I also traded in an SUV and Tesla's offer was slightly more than CarMax by about $400. As someone said earlier, couldn't have been easier. Drove up in old car with title and both key fobs. Handed them over, and drove away with our sweet Model S. The one thing that I thought was interesting is that Tesla never sent anyone to actually look at my car. The estimate appeared in MyTesla page and it was the certified offer.
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Trade in experience/ advice of a ICE for your Tesla
- Thread starter fasteddie7
- Start date
Chrisizzle
Member
I didn't read all the above posts but I'll say my trade-in experience was poor on two Tesla purchases.
The problem for me is the stark contrast in comparison to a traditional car dealership. Despite their many MANY flaws, a traditional car dealer is incredibly streamlined. Any delay could mean the customer leaving and you can easily expect a solid trade-in offer within 20-minutes.
Not with Tesla. I've had to wait days for an initial trade-in offer... and that number was always revised lower because despite me being forthcoming about details (like bald tires as an example), they didn't take it into account when working the numbers.
There is no doubt in my mind you'll get more selling privately but it's a personal choice whether it's worth the extra leg work.
The problem for me is the stark contrast in comparison to a traditional car dealership. Despite their many MANY flaws, a traditional car dealer is incredibly streamlined. Any delay could mean the customer leaving and you can easily expect a solid trade-in offer within 20-minutes.
Not with Tesla. I've had to wait days for an initial trade-in offer... and that number was always revised lower because despite me being forthcoming about details (like bald tires as an example), they didn't take it into account when working the numbers.
There is no doubt in my mind you'll get more selling privately but it's a personal choice whether it's worth the extra leg work.
bharned3
Member
I found another place vroom.com that offered me 2500 more than the initial Tesla offer. Looks like Tesla uses them as well and said they would honor the bid. Working through details now.
DragonWatch
Small FootPrint
Did a test drive almost two weeks ago with Tesla in Seattle on the MX. I was told that they used cars.com for trade-in evaluation. Went home looked it up and was not happy since I could not list all the thing my 2011 Tacoma had, not to mention a 3K sub-value compared to kbb.com. On both my trade-in's with Toyota in 2010 & 2011 all I needed was a copy of the of the kbb (Kelly Blue Book) quote and they beat it. I also had a USAA quote to back it up. Having said all that, and to quote an earlier author " Tesla could care less about your ICE (internal combustion engin) vehicle. Bottom line do your research and find the best price for yourself. Lastly, I live in a state with no income tax and am able to write off my sales tax if it exceeds the average citizen. Therefore selling off the truck to a private seller works, and I deduct the sales tax from my FIT (federal income tax). Hopefully I'll get the $7,500 too, since our state does not have incentives:-(
Good luck and may the force be with U
Good luck and may the force be with U
mbhforum
Active Member
Yes. Initially Tesla offered me $9250 for my BMW, but my SA told me they match vroom.com's offer. Within one hour I had a $10,000 quote from vroom.com which tesla matched. The problem is I am waiting for my CPO which is going to take another 2-5 weeks, so I will have to probably re-apply for the trade in value.
Chrisizzle
Member
It's not just Tesla. Anytime you trade in a used car for a new one, you don't pay tax on the trade-in value. So, if the Model S is $100,000 and your trade is $20,000, you pay sales tax on $80,000.
That is something to factor when trying to sell privately. Here in Ontario, Canada the sales tax is 13%. If Tesla offers me $10,000 for the trade, I'd need to get $11,300 on the private market to be equal... never mind the trouble of selling privately, arranging the paperwork and coordinating the license plate swap.
JLan
Member
Tesla recommended that I look at a Private sale for even my newish 2016 Model S instead of the trade in. It just takes longer ( usually ) and is a bit of a pain in the ass to sell the car yourself but you will get the most money that way. Carmax takes away some of that drama and lands in the middle, with a trade in to Tesla being the quickest but most expensive option.
MS_Dream
Member
I traded a gas car last month. Tesla originally had it appraised by a local dealership but my DS suggested I have it appraise by CarMax as well. The offer was the same but I believe Tesla gave it to CarMax after delivery.
K-MTG
Sunshade Captain of TMC
For those of you that traded in, how long does it take for Tesla to respond? I filled out the online forum on Saturday but still have not received a response, the site stated one day.
I planned on ordering yesterday so I can get the free supercharging, but my decision to buy the S entirely depends on how much they will pay for my Cadillac ELR. If it is at least $30k, I will order an S.
Do they give you an estimate over the phone or will I have to take it in and have my car appraised before I am given any numbers? Do they match other dealers like carmax?
I planned on ordering yesterday so I can get the free supercharging, but my decision to buy the S entirely depends on how much they will pay for my Cadillac ELR. If it is at least $30k, I will order an S.
Do they give you an estimate over the phone or will I have to take it in and have my car appraised before I am given any numbers? Do they match other dealers like carmax?
Hi,
I realise most of you guys are in the USA, and I am in the UK. This is for anyone reading in the UK.
Test drove a tesla a couple of week before Christmas and put in an order. Was trading in an Audi Q5. Checked on-line for a trade in value before I went. The salesman said they just used auto-trader for exchange - he googled it while I was there and got a value (slightly higher than I expected) based on trade in value. The I did upload some pictures on the website - a few minor scratches and slight bump. Mileage has gone up since the valuation. Got my new Tesla 75D last week on Friday and they traded in for the exact figure they originally quoted.
Yes, you can get better selling to a third party, but no guarantee. Overall, very pleased with the trade in process.
Now to enjoy the car.
I realise most of you guys are in the USA, and I am in the UK. This is for anyone reading in the UK.
Test drove a tesla a couple of week before Christmas and put in an order. Was trading in an Audi Q5. Checked on-line for a trade in value before I went. The salesman said they just used auto-trader for exchange - he googled it while I was there and got a value (slightly higher than I expected) based on trade in value. The I did upload some pictures on the website - a few minor scratches and slight bump. Mileage has gone up since the valuation. Got my new Tesla 75D last week on Friday and they traded in for the exact figure they originally quoted.
Yes, you can get better selling to a third party, but no guarantee. Overall, very pleased with the trade in process.
Now to enjoy the car.
mbhforum
Active Member
I had to stay on top of my CPO advisor to get the #'s back. It shouldn't take more than a day. They match carmax and vroom.com offers. I got a vroom.com offer within 30 minutes and Tesla updated their trade in another $750 to match vroom.com. You should figure Tesla is going to be lower than vroom.com and just get a vroom.com quote to give you an idea of what you will get if that is what you are worried about.
disagree
hos epi to polu
In Chicago they also match (and maybe even use on their own) Carmax. My offer was pretty fair, I thought. No complaints.
Maybe you should just get a Carmax value ahead of time? If you like it, just waltz over to Tesla. Of course, the offer is only good for like 10 days/500 miles or something. So there is risk involved.
K-MTG
Sunshade Captain of TMC
disagree
hos epi to polu
I believe you can! I had forgotten about that, but they definitely presented it as an option to me. But in my own case there was simply no way I could trade-in early.
whitex
Well-Known Member
Here in WA they told me in Dec last year they would allow a trade through if I find an official dealer that would buy my car. So I did, a Toyota dealer was willing to pay $3K more, but then Tesla refused. $3K was about the sales tax credit on the trade-in, so they knew it would be a wash to trade-in lower to them vs. selling myself to the dealer. From what I hear this wasn't anything new - they use their leverage of the sales tax credit on trade-in that way. Their business, their product, so they can do whatever they want. The only problem I had with it is that they told me they would trade through, took my deposit, then when I took the time to shop my car around changed their story while my deposit was not refundable anymore. Lesson learned from this and anything else I would buy from Tesla, get everything on a contract, trust not what you are told.
K-MTG
Sunshade Captain of TMC
At least you get sales tax credit...us California folks have to pay $12k in sales tax for our Tesla's!
whitex
Well-Known Member
Overall you still have it better.
1. We only get sales tax credit on the value of the trade-in, still have to pay 10% (which can be more than $12K) on the remaining balance.
2. There is a $150 per year EV tax (voted in as a $10 tax, increased 1500% in 2 years)
3. Starting this year, we got slapped with a tabs increase of approximately $1,000 per Tesla per year, so we're shelling out an additional $2K per year for our Model S's, supposedly for some public transport system in 2037 (no, not a typo, won't be ready for 20 years - I assume that's just to allow the people who actually take the money to be retired by the time taxpayers ask for what happened to it, or nobody will remember what it was for in the first place).
4. You should see the depreciation table for tabs too, 89% value for my Model S in its 3rd year! I asked if they would buy the car from me for the value they claim it's worth, but of course not.
All this and we don't even get access to HOV lanes like you do in CA.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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