scott jones
Member
I think you owe the OP an apology.
Obviously he was on his way to pick up the car and thus had already wired the money to Tesla prior to the accident happening.
He is out of that money until this resolves at the very least. And if he decides to keep the car, that is the cost - that has already happened.
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Semantics. The guy had made the commitment to buy this car, Tesla had made the commitment to sell the car, and the $130,000 had been wired to Tesla, he was minutes from picking it up. In all likelihood the guy can back out from the deal (we don't have confirmation of that, but I expect that Tesla will honor such a choice) but it was his car he was on his way to pick up, paid and bought. I agree title and custody of the car has not been transferred and that the deal may still be called off, but these attacks on the OP on mere semantics are totally unnecessary. It was his car that was in the hands of Tesla and wrecked on delivery. Surely he can be 'completely pissed' if he wants to. Nobody is claiming Tesla wrecked it on purpose, although negligence can't be ruled out.
Unless your Roadster was banged into a pole 10 minutes prior to pick-up, that is quite irrelevant. Also, personal finances dictate a subjective meaning on price. And objectively, I think we can all agree both a discounted P85D and a Tesla Roadster are expensive cars.
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As for the $1,200 service compensation from Tesla (which of course isn't worth $1,200 to them in literal terms which is probably why they offered it, real cost probably $600), I have no problem with that. I think it is not good nor bad as a compensation offer, it is OK. OP then must decide what that is worth to them and will it compensate for the potential loss of value on the vehicle.
One more thing I think plays into this: How long is the owner planning to keep the car? If merely for some months, year or two max, and his car history is of perfect specimens and no accidents, car polished regularly in a warm garage it remains much of the time, then such a loss of value might be greater (at the eyes of an equally discerning buyer anyway).
If on the other hand, he intends to drive the P85D for 5+ years, maybe on dirt roads and under a winter sky, the likelihood of such an old incident mattering significantly in the value goes down in my opinion. During a long ownership, cars usually receive some bangs and fixes, wear and tear anyway and it comes with the territory of buying higher-mileage used cars.
As many have said, only OP can make the call of course, on their personal merits.
If what the OP says is correct, I would agree with Anxiety Ranger, and think some need to apologize for the quick, unfounded comments. There's a tendency to defend Tesla on this forum without knowing the facts. I like Tesla, I just notice that trend a lot on this board, and this is an example of attacks without knowledge. And I'm sure I'll be attacked for saying it, and the OP WON'T get the apologies that Anxiety Ranger suggested.