So I placed my order on 18th June - Long way to go yet for me.
But I am confused on what happens now...
Sorry if this question is often asked, but the forum isnt quiet coming up with the answers to my searches, so I'd thought I would ask.
Tesla are asking me to "Please pay off your remaining balance prior to delivery" - my EDD is not till Oct 16th to Nov 30th
a few questions:
1. Do I need to make my down payment now? (Im doing a tesla Loan and its quite a big sum of money im putting down)
2. I have not been allocated a VIN yet (I know im super early) how do I find out my VIN number? Is it quite obvious on the Tesla site?
3. When would it best to make this downpayment? As im unsure whether it would affect my EDD. Some are saying to wait for a VIN allocation, whereas some have said they made the downpayment as soon as possible which then brought forward their EDD.
Again, apologies if this has been asked before hand. So I appreciate some of you are repeating yourselves.
JOL1 above answered perfectly, but I can relay how I approached things.
1) Nothing happens on your account whilst you're waiting for a car. Waiting as in, waiting for a match to happen. You're under no obligation to make any payments. Your deposit and your signed initial documents etc secure you a vehicle. I didn't pay anything until I was matched with a VIN, and then it was dribs and drabs over a few weeks. First off because I'm paranoid, and I wanted to check the money I was sending chipped off the amount on my Tesla account. I think i did £10 initially, then a few hundred to make the total a nice divisible number, and when confident, blocks of £2500. It takes a few hours for the totals to change, but it works fine like this. I was worried about sending over £xx,xxx to some elaborate clone scam. PHEW! Sweat moment for sure the first time you block over a decent sum.
2) I was terrible at first for the crazy VIN routine. Then someone pointed me towards :
Chrome Web Store
This takes the leg work out. You just activate the extension in Chrome, and log in to your account page. It'll scan for a VIN and make it clear to you if you have a match. Mine lit up during RCC Europes voyage, I thing she was on way to Singapore when it happened, so perhaps a day or two after setting off. It's why Mr Miserable and the Shipping thread is an insanely popular place to hang out. It gives you good intel on potential boat activity, and in most cases the intelligance gathered is sooner than Tesla cares to let on. When there's a boat, there's a chance! You'll always be exposed to the influx of VIN allocations, and if you think the boat matches some ballpark of your own EDD, it can get pretty intense.
3) Your car EDD is derived from order date and spec. Rumors circulate about making large down payments make your EDD quicker... The reality is, you're car is sort of cooking / simmering / baking for you when you put your order in. If something takes 2 hours to cook in the oven eyeballing it and throwing bundles of £20 notes at the oven door wont make it cook any quicker. Showy came out of production and allocated to me after others in the queue, and before others. I sincerely believe there's no more complicated a formula than that. There are certain specs that are done in batches, colours etc, and some people hit the jackpot with less popluar specs at the right time... but where do you draw the line between coinsidence and fortunate timing? The only sure way to get your car earlier than EDD is to snatch an orphaned / inventory vehicle. Doing so can incur extra cost, and possibly being flexible on specific spec. Other than that your EDD is your EDD unless some divine intervention happens. 3 weeks after I ordered in November for a March delivery, Tesla phoned me and offered me a car. I declined. It was due to the Q4 'rush' and someone just refused / declined / weren't able to take a car that matched mine, Tesla were trying to meet financials, and reaching out to see if anyone would take it. I had to decline to, and the car was further offered to another customer. I eventually got Snowy 6 months later. I bet the guy that took the call after me thought he'd won the Tesla lottery
I'd stay optimistic. Every shipment has a slight chance of being favorable. If your EDD aligns, you're on. If not, and you're flexible, game is still on. Just have to be quick fingered - some jammy guys here managed to snatch a car out of the air before it had a chance to disturb dust. Never say never!