Has anyone traded in for a new or preowned Tesla?

5992 Views 34 Replies 17 Participants Last post by Runion, Mar 4, 2017

V0ltastic

Discussion Starter · Feb 27, 2017

I'm sure this has been asked plenty of times by now, but I'm curious if anyone has traded up to a Telsa? If so, any regrets/caveats/etc? Unfortunately, even their pre-owned/lease trade-ins are still expensive. $50K+

https://www.tesla.com/preowned

Can you use the tax credit on a pre-owned vehicle or is it only applicable to a new purchase? Any feedback is welcome.

Thanks!

21 - 35 of 35 Posts

V0ltastic

Discussion Starter · #21 · Mar 1, 2017

RoRo said:
I seriously considered a CPO Tesla back in November. I worked with a salesman at the West Palm Beach service center, where they also keep the CPO vehicles. I test drove a P85+ and a S85 and had my desired list of required and nice to haves along with pricing. I had my financing lined up. I was ready.

Then I drove one. Other than being fast, the "wow" factor was not there for me. I've had lots of fast cars, and now I'm just over it. LOL

I've had a Voltec vehicle for nearly 5 years now. Driving electric is nothing new to me, it is normal. I expect the quiet, the smooth, the not going to gas stations.

When I considered the price (62-68k) for a used Tesla and thought about if I really needed the additional cost and range, I changed my mind. I picked up a 17' Volt earlier this month and now I'm a happy camper once again.

Good luck with your decision.

I'm in no hurry and honestly have yet to drive one. However, I am interested and don't want to discount them entirely based on price. Although, I can certainly understand why others do and I agree there has to be compromise somewhere. I really wish GM would make a full size sedan with the Volt Tech in it as I'd seriously consider it. I'm just afraid that may not happen with the launch of the Bolt. I have also seen some chatter that the Volt may not see a version 3 depending on market demand/etc. As for Tesla, EV is all they do and to some extent most other manufactures are chasing them which is certainly a turn of events.

V0ltastic

Discussion Starter · #22 · Mar 1, 2017

BAZINGA said:
After reading threads on how expensive it is to repair a Tesla (after a minor accident) or out of warranty, insurance costs and parts unavailability rendering a MS inoperable for weeks, my LUST for a Tesla is waning. And the more I think about I really want a Chevy/GM EV. My guess is it won't be so "finicky" to operate or repair.

Yup, it's not cheap but the Volt is no exception either. It has sensors all over the place so a minor bumper accident can be significant. EV cars and the future of cars with tech are complicated to repair so the cost trend will be upward regardless of the manufacture. GM does have size of scale though so they more than likely can source parts far cheaper and more frequently than Tesla.

V0ltastic

Discussion Starter · #23 · Mar 1, 2017 (Edited)

P_L said:
A really important advantage that Tesla has in regards to distance driving i.e. Hundreds of kms, has to be their ability to charge quickly. This is why the Bolt is not really a competitor to Tesla. As to being "finicky " to drive.... just not true; and definitely no more so than the Volt, and, of course, the performance is very, very good. Your point about the the repair problems however is spot on from what I gather. Luckily I have not had to repair either my Tesla or Volt yet. My experience is that the Tesla Model S and the Volt are both just very good vehicles in their own ways, and totally make any return by me to an "ice" vehicle the last thing I would ever consider, God willing and the creek don't rise. I try to get anyone who will listen to consider these cars. Have so far had one family get a Tesla and one seriously looking at the Volt.

I like the idea of fast charging (80% in 1/2 hour?) but for me this would only happen at home. Their supercharging network is essentially non-existing where I live. However, their range is more than enough to get me to my extended family homes and plug in there. I just need to convince them to install a 240V outlet to make it work for us.

I also believe Telsa gives loaner cars out should you need service that takes a significant amount of time?

Fyodor

· #24 · Mar 1, 2017

P_L said:
A really important advantage that Tesla has in regards to distance driving i.e. Hundreds of kms, has to be their ability to charge quickly. This is why the Bolt is not really a competitor to Tesla.

On the other hand, this is exactly why neither the Bolt nor the Tesla works for my distance driving.

I've just come back from another drive to Ottawa, under five hours door-to-door. Stopping for a charge, if available, would have been a significant inconvenience for either Bolt or Tesla. Other regular drives are to Timmins - never in my lifetime going to be viable for a BEV - and to Montreal or Riviere-du-Loup and on to Halifax, multiple charges if and when it's possible. So the Volt is my long distance car. I can see a Bolt in my future but only for around the GTA, which is more than half my yearly kms anyway. Any current Tesla is too much car for that use as far as I'm concerned.

saghost

· #25 · Mar 1, 2017

V0ltastic said:
I like the idea of fast charging (80% in 1/2 hour?) but for me this would only happen at home. Their supercharging network is essentially non-existing where I live. However, their range is more than enough to get me to my extended family homes and plug in there. I just need to convince them to install a 240V outlet to make it work for us. I also believe Telsa gives loaner cars out should you need service that takes a significant amount of time?

They promised to double the number of locations this year, which will probably include filling out I-80 in PA (Bloomburg just came online a month or two ago,) and possibly more further north (I-86? US6?)

P_L

· #26 · Mar 1, 2017

Fyodor said:
On the other hand, this is exactly why neither the Bolt nor the Tesla works for my distance driving.

I've just come back from another drive to Ottawa, under five hours door-to-door. Stopping for a charge, if available, would have been a significant inconvenience for either Bolt or Tesla. Other regular drives are to Timmins - never in my lifetime going to be viable for a BEV - and to Montreal or Riviere-du-Loup and on to Halifax, multiple charges if and when it's possible. So the Volt is my long distance car. I can see a Bolt in my future but only for around the GTA, which is more than half my yearly kms anyway. Any current Tesla is too much car for that use as far as I'm concerned.

I have actually made the trip to Nova Scotia about 5 times in the Tesla and one does get used to stopping for a charge (except for my wife!) but you just have to shift your attitude and between Superchargers drive a fast as you like, but beyond the last one slow down and relax. I think your post illustrates this exactly... some can chill out and read a book or dine for a few hours while waiting for a level 2 charger to do its thing; others, like my wife cannot stand the waiting. Best to tailor your purchases accordingly.

accelerus

· #27 · Mar 2, 2017

While I do like my 2017 Volt -- after multiple issues and GM's way of handling things... I will start to seriously look at a Model 3 in the next 2 years I believe. Will be about 1 year before they start rolling out in volume, and another year (to me) getting the shake down.

Not normal for me to buy a car and get rid of it so quickly so that part is weird... my plan at least is to pay off my Volt quickly, and then save up and just watch/wait to see how the Model 3 does. I don't really want the first years worth that rolls off the line, happy to let the car get shaken down for a year or two by others before I make the jump.

I drive *a lot* for work, already have 15K+ on my 2017, I have to re-fuel about once a month at this point with my driving habits. It's addicting (The torque) and only having to go to a gas station once every 4 or 5 weeks is amazing, I can imagine it only being more awesome *never* having to go to a gas station

Not in a rush either way.

bluzer1

· #28 · Mar 2, 2017

Fyodor said:
Other regular drives are to Timmins - never in my lifetime going to be viable for a BEV

Probably not for a while. But what are you doing up in my old stomping grounds?

llninja

· #29 · Mar 2, 2017

accelerus said:
While I do like my 2017 Volt -- after multiple issues and GM's way of handling things... I will start to seriously look at a Model 3 in the next 2 years I believe. Will be about 1 year before they start rolling out in volume, and another year (to me) getting the shake down.

Not normal for me to buy a car and get rid of it so quickly so that part is weird... my plan at least is to pay off my Volt quickly, and then save up and just watch/wait to see how the Model 3 does. I don't really want the first years worth that rolls off the line, happy to let the car get shaken down for a year or two by others before I make the jump.

I drive *a lot* for work, already have 15K+ on my 2017, I have to re-fuel about once a month at this point with my driving habits. It's addicting (The torque) and only having to go to a gas station once every 4 or 5 weeks is amazing, I can imagine it only being more awesome *never* having to go to a gas station

Not in a rush either way.

If you are looking at a tesla model 3, and you don't already have a reservation in, I predict at least 3 years from now before you can get one. Remember, they had 300-400k reservations in the queue and tesla has never been able to produce at that scale with either the S or X. I had a reservation that I placed minutes after the reveal, then when I figured out that the model 3 was about the size of the volt, cancelled my reservation as my next vehicle needs to be bigger. I'm in no hurry, but if I were to have to buy something soon, it might be a CT6 PHEV (probably coming sooner than the model 3), a suburban, or an Outback (come on GM, get me a voltec suburban or equinox already)

V0ltastic

Discussion Starter · #30 · Mar 2, 2017

saghost said:
They promised to double the number of locations this year, which will probably include filling out I-80 in PA (Bloomburg just came online a month or two ago,) and possibly more further north (I-86? US6?)

That would be great...the more the merrier.

Triarius

· #31 · Mar 3, 2017

We have a pre-order on the Tesla 3 since July. I want to go all electric but I just can't bear to part with any of the performance my Subaru STi offers. Hoping we'll be able to afford an optioned out performance model with dual motors and full autonomy.

saghost

· #32 · Mar 4, 2017

Triarius said:
We have a pre-order on the Tesla 3 since July. I want to go all electric but I just can't bear to part with any of the performance my Subaru STi offers. Hoping we'll be able to afford an optioned out performance model with dual motors and full autonomy.

Unless it's a special performance model of STi or heavily modded, you probably won't need the performance 3 to match the acceleration - just the "standard" big battery dual motor car.

We're expecting the maxxed out Ludicrous version of the 3 to be a sub-3 second to 60 car based on the guidance we've been given - and the slowest 3 small battery rear motor is promised to be less than 6 seconds to 60.

llninja

· #33 · Mar 4, 2017

Triarius said:
We have a pre-order on the Tesla 3 since July. I want to go all electric but I just can't bear to part with any of the performance my Subaru STi offers. Hoping we'll be able to afford an optioned out performance model with dual motors and full autonomy.

I'm not jumping for joy for full autonomy just yet. http://jalopnik.com/dont-use-teslas-autopilot-like-this-1792896205

firehawk72

· #34 · Mar 4, 2017

Turns Out the driver was using AutoPilot:

http://jalopnik.com/dont-use-teslas-autopilot-like-this-1792896205

First noticed by Electrek, the Tesla driver conveyed what went wrong this week in a Reddit thread:

So I was driving in the left lane of a two lane highway. The car is AP1 and I’ve never had any problems until today. Autopilot was on didn’t give me a warning. It misread the road and hit the barrier. After the airbags deployed there was a bunch of smoke and my car rolled to a grinding stop. Thankfully no one was hurt and I walked away with only bruises.

Runion

· #35 · Mar 4, 2017

P_L said:
A really important advantage that Tesla has in regards to distance driving i.e. Hundreds of kms, has to be their ability to charge quickly. This is why the Bolt is not really a competitor to Tesla. As to being "finicky " to drive.... just not true; and definitely no more so than the Volt, and, of course, the performance is very, very good. Your point about the the repair problems however is spot on from what I gather. Luckily I have not had to repair either my Tesla or Volt yet. My experience is that the Tesla Model S and the Volt are both just very good vehicles in their own ways, and totally make any return by me to an "ice" vehicle the last thing I would ever consider, God willing and the creek don't rise. I try to get anyone who will listen to consider these cars. Have so far had one family get a Tesla and one seriously looking at the Volt.

A Tesla owner from TEXAS drove up to ILLINOIS and my mechanic was talking with him. My mechanic likes to tease me about the VOLT and thought he could get some ammunition to use so he asked about the trip from TEXAS to ILLINOIS. The TESLA owner say it was a Damn Long Trip due to charging times... Thats ONE for the VOLT. ( CHECK )

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