Strange configuration issues...take delivery of a "2017" model now?

[beachbum19]

Hello everyone. Long time follower but first time poster. I'm a current Model S owner located in CA and I was very excited to see I was able to configure this time last week. I immediately leapt at the opportunity and stopped just short after selecting my desired options short of placing the order (or so I thought...) to run some quick financial calculations. Turns out something strange happened as I was going through the configuring process. I logged back in and was surprised to see that the car was already on order. I never even typed in a CC number for the downpayment (guess they automatically charged the CC I used for the reservation). I immediately called Tesla to speak to a rep and he mentioned that it appeared something strange was going on (i.e. reservation time showed 12 AM day before) and would get back to me. He called the next day and said there really wasn't anything they could do other than direct me to fight the charge with CC. I originally didn't want the downpayment to go that card but decided I would live it with rather than go through the whole process again (and possibly be bumped to the back of the line). Not a great start...

I was then surprised to see that I was immediately assigned a VIN. I thought, "Great, its coming right away!" and went to get insurance quotes. After typing in the VIN (21xx), it kept popping up as a 2017 model so I did a little research and found out that it was just that. I called my delivery guy and he said something along the lines of, "The car must have been built at the end of December and that is why it is listed as a 2017 model. Makes sense.

I obviously understand that Tesla doesn't do model year numbers but I'm still concerned on what the long-term ramifications could be on getting this particular 2017 model in 2018. Would it be wise to pass on this car and get a newer build? The rest of the world obviously still operates under model years so I have no idea how this could impact things like resell value down the road, perceptions on quality of build, etc. It does feel a bit strange to pay full price for a previous year build too, and I can have them reassign the VIN but thought I'd reach out to the Tesla community first for some feedback.

What do you guys think?

 

[gregincal]

Personally I wouldn't worry about it. In fact I didn't, since I received my 2017 VIN car two weeks ago. No guarantees, but I did get an Alcantara headliner to ease the pain. It probably depends on how long you plan on keeping it. After 5 years mileage is far more important than the year as long as the specs are the same.

 

[bro1999]

Despite Tesla not doing traditional manufacturer years, when it comes to resale your Model 3 will be considered a 2017 vice a 2018. Often times when buying "last year's" model, you can score a discount compared to buying the current year model, so the slightly lower resale value isn't an issue. For example, I just received an email from Chevy advertising an extra $2,017 off all 2017 cars in stock. A 2018 would be instantly $2k more.

Since you are not getting a discount for your "2017" Model 3 compared to a 2018, I would be hesitant to finalize the deal too. If you plan to keep your 3 for 10 years, it's likely a non-issue.

 

[Zaphod]

How long do you plan on keeping the car? If short term (1-3 years) I probably would try for 2018 to improve resale slightly. If you plan on keeping longer, say 4+ years, don't think resale will have a huge impact. But who knows what the future will hold. Nothing changed between 2017 and 2018 so all the technology with AP, etc. are no different. It's not like a 2013 S and 2014 S that has AP.

 

[gregincal]

So here's a concrete example. I got my Model S almost exactly 5 years ago, and people were asking the exact same question then. This time I got "last year's model", but when I got my Model S I got a 2013 VIN instead of a 2012. I just sold my Model S. According to KBB, if it had a 2012 VIN it would have been worth 7% less. For the Model S, that's a couple thousand dollars, although obviously less for a Model 3.

 

[Beagle]

Every other manufacturer starts delivering "next years" cars in Aug.-Sep. These should all be 2018s.

 

[EkBuZ]

Originally I thought you were getting the exact same scenario I didn't want to happen. I bet that 2017 has an alacantra headliner and that'll be worth more than the model year difference. When there is a few 100,000 of these out there a VIN of 2100 or 6100 will probably look the same to the buyer. They'll know it was super early in production and would probably rather have the bonus of alacantra.

 

[EricUSC]

I'd say keep the 2017 if you plan to keep the car for a while. It'll probably have alcantara headliner which was discontinued in early 2018.

 

[Scrith]

I'm just curious, where exactly is it telling you that that particular VIN is a 2017 model? And is the letter in your VIN (in digit 10) and 'H' or a 'J'?

 

[beachbum19]

Thank you all for the input! Much appreciated. I ended up asking Tesla to remove the VIN and replace with a 2018 model. That VIN (81xx) came through a couple days ago and the car will delivered sometime next week so I'm very excited for that. The alcantara headliner was really the only benefit to keeping the 2017 model, and I was hesitant to keep the 2017 model mainly out of concern over future resell value (unsure how long I will keep the car) and slightly out of concern over quality based on it being an earlier build. I've read about some manufacturing issues already so hoping to avoid those as much of that as possible.

 

[beachbum19]

I'm just curious, where exactly is it telling you that that particular VIN is a 2017 model? And is the letter in your VIN (in digit 10) and 'H' or a 'J'?

Originally, through the insurance quote since it kept showing up as a 2017 model. I then found a VIN decoder and it was indeed a letter that designates the year. I think "H" was a 2017 model whereas "J" is 2018.