Tesla is asking me to pay car before it arrives (cash deal). Is that normal?

[JCtx]

Hey gang, ordered a 2021 M3 LR white/white today. Basically 50 grand. Austin manager said I needed to pay for the car when I get the VIN, which should be tomorrow, according to him. Why the heck do I have to do that??? I'd like to inspect the car before it arrives. And since I'll pay cash, I could pay via W/T, which would take minutes to hit Tesla's account. Or I can pick up the car the next day or two, when they verify payment; I don't care. But I just don't want to pay beforehand, especially with the myriad of issues the car could have. We're reasonable people, and we wouldn't reject it with minor issues. But want to have the piece of mind to make that decision before having shelled out 50 grand, with no way to get them back without a legal fight. Thank you.

By the way, the car would be one of the first delivered in El Paso, TX, which will start a showroom and delivery next week. Tesla supposedly is not an official dealer in TX yet, so not sure if that has anything to do with that. They're also asking to have insurance on the car when I receive the VIN, which I also found odd, since it's not my car yet. But I'd go along with that. And finally, they're charging me doc fee, but I have to do my own registration. What the heck? Plus they're charging me $80 for a freaking temp plate. That's enough fleecing. Ha ha.
JC

 

[SigNC]

you should just have to show you that you have another car insured. In almost any state i believe (check your own) if you have insurance on another car a new car is auto covered under your policy for 30 days. As for paying before, one easy way to avoid this is to go through tesla's financing. They will just farm it out to a bank and at least for the 2 i've done they had no penalty for early payoff so you can just pay it off in a month.

 

[pjensen]

Hey gang, ordered a 2021 M3 LR white/white today. Basically 50 grand. Austin manager said I needed to pay for the car when I get the VIN, which should be tomorrow, according to him. Why the heck do I have to do that??? I'd like to inspect the car before it arrives.

Texas law. Wonder if car dealers had anything to do with that?

You have to pay before the car is transported into Texas. Yes all of us here in Texas had to prepay...

 

[pjensen]

you should just have to show you that you have another car insured.

Not in Texas.

You must have insurance (with the vin number) in place before the car is transported in to Texas. All of us here in Texas have had to do this. It is the law.

 

[brkaus]

Yes. You are not buying the car on Texas. You are buying the car in California and Tesla is transporting it here in your behalf.

Talk to your legislators. But they would rather take contributions from big dealers (that pretend to be mom & pop shops that enable competition but in reality are mostly part of conglomerates like Group One Auto out of Houston).

 

[RandyS]

You can pay in advance or you can pay when the car is delivered.

 

[brkaus]

You can pay in advance or you can pay when the car is delivered.

Not in Texas.

 

[RefreshedP]

After seeing how my car showed up, I would be extremly upset if I had already accepted and payed for it.

 

[offhegoes]

It sounds like someone should mess with Texas for a change. That's simply not a acceptable law. What?

 

[CyberGus]

It sounds like someone should mess with Texas for a change. That's simply not a acceptable law. What?

Dont mess w/TX

 

[strider]

Yep. And Elon moves Tesla HQ and builds a new factory in TX while accepting all of this stupidity. Should have held the HQ move and new factory over their heads to get the laws changed. Governor up here committed to get it done if OK was awarded the factory (yes, we have similar stupidity here).

 

[JCtx]

Seems like I don't have a choice then. Unfortunately looks like I'm indeed buying from CA, and getting it delivered to TX. That explain why I need to have insurance with the VIN and everything too. Asked the new manager to test-drive and scrutinize an M3 LR here, just to at least have something to compare the new one to. And want to make sure my wife is okay with the ride, cabin noise, and everything else. Hope he has one, before taking a leap of faith. I never in my life paid MSRP for any vehicle, let alone having to pay in advance for it. And now I'm doing both. Ha ha. Oh, and also paying doc fee when I have to register the freaking car. Ha ha. Oh well. Thank you very much for the bad news guys . Now to buy a NEMA 15-40 cable adapter before they run out.

Will ask the Tesla guy if there are any fees for the financing, and think about that. I was forced to do a loan with my Bullitt a few months ago (did the minimum), and I regretted that big time. Paid off the $5K loan the day after, and it took FOUR MONTHS to get the freaking title. And somehow they messed up my credit, supposedly denying the $5K loan on a $53K car, with 800+ credit scores. Oh, and I was charged 10% interest. Geez. But this is worse, since I didn't have to pay anything in advance on the other car. I'll consider it for sure. Thank you for suggesting that.

 

[jjrandorin]

Nope, you dont have a choice. Talk to your law makers (yes, its a stupid law simply to protect traditional dealers). Texas isnt the only state where this is the case, I think there are 11 left or something.

 

[JCtx]

TX lawmakers are morons, and they're the reason why those laws exist, so I wouldn't waste my time. Ha ha. And yes, I did my part to vote them out on last election, but we fell short; hopefully next cycle . Just hope I don't regret having paid in advance.

 

[Spacep0d]

Seems like I don't have a choice then. Unfortunately looks like I'm indeed buying from CA, and getting it delivered to TX. That explain why I need to have insurance with the VIN and everything too. Asked the new manager to test-drive and scrutinize an M3 LR here, just to at least have something to compare the new one to. And want to make sure my wife is okay with the ride, cabin noise, and everything else. Hope he has one, before taking a leap of faith. I never in my life paid MSRP for any vehicle, let alone having to pay in advance for it. And now I'm doing both. Ha ha. Oh, and also paying doc fee when I have to register the freaking car. Ha ha. Oh well. Thank you very much for the bad news guys . Now to buy a NEMA 15-40 cable adapter before they run out.

Will ask the Tesla guy if there are any fees for the financing, and think about that. I was forced to do a loan with my Bullitt a few months ago (did the minimum), and I regretted that big time. Paid off the $5K loan the day after, and it took FOUR MONTHS to get the freaking title. And somehow they messed up my credit, supposedly denying the $5K loan on a $53K car, with 800+ credit scores. Oh, and I was charged 10% interest. Geez. But this is worse, since I didn't have to pay anything in advance on the other car. I'll consider it for sure. Thank you for suggesting that.

As for general Tesla items, why not rent a Tesla from Turo while you wait to assess cabin noise? Granted, you may not find a refreshed model but if you're good with the last edition you'll be good with the refresh. Good luck!

 

[alloverx]

In some states, the doc fee is negotiable.

 

[Iain]

Remember to save some $$$ for tax and title. In Texas you have to pay for the car ( you can reject it at delivery) and then Tesla will send you a bunch of docs a few weeks later that you can take into the DMV pay your taxes and then get your plates.