Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Need Advice Regarding a Inventory Car or Brand New Tesla

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
Hello all I have having a dilemma on a decision please give me some sound advice,

I had put down a down payment for Tesla Model S 85 with options for $95,020 which comes WITH AUTOPILOT due for late November. I realized I had made a mistake and wanted the SMART AIR SUSPENSION however it was too late to add that to the car according to Tesla Motors even though the car wasn't built yet.

Tesla Motors gave me two options:

(1) Build a new vehicle and lose the $2,500 or

(2) Purchase one of their inventory cars at a discounted rate with similar specs that I had ordered

So I found an inventory car that was similar to mine for $84,000 with 5,000 miles on it. I save (taxes, interest, vehicle price) almost $15,300 HOWEVER I lose:
(1) Auto Pilot Feature (2) Premium Interior Lighting (3) The "Red lining with the Performance Leather Seats"

I can afford either one but I am still working on student loans to pay off and want to buy a home in the near future. It keeps bothering me that I lose the "auto pilot" and premium interior light feature the most

What do you guys think I should do? Buy a new vehicle with autopilot or save the $15,300 and purchase the inventory vehicle???

Thanks!
 
I would move up the chain with your request to change options since your car isn't in production. Talk to your original sales rep or Tesla HQ. They were more helpful than DS for me.

They have every right to keep your $2500 if you cancel and reorder but I bet they won't if you talk to the right person.
 
I'd definitely prefer Autopilot to Air ride. There are much more possibilities in the future with software updates if you have the sensor arrays. Air ride is nice, but the difference in standard height compared to coils is only just barely noticable. And at least for me I use standard 99% of the time. So changing height is not as important as I expected it would be when I placed the order.
 
Order the AWD and you will be able to change your order.Your deposit will move to the new order.

Hello all I have having a dilemma on a decision please give me some sound advice,

I had put down a down payment for Tesla Model S 85 with options for $95,020 which comes WITH AUTOPILOT due for late November. I realized I had made a mistake and wanted the SMART AIR SUSPENSION however it was too late to add that to the car according to Tesla Motors even though the car wasn't built yet.

Tesla Motors gave me two options:

(1) Build a new vehicle and lose the $2,500 or

(2) Purchase one of their inventory cars at a discounted rate with similar specs that I had ordered

So I found an inventory car that was similar to mine for $84,000 with 5,000 miles on it. I save (taxes, interest, vehicle price) almost $15,300 HOWEVER I lose:
(1) Auto Pilot Feature (2) Premium Interior Lighting (3) The "Red lining with the Performance Leather Seats"

I can afford either one but I am still working on student loans to pay off and want to buy a home in the near future. It keeps bothering me that I lose the "auto pilot" and premium interior light feature the most

What do you guys think I should do? Buy a new vehicle with autopilot or save the $15,300 and purchase the inventory vehicle???

Thanks!
 
I guess I would wonder why you are going further into debt for an expensive car when you still have student loans? I know that when you have a good job with good income, it's tempting to think that it will not be a problem to pay everything off. I used to think this way myself: "today I am working for my Porsche payment" or "today I am working for my new kitchen payment"... etc. I never did get into problems but "cash flow" was constantly an issue and if I had lost my job, it would have been a serious problem since savings were nil.
As far as the car goes, I think the premium lighting is a waste of money. I only bought air suspension and D option because we frequently have lots of snow. "Red lining with performance seats"... really?
 
alldey:

My sincere opinion

Go for the inventory car and get $15,000 in savings....I too bought an inventory car without the autopilot features. I saved over 12,000.

I agree with Zwede...ask yourself if you really use auto pilot features

This is a ever changing car due to advancement in technology and in about 1 year or so Tesla will come up with a new feature and then you would want that feature as well.. which is not wrong...however you would have to pay price for that feature as well

This is a great car even without auto pilot features...
 
Hello all I have having a dilemma on a decision please give me some sound advice,

I had put down a down payment for Tesla Model S 85 with options for $95,020 which comes WITH AUTOPILOT due for late November. I realized I had made a mistake and wanted the SMART AIR SUSPENSION however it was too late to add that to the car according to Tesla Motors even though the car wasn't built yet.

Tesla Motors gave me two options:

(1) Build a new vehicle and lose the $2,500 or

(2) Purchase one of their inventory cars at a discounted rate with similar specs that I had ordered

So I found an inventory car that was similar to mine for $84,000 with 5,000 miles on it. I save (taxes, interest, vehicle price) almost $15,300 HOWEVER I lose:
(1) Auto Pilot Feature (2) Premium Interior Lighting (3) The "Red lining with the Performance Leather Seats"

I can afford either one but I am still working on student loans to pay off and want to buy a home in the near future. It keeps bothering me that I lose the "auto pilot" and premium interior light feature the most

What do you guys think I should do? Buy a new vehicle with autopilot or save the $15,300 and purchase the inventory vehicle???

Thanks!

Let me start by saying that this is not a dilemma but an abundance of riches. There is no bad choice.

I have the experience of having purchased and then ordered a car for my father from inventory.

1. I would not order a car today without the sensor array. New capabilities can be enabled IF and ONLY IF you have those sensors. As of now, TM has stated that there will be no upgrade of older cars to enable Autopilot.

2. Premium Interior Lighting (which I have) is nice but not sufficient to determine.

3. Performance Leather Seats are overrated, whereas the P85D "Next Gen" seats are worth every penny. I believe this as I have ridden in them.

4. As stated above, switching over the the 85D would enable you to reconfigure without any penalty AND, IMO, an excellent configuration of that vehicle with Tech, Air and Leather can be had for $93K ($2K LESS than your original configuration) and provide 30 miles additional range.
 
{One problem of open forums is that you open yourself to answers you don't want to hear...}

I can afford either one but I am still working on student loans to pay off and want to buy a home in the near future.

And.........you lost me right there, with that internally inconsistent statement.
 
Right - I think "afford" for most of us mean - student loans paid off, house with comfortable equity, no CC debt.

But hey -I leased a 545 before my student loans were paid off (but I owned a house and no CC debt). The problem is that a Model S is quite a bit more and there are fabulous cars available for $60k.

I'm still struggling with buying despite having the "afford" criteria met and enough in savings to buy in cash.
 
My personal opinion is auto pilot > air suspension. However, as others have suggested, you might be able to change your order without penalty if you switch to AWD. Tesla appears to be allowing this, at least for those that confirmed before the D announcement.
 
However, as others have suggested, you might be able to change your order without penalty if you switch to AWD. Tesla appears to be allowing this, at least for those that confirmed before the D announcement.

That's correct, I was able to upgrade a P85 to a P85D while the P85 was already in production. My down payment was simply transferred to the new order. Given the more efficient setup, I would advise anyone that has not taken delivery to upgrade to a D.

- - - Updated - - -

Thanks for the replies. I am going to try to switch the 85D, hopefully Tesla helps out somehow.

Good decision, Alldey.
 
Can anyone else say that they were able to switch from a normal battery to an 60D, 85D, or P85D? I will get my answer tomorrow regarding this.

I did so too, a few days after finalizing the non-D 85 config. I called the BuildMyModelS hotline the day after the D was announced. The rep was able to create a new reservation with the new config, transfer the deposit over and cancel the old reservation.
 
In my own opinion. It's a toy, toys are only purchased when you can write a check for it. If you can't work on the loans, then toys. When I purchased my first airplane i got a loan, 40 days into it, I could not believe how much interest was going down the tube, every month... I learned, paid my 7 year loan in 1 year and never again paid interest, anyone can do it, I don't make the big bucks but do have plenty of toys... Anyone want a 2014 S85 with 10K miles, blue, air, stereo, sun, leather, tech, tint, brad and many more, over $100K for $90K, I want the "D", looks, feels, smells new. Located in Colorado in a heated hangar, will drive anywhere in the US for delivery after it has been paid for. If you are debating get it or not get it... just do it, it does not have to be mine, just get one and start enjoying it. I love mine, I am a pilot and want the autopilot.
 
Tesla Motors ended up allowing me to keep my deposit for $2500 and upgrade to the 85D with all the specs I want. Thank-you so much for those that told me I would be able to switch, Tesla did not even tell me about that option!!

Has anyone seen the new premium interior package for $4,500 is that worth it? I am having a hard time deciding whether or not I want that. I am going to the Tesla store to see if it's worth it.
 
Tesla Motors ended up allowing me to keep my deposit for $2500 and upgrade to the 85D with all the specs I want. Thank-you so much for those that told me I would be able to switch, Tesla did not even tell me about that option!!

Has anyone seen the new premium interior package for $4,500 is that worth it? I am having a hard time deciding whether or not I want that. I am going to the Tesla store to see if it's worth it.

Of all the possible options, the premium interior would be the last one I would buy. Seems like the worst value to me.
 
Of all the possible options, the premium interior would be the last one I would buy. Seems like the worst value to me.

+1

In order of usefulness (IMO):

Tech Package
Dual Motor
3rd Row seats
Cold Weather Package
Air Suspension
Pano roof
Paint color
------
High Fidelity Sound
Dual Charger
Alcantara Headliner
Wood/Carbon Fiber decor
------
Things that will end up costing you:

21" wheels