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smoothoperator

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Does anyone plan on trading in a vehicle per section 4C of the purchase contract? Just curious how that would work and if anyone is doing it..
 
The car I plan on trading in has a blue book trade in value of about $2000, and will probably be even lower by the time my number comes up. I don't expect to get much for it, but will probably trade it in just to make it go away without the hassle of trying to sell it on my own.
 
The car I plan on trading in has a blue book trade in value of about $2000, and will probably be even lower by the time my number comes up. I don't expect to get much for it, but will probably trade it in just to make it go away without the hassle of trying to sell it on my own.

Same here. Tesla may make a little money off of lowball trade-ins, but it's inconsequential compared to new car sales profits.
 
About the trade-in process and mechanics, heard this from a Tesla rep (who's keeping a keen eye on the banter here!) who wished to stay anonymous:

Just wanted to let you know that for non-Roadster trade ins, we are using Autonation as our partner. For the record, Tesla is not making any money on trades (no skimming like a dealer). Of course, the values they'll give will be lower than a private party sale, but it is guaranteed for the time period they quote, which I think is 10 days if I recall.

The neat thing is anyone can get online and generate a quote right now, just keep in mind that trade-in values can vary quite a bit. If people check how much their car is worth today, it might be different by quite a bit come winter when they take delivery of their Model S. We want to make sure people understand that so they aren't surprised when they take delivery that the quote is different than the one they got in spring. We will have a Tesla specific portal by the time deliveries get going and customers will still get to interface with their Delivery Experience Specialist for the trade. This lets us make the process much cleaner, simpler and in line with what we want everyone to experience as a Tesla customer.

For Roadsters, we will do trades like in the Roadster days with a full inspection and transparency. This includes how much it will cost to fix, how much the owner could sell it for on the private market and how much we will sell it for. The idea is that although our wholesale price will be lower than a private sale, we're very upfront about everything and the customer can make a decision that's best for their situation.
 
I disagree respectfully. The downpayment *trade-in reduces the taxable price of the vehicle.

Take a look at your purchase contract (or ask Tesla to send you one if you have not gotten one yet), on my California purchase contract section 1g & h includes the sales tax, section 4 then subtracts the "Total Downpayment" after the vehicles cash price and government fees have been added. Perhaps it is different in your state, but the person who asked the question resides in California.
 
The tax laws must have change since several years ago.. I'm also in California and when i traded in my volvo for a lexus, the trade in value was deducted from the pre-tax purchase price. I did not have to pay sales tax on my trade in. This was nice, as the hit I took from trading it in (versus private party sale) was offset by the sales tax savings.
 
The tax laws must have change since several years ago.. I'm also in California and when i traded in my volvo for a lexus, the trade in value was deducted from the pre-tax purchase price. I did not have to pay sales tax on my trade in. This was nice, as the hit I took from trading it in (versus private party sale) was offset by the sales tax savings.

I'm pretty sure that no trade discount has been the case since I moved to California 15 years ago. I have heard of dealers who play games by "discounting the car" by $10K or so and reducing the "trade in" by the same amount - but I think you still have to pay on the reported price of the car.
 
I offered to trade them my ill-fated electric Porsche (discussed elsewhere, in the conversions forum) as-is, for an 85 kWh Model S. I don't think they took me seriously. Really, Tesla, if you're reading this, I think you should take my electric Porsche and do it up right, and give me a Model S for it. :)
 
I offered to trade them my ill-fated electric Porsche (discussed elsewhere, in the conversions forum) as-is, for an 85 kWh Model S. I don't think they took me seriously. Really, Tesla, if you're reading this, I think you should take my electric Porsche and do it up right, and give me a Model S for it. :)

You never know. It might be worth something and could get it off of your hands at least.
 
ddenboer - In Florida, a trade-in vehicle reduces the taxable total of your new car purchase. So if your trade-in is worth $15,000 and the sales tax on a new car is 6%, then trading in your car would save you about $900. As a minimum, this could partially offset the wholesale (low) valuation on your trade. Not to mention the convenience of swapping cars the same day. It's great if you want to move your old license plate to your new car. Even though CarMax is pretty easy, unless you are buying a new car from CarMax, you don't get the sales tax savings.