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Road Trip to Buy a Tesla?

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Cyclone

Cyclonic Member ((.oO))
Jan 12, 2015
5,212
1,295
Charlotte, NC
For those who may not be following the CPO Live thread, it had been made to U.S. buyers that there is a $500 (same region, different city), $1,000 (adjoining regions), or $1,500 (distant region) transport fee. Not unheard of, but sad we are being told this days AFTER putting out deposit in.

In my case, the vehicle is in Washigton, DC and I live in Charlotte, NC. I would incur a $500 delivery fee. Not the end of the world, but one of the reasons I am buying a Tesla is for road trips. Taking a quick look online, I can make my way up to Washington DC for $100. I should be able to then complete the purchase, and make a Supercharger road trip home with my car. Nice $400 savings and some quality time with my new car.

That said, what do you all think. The delivery fee is not unreasonable, though I'm annoyed about being told about it after the fact. My biggest concern is if I make my way up there, and something is wrong with the car. Maybe a missing item, a scratch they missing in reconditioning, something. Would I be able to get that documented and have it fixed at the Service Center in Charlotte?

If I do make the trip, I will post follow ups in this thread as I make my way. I'm partly excited to get a road trip in so quickly, just more concerned about hiccups in the car's "delivery" to me in DC than anything else.
 
They told me explicitly I can avoid the fee by picking up the car at the home location. If they move it anywhere, I'll be subject to a fee. I was also told the same back in March as an alternative to paying the $750 delivery fee for an inventory car in Texas (decided against that one b/c of seat color).
 
I haven't gotten any word about delivery fees. Both my DS and Advisor have said that the car would be shipped soon. No word or mention of costs. I think we should really fight this because it's not listed in our CPO invoice and we should have been notified prior to a 1000 dollar non refundable deposit! At least I live in central california and the car is in Southern california. Not the end of the world but it's just not right to pull the rug from under us after we had originally thought that it would be free of charge. :mad:
 
To me it seems like a shrewd (and fun) move to pick up the car in DC.
I would reconfirm with TM if there is any associated fee if you pick the car up in DC.

The car is unbelievably smart, and there is quite a lot of information that they go over with you during the introduction and hand off.
That being said, there are short videos that walk you through most of the elements, so you can watch and learn from them all ahead of time.
And not be overwhelmed just before your first drive.

After the first 15 minutes getting acquainted and familiarizing yourself driving with the Regen feature, the car is a complete dream to operate.
Easy, peasy drive using Superchargers back to your home in Charlotte.
BTW, be sure to have your NEMA 14-50 outlet installed sooner, rather than later.
 
I haven't gotten any word about delivery fees. Both my DS and Advisor have said that the car would be shipped soon. No word or mention of costs. I think we should really fight this because it's not listed in our CPO invoice and we should have been notified prior to a 1000 dollar non refundable deposit! At least I live in central california and the car is in Southern california. Not the end of the world but it's just not right to pull the rug from under us after we had originally thought that it would be free of charge. :mad:

I hear you. I would imagine if you raise a stink, they could make an exception and refund your deposit since this was "undisclosed." Remember, these haven't been specially prepared for us, so they could just hold onto to it and sell to someone else. My car in particular will sell right away. Hopefully the service center throws in some accessories or something as a goodwill gesture. ;)

- - - Updated - - -

BTW, be sure to have your NEMA 14-50 outlet installed sooner, rather than later.

I'm an oddball there. I won't have 240 service in the garage for a couple months until we do some remodeling. I won't even have dedicated 120. That said, work has an employee-only Chargepoint that I can use for 3 hours daily for free, the Service Center is only a few miles from my house to borrow their HPWC, and there is a Supercharger one exit up from work if I am running around the city all day. Plus my neighbor has graciously offered up to let me charge if I am ever in a bind (he also has a Model S).
 
Any concern around if I find anything about the car that needs to be addressed? If perhaps they missed a scratch, curb rash, or something during reconditioning and prep? If I find anything like that, I wouldn't be able to wait there for it be fixed, and would need my local service center to address those. My local center says they should be repainting the bumpers, addressing any body work, and cleaning up the wheels if there was anything wrong with them all, but we are all human and could miss something.
 
I haven't gotten any word about delivery fees. Both my DS and Advisor have said that the car would be shipped soon. No word or mention of costs. I think we should really fight this because it's not listed in our CPO invoice and we should have been notified prior to a 1000 dollar non refundable deposit! At least I live in central california and the car is in Southern california. Not the end of the world but it's just not right to pull the rug from under us after we had originally thought that it would be free of charge. :mad:

I asked and was told there wasn't a delivery charge on Monday (I should have gotten that in writing). Then this comes out yesterday. Clearly, Tesla is still sorting out the program, but it really seems like they should have figured this out pre-launch. It seems super fundamental from a business standpoint.
 
I asked and was told there wasn't a delivery charge on Monday (I should have gotten that in writing). Then this comes out yesterday. Clearly, Tesla is still sorting out the program, but it really seems like they should have figured this out pre-launch. It seems super fundamental from a business standpoint.

And I asked Friday before putting my deposit down. I have the text from my Owner Advisor stating no delivery fee. That said, a delivery fee if they have to move it is not unreasonable to me. I am guessing that is why none of these cars have shipped yet since they were still working out those details.
 
And I asked Friday before putting my deposit down. I have the text from my Owner Advisor stating no delivery fee. That said, a delivery fee if they have to move it is not unreasonable to me. I am guessing that is why none of these cars have shipped yet since they were still working out those details.

Agree that it is not unreasonable at all, so I won't be overly upset about it. If I bought a car private party or from an out of town used car dealer, there would certainly be a fee to get the car delivered. I am more disappointed that Tesla doesn't have this clear and sorted out before launching the CPO site. It just feels sloppy.

I am also glad I started close to home and slowly expanded my search.
 
The issue is sales tax, licensing and registration. I don't know what they would be required to collect in sales tax. If it's DC tax then that would alter your savings equation since I'm sure NC's is lower.

Yes, especially given that NC tax on vehicles is 3%. For the inventory vehicle I almost bought, they said they would give me a temp tag, collect no tax, and I would do my own registration in NC and pay taxes then. That said, this was an inventory car in Texas where they can't sell me the car directly even if I was local. They have to consider it an out of state purchase and make the buyer do the work in Texas.
 
An excuse to take a road trip and save the delivery charge? Why not?

I'd have no issues about flying out to the car and driving home. I'd probably limit it to a 1200 mile radius, so I could do it comfortably in a weekend without burning too much vacation.
 
Yes, especially given that NC tax on vehicles is 3%. For the inventory vehicle I almost bought, they said they would give me a temp tag, collect no tax, and I would do my own registration in NC and pay taxes then. That said, this was an inventory car in Texas where they can't sell me the car directly even if I was local. They have to consider it an out of state purchase and make the buyer do the work in Texas.

This is how it works in most states, California being one of the major exceptions. You pay tax to your home state.