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There's a few things to think about here. First, Tesla does not yet have real competition in their market niche. They can do things differently. Every car they

There's a few things to think about here. First, Tesla does not yet have real competition in their market niche. They can do things differently. Every car they produce will be sold at full price. There's no incentive to involve a sales staff at this time. It is interesting to hear that you scheduled a test drive though. I'm curious if / when there is meaningful competition in electric vehicle sales, if anything will change on Tesla's end (or if other players will start to adapt to this model.) Second, buying a car is, at most, one really dreadful day every three years (ideally more like five to ten.) Sales staff can get away with murder, and everyone gets over it and forgets just enough of the pain to go deal with it again in another five years. GM tried to change this with Saturn, but for various reasons, Saturn failed, and that prevented an improved sales model from catching on. (It seems like dealers find this horrible practice works in their favor, especially if everyone keeps doing it, but will it keep working if competition arises with a different model?) Third, did you trade a car in? This is very typical for most people buying new cars, as many don't want to go through the effort of selling privately. I'd like to hear more about this process. Fourth, did Tesla work with your preferred lender for financing? I'm curious how big of a network they have. For the last 20 years, I've only financed through my credit union. Anything the dealer wants to arrange is sure to be a nightmare financial institution I wouldn't want to touch with a ten foot pole!

impostervt 6y ago
I did have a trade in, a 2011 Toyota Venza with low miles. Tesla offered me ~ $7,300. Carmax offered ~$10k. Carvana offered me $11,300ish AND they came and picked up my car. As with Tesla, I'm not sure I can go back. Even if Carmax had offered me more, it would have involved them doing a car inspection while I waited in their showroom. Carvana didn't even SEE my car before they made an offer, and having them pickup my car was super easy. My "financing" was leasing through Tesla. I know, I know, not a great decision financially, but I'm not sure if I want a Tesla long term. I have kids and the Tesla is obviously smaller than my old Venza and I still worry about going on trips how it will do. But as a bonus, getting a lease meant less paperwork from a bank. I use a credit union too, but this was still easier.
Diederich 6y ago
Re: trade in: https://www.tesla.com/tradein https://www.tesla.com/tradein Re: financing: in 2017, I used a local credit union for financing. The process was super straightforward and only took a couple of days. "Every car they produce will be sold at full price.": If you have a moment, can you expand on that? Are you talking about the various temporary sales/deals/discounts that one sees with other automakers and their dealerships? Thanks!
- neogodless 6y ago
  I mean, I'm not doing extensive research, but seeing waiting lists and online ordering, I'm making assumptions about Tesla selling everything they can produce. (Maybe that's their trick? :)) With other automakers - I'm not referring to deals; just that everyone walks in and "negotiates" their price. The manufacturer may or may not get MSRP depending on their agreements with the dealer, but the dealer is incentivized to sell cars, not at rock bottom prices, but rather whatever price they can get buyers to pay. The alternative is that the car sits on the lot which has overhead, and can lead to depreciation of the car given enough time.
tenacious_tuna 6y ago
Not OP, but former Tesla owner. > Second, buying a car is, at most, one really dreadful day every three years ... This was an interesting point for me because Tesla was my first automotive purchase. (I had an ICE car a family member gifted to me previously.) Wisdom of buying such an expensive car so early in my life aside, it means my bar for the "automotive purchasing experience" is much, much higher than the general populations, just because I was so spoiled off the bat. > ... many don't want to go through the effort of selling privately. I similarly gifted my ICE car to my partner, but I later sold my Tesla in a private-party sale (we moved to a major metro and were downsizing). It was surprisingly straight-forward, though that's likely because I went through a Tesla-seller specific website to list the vehicle. > Did Tesla work with your preferred lender for financing? My credit union gave me what basically looked like a check, and said "Whatever amount you need to pay Tesla, write here, sign there, and hand to their representative." I verified with Tesla that this was something they were familiar with and they made positive noises. Totally hitch-free when I went to pick up my vehicle. A friend of mine did his financing thru Tesla's recommended agency--AFAIK there's no issues there, but with the ease my CU made it work I don't see why I'd use a 3rd party. All in all, insanely straightforward experience. Like OP said, the ability to spec and see the price online, no sales pressure or negotiation, is a huge, huge win to me. I get stressed out dealing with sales tactics in Art Van over a couch--a $50k car would give me an aneurysm.

impostervt 6y ago

I did have a trade in, a 2011 Toyota Venza with low miles. Tesla offered me ~ $7,300. Carmax offered ~$10k. Carvana offered me $11,300ish AND they came and picked up my car. As with Tesla, I'm not sure I can go back. Even if Carmax had offered me more, it would have involved them doing a car inspection while I waited in their showroom. Carvana didn't even SEE my car before they made an offer, and having them pickup my car was super easy. My "financing" was leasing through Tesla. I know, I know, not a great decision financially, but I'm not sure if I want a Tesla long term. I have kids and the Tesla is obviously smaller than my old Venza and I still worry about going on trips how it will do. But as a bonus, getting a lease meant less paperwork from a bank. I use a credit union too, but this was still easier.

Diederich 6y ago

Re: trade in: https://www.tesla.com/tradein https://www.tesla.com/tradein Re: financing: in 2017, I used a local credit union for financing. The process was super straightforward and only took a couple of days. "Every car they produce will be sold at full price.": If you have a moment, can you expand on that? Are you talking about the various temporary sales/deals/discounts that one sees with other automakers and their dealerships? Thanks!

neogodless 6y ago
I mean, I'm not doing extensive research, but seeing waiting lists and online ordering, I'm making assumptions about Tesla selling everything they can produce. (Maybe that's their trick? :)) With other automakers - I'm not referring to deals; just that everyone walks in and "negotiates" their price. The manufacturer may or may not get MSRP depending on their agreements with the dealer, but the dealer is incentivized to sell cars, not at rock bottom prices, but rather whatever price they can get buyers to pay. The alternative is that the car sits on the lot which has overhead, and can lead to depreciation of the car given enough time.

tenacious_tuna 6y ago

Not OP, but former Tesla owner. > Second, buying a car is, at most, one really dreadful day every three years ... This was an interesting point for me because Tesla was my first automotive purchase. (I had an ICE car a family member gifted to me previously.) Wisdom of buying such an expensive car so early in my life aside, it means my bar for the "automotive purchasing experience" is much, much higher than the general populations, just because I was so spoiled off the bat. > ... many don't want to go through the effort of selling privately. I similarly gifted my ICE car to my partner, but I later sold my Tesla in a private-party sale (we moved to a major metro and were downsizing). It was surprisingly straight-forward, though that's likely because I went through a Tesla-seller specific website to list the vehicle. > Did Tesla work with your preferred lender for financing? My credit union gave me what basically looked like a check, and said "Whatever amount you need to pay Tesla, write here, sign there, and hand to their representative." I verified with Tesla that this was something they were familiar with and they made positive noises. Totally hitch-free when I went to pick up my vehicle. A friend of mine did his financing thru Tesla's recommended agency--AFAIK there's no issues there, but with the ease my CU made it work I don't see why I'd use a 3rd party. All in all, insanely straightforward experience. Like OP said, the ability to spec and see the price online, no sales pressure or negotiation, is a huge, huge win to me. I get stressed out dealing with sales tactics in Art Van over a couch--a $50k car would give me an aneurysm.