Hi there, hoping to make a poor financial choice soon!

Welcome. My cars before the Tesla were all less than $30K (Tahoe, Altima, Camry, Taurus). I got a model S in 2012 and highly recommend one. It's an amazing car.

If you want to save a little on one though consider trying to buy a fleet car (like the one you just test drove) or look for a used S85 al though the tax credits will only apply for the former.

One word of caution, the launches may be habit forming . . .

You won't get unbiased advice on this board

It's a bit like winning the lottery and taking a wad of cash with you in to a Vegas casino and asking the guys around the Black Jack table if it's a good idea to gamble with the money.

That said my Model S cost me more than twice of what I had ever spent on a car before and I'm not regretting it at all!

It's a poor financial choice if it will raise your debt load above your comfort zone, force you to sacrifice in other areas of your life, or generally cause you financial hardship. If you can afford it, and you want it, then it's not that poor a financial choice.

Xenius said:

I've convinced the wife that it's something I want, and while she also agrees that it's stupid, she is on board.

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I've convinced my wife that it's something I want, and she agrees that it's stupid, but she's still not on board... I'm still wearing her down, I'm pretty sure I'll win this one, but I'm not yet sure what it will cost me...

Right with you bro', except my last three cars were all "$40 something". Still, were are talking about a car that costs slightly less than what my first house was.

Thing is my last car (a $45k sticker Chevy Volt) is going to lease turn-in in September...and I have to do "something" to replace it :wink:

Xenius said:

I'm very likely out of my league here, but I'd love to hear from any of you that bought a Model S yet previously were sub 25k car buyers. If we get a Model S I either plan for it to be my "until it dies" car, OR trade it in to move down (in size) to a Model 3 someday in the future. Cheers!

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You might find this thread interesting, if you haven't seen it already: What category of car did your Tesla replace? There are some comments within that pretty much describe how many of us have wrapped our heads around making a completely out of character purchase... without regrets (so far, anyway).

The CPO program is now official and you might want to take advantage of it if some of the newer features aren't a requirement for you. There are several 60s and a couple 85s below $60k.
Pre-Owned ModelS | Tesla Motors

If the CPO program existed before I ordered, I likely would have gone that route, with a longer wait but still able to buy with cash in 2014. In fact, contacting a few of the nearest stores for inventory vehicles to save some money is what I did that kind of pushed me into placing my order, as there weren't any in inventory [that I was told about] with a reduced price or near my desired specs.

Before my Model S, I exclusively owned used Lincoln Town Cars. The last one (a used one from 1997) I bought for $1500 and did almost all of the repair work myself along with brake replacements and other maintenance (except oil changes, the cost benefit for those lean towards having a shop do it). I think total (purchase and repairs/maintenance) I was into that car about four or five thousand when it died on me in December.

Buying a brand new Tesla was way outside of the norm for me. I knew I wanted one, and had started putting money away towards purchasing one when the Alpha was unveiled in... 2010? With the price sliding higher and higher, I kept kicking the can down the road after the car launched. Finally in January of this year I hit my savings goal and had to ask myself "Am I really buying this car?!"

The answer of course was yes :tongue:

I was in the same mental state as you though; this car is not a responsible purchase from a purely financial standpoint. I could've continued buying and maintaining Panther platform Fords from yesteryear. In fact I probably could've bought fleet cars from the last generation for the rest of my life and only maybe come close to what I spent on the S.

The long and short of it was that I really wanted this car. It is, without question, the best vehicle I've ever driven (yes, I've driven other cars than Lincolns :wink: ). At the end of the day, I knew that I could afford it with the down payment I was going to make (monthly car payments came out below-budget, so I'm overpaying on those with expected lump sum payments here and there to help further) so I pulled the trigger in February after getting all the financing and insurance ducks in a row.

Oh, and the interim after my Town Car died and my Model S arrived? I was driving a 2008 Town Car that happened to be in the family, but unused. Love me some Lincolns...