Roadster Signature residual value

Gerasimental · Apr 23, 2015

So, I've managed to convince a relative to give very serious thought to buying a Roadster.

The car in question is a european Signature 250 model, with just over 1000 miles. It's going for about half its original price.
Since that kind of money is certainly an extravagance for a 2 seater car with little practical value in a family that needs a 4-seat city runabout anyway, the question of resale value is quite important.
I'd have thought that one of the very earliest Teslas ever made, with very low mileage (would only be used in the city, and no more than twice a week) would hold on to its value pretty damn well, maybe even appreciate a bit when Tesla becomes a major mainstream automaker and its novelty value as one of the first ever increases. However, I'm surprised to see that its already being sold for half its original price.

So how well do you folk think a low-mileage Sig250 will keep its value, in say 2, 5, and 10 years time?

ecarfan · Apr 23, 2015

I consulted my crystal ball and it told me "sorry the future is cloudy".
We can guess of course. My guess is the Roadster will depreciate dramatically when Tesla launches the next Roadster model in 5 to 10 years (and keep in mind it will be a far far better car than the original Roadster!). Until then it will gradually depreciate. Of course I could be wrong.

At this point Roadsters sell for 40 to 70% of their original cost. Will they ever sell for a greater percentage? Maybe. Maybe not.

Note: I have owned "classic" (greater than 45 year old) Porsches so I have some familiarity with the concept of how a car becomes a classic and appreciates in value. But trying to predict which car models will do that, decades before they are that age, is impossible to do with much accuracy.

hcsharp · Apr 23, 2015

My crystal ball told me exactly what's going to happen. But I'm not telling.:wink:

m0rph · Apr 23, 2015

My crystal ball says I will sell it for $ 32 million at the Pebble Beach auction in 2048. No kidding.

dhrivnak · Apr 24, 2015

Cars are a depreciating asset. Very few break the trend and most of those that do are garage queens. And more expensive cars, those over $50k, typically depreciate more than average. I purchased mine to be an "investment" but it is so much fun to drive it spends too much time on the road to keep its value. Time will tell if I ever get my money back. But in the mean time the Roadster has given far more fun than any "investment" I have ever heard of.

bpangburn · Apr 24, 2015

dhrivnak said:
Cars are a depreciating asset. Very few break the trend and most of those that do are garage queens. And more expensive cars, those over $50k, typically depreciate more than average. I purchased mine to be an "investment" but it is so much fun to drive it spends too much time on the road to keep its value. Time will tell if I ever get my money back. But in the mean time the Roadster has given far more fun than any "investment" I have ever heard of.

I'm a brand new 1.5 owner and I agree completely. Hopefully the prices are bottoming out on the ones in really good condition, but there is certainly no guaranty. My biggest concern is long term parts availability when only about 2500 were made. Hopefully they don't end up in museums because none of them work 30 years from now. For now it's the best thing I've ever purchased and it brings me great happiness every time I drive it (or even look at it). Bottom line, hopefully the good ones will stop depreciating over the next few years and the value will start to rebound, but it's a very high risk investment so don't use it as the basis for your retirement planning.

Cottonwood · Apr 24, 2015

bpangburn said:
I'm a brand new 1.5 owner and I agree completely. Hopefully the prices are bottoming out on the ones in really good condition, but there is certainly no guaranty. My biggest concern is long term parts availability when only about 2500 were made. Hopefully they don't end up in museums because none of them work 30 years from now. For now it's the best thing I've ever purchased and it brings me great happiness every time I drive it (or even look at it). Bottom line, hopefully the good ones will stop depreciating over the next few years and the value will start to rebound, but it's a very high risk investment so don't use it as the basis for your retirement planning.

As for continued service and parts, it is completely dependent on Tesla staying in business and remaining profitable. As long as those conditions remain true, for the relatively small number of Roadsters, it is a matter of corporate pride and important PR, that Tesla maintains support of the Roadsters.

Here is an appropriate link for this discussion citing a tweet from Elon: Roadster 3.0 - Page 51

bpangburn · Apr 24, 2015

Guessing like many Tesla owners, I've also picked up a few shares of TSLA so I'm all in. If the company stays healthy, we should be in good shape.

m0rph · Aug 1, 2015

Well, some people believe their (EU) Signature cars are already worth serious money: link

ecarfan · Aug 1, 2015

I thought only the first 100 Roadsters were Signature cars. But this is a European car so maybe there were additional Signature cars for that region?
I wish the seller the best of luck with that price but it seems unrealistic especially considering the odometer reading of 63K km.

Mitrovic · Aug 1, 2015

Well, I think the roadster will become a collector item and the values will start climbing in about 25 years. Untill then they will slowly depreciate.

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Roadster Signature residual value

Gerasimental

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ecarfan

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hcsharp

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m0rph

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dhrivnak

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bpangburn

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Cottonwood

Roadster#433, Model S#S37

bpangburn

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m0rph

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ecarfan

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Mitrovic

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