Silly trade in question

[dmurphy]

Hey folks -

Quick and silly trade-in question... anyone know if it's possible to get a trade-in value from Tesla before placing the order for a vehicle? If so, who would I reach out to?

I want to see what they'd value my trade-in at before I commit to purchasing anything.

Considering (haven't made up my mind completely yet) getting out of my current lease 6 months early. Online estimate from Vroom is about $2k less than the lease buyout price from GM Financial.

Reasons for getting out of lease early:
- Lease end fee of $695
- Will need tires at lease end for 4/32 wear limit; at least $500 for a used set + install
- If I wait until October, fed tax credit will halve to $1775.

So that's $695 + $500 + $1775 = $2,970. The disappearing fed tax credit ($1775) essentially offsets the slight negative equity in the trade. The $1195 in cost avoidance for lease end & tires is just gravy.

I'd also take advantage of NJ's 0% EV sales tax, which of course can disappear at the drop of a hat, so no concern about trade in value vis-a-vie purchase price from Tesla.

So - before I commit to anything, any idea how I can reach someone at Tesla to value a trade? Want to see if they can beat Vroom ... every number I've seen thus far has been all over the board. Sometimes Vroom, sometimes Carmax, sometimes Tesla highest. My vehicle is marginally esoteric - it's a Cadillac XT5 "Platinum" edition which is fairly rare. I see very few Platinums for sale on the used market, so I think tradein values tend to vary a bit.

Thanks!

 

[Bleu]

I got a trade in estimate in store. I'm pretty sure you can get it online, just build your car, provide the make/model/year/trim of your trade in, and don't complete the transaction.

 

[buste2]

You can do it online here:

Trade-in Value | Tesla

It’s hit and miss for instant. They mainly go off the VIN.

 

[Bleu]

You can do it online here:

Trade-in Value | Tesla

It’s hit and miss for instant. They mainly go off the VIN.

That's right; I forgot you can just plug in the VIN. I didn't have it handy at the store.

 

[dmurphy]

Thanks everyone! Another Tesla link I couldn’t find. Not a huge fan of their website. Tesla’s valuation is way low - $2k below Carmax and $2500 below Vroom.

Now to chat with the CFO tonight and maybe we make a move... will actually be easier as two separate transactions - sell to Vroom and buy from Tesla.

 

[destructure00]

Tesla’s valuation is way low - $2k below Carmax and $2500 below Vroom.

Tesla will match Carmax.

In some states, your trade value will be deducted from the sales taxable amount of the new vehicle, so don't forget to factor that in as well. In my case, that saved me $2000 in sales tax, so it can be significant.i did a quick google search for NJ and it looks like they do the same.

**edit - just saw that NJ doesn't apply sales tax to EV's, so never mind on that one.

 

[dmurphy]

Tesla will match Carmax.

In some states, your trade value will be deducted from the sales taxable amount of the new vehicle, so don't forget to factor that in as well. In my case, that saved me $2000 in sales tax, so it can be significant.

One of the (very few) advantages of living in NJ is that we have 0% sales tax on EVs. That’s tremendous! So no real advantage to trading with Tesla vs. Vroom.

I don’t mind sending my car to Vroom - doing it as two transactions is fine. Probably easier that way anyway; makes Tesla’s paperwork less complex. And I’m all about making their paperwork less complex.
In fact, I’m likely to finance with Tesla financing and then immediately refi to my credit union. I did that on my wife’s Buick and it was great. The dealer gave me a phenomenal buy price on the car because I was using their captive financing with no promotions, and then I went and flipped it to the CU the next week anyway. Advantage: me.

 

[gobble]

Tesla will match Carmax.

Yes, they give you an extremely lowball offer and make you screw around by going to Carmax for a quote to match to get (still) less than a wholesale value trade value. This was one other thing that turned me off on tesla vs. a competent car company.

 

[dmurphy]

Yes, they give you an extremely lowball offer and make you screw around by going to Carmax for a quote to match to get (still) less than a wholesale value trade value. This was one other thing that turned me off on tesla vs. a competent car company.

What I found was that Tesla's offer is essentially KBB "Good" (not Very Good or Excellent) values. So I don't blame Tesla, but KBB's valuation. Not much different than a traditional dealership, except without the backend games to hide trade devaluation in purchase prices.

Carmax was better.
Vroom was better still.

 

[Son512]

I tried Vroom and Tesla/KBB "good" and Tesla/Kbb came out $1.2k higher. Its probably best to shop around since values vary.

 

[gobble]

I forget the number but they offered me something like $7,500 below the Manheim wholesale value of my 4 month old 5,000 mile Volt.

 

[evM3Sekar]

What I found was that Tesla's offer is essentially KBB "Good" (not Very Good or Excellent) values. So I don't blame Tesla, but KBB's valuation. Not much different than a traditional dealership, except without the backend games to hide trade devaluation in purchase prices.

Carmax was better.
Vroom was better still.

I was lucky that my Carmax valuation (which Tesla matched) with the sales tax break was barely $300 less than the highest KBB value. So private sale wasn't worth it for me, and I traded it in. But in your case, no sales tax in NJ for EVs, go for Vroom!

 

[dmurphy]

I forget the number but they offered me something like $7,500 below the Manheim wholesale value of my 4 month old 5,000 mile Volt.

Would you mind pulling a wholesale value for a 2017 Cadillac XT5 Platinum in White, 28000 miles? NJ area - you can use zip code 07866.

Curious how it compares to KBB ($33,517)/Carmax ($35,000)/Vroom ($35,500).

If you can, thanks much. If not, totally understand!

 

[Gpa9504]

My Jaguar F Type trade in quote from Tesla was a little higher than KBB and much higher than Audi offered for a trade on Q8. Though I will report- on the eve of taking delivery (today in fact), they changed the valuation by lowering it by $250. Very sleazy move and I will deal with it accordingly if they don't fix it before the car is delivered today...

 

[SoccerMan94043]

Thanks everyone! Another Tesla link I couldn’t find. Not a huge fan of their website. Tesla’s valuation is way low - $2k below Carmax and $2500 below Vroom.

Now to chat with the CFO tonight and maybe we make a move... will actually be easier as two separate transactions - sell to Vroom and buy from Tesla.

This is what I did. Tesla didn't respond to SEVERAL requests for a trade in quote (2016 Model S 75D). I ordered my current Model 3 anyway and then told Tesla Sales I wouldn't take delivery until I had a quote. They told me to head to Carmax Tesla would honor their quote. Carmax offered 8K less than Vroom so I went with Vroom.

The process is a bit scary with Vroom: you send them your real title, they send a 3rd party to pick up the car and, when they have confirmation that the car is picked up, send you a check or ACH to your bank account. That is a ton of unearned faith for me.

I did it anyway and they were really good to work with (I recorded everything from sending them the paperwork to videoing the license, licence plate and process of taking my car away).

 

[dmurphy]

This is what I did. Telsa didn't respond to SEVERAL requests for a trade in quote (2016 Model S 75D). I ordered my current Model 3 anyway and then told Tesla Sales I wouldn't take delivery until I had a quote. They told me to head to Carmax Tesla would honor their quote. Carmax offered 8K less than Vroom so I went with Vroom.

The process is a bit scary with Vroom: you send them your real title, they send a 3rd party to pick up the car and, when they have confirmation that the car is picked up, send you a check or ACH to your bank account. That is a ton of unearned faith for me.

I did it anyway and they were really good to work with (I recorded everything from sending them the paperwork to videoing the license, licence plate and process of taking my car away).

So one thing I learned this morning is that Vroom doesn't buy vehicles that are currently leased.... show stopper there.
Carmax it is - only a $500 difference. I'm good with it and to be honest - having the car evaluated at Carmax yesterday, I was very impressed. They're efficient and pleasant to work with. Streamlined process - so I'm doing this as two separate transactions ...

- Sell my current Cadillac to Carmax.
- Financing via credit union (Campbell CU)

Trying to eliminate the Tesla Factor as much as possible ... make their paperwork seamless, let the other experts do what they do best.

 

[vickh]

Tesla match Vroom?

 

[dmurphy]

Tesla match Vroom?

We’ll find out. I’m still waiting for Tesla’s actual offer to come back and then I’ll present the Vroom offer. More updates as they happen!

 

[hcdavis3]

Thanks everyone! Another Tesla link I couldn’t find. Not a huge fan of their website. Tesla’s valuation is way low - $2k below Carmax and $2500 below Vroom.

Now to chat with the CFO tonight and maybe we make a move... will actually be easier as two separate transactions - sell to Vroom and buy from Tesla.

Tesla will match Carmax in MA.