We reserved a demo Tesla model 3 that has 3700 miles on it with $2900 off and it’s sold as a new car. Spoke with two different SAs and each had a different opinion. Would like to hear your opinion. I am real worried about the condition of the car. Most of the demo cars I have seen are only about couple of hundred miles. But the spouse is adamant about the $3k saving.. but I am concerned that $3k saving won’t be worth the service nightmares we may have to go through in the future
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Model 3 demo car with 4k miles - worth buying?
- Thread starter vanny
- Start date
In December I bought a demo model 3 with 167 miles, and it was a $1670 discount (on top of the $7500 then)
Different times, but that’s a lot of miles for not much of a price reduction.
Different times, but that’s a lot of miles for not much of a price reduction.
I'd be most concerned for the tires and perhaps the alignment. Maybe they'll throw new tires on and align the wheels to sweeten the deal?
My take is, people test driving might be prone to really pushing the car hard from a standstill. While that *could* also cause suspension issues, those will be covered under warranty for another 47k miles and/or 4 years. The tires are a normal wear item though, and the ones on the car right now could be pretty unevenly worn. I just got my 3rd set of tires at 38k miles because I liked to floor it.
My take is, people test driving might be prone to really pushing the car hard from a standstill. While that *could* also cause suspension issues, those will be covered under warranty for another 47k miles and/or 4 years. The tires are a normal wear item though, and the ones on the car right now could be pretty unevenly worn. I just got my 3rd set of tires at 38k miles because I liked to floor it.
One other thing to check is when the car was “put in service”. That will be the date when the warranty is effective from if it is a demo.
Mine was end of November, so not a big deal to lose 25 days of warranty for the price reduction, but with 3k miles it’s probably worth knowing how much warranty you will still have.
Mine was end of November, so not a big deal to lose 25 days of warranty for the price reduction, but with 3k miles it’s probably worth knowing how much warranty you will still have.
Soul Surfer
Cancervivor, tech geek & musician
I bought mine as a "floor model". Got the upgraded paint and some $$ off on top of that. Other than a couple scratches which got fixed, I've been very pleased with it. In your case, I would probably want new as I never trust road driven demos. The only exception to my rule was when I bought my Corvette, as I knew the dealership never let patrons drive them without a sales rep accompanying them. My Vette had 180km (about 112m) and I had put on about 25% of that.
Does Tesla now let the patron test drive without them being in the car? We bought a first one so long ago and I vaguely remember someone was with us.
I've never heard of test drives without a sales rep present. But Tesla will lend a car to someone for an overnight "test drive" sometimes. However 3700 miles on a demo car is a lot. I was very encouraged to floor it on my test drive and I'd imagine most people do on their first drive as well.
Personally the savings isn't worth the risk even though an EV is much more resilient than a gas car. However, if it happened to be a 2021 model with most of the latest updates before USS were removed I may still consider it if the alternative is waiting 2+ months. You can try asking for a fresh 4 year warranty from the date you take ownership of it since they're calling the car "new".
DocHolliday
Member
When I test drove back in 2021 the sales rep just handed you the key card, took your license info and sent you on your way.
GreenCoffee
Member
Same here recently, Also back in 2018 I was loaned a Model S PwhateverD and it was fun for an overnight excursion to San Diego!, BTW the car was not babied!
Curious because I'm in the same situation.. Placed an order on a "Demo" with only 25 miles so I'm assuming it's a floor model? Was yours also very low mileage? The warranty says it goes through Dec 2027 which means it was placed in service this month. Best case scenario would be that it was a designated floor model but they just ended up selling it for EOY!
You need to be very very careful that the car is actually being titled as NEW, if you are expecting to get the Tax credit. "NEW" vs "USED" has no real correlation to number of miles on the car, and "DEMO" is not a regulated term whatsoever. Anyone selling a car can use the word "DEMO" to mean whatever they want, and it is not connected in ANY WAY to whether the car is new or used.
"NEW" means never titled to an end user, and "USED" means it has been titled previously, and placed into service. Thats it. Its possible for a manufacturer to "sell" a car and place it into service with virtually no miles on it, then sell it as a DEMO, but its also a USED car at that point.
There are going to be a bunch of upset people if they were expecting to get the tax credit, hunting for a bargain and bought a demo, then didnt pay attention to the fact that the car is titled as USED so they dont qualify.
Yes, absolutely. I did confirm that my purchase agreement shows the vehicle as New so I should be in good shape.
android04
Active Member
As long as the car is sold as new (which a demo would be), I would care about it having 3,000 miles on it. That's nothing. I'd just make sure to look it over carefully for any cosmetic issues and test drive it for any mechanical issues, but it still has a new car warranty.
PianoAl
Active Member
Perhaps the real question is whether the car was abused in those 3,700 miles. Rental cars are often abused, but demo cars? Also, how would you abuse a Tesla besides rapid acceleration?
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