Having read some of the stories before placing my order, including Rich Rebuilds ongoing saga, I must be a glutton for punishment... I haven't found any threads from people that have used the new $2000 used car shipping process, so I thought I would document mine. I also have the added difficulty that there are no delivery locations in my state. (NH) From what I've read online the cars are usually delivered to your home or a location over the border from the MA location, but as you'll read below, apparently that's not how it's done now. (At least not with used) I'd love some feedback on this if anyone has some.
Progress so far -
1/15 - Spoke to a sales advisor (Located in CA) and asked a number of questions regarding the purchasing process, range concerns in cold weather, general availability of vehicles, timelines, etc. Overall a positive experience, although I have read other places, and have seen youtube videos that completely contradict his claims about minimal cold weather range loss.
1/16 - I find a car that has nearly every feature I want. Ask my sales rep to confirm that the car has the rear facing seats since the pictures don't show them. Asked if any other information was available. He was reasonably quick to respond and warned that I should place my deposit immediately if I'm interested as the cars with rear sears tend to sell quickly. (Not sure if this is true)
1/17 - Get the approval from my wife, so I place the deposit on a 2015 Black on Black 85D with nearly everything I was looking for. (Doesn't have the sub zero package, center console, 19" wheels, and I really wanted the Midnight Silver) Otherwise everything is exactly as I wanted. I contacted the sales advisor and he said he would start the process of getting the car shipped from San Francisco, CA to Deham, MA that day. I asked about the $2,000 shipping fee and whether I needed to pay now, and he quickly replied that he would add the charge to my account and I could pay it later. Based on advice from other posts I asked several questions regarding the financing and whether I should wait until I know the delivery date before applying. No response.
1/18 - Follow-up email and phone call to the sales advisor to make sure I'm not delaying the process by not filling out the credit application. Also wanted to confirm the delivery address since it's one of the steps on the website checklist and it was listed as incomplete. No response.
1/21 - Sent another email asking for an update on my open questions and also to ask about the pickup process since I had read over the weekend that NH residents cant pick up the cars in Deham, MA due to the tax issues, so the cars are usually shipped over the border for the deliveries. No response. (Concerned now that my SA was a victim of the 7% staff reduction)
1/21 - Late evening - I receive an email from a new SA saying he is taking over my previous SA's accounts. (RIP old SA) In the email he more or less indicates that he doesn't think he can ship the car from CA, and he will need to confirm with his manager in the morning. It they can, it will take about 3-4 weeks and I should wait until I have a confirmed date before filling out the credit application.
1/22 - Early afternoon - Received a VM from my new SA stating that the car would need to be shipped to Paramus, NJ for pickup since used cars cannot be shipped to MA or NY. I asked if he was sure of this since I had read online about many people from NH getting their cars from the Mt Kisco, NY facility and the Deham, MA facility. He reiterates that it's very difficult to deal with shipping cars into NY and MA and asks if I want to continue with the sale. Given no other great option, I agree with the NJ location. I ask if he could confirm whether I will be forced to pay sales tax if I pick up in NJ and he wasn't sure. Also asked about temporary plates since I would need something on the car to drive it home. He was also unsure and said I would need to find out from the delivery specialist. He also lets me know that I have nothing left to do except wait to be contacted by the delivery specialist.
1/22 - Later in the afternoon - I called the Paramus, NJ location and asked them the same questions. The person I spoke to wasn't exactly positive on either point. He didn't think I would need to pay the taxes, and he was pretty sure they could issue temporary plates, but that the process would be handled by the Dedham, MA location. I explained that MA doesn't issue temporary plates, and he then said they would definitely do it in NJ. I'm a little uneasy about the explanations, but I have a few weeks to get it sorted.
1/22 - Late night - I receive an email from my delivery specialist letting me know they are in the process of shipping my car, and need me to confirm my registration information. It incorrectly had my county listed as the name of my town, so I gave her the corrected address. She also told me that I need to fill out my credit application and whether I will be including any trade-in. I had already confirmed that I am not trading in a car on the website, and let her know that I was told that I shouldn't fill out the credit application until I had a delivery date. No response yet, but it is very early in CA where she is located.
Overall - The process hasn't been too painful yet. I'm still suspicious about the delivery location. I was really looking forward to having the car delivered to my house as other NH buyers had reported. Now I will need to find a one-way method to get to NJ and drive the car home. I REALLY hope I don't arrive and find the car in bad condition or that there is some issue that would prevent me from leaving with the car. I'll also feel better when I get some sort of confirmation that the car has actually begun the journey from San Francisco. Really looking forward to getting the car! Now I need to work on getting the charger wired up.
Progress so far -
1/15 - Spoke to a sales advisor (Located in CA) and asked a number of questions regarding the purchasing process, range concerns in cold weather, general availability of vehicles, timelines, etc. Overall a positive experience, although I have read other places, and have seen youtube videos that completely contradict his claims about minimal cold weather range loss.
1/16 - I find a car that has nearly every feature I want. Ask my sales rep to confirm that the car has the rear facing seats since the pictures don't show them. Asked if any other information was available. He was reasonably quick to respond and warned that I should place my deposit immediately if I'm interested as the cars with rear sears tend to sell quickly. (Not sure if this is true)
1/17 - Get the approval from my wife, so I place the deposit on a 2015 Black on Black 85D with nearly everything I was looking for. (Doesn't have the sub zero package, center console, 19" wheels, and I really wanted the Midnight Silver) Otherwise everything is exactly as I wanted. I contacted the sales advisor and he said he would start the process of getting the car shipped from San Francisco, CA to Deham, MA that day. I asked about the $2,000 shipping fee and whether I needed to pay now, and he quickly replied that he would add the charge to my account and I could pay it later. Based on advice from other posts I asked several questions regarding the financing and whether I should wait until I know the delivery date before applying. No response.
1/18 - Follow-up email and phone call to the sales advisor to make sure I'm not delaying the process by not filling out the credit application. Also wanted to confirm the delivery address since it's one of the steps on the website checklist and it was listed as incomplete. No response.
1/21 - Sent another email asking for an update on my open questions and also to ask about the pickup process since I had read over the weekend that NH residents cant pick up the cars in Deham, MA due to the tax issues, so the cars are usually shipped over the border for the deliveries. No response. (Concerned now that my SA was a victim of the 7% staff reduction)
1/21 - Late evening - I receive an email from a new SA saying he is taking over my previous SA's accounts. (RIP old SA) In the email he more or less indicates that he doesn't think he can ship the car from CA, and he will need to confirm with his manager in the morning. It they can, it will take about 3-4 weeks and I should wait until I have a confirmed date before filling out the credit application.
1/22 - Early afternoon - Received a VM from my new SA stating that the car would need to be shipped to Paramus, NJ for pickup since used cars cannot be shipped to MA or NY. I asked if he was sure of this since I had read online about many people from NH getting their cars from the Mt Kisco, NY facility and the Deham, MA facility. He reiterates that it's very difficult to deal with shipping cars into NY and MA and asks if I want to continue with the sale. Given no other great option, I agree with the NJ location. I ask if he could confirm whether I will be forced to pay sales tax if I pick up in NJ and he wasn't sure. Also asked about temporary plates since I would need something on the car to drive it home. He was also unsure and said I would need to find out from the delivery specialist. He also lets me know that I have nothing left to do except wait to be contacted by the delivery specialist.
1/22 - Later in the afternoon - I called the Paramus, NJ location and asked them the same questions. The person I spoke to wasn't exactly positive on either point. He didn't think I would need to pay the taxes, and he was pretty sure they could issue temporary plates, but that the process would be handled by the Dedham, MA location. I explained that MA doesn't issue temporary plates, and he then said they would definitely do it in NJ. I'm a little uneasy about the explanations, but I have a few weeks to get it sorted.
1/22 - Late night - I receive an email from my delivery specialist letting me know they are in the process of shipping my car, and need me to confirm my registration information. It incorrectly had my county listed as the name of my town, so I gave her the corrected address. She also told me that I need to fill out my credit application and whether I will be including any trade-in. I had already confirmed that I am not trading in a car on the website, and let her know that I was told that I shouldn't fill out the credit application until I had a delivery date. No response yet, but it is very early in CA where she is located.
Overall - The process hasn't been too painful yet. I'm still suspicious about the delivery location. I was really looking forward to having the car delivered to my house as other NH buyers had reported. Now I will need to find a one-way method to get to NJ and drive the car home. I REALLY hope I don't arrive and find the car in bad condition or that there is some issue that would prevent me from leaving with the car. I'll also feel better when I get some sort of confirmation that the car has actually begun the journey from San Francisco. Really looking forward to getting the car! Now I need to work on getting the charger wired up.