Financing - timing

TomL · Nov 16, 2014

For those who've already gone thru the financing process, how did you decide on financing options? I'll explain:

If I order today, I'll have to wait until closer to delivery (at least a couple months) before binding a loan, during which time rates or max loan amounts could change.

I'm trying to decide between S85D and P85D, which is already a ~$20k (or more) difference, but not knowing the maximum loan amount can have an even bigger impact on the down payment amount needed.

In addition, I'm trying to keep the monthly payment around $1000-$1500 per month, which creates another huge difference in down payment if you compare 1.01% for 84 months at energy fcu (almost sounds too good to be true) vs most other loan rates I'm seeing online.

Perhaps to answer my own question, one idea would be to just order the car now, save up as much down payment as possible, then take my chances on whatever financing rates will be available when I get closer to delivery?

Dallas1 · Nov 17, 2014

TomL said:
For those who've already gone thru the financing process, how did you decide on financing options? I'll explain:

If I order today, I'll have to wait until closer to delivery (at least a couple months) before binding a loan, during which time rates or max loan amounts could change.

I'm trying to decide between S85D and P85D, which is already a ~$20k (or more) difference, but not knowing the maximum loan amount can have an even bigger impact on the down payment amount needed.

In addition, I'm trying to keep the monthly payment around $1000-$1500 per month, which creates another huge difference in down payment if you compare 1.01% for 84 months at energy fcu (almost sounds too good to be true) vs most other loan rates I'm seeing online.

Perhaps to answer my own question, one idea would be to just order the car now, save up as much down payment as possible, then take my chances on whatever financing rates will be available when I get closer to delivery?

TomL,
I understand your predicament. It would be nice to know your financing option before ordering the car! The production period makes that difficult.

I don't think you'll be able to predict the loan amount you'll be offered from EFCU. From reading this forum, it seems to vary quite a bit. If you know 100% you want the car, I would order it now, and then work on the financing. I don't see any other way to do it.

Regarding S85D or P85D: I have yet to find a Tesla owner that wishes they got their Tesla with less options. They all say they should have gotten more options. You may have this car for 8 years. If you can afford the P85D, I would go with that. But like everyone else on here, we have not driven a P85D as of yet, so my advice comes with a grain of salt!

randompersonx · Nov 17, 2014

I am planning on financing with Tesla for the resale guarantee -- with a large down payment, and making a large pre-payment to reduce the total spend on interest. (I would normally be a cash buyer if not for that program).

I was informed by Tesla Finance that now is "too early" to finance because of the 30-day time limit from the application to delivery, and to wait until I have a confirmed delivery date 30 days or less in the future. That said, I was estimated at December 18, so I guess that will possibly mean tomorrow -- but I plan on waiting until at least hearing about some productions completing (if not my own).

Aargau · Nov 17, 2014

I also went through Tesla financing (for the same reasons as randompersonx) last week, as I was told I now was within the 30 time window for production. I confirmed with the DS that I was. They also said if there is a delay in production since the loan is going through them there's a few days wiggle room.

breser · Nov 17, 2014

Dallas1 said:
Regarding S85D or P85D: I have yet to find a Tesla owner that wishes they got their Tesla with less options. They all say they should have gotten more options. You may have this car for 8 years. If you can afford the P85D, I would go with that. But like everyone else on here, we have not driven a P85D as of yet, so my advice comes with a grain of salt!

The P85D has some drawbacks.

Less range than the 85D, though the current posted numbers don't make it look like much of a drop. Someone over on the TM forum had their DS warn them about the decreased range versus an S85. The 85D will have more range than the P85D.

I think there's still some unknowns about the NextGen Seats. Will they fold down flat. How much impact will the taller head rests in the back have on visibility out the rear window.

How insurance companies will view the P85D is also an unknown. I would expect higher insurance premiums due to the performance.

If you really want the performance by all means go for the P85D. But if performance isn't your first priority I'd prefer the 85D over a P85D.

MsElectric · Nov 17, 2014

breser said:
The P85D has some drawbacks.

Less range than the 85D, though the current posted numbers don't make it look like much of a drop. Someone over on the TM forum had their DS warn them about the decreased range versus an S85. The 85D will have more range than the P85D.

I think there's still some unknowns about the NextGen Seats. Will they fold down flat. How much impact will the taller head rests in the back have on visibility out the rear window.

How insurance companies will view the P85D is also an unknown. I would expect higher insurance premiums due to the performance.

If you really want the performance by all means go for the P85D. But if performance isn't your first priority I'd prefer the 85D over a P85D.

I think at only about a ~20K difference it makes sense to get a P85D and experience acceleration that normally requires you to buy a car that costs 2X. I've read some forum posts by those who have experienced the new seats and they are apparently much better. I'd get a P85D partly to get the newer seats. When we test drove a Model S several times each time we loved just about everything about the car but hated the poorly supportive seats.

randompersonx · Nov 17, 2014

breser said:
The P85D has some drawbacks.

Less range than the 85D, though the current posted numbers don't make it look like much of a drop. Someone over on the TM forum had their DS warn them about the decreased range versus an S85. The 85D will have more range than the P85D.

I think there's still some unknowns about the NextGen Seats. Will they fold down flat. How much impact will the taller head rests in the back have on visibility out the rear window.

How insurance companies will view the P85D is also an unknown. I would expect higher insurance premiums due to the performance.

If you really want the performance by all means go for the P85D. But if performance isn't your first priority I'd prefer the 85D over a P85D.

As far as I know, nothing in the VIN indicates if the car is a P85D vs 85D, so insurance rates should be the same.

breser · Nov 17, 2014

randompersonx said:
As far as I know, nothing in the VIN indicates if the car is a P85D vs 85D, so insurance rates should be the same.

Doesn't have to be by VIN. Some insurance companies ask for trim level info. GEICO does this for example.

schneiderjohn · Nov 18, 2014

randompersonx said:
As far as I know, nothing in the VIN indicates if the car is a P85D vs 85D, so insurance rates should be the same.

Interesting point! I do wonder if the dual-vs-single motor VIN change will cause some sort of "insurance ambiguity", in that there is no historical data on D-models. I suppose they'll base it on single-drive models initially and then build data for both types thereafter.

ftp://ftp.nhtsa.dot.gov/MfrMail/ORG9130.pdf

majorlance · Nov 20, 2014

My Allstate agent said it wasn't in their system and wanted to know the selling price. Came out to about 2% per year of the retail value. A little higher than my previous 2013 MB S.

KennyB-FLL · Nov 25, 2014

For those hoping for EFCU loan, I got more details this week. In order to take advantage of 1% discount for electric vehicle they will only finance for 60 months or less. If you want 72 or 84 month loan you will not get 1% discount. Also, beginning on January 1, they are limiting the amount that can be borrowed to $69,999.

majorlance · Nov 25, 2014

KennyB-FLL,

I can confirm that you can get a .61% for 60 months with a December delivery. They financed $100k... not certain about their 2015 plans.

The 1% discount is nice but limiting the loan to $70k would not make sense for the P85D. Putting 20% down on an 85D would make the limit more reasonable. All IMHO...

I'm Bethesda and Rehoboth Beach. Just arranged to get a charger installed at the beach house... Joe at Shore Electric mentioned that he'd done a few others in the area... I also understand that the city is putting in a couple of chargers near downtown. One step at a time!

Happy Thanksgiving!

TomL · Dec 2, 2014

KennyB-FLL said:
For those hoping for EFCU loan, I got more details this week. In order to take advantage of 1% discount for electric vehicle they will only finance for 60 months or less. If you want 72 or 84 month loan you will not get 1% discount. Also, beginning on January 1, they are limiting the amount that can be borrowed to $69,999.

I wonder if it's possible to "lock in" by 12/31 even if I take delivery after 1/1?

eddie11228 · Dec 2, 2014

i called EFCU several days ago, and the lady said that you're required to have a savings account to get the .61% rate.

anyone else encountered this? everywhere I've read said there are no account requirement, so I was a bit surprised when she said that.

andrewket · Dec 2, 2014

eddie11228 said:
i called EFCU several days ago, and the lady said that you're required to have a savings account to get the .61% rate.

anyone else encountered this? everywhere I've read said there are no account requirement, so I was a bit surprised when she said that.

The $10 I sent to become a member went into a savings account.

robby · Dec 29, 2014

Those of you using EFCU, did you qualify for membership through some other organization or did you have to join the Chinese Culture Society thing they talk about? I want to get the best rate but the hoops they are asking me to jump through just to qualify for a loan are beyond ridiculous.

andrewket · Dec 29, 2014

I grudgingly joined the Chinese culture society. They are a pain.

kabirakhtar · Dec 29, 2014

andrewket said:
I grudgingly joined the Chinese culture society. They are a pain.

how so -- do they contact you / send junk mail often?

pfremm · Dec 29, 2016

Anyone know if this 1% discount still exists for EV loans?

Watts Son · Dec 29, 2016

That rate does seem too good-can you direct us to more info on that ? I didn't see it on their site

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