Tesla Math/Affordability

[Tossehway]

Hi All,

Reddit x-post, wasn't sure if this community was active in the Tesla subreddit.

Hoping for a quick math check here on the affordability of a Tesla Model 60D in Ontario Canada ($14,000). Either CPO or new depending on price. With the new Ontario EV incentives and new financing rates from Tesla new vs. CPO is very competitive. Target purchase price is $85k with a trade offer of $12k.

Combined my wife and I make ~180k per year and only have a need for a single vehicle. Our current vehicle is nearly paid off and we would be trading it in to Tesla.

Only debt we currently have is the mortgage (25 year accelerated bi weekly) and the current car payment. Our current DTI including the car payment is 20%.

I've done a lot of homework comparing other vehicles and the total cost of ownership of the Tesla seems comparable to vehicles offered at a lower purchase price when ~40,000 km per year.

Any input is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[smsprague]

Don't forget the high price of Tesla yearly maintenance. About the same as a $100,000 plus car not a $40,000. Good thing is you now the cost going in. Compared to my $45,000 MDX, my Tesla is extremely expensive to maintain. But as I said I new this before buying.

 

[sdorn]

Don't forget the high price of Tesla yearly maintenance. About the same as a $100,000 plus car not a $40,000. Good thing is you now the cost going in. Compared to my $45,000 MDX, my Tesla is extremely expensive to maintain. But as I said I new this before buying.

I hate a silent k. Let's just pretend they don't exist.

I agree on the cost of maintenance though. I've had BMW (not on free maintenance plan), Porsche, Land Rover, Infiniti, etc. vehicles and none of them had regularly scheduled service as expensive as Tesla. Well, except for the 30,000 mile service on my old Porsche 911 Turbo. That was $1,500 back in 2007, but it required removing the entire rear fascia of the car so somewhat justified.

 

[Out4aDuck]

By far the largest cost to consider is the depreciation cost. You should expect about a 50% depreciation over the first 3 years.

 

[sdorn]

By far the largest cost to consider is the depreciation cost. You should expect about a 50% depreciation over the first 3 years.

This ^^^^. Your monthly payments are basically meaningless as far as what it costs to own a car. The depreciation is what you are really paying. If you make too small monthly payments you'll have to come out of pocket to get rid of the car later, and if you pay for the car in cash or make large monthly payments you get something back when you get rid of the car, but in the end either way the depreciation is what you actually end up paying for the car. A lease is just locking in the depreciation up front, which I prefer to do with a car like this one that I know I will want to upgrade in a few years.

Start with depreciation and then add on things like interest expense, insurance, home charging infrastructure, electricity and maintenance costs.

 

[TomatoOne]

There's no rational answer here. The math is really between you and your financial advisor. I've seen people with lower incomes buy more expensive cars just because they really wanted to. Certainly, the desire to own a Tesla is an enormous motivator on its own. Define your priorities very clearly and decide if you're OK with watching $20K in depreciation fly out of the window for a few years.

If you're fine with that, there's only a 3-5 minute delay between pressing a "Buy Now" button and a "Hello, I'll be your delivery advisor" phone call. ;]

 

[xyeahtony]

Don't forget the high price of Tesla yearly maintenance. About the same as a $100,000 plus car not a $40,000. Good thing is you now the cost going in. Compared to my $45,000 MDX, my Tesla is extremely expensive to maintain. But as I said I new this before buying.

Isn't this so called "yearly maintenance" optional? I've seen a lot of people here drive 25-30k miles before taking their car to the SC for the first time. The warranty even implies that annual service is not needed to maintain warranty (while in an ICE car it is...ie. dont change your oil in 20k miles dont be surprised when the engine fails).

 

[robby]

Isn't this so called "yearly maintenance" optional? I've seen a lot of people here drive 25-30k miles before taking their car to the SC for the first time. The warranty even implies that annual service is not needed to maintain warranty (while in an ICE car it is...ie. dont change your oil in 20k miles dont be surprised when the engine fails).

This is correct. I'm two years in, 40k miles, only "maintenance" I've paid for is a new pair of windshield wipers.