7 ms·

"These laws make it illegal to buy a car from Tesla in person, at a Tesla Gallery. Thus, all Texas orders are taken via the internet or over the phone. Texas re

by goshx 6y ago

"These laws make it illegal to buy a car from Tesla in person, at a Tesla Gallery. Thus, all Texas orders are taken via the internet or over the phone. Texas residents can still easily buy a car from Tesla, but the purchase is handled as an out-of-state transaction and must be completed before the vehicle ships to Texas." Tesla is not your regular dealership. Car purchases are made online anyways.

toomuchtodo 6y ago
This. All of our Teslas were bought online, and we showed up at the gallery or service center only to take delivery ("here's your [fob|rfid key] and we'll auth the vehicle in your Tesla account"). Carvana has a similar model for used vehicles, and they are very successful with the demo they cater to (buy online or in app, with a test drive period after purchase if you want to return the vehicle). People hate the traditional dealer sales experience apparently (half tongue in cheek, it's terrible, it really is).
- goshx 6y ago
  I wish all brands had this. I despise the dealer sales experience.
  - brightball 6y ago
    My understanding is that car dealerships and the laws around them are essentially a sales union. They are in place to force manufacturers to leverage local sales people instead of their own. It blew my mind when I went to a dealership that had radio ads about their great lease deals on a Chevy Volt. I walked in, told them I'd like to lease a Chevy Volt and that I was very excited about the deal. They spent an hour trying to talk me into other cars and the sales people didn't know the first thing about what made the Volt so special. GM apparently didn't either since they discontinued it.
    - elindbe2 6y ago
      From what I've heard, dealership don't like electric cars because they make their money off of maintainance and EVs require less.
  - misiti3780 6y ago
    give it time .... all dealerships as we know them will be dead in a few years.
- hnrodey 6y ago
  Purchasing a vehicle is at the top of my list of "least favorite responsibilities as an adult".
- P_I_Staker 6y ago
  I'd buy a car through Carvana (in principle), but I don't recall the prices being very attractive. It was the same or slightly more than what was available at traditional local places.
  - toomuchtodo 6y ago
    It appears folks are willing to pay a premium for a superior experience.
    - matwood 6y ago
      Exactly. It's been awhile since I've bought cars, but I bought my last few cars through Carmax for this reason. The prices were not the lowest, but were reasonable. The process was about as simple as it could be though. Contrast this with my first car buying experience where the 'finance guy' told me to 'get the fuck out of his office' when I explained him how he was manipulating the loan date payment, and price to charge me more. The deal still got done, but it was with the sales guy running between me and the finance guy basically relaying me saying no.
- elindbe2 6y ago
  Having gone through it, the Tesla process makes it super easy to buy a car.
- dafoex 6y ago
  I'd rather a traditional dealership than having to log into my car. When I got my Skoda Citigo it was a pretty painless experience, aside from the fact that motorised wing mirrors weren't standard.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
013a 6y ago
Yeah its weird that Texas is "different" in this regard? The process is the same even in other states; I've never seen a Tesla store with a stock of cars just there on-site ready to buy that day, you always order online (or, I suppose, the salesperson orders online for you, and maybe that's illegal in Texas? I dont know). And, frankly, this is how most new car purchases work. Every one I've purchased or been a part of; they don't end with you driving off the lot in a new car, they end with you waiting a week or two for the car to be delivered. I imagine some dealers have a limited stock of new cars in common configurations, and you could drive off in one of those, but that's the minority of purchases in my experience.
- ttmb 6y ago
  Most new car purchases do come from dealer stock. Around 15% are factory-ordered - typically luxury brands. An additional 20-25% are sourced from other dealer inventory, or an upcoming shipment that is already specced and on the way. The rest are on the lot and ready to go with the buyer. Dealer lots are huge in most of the country. Endless seas of near identical cars with minor variations in options and colors.
danans 6y ago
That's just saying they have a technological workaround to the policy of banning in-person sales at Tesla galleries, not a refutation of the reality of the laws themselves. If Tesla started eating heavily into Texas car dealerships' sales, don't be surprised if the dealers' associations show up at the state capitol demanding more teeth in the law.

by goshx 6y ago

toomuchtodo 6y ago

This. All of our Teslas were bought online, and we showed up at the gallery or service center only to take delivery ("here's your [fob|rfid key] and we'll auth the vehicle in your Tesla account"). Carvana has a similar model for used vehicles, and they are very successful with the demo they cater to (buy online or in app, with a test drive period after purchase if you want to return the vehicle). People hate the traditional dealer sales experience apparently (half tongue in cheek, it's terrible, it really is).

goshx 6y ago
I wish all brands had this. I despise the dealer sales experience.
- brightball 6y ago
  My understanding is that car dealerships and the laws around them are essentially a sales union. They are in place to force manufacturers to leverage local sales people instead of their own. It blew my mind when I went to a dealership that had radio ads about their great lease deals on a Chevy Volt. I walked in, told them I'd like to lease a Chevy Volt and that I was very excited about the deal. They spent an hour trying to talk me into other cars and the sales people didn't know the first thing about what made the Volt so special. GM apparently didn't either since they discontinued it.
  - elindbe2 6y ago
    From what I've heard, dealership don't like electric cars because they make their money off of maintainance and EVs require less.
- misiti3780 6y ago
  give it time .... all dealerships as we know them will be dead in a few years.
hnrodey 6y ago
Purchasing a vehicle is at the top of my list of "least favorite responsibilities as an adult".
P_I_Staker 6y ago
I'd buy a car through Carvana (in principle), but I don't recall the prices being very attractive. It was the same or slightly more than what was available at traditional local places.
- toomuchtodo 6y ago
  It appears folks are willing to pay a premium for a superior experience.
  - matwood 6y ago
    Exactly. It's been awhile since I've bought cars, but I bought my last few cars through Carmax for this reason. The prices were not the lowest, but were reasonable. The process was about as simple as it could be though. Contrast this with my first car buying experience where the 'finance guy' told me to 'get the fuck out of his office' when I explained him how he was manipulating the loan date payment, and price to charge me more. The deal still got done, but it was with the sales guy running between me and the finance guy basically relaying me saying no.
elindbe2 6y ago
Having gone through it, the Tesla process makes it super easy to buy a car.
dafoex 6y ago
I'd rather a traditional dealership than having to log into my car. When I got my Skoda Citigo it was a pretty painless experience, aside from the fact that motorised wing mirrors weren't standard.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]

013a 6y ago

Yeah its weird that Texas is "different" in this regard? The process is the same even in other states; I've never seen a Tesla store with a stock of cars just there on-site ready to buy that day, you always order online (or, I suppose, the salesperson orders online for you, and maybe that's illegal in Texas? I dont know). And, frankly, this is how most new car purchases work. Every one I've purchased or been a part of; they don't end with you driving off the lot in a new car, they end with you waiting a week or two for the car to be delivered. I imagine some dealers have a limited stock of new cars in common configurations, and you could drive off in one of those, but that's the minority of purchases in my experience.

ttmb 6y ago
Most new car purchases do come from dealer stock. Around 15% are factory-ordered - typically luxury brands. An additional 20-25% are sourced from other dealer inventory, or an upcoming shipment that is already specced and on the way. The rest are on the lot and ready to go with the buyer. Dealer lots are huge in most of the country. Endless seas of near identical cars with minor variations in options and colors.

danans 6y ago

That's just saying they have a technological workaround to the policy of banning in-person sales at Tesla galleries, not a refutation of the reality of the laws themselves. If Tesla started eating heavily into Texas car dealerships' sales, don't be surprised if the dealers' associations show up at the state capitol demanding more teeth in the law.