitive and actually better if you factor in tax savings). But I submitted my '21 SR+ with 7k miles and they spit out $37k....Carvana offered over $45k. Lol NO

 

[raptor5244]

This. When I was shopping my Blazer, Tesla's trade-in offer was more or less in line with other local dealers (on the low end, but still competitive and actually better if you factor in tax savings). But I submitted my '21 SR+ with 7k miles and they spit out $37k....Carvana offered over $45k. Lol NO

Yeah, they definitely do not want their own cars back but they are willing to be competitive in order to bring an ICE based customer to the brand.

 

[Tedkidd]

Sold my SRY for 49,500.
Tesla offer was 31,500.
Dealer I sold to advertised it for 56 and it was gone in a week.
Tesla is 350 miles away, so I was hoping for a clean deal or at least courtesy trade to save the taxes.
I hope they get this trade thing so at least people can justify the trade on the tax arbitrage. I would have taken 46 to make things simpler.
Seems like some money and improved customer experience opportunity left on the table.

 

[raptor5244]

Sold my SRY for 49,500.
Tesla offer was 31,500.
Dealer I sold to advertised it for 56 and it was gone in a week.
Tesla is 350 miles away, so I was hoping for a clean deal or at least courtesy trade to save the taxes.
I hope they get this trade thing so at least people can justify the trade on the tax arbitrage. I would have taken 46 to make things simpler.
Seems like some money and improved customer experience opportunity left on the table.

Agreed, this is one of the negatives of dealing with Tesla. I do like the simplicity of the Tesla purchasing model but there are some areas they can improve on and this is one of them. I always find it odd how much people will pay for a used vehicle. I sold my 2019 M3P for $48k, dealer will list it for like $52/$53k but a new one is like $57k. If you are going to drop $50k+ on a vehicle, why wouldn't you want to spend like $5k more and get a 2 year newer car, full warranty, new car finance rates and be the first one to fart in the seat? I mean if these cars were going extinct and you just had to have one I guess pay whatever but this is a mass produced vehicle.

 

[Tedkidd]

Agreed, this is one of the negatives of dealing with Tesla. I do like the simplicity of the Tesla purchasing model but there are some areas they can improve on and this is one of them. I always find it odd how much people will pay for a used vehicle. I sold my 2019 M3P for $48k, dealer will list it for like $52/$53k but a new one is like $57k. If you are going to drop $50k+ on a vehicle, why wouldn't you want to spend like $5k more and get a 2 year newer car, full warranty, new car finance rates and be the first one to fart in the seat? I mean if these cars were going extinct and you just had to have one I guess pay whatever but this is a mass produced vehicle.

2 guesses:

Because I want it NOW! Not in 8 months?

Also, want to buy from a local dealer?...

 

[raptor5244]

2 guesses:

Because I want it NOW! Not in 8 months?

Also, want to buy from a local dealer?...

Yeah, the wait time I can understand to a point but at current prices I would just pony up the extra cash for the Performance trims, which list delivery times of one to two months rather than overpay for a used one.

The local dealer theory may be the case for some folks who are not comfortable with the Tesla buying model just yet or older folks that just prefer the traditional buying experience of seeing the car, test drive it, haggling over price, etc. Also, these dealers can can walk folks through financing options.

 

[voxel]

Agreed, this is one of the negatives of dealing with Tesla. I do like the simplicity of the Tesla purchasing model but there are some areas they can improve on and this is one of them. I always find it odd how much people will pay for a used vehicle. I sold my 2019 M3P for $48k, dealer will list it for like $52/$53k but a new one is like $57k. If you are going to drop $50k+ on a vehicle, why wouldn't you want to spend like $5k more and get a 2 year newer car, full warranty, new car finance rates and be the first one to fart in the seat? I mean if these cars were going extinct and you just had to have one I guess pay whatever but this is a mass produced vehicle.

Two reasons I've heard:

1) High trade in value for these buyers.
2) Subprime credit buyers. IMO This is a big factor and is why auction prices are high. These dealers are banking on high-demand cars like Teslas that attract subprime buyers - who they make a profit off loan-servicing.

 

[T3SLAROD]

Same here, when I submitted my trade in it offered $38.5K once I started my order and submitted pictures it went up to $42k. I am wondering if they send those pictures with information to whole sale to see how much they will buy the vehicle for and then make a trade in offer.

 

[Steve7557]

Experienced this issue this morning. Tesla trade in value on a 2020 SR+ with 7,300 miles was $8-10k less than everyone else. I get that trade-in values are generally less, but I didnt appreciate the Tesla TA assuring me they follow KBB values and it would be close to that. We looked it up at the showroom, and it was $11k higher than the actual trade in value. I also don't appreciate the new process where you must order the vehicle and secure financing BEFORE they provide the trade-in value.

 

[raptor5244]

Experienced this issue this morning. Tesla trade in value on a 2020 SR+ with 7,300 miles was $8-10k less than everyone else. I get that trade-in values are generally less, but I didnt appreciate the Tesla TA assuring me they follow KBB values and it would be close to that. We looked it up at the showroom, and it was $11k higher than the actual trade in value. I also don't appreciate the new process where you must order the vehicle and secure financing BEFORE they provide the trade-in value.

Man, I hope Tesla doesn’t get too cocky and get more and more difficult to do business with. Low ball trade-ins, poor communication, playing games by not revealing their trade offer until they have you committed on the deal, etc. One of the big benefits of buying a car through Tesla is being able to skip the traditional dealership experience and deal directly with the manufacturer but if Tesla starts to act more and more like a traditional dealership then what’s the difference. At this rate it won’t be long before we are all sitting in a Tesla strip mall dealership haggling back and forth waiting for the manager with the alligator skin boots and 5 rings to come out and try to close the deal while you are to get your keys back so you can leave.

It is pretty obvious Tesla does not want their own cars back on trade based on the trade in value they offer. I just don’t get why? If it is a storage or logistics issue they could just send them to auction like they do all their ICE based trades and make money on the Tesla trade ins as well. instead they upset an existing Tesla customer and force them to sell to Carmax, Carvana, Vroom, etc. lose any sales tax credit and make the buying process more cumbersome.

 

[voxel]

Man, I hope Tesla doesn’t get too cocky and get more and more difficult to do business with. Low ball trade-ins, poor communication, playing games by not revealing their trade offer until they have you committed on the deal, etc. One of the big benefits of buying a car through Tesla is being able to skip the traditional dealership experience and deal directly with the manufacturer but if Tesla starts to act more and more like a traditional dealership then what’s the difference. At this rate it won’t be long before we are all sitting in a Tesla strip mall dealership haggling back and forth waiting for the manager with the alligator skin boots and 5 rings to come out and try to close the deal while you are to get your keys back so you can leave.

It is pretty obvious Tesla does not want their own cars back on trade based on the trade in value they offer. I just don’t get why? If it is a storage or logistics issue they could just send them to auction like they do all their ICE based trades and make money on the Tesla trade ins as well. instead they upset an existing Tesla customer and force them to sell to Carmax, Carvana, Vroom, etc. lose any sales tax credit and make the buying process more cumbersome.

I don't think it would make good business sense for Tesla to buy a used Tesla that cost almost the same as what they list as new. That's how crazy Carmax, Carvana, Vroom prices are.

I just traded in my Model Y to a Ford dealer for a Mach-E and they immediately will send that to auction via broker. Telsa does the same.

 

[T3SLAROD]

I don't think it would make good business sense for Tesla to buy a used Tesla that cost almost the same as what they list as new. That's how crazy Carmax, Carvana, Vroom prices are.

I just traded in my Model Y to a Ford dealer for a Mach-E and they immediately will send that to auction via broker. Telsa does the same.

Why the trade in? PM Me. Thanks!

 

[voxel]

Why the trade in? PM Me. Thanks!

Always wanted a Mach-E and who knows about 2022 and the tax credit (could be just one per year and Mach-E might not be eligible since it is a sedan).

And the Model Y appreciated so I got a few K over what I paid for it.

With Tesla.. you can find good rates beforehand as there is always enough time from VIN to delivery. I wasn't fully prepared for the Mach-E sale so I took their rates (yuck) - I plan to early payoff the loan though. That's the big negative when you deal with dealers of high demand cars. You can't just pause the deal and come back a few days later with better financing.

 

[T3SLAROD]

Always wanted a Mach-E and who knows about 2022 and the tax credit (could be just one per year and Mach-E might not be eligible since it is a sedan).

And the Model Y appreciated so I got a few K over what I paid for it.

With Tesla.. you can find good rates beforehand as there is always enough time from VIN to delivery. I wasn't fully prepared for the Mach-E sale so I took their rates (yuck) - I plan to early payoff the loan though. That's the big negative when you deal with dealers of high demand cars. You can't just pause the deal and come back a few days later with better financing.

Yeah Im not understanding the Mach-E classification. Ford says its an SUV, the EPA says wagon. I placed an order for GTPE, I am hoping the $7500 will still be good as it's good right now.