The 2 Best Days In a Plaid Owner’s Life

[Jayskywalker21]

Mercedes basically gave me the car, so they eat the depreciation this time. That’s why I leased it. EVs aren’t selling. Tesla‘s (3 and Y) are selling, but not other EVs. That may change depending how much Tesla integrates their charging network with the other makes.

$170,000 car for 0 down and $1,400 per month over 36 months. Win.

I get everything else you said, but how did they basically give you the car? Aren't you eating the depreciation by paying 1400 a month? You're paying 50,400 over the next 3 years and then need to either buy the car or get something new. Also 21k miles and perfect condition for a 21 plaid? You probably missed out on 10-15k resale value by offloading it to carvana

 

[emailforbrett]

I get everything else you said, but how did they basically give you the car? Aren't you eating the depreciation by paying 1400 a month? You're paying 50,400 over the next 3 years and then need to either buy the car or get something new. Also 21k miles and perfect condition for a 21 plaid? You probably missed out on 10-15k resale value by offloading it to carvana

1. You must not have leased cars before.

2. Please re-read my post. Carvana was the only buying service that would take it. I did not want to sell privately.

To put this into perspective. Vroom offered me $92,000 just under one year ago. It lost about $30,000 in less than a year.

 

[Jayskywalker21]

1. You must not have leased cars before.

I have, you're paying to rent it and then you'll give it back or buyout at the end of the lease. Am I saying something that's incorrect or not true?

 

[mikez10288]

You're paying $77,400 (monthly for the MB and 27k for the Tesla) over the next 3 years, after which you'll be no closer to owning the car. Seems like a raw deal to me. The cheapest car is the one you already have, as they say.

But those in the market for a $170,000 car may not really care one way or the other. Insanity to me.

 

[emailforbrett]

I’ll pose it this way… what do you think a proper lease payment would be on a $170,000 car, over 36 months, with zero down, and with 10k miles per year? Hint…you can go to a Mercedes Benz website and it will calculate it for you.

I’m paying $77,400 to get rid of the biggest headache in something that is supposed to bring convenience, and get into a brand new, fully-working, automobile that is built the way a 6-figure car should be built.

But to continue with your train of thought, let’s play with that big number $77,400. Over 36 months, it’s $2,150 per month. I was paying $1,850 per month for my Plaid loan. So I am paying $300 per month to get rid of the biggest headache in something that is supposed to bring convenience, and get into a brand new, fully-working, automobile that is built the way a 6-figure car should be built. Granted at the end of those 36 months, I would have owned the Plaid as opposed to being without a car. At present depreciation rates, that Plaid would likely be worth next to nothing three years from now and the emotional toll it would have cost over the previous three years is incalculable.

As I said earlier, admittedly I am fortunate that my financial picture changes very little by paying $77,400, or as demonstrated here, an extra $300 per month for piece of mind and happiness.

 

[Jayskywalker21]

I’ll pose it this way… what do you think a proper lease payment would be on a $170,000 car, over 36 months, with zero down, and with 10k miles per year? Hint…you can go to a Mercedes Benz website and it will calculate it for you.

I’m paying $77,400 to get rid of the biggest headache in something that is supposed to bring convenience, and get into a brand new, fully-working, automobile that is built the way a 6-figure car should be built.

But to continue with your train of thought, let’s play with that big number $77,400. Over 36 months, it’s $2,150 per month. I was paying $1,850 per month for my Plaid loan. So I am paying $300 per month to get rid of the biggest headache in something that is supposed to bring convenience, and get into a brand new, fully-working, automobile that is built the way a 6-figure car should be built. Granted at the end of those 36 months, I would have owned the Plaid as opposed to being without a car. At present depreciation rates, that Plaid would likely be worth next to nothing three years from now and the emotional toll it would have cost over the previous three years is incalculable.

As I said earlier, admittedly I am fortunate that my financial picture changes very little by paying $77,400, or as demonstrated here, an extra $300 per month for piece of mind and happiness.

Totally fair man good for you

 

[Propofoln]

I’ll pose it this way… what do you think a proper lease payment would be on a $170,000 car, over 36 months, with zero down, and with 10k miles per year? Hint…you can go to a Mercedes Benz website and it will calculate it for you.

I’m paying $77,400 to get rid of the biggest headache in something that is supposed to bring convenience, and get into a brand new, fully-working, automobile that is built the way a 6-figure car should be built.

But to continue with your train of thought, let’s play with that big number $77,400. Over 36 months, it’s $2,150 per month. I was paying $1,850 per month for my Plaid loan. So I am paying $300 per month to get rid of the biggest headache in something that is supposed to bring convenience, and get into a brand new, fully-working, automobile that is built the way a 6-figure car should be built. Granted at the end of those 36 months, I would have owned the Plaid as opposed to being without a car. At present depreciation rates, that Plaid would likely be worth next to nothing three years from now and the emotional toll it would have cost over the previous three years is incalculable.

As I said earlier, admittedly I am fortunate that my financial picture changes very little by paying $77,400, or as demonstrated here, an extra $300 per month for piece of mind and happiness.

All the Tesla fan boys here prob won’t see your point of view. They plop down $98k on a new Model S, and have a 6 hour checklist to go though to see if the car is even acceptable to buy.

 

[Ostrichsak]

I’ll pose it this way… what do you think a proper lease payment would be on a $170,000 car, over 36 months, with zero down, and with 10k miles per year? Hint…you can go to a Mercedes Benz website and it will calculate it for you.

I’m paying $77,400 to get rid of the biggest headache in something that is supposed to bring convenience, and get into a brand new, fully-working, automobile that is built the way a 6-figure car should be built.

But to continue with your train of thought, let’s play with that big number $77,400. Over 36 months, it’s $2,150 per month. I was paying $1,850 per month for my Plaid loan. So I am paying $300 per month to get rid of the biggest headache in something that is supposed to bring convenience, and get into a brand new, fully-working, automobile that is built the way a 6-figure car should be built. Granted at the end of those 36 months, I would have owned the Plaid as opposed to being without a car. At present depreciation rates, that Plaid would likely be worth next to nothing three years from now and the emotional toll it would have cost over the previous three years is incalculable.

As I said earlier, admittedly I am fortunate that my financial picture changes very little by paying $77,400, or as demonstrated here, an extra $300 per month for piece of mind and happiness.

Part of the problem with many who are in "fortunate financial pictures" is that they often don't know when they're being screwed when their income is enough to cover all of the mistakes they make by their poor financial knowledge and subsequent decisions. The moment something happens in their financial world that was slightly unplanned the whole thing comes crumbling down.

You got jobbed in about 5 different ways by your own words (if you understood the numbers working against you behind the scenes) and yet you so brazen to condescend to others asking questions as if you are the only one in the room smart enough and successful enough to understand the complexity of leasing and why it's such a good deal. Oh the ironing.

Hey, enjoy that new Merc fella!

 

[Jayskywalker21]

All the Tesla fan boys here prob won’t see your point of view. They plop down $98k on a new Model S, and have a 6 hour checklist to go though to see if the car is even acceptable to buy.

We see his point of view, AFTER he so kindly explained it to us and nobody has a problem with it

 

[emailforbrett]

1. You must not have leased cars before.

2. Please re-read my post. Carvana was the only buying service that would take it. I did not want to sell privately.

To put this into perspective. Vroom offered me $92,000 just under one year ago. It lost about $30,000 in less than a year.

View attachment 1014040

I‘m bad at maths.

depreciated $40,000 in less than a year!

 

[The Long C_0_N]

Hard to believe that anyone ever thought that a Model S Plaid was worth $127,000.00.

 

[Jayskywalker21]

I‘m bad at maths.

depreciated $40,000 in less than a year!

Based on year and miles it was actually around 20,000 you just got duped lol

 

[emailforbrett]

Based on year and miles it was actually around 20,000 you just got duped lol

Well, let’s see if you are as knowledgeable as you profess. Find a direct buyer online to make you an offer for a 2021 Plaid with 21k miles. Perfect condition. None of this, “Well Billy Bob down yonder knows a guy who paid XXX for one” stuff. A verifiable offer from Carvana, CarMax, KBB, etc. As I stated before, selling private party was not an option, so do not include that in your hunt to beat my $52k. Sure, I could have let several dozen strangers meet me in a Walmart parking lot and test drive my car before finally finding that one perfect buyer and make an extra $5k-$10k. Maybe. There are cars like mine online ASKING for only slightly higher than what I got for a nice and easy transaction to rid me of the POS Tesla.

As an aside, I am fine paying $30k more for my car over what they are selling for today new. That’s the price of being an early adopter and being one of the first to have a Plaid. I am just pissed the car was a POS and I couldn’t hang on to it for a few more years to let the depreciation normalize a bit.

 

[Durzel]

Hard to believe that anyone ever thought that a Model S Plaid was worth $127,000.00.

Didn’t Elon rugpull S/X owners back in 2019 or so by similar numbers? I recall an overnight $40k price drop and Chinese owners shutting down service centres with protests, etc.

In that context there’s probably an element of “fool me once” pulling the trigger on a $127k S. It’s a question of when Elon is going to pull your pants down, not if.

3 and Y owners buying at the height of the parts shortages also got mugged off (as they say in the UK) only to a slightly lesser extent.

As mentioned before though the issue here really is a manufacturer cleaving residuals by $40k+ overnight. It’s unheard of elsewhere. Apple have recently dropped the price of the iPhone in China and it was treated as if it were a major event. How can you buy with confidence, or take in as part-ex, etc with that kind of price movement?

 

[SO16]

Mercedes basically gave me the car, so they eat the depreciation this time. That’s why I leased it. EVs aren’t selling. Tesla‘s (3 and Y) are selling, but not other EVs. That may change depending how much Tesla integrates their charging network with the other makes.

$170,000 car for 0 down and $1,400 per month over 36 months. Win.

My 2021 Plaid had issues from day 1. I would have still kept it, but it got to the point where my family refused to ride in it due to the roughness over every single ripple on the road. The final nail was when we were on the expressway doing about 75 at night, and 9 separate warnings popped up which disabled almost all things suspension, regen, and some other stuff I can’t recall.

Fortunately I am financially able to eat the depreciation and move on. Tesla did some stuff in the service mode menu, cleared the faults, and it was time to part ways with my Plaid. I wasn’t about to list it in Autotrader so every Tom, Dick, and Harry can come to my home and test drive it. I wanted it gone. Out of three online buying services, only one said they would buy it. This was before Vroom stopped buying cars So Carvana got it.

The car had 21,000 miles and was in perfect condition.

Get this, the Merc has SiriusXM and you can scroll ONLY through your Favorites if you chose to! My Plaid had that, kinda off and on as long as I never updated the software.

Knowing what is out there, and the fact that I don’t take road trips in an electric car, I would never buy another Tesla. No car depreciates like this one. Not in two years. That isn’t even my main beef. My issue is the car always had issues. And to have to put on and take off after-market parts on a $130,000 car just so it doesn’t cause unexpected tire tread separation, while keeping it a secret from Tesla is total BS and I didn’t have the energy to keep doing it. I sold the N2itive arms months ago and now I am glad I sold my Tesla.

It’s unfortunate you got a lemon. My 2017 model S has held up well.

I’d buy another Tesla because I don’t care to over pay the NEXT time. I suppose I’d feel different if I had your experience.

However, It was extremely obvious that people were overpaying during Covid. Elon even said prices were embarrassingly high but yet people still did it.

I wouldn't be surprised if Tesla did not care about resale value much at all. Elon is denied is $56B CEO payout- for now. $56B. Tesla used to be about tech, now I wonder if it only about investors, the C-Suite, and making money off market valuation rather than longer term company health. Cynical I know. But reality?

“CEO Elon Musk said last year the company's prices had gotten "embarrassing," and he hoped to bring them down. "I think inflation will decline towards the end of the year," he said. "I'm hopeful — and this is not a promise — but I'm hopeful at some point we can reduce prices a little bit."

https://www.axios.com/2023/01/16/tesla-price-cuts-elon-musk#:~:text=CEO%20Elon%20Musk%20said%20last,reduce%20prices%20a%20little%20bit.%22

Elon Musk Calls Tesla's Prices "Embarrassing," Blames Inflation

Due to supply issues, inflation, and crazy demand for Tesla's cars, it keeps raising prices. Musk says inflation may fade, and the pricing situation may improve.

insideevs.com

If people are worried about resale, buy used or lease. Why people want to overpay the next time seems odd to me. Lower prices means lower taxes and insurance as well.

 

[emailforbrett]

I knew of the big price drop of the previous Model S-(whatever). Very similar to the Plaid today. I factored in keeping the car for four years, then getting rid of it once it was out of warranty. I was willing to take the depreciation hit at that point, and frankly expected it. However, having to get rid of it at the two year point came unexpectedly.

Look, I get it. I was a Tesla fanboy ever since I test drove the Model 3. I would have defended that car and the Plaid to no end. Maybe mine was a lemon. As are all the ones with tire tread separation, bad suspension, etc.

Most of the folks posting on this thread are not Plaid owners and have older Teslas so they are better insulated from the depreciation. I would still be a Tesla fanboy myself if I were them!

 

[Propofoln]

I knew of the big price drop of the previous Model S-(whatever). Very similar to the Plaid today. I factored in keeping the car for four years, then getting rid of it once it was out of warranty. I was willing to take the depreciation hit at that point, and frankly expected it. However, having to get rid of it at the two year point came unexpectedly.

Look, I get it. I was a Tesla fanboy ever since I test drove the Model 3. I would have defended that car and the Plaid to no end. Maybe mine was a lemon. As are all the ones with tire tread separation, bad suspension, etc.

Most of the folks posting on this thread are not Plaid owners and have older Teslas so they are better insulated from the depreciation. I would still be a Tesla fanboy myself if I were them!

Vibrations, inner tire wear on 21s that have never been fixed, non-functional automatic windshield wipers, poor build quality. Those issues are inexcusable

 

[WilliamG]

Vibrations, inner tire wear on 21s that have never been fixed, non-functional automatic windshield wipers, poor build quality. Those issues are inexcusable

Vibrations have been minimized for the most part for most people in the 2023.44 TSB fix, wipers are also better (not perfect, but better) since 2023.44. Poor build quality is not the norm in 2024 though Tesla still has work to do. 2021s were notoriously poor. Inner tire wear is still a thing apparently, though nobody seems to agree on the cause.

 

[Johnny_nd]

I think some of those earlier Ss were just made poorly (mine included).

From what i read and hear, it seems like all Ss and Xs are poorly made. It is weird that the "commonfolk" Teslas like 3 and Y are getting better and better while their luxury models just seem to suffer.

 

[adcustom]

From what i read and hear, it seems like all Ss and Xs are poorly made.

Nope.