-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Tesla would not match my CarMax appraisal on M3
- Thread starter Mulligan Jake
- Start date
-
- Tags
- Model 3
rtanov
Member
They did match my CarMax appraisal for my 9 months old Leaf. I had the car listed for private sale and the CarMax offer was $1k higher than the highest private offer I had so far. Plus Tesla matching saved $1.1k in sales tax, so I ended making money on that Leaf.
EXOTIC1
Member
Never tell them you have a trade in till the end after negotiating buy/cash price.
Problem solved. I've done this numerous times over the years so i know the exact numbers.
thx
eye.surgeon
Active Member
I've gotten 4 or 5 offers for different cars at carmax, and sold one to them. If you have the right car, a car they want, you will get a competitive offer. Fair does not mean retail. It means a fair WHOLESALE offer. They are reselling your car for a profit, if their business model is not obvious to you. They want no-accident 2-4 year old low mileage popular cars in popular colors and will pay well for those. They don't want Teslas because they are a pain in the ** to have on the lot and a pain to sell, in fact they will probably auction it.
Last edited:
CarMax offered me $2600 more than Tesla and TESLA will not match CarMax. Tesla rep tells me “We know the value of the car better than CarMax”.
Atlantan
Inactive Member
First I was told they would match the CarMax offer. 30 minutes later I get a call telling me they will not match CarMax on my M3. Just the facts, that’s not accusatory. I’m a big Tesla fanboy, just want others to know what to expect.
eye.surgeon
Active Member
Translation, our resale profit margins are higher than Carmax.
Honestly, the used car division of Tesla is like a whole other company that operates exactly like a used car lot in your town, with all the same cheap business practices in my opinion. Worse, sometimes. They definitely don't share the same customer-focused, paradigm-changing ethos that Tesla new car sales does.
dhanson865
Well-Known Member
You weren't around so I'll clue you in. Several years ago on TMC it was common to see people get higher offers from Carmax than they did from Tesla on a trade in. I remember one case where someone got something like $7000 extra that way.
YMMV applies even when the second letter stands for Money instead of Mileage.
Xminus6
Member
Sold our Model S through vroom for several thousand more than CarMax, Tesla or Roadster offered. Wasn't far off from private sale price and worth it to have it done without any hassle.
It is your implication that there is a "rule" in place for model 3 purchases that is accusatory. So you're saying that they actually told you that because it was a model 3 there as a new rule in place where they wouldn't match the estimate? Or did they just say "sorry we can't match it"?
LoL Rick
Like Buttah
I believe the difference is that you are trading in a Tesla. When people get offers to match CarMax, it is on other makes of trade-ins. Tesla does not deal with those cars because they do not run a traditional used car business. Likely those cars are passed right on to CarMax. But everything is different if you are trading in a Tesla. They will use their own pricing model with the intent to recondition and sell it at a profit.
Big-T
Member
I've never seen a carmax (or other dealer trade in offer) that's only 10% lower than selling it yourself. If you can take a few minutes to snap a pic an post it on craigslist I've always come out well ahead.
Selling a 4 year old car for a Model 3, the Tesla offer came in at $2k lower (~7%) than the CarMax offer. Tesla agreed to match it with CarMax, and the final paperwork from Tesla showed CarMax price after sending in the appraisal. Tesla ended up missing my delivery date (called me 6 hours before delivery, after arrangements were made to be there), but I'm told that while they figure out the issues with the car they'll honor the trade.
Had the car listed on eBay, got an offer for $2k over CarMax offer, but with the tax savings with Tesla matching, it's a wash. KBB instant cash offer was equal to Tesla offer (get ready for plenty of phone calls & emails from dealers after submitting with KBB). Took a look based on some items here and Carvana came out on top (about $1500 higher than highest eBay offer) because of some local pricing adjustments to the KBB number. Not fully decided what to do now, somewhat concerned that despite what was said on the phone, there'll be some issues at trade-in as the CarMax offer will be out of date and there'll be some more miles put on the car.
Had the car listed on eBay, got an offer for $2k over CarMax offer, but with the tax savings with Tesla matching, it's a wash. KBB instant cash offer was equal to Tesla offer (get ready for plenty of phone calls & emails from dealers after submitting with KBB). Took a look based on some items here and Carvana came out on top (about $1500 higher than highest eBay offer) because of some local pricing adjustments to the KBB number. Not fully decided what to do now, somewhat concerned that despite what was said on the phone, there'll be some issues at trade-in as the CarMax offer will be out of date and there'll be some more miles put on the car.
I'm not saying you can't do well on craigslist (I have done it) but I've also done dealer trades -
Besides the 10% tax benefit, time wasted meeting strangers and letting them test-drive your car, and general difficulties of large cash transactions:
If you haven't yet sold the other car, there's not needing to carry insurance on an extra car or needing to have an extra person help you get extra cars home and potential deposit liquidity issues.
If you've already sold the other car, there's the need for some interim car rental or significant taxi service in the meantime.
mspohr
Well-Known Member
Same for me. CarMax gave me a lowball offer on a Fiat 500. $6500 when they had the same car on the showroom floor for $12000. I sold mine private party for $10,000.
Their buy prices are lowball and sell prices are high. That's how they make money. It's low hassle but it will cost you.
Similar threads
