Need The Opinion Of Others For My Purchase

[Jason S]

Can you wait a couple years then spend 60-70k on an optioned out Model E? That might be the better decision. Especially since you don't need another car anytime soon.

Or, while waiting, you could put a word in with your local service center and if a loaner comes up with your particular configuration then you'd get a nearly new one for significant discount.

Gotta admit though, the car is a lot of fun.

 

[jed-99aggie]

Building on some of the thoughts others have posted here as well as being another Texan, enjoy the test drive and find a way to get all of your questions answered either via Tesla or other owners.

In addition to funding your mortgage and car payment, how does the retirement savings contribution look (401k & IRA). I tend to look at those tax deferred accounts with priority since you can only sock away so much in any year.

You mentioned the thought of starting a family in the future. Looking ahead, those first few years are a shift in the household (emotionally and financially). Perhaps you decide the current house is not big enough for the kid(s) or proximity to quality daycare, school, etc. Perhaps one of you would prefer to stay at home and your household income changes. Lots of changes. Dual income/ single income either way can you mitigate the additional stress due to a financial commitment (loan payments). If you can tick off covering: the mortgage, the tesla payment, retirement contributions, any charity/nonprofits, family trips/vacations, and even funding an education account - for the kid(s), then the financial stress factor should be low.

Let us know how your test drive goes. I assume you are taking the Mrs as well.

 

[Bardlebee]

Building on some of the thoughts others have posted here as well as being another Texan, enjoy the test drive and find a way to get all of your questions answered either via Tesla or other owners.

In addition to funding your mortgage and car payment, how does the retirement savings contribution look (401k & IRA). I tend to look at those tax deferred accounts with priority since you can only sock away so much in any year.

You mentioned the thought of starting a family in the future. Looking ahead, those first few years are a shift in the household (emotionally and financially). Perhaps you decide the current house is not big enough for the kid(s) or proximity to quality daycare, school, etc. Perhaps one of you would prefer to stay at home and your household income changes. Lots of changes. Dual income/ single income either way can you mitigate the additional stress due to a financial commitment (loan payments). If you can tick off servicing: the mortgage, the tesla payment, retirement contributions, supporting family trips and even funding an education account - for the kid(s), then the financial stress factor should be low.

Let us know how your test drive goes. I assume you are taking the Mrs as well.

Yeah I am taking her. Just let me know yesterday she wanted to drive as well (even though I asked her weeks ago) and I don't know if that will fly as its such a small window.

I think I have checked off all those boxes, except retirement to be honest. To make full contributions to it at my work place as they match me, but to be honest I can't say with confidence I have a "1 2 3" plan that I KNOW will be there in the future. As someone mentioned earlier I think I am transitioning into that now so thats been something I have been more serious about the past few years, at least in my head. Our house is big enough for kids thankfully, something we thought about when we purchased it.

I am about an "11" on the gauge of how excited and passionate about the car. My wife is probably at "6" so we will see if this test drive changes her mind higher.

Sorry I didn't respond earlier I was asleep. I work at night.

 

[GDH]

Buy a used one, there's one that was just listed on this site on TX that is only $65K.....get some sexy 21' rims and you are good to go with that car and you are not spending as much!

 

[abasile]

I think I have checked off all those boxes, except retirement to be honest. To make full contributions to it at my work place as they match me, but to be honest I can't say with confidence I have a "1 2 3" plan that I KNOW will be there in the future.

I didn't mention this earlier, but especially at your age (I'm over a decade older), it really does make sense to try to max out one's retirement contributions. If your income is low enough to contribute to a Roth or if your company offers a Roth 401(k), I personally think that's a great place to start since tax rates seem likely to only go up. I agree with an earlier poster that funding one's retirement should be a higher priority than paying off one's house.

All of that said, being completely debt-free can help bring considerable peace of mind. You don't need to wait until you are 60 years old; with a dual income and frugal living for a couple of years, perhaps you can achieve that. With no payments to make, it becomes really easy to save up and pay cash for cool things. Also, with something like a future Tesla S purchase to motivate you, you may tend to work harder and further increase your income. (I wish I had figured this out when I was in my 20s, but thankfully that goal is not far off for us.)

Also, I'm thinking that if you can purchase a Tesla with cash and have no debt, it'll be that much more difficult for family or friends to criticize you for spending that much money on a vehicle. They'll be red with envy...

 

[bonaire]

Yeah I am taking her. Just let me know yesterday she wanted to drive as well (even though I asked her weeks ago) and I don't know if that will fly as its such a small window.

I think I have checked off all those boxes, except retirement to be honest. To make full contributions to it at my work place as they match me, but to be honest I can't say with confidence I have a "1 2 3" plan that I KNOW will be there in the future. As someone mentioned earlier I think I am transitioning into that now so thats been something I have been more serious about the past few years, at least in my head. Our house is big enough for kids thankfully, something we thought about when we purchased it.

I am about an "11" on the gauge of how excited and passionate about the car. My wife is probably at "6" so we will see if this test drive changes her mind higher.

Sorry I didn't respond earlier I was asleep. I work at night.

If you plan on having kids, don't get the Tesla. You can't add wife and kids to your income and then a many hundred car payment and insurance costs to your income base and expect to build a reasonable college savings and investment strategy. Get all that on line, invest well and then after you have a million, pay cash for a Model E.

people leverage their future for today. Maturity comes when you can delay pleasure.

i would like to offer to pay for you and your girl to attend Financial Peace University to help set your financial future with strength. It is only $99 but would be a gift to you if you and her are willing to attend every class of the cycle. It is usually found at local churches across the country. If willing to accept it, I would paypal you the $99 and just request feedback on what you learned in the class. Some have mentioned not paying off your home because it is deductible and that is poor financial advice.

 

[Kaivball]

Get a higher paying job to even out the car payment?

Kai

 

[bonnie]

Oh for pete's sake, it's not an 'either or' situation. You can be financial responsible, show maturity, and get the car. It is possible. We don't know your financial situation.

For the record, I'm staring at my 60th bday in a week (hahah, yes ... as a friend reminded me recently, "only old people lie about their age"). I have done a lot of fun things, I have taken risks with money, probably would have given the majority of the posters here a few heart palpitations with some of the decisions of made. And I don't regret a one. Oh, and I raised a son on my own (ex rarely made child support payments), had a lot of fun camping with him, paid cash for my Roadster, will do the same for my X, am remodeling my house this spring, have paid off that said house, and can retire when I want. And I did not follow all the advice you're reading here. NOT that it is bad advice. It isn't. It is just not the only advice, fwiw.

 

[AlMc]

And I did not follow all the advice you're reading here. NOT that it is bad advice. It isn't. It is just not the only advice, fwiw.

Exactly. We all come from different backgrounds (socio and economic) and our own personal frames of reference will impact how we would react under these situations. Ultimately it is up to Barblebee and his wife.

 

[Mario Kadastik]

people leverage their future for today. Maturity comes when you can delay pleasure.

i would like to offer to pay for you and your girl to attend Financial Peace University to help set your financial future with strength. It is only $99 but would be a gift to you if you and her are willing to attend every class of the cycle. It is usually found at local churches across the country. If willing to accept it, I would paypal you the $99 and just request feedback on what you learned in the class. Some have mentioned not paying off your home because it is deductible and that is poor financial advice.

Care to explain to me why I should have spent the last 10 years living in rental apartments saving up money and keeping doing that for the next 20-30 years to then buy with cash my own house? Instead I've lived 10 years in good accommodation paying off the financing from regular income and added funds to various spending items and savings. I've enjoyed living and if I die tomorrow I've actually gotten to benefit instead of having to give the earnings to someone else (the person owning the apartments that I'd need to rent).

I've never understood how it's a black and white game for people. Live without debt is beneficial, yet not financing a house seems financially an idiotic choice because you are then spending money on still some other living costs and not actually repaying for the actual investment. With cars they bring you mobility and benfits and by financing them you manage the costs while enjoying the benefits. Yes financial prudence is good and really really needed for todays generation to understand because at times they really seem to think that stuff grows on trees or what not, but avoiding debt like plague is wrong too. It depends how you manage dept and how you insure yourself against it. Heck there's even insurance against loss of a job. A minor payment that will cover all your debts for one year if you lose your job.

Proper planning and financial understanding include the use of debt and the value and cost of money. Inflation will eat your cash reserves and gathering up the funds over 10 years driving some crap car to then buy the car you want with no debt seems like an extremely silly thing to do. Instead just finance it upfront with conditions such that the value of the object remains at all times above your liability and you are in the good. If life really turns to the crapper you liquidate your debts through sale of assets and possibly regain some of the initial downpayment funds to turn your life around. But you will not end up living for decades at lower enjoyment levels just so you can avoid debt.

This get your first million and then the second and third and then only start spending seems the wrong attitude. Finances are there to live your life in the way you want/deserve. Otherwise what's the point of living at all? I would really hate my life if I'd have to spend 20-30 years living like crap just so that I can in a theoretical future enjoy myself for a few decades with unknown health (i.e. might not actually enjoy any of the stuff...). It's absolutely extreme in Japan etc where people work extreme hours throughout their lives, then retire and only as old people travel the world to find the happiness and experiences they missed all those decades slaving away. I'd rather prefer to live my life in full every year (still reasonably and financially considerate) and end up after maybe an additional decade with all the objects in my possession without debt in the end. I'm willing to pay the extra % that comes from compounded interest over 30 years on mortgage because I can spend those 30 years living in the house I want. That money is well spent and if I die 20 years from now, the in your scenario I'd have lived in a crappy apartment those decades saving up and just having looked and found the perfect apartment only to get killed by the landlord arriving in their SUV and not seeing me. In another scenario I live the 20 years in said house happily and get killed by some idiot in SUV with the insurance making sure that my next of kin gets the property ownership with no debt and that there are extra funds to give them plenty of reserves. Guess which scenario for life is better to live through

And if the financial system collapses it's the banks that lose if you are indebted to them. If you were saving up it's you who has lost his/her life...

 

[abasile]

Care to explain to me why I should have spent the last 10 years living in rental apartments saving up money and keeping doing that for the next 20-30 years to then buy with cash my own house? Instead I've lived 10 years in good accommodation paying off the financing from regular income and added funds to various spending items and savings. I've enjoyed living and if I die tomorrow I've actually gotten to benefit instead of having to give the earnings to someone else (the person owning the apartments that I'd need to rent).

I don't think anyone here is saying that you should have stayed in an apartment.

Compared to long term renting, purchasing a home with a mortgage makes good financial sense, assuming the mortgage payments are within reason relative to one's income. However, it can be quite liberating to pay off one's home mortgage. This is of course a very personal choice.

It is certainly true that we never know when our last day on earth is going to be. As a Christian, I trust that I have a future in heaven, so I don't have to be too worried that I might die before getting a chance to own a Tesla (as sad as that would be for my family). On the other hand, if in one's belief system this existence is all that there is, then it is understandable that there would be less of an inclination to defer gratification. That said, I personally am finding it very gratifying to be on track to be debt-free relatively soon!

 

[SwedishAdvocate]

…/ On the other hand, if in one's belief system this existence is all that there is /…

Raises hand :smile: (since the Atheist quota was unrepresented )

 

[AmpedUP]

When I was 28, I was just as obsessed with '63-'67 Corvettes as I am now regarding the Tesla. I never did buy the Corvette because I was living in an apartment and was concerned about it getting stolen. Cost then...$20,000 cost today...$200,000...and now not something you'd want as a daily driver. I've regretted not buying that Corvette ever since. Now I'm 49, obsessed with the Tesla, and I'm gonna buy no matter what. My advice to you...just go for it.

 

[SwedishAdvocate]

If you plan on having kids, don't get the Tesla. You can't add wife and kids to your income and then a many hundred car payment and insurance costs to your income base and expect to build a reasonable college savings and investment strategy. /…

Since the ‘for the children’-argument has come into play…

I can’t really comment on the finances of all of this. I don’t know enough about the financial realities in the U.S. with corporate for profit health insurance and whatnot… But as you yourself has mentioned there is one more factor that will impact your children’s future besides your and your significant others finances. And that is Man Made Climate Change. And since you seem to be on the same page as 97% of our finest climate scientists:

If I were you I would make sure I understand the following before making this decision:

1. The Science of 350 parts per million | 350.org

2. Where is global warming going? | www.skepticalscience.com

3. Global Warming's Terrifying New Math | Politics News | Rolling Stone

AND/OR

The "Do The Math" Movie - 350.org



- - - Updated - - -

If you choose to buy a Tesla – and if you want to – sharing this information with your family and friends will hopefully make them understand why.

That is, if ‘Why?’ remains a ‘concern’ that you would ‘want to address’…

 

[Dutchie]

Disclaimer: I realize any and all financial opinions/advice given here are from strangers on the internet who could be posing to know what they are talking about. I am just looking for another side of the coin.

---------------------------------

Hello Everyone!

You may have seen me on these forums before. I have been on here for more then a year and I watched as everyone got their Model S and enjoying the hell out of it. I am going to be taking my FIRST test drive in 12 hours and putting in my deposit next month FINALLY!

However I am having second thoughts financially and I was wondering if anyone wanted to weigh in on a "What would you do?" sort of conversation. To give you background, I am 28 years old, I work as a network engineer at a very nice company which pays me well. I live in San Antonio, TX which has low living costs in housing and all that.

The reason I am having second thoughts on buying the Model S I think stems from most of my friends/family saying "Well, its an awesome car! But its so EXPENSIVE". I am adverse to debt and I am very careful with finances and that is partially why I am nearly debt free. I only have my house, which is 140k.

I invested enough in TSLA to in total have 80k in stock total. This is probably the main reason I can afford to put 50k down on the car. But with all my friends/family reminding me that I am not making a metric ton of money it has me second guessing my financial decision here. To be clear, the monthly expenses are not what frighten me as I would have to finance the other 40k. I make more then enough to pay for this monthly and have plenty of money, 70 percent roughly, left over to pay extra on the car AND my house at the same time. My concern is.... with this much in stock I could literally almost pay off my house.

I just don't know when I will see this much cash in a long time so I am on edge. Since I am so young, I am looking at my future. I love the car, I love EV's and I can't stop searching the web 24/7 on Tesla news. It is definitely a passion, but my frugal side is also pulling me. Its a brain vs. heart moment right now.

Anyone have any thoughts on my dilemma? I know opinions will be skewed on this forum FOR getting a Tesla. But sometimes I like to make sure I am not TOO crazy. If you need more info on my finances, I can share. I just don't want to offend anyone on the forum for sharing my own finances.

Sorry this was so long

TL;DR: I can afford the car, but wonder if financially its the best choice to use all this gained cash on a passion or a frugal investment. Also, I don't feel like waiting till Model E and I would like a vehicle in this class.

it it seems you are doing quite well. I used to be in the group benefits and retirement industry. Sometimes people wanted to know within a cent accurate what their financial situation was when they retire. I used to love to help them calculate that and sell additional insurance if needed. I myself was also a "security seeker". Then, one sudden day we decided to give up my very well paying job and move to Canada without any security. This while we had a three year old and another one on its way. Now, a couple of years later we come to the conclusion that this was the best decision ever.
Now, I am pretty much the same situation as you, albeit a little older. I have money, what to do: pay down the mortgage or buy the car... My own retirement needs to be financed as well. I am almost 50!
My brother was diagnosed with leukaemia last year. He gave the advise, "go for it. It can be over in no time as you see with me." Yes, paying off mortgage is nice, but doing things you like to do is better. Retirement? Well, in due time some heritage money will come our way and we can also rent out the basement. What I have learned from my move to Canada is that finances somehow will always work out. People are very flexible in that regard. Looking back I sometimes wonder how we survived the first couple of years here while we had hardly any income, but somehow we did.

Good luck! Enjoy your Model S ;-)

 

[Gwgan]

In my post above I did not mention funding retirement but I do consider that a priority. Small business owners say "pay yourself first" and that's a sage adage for personal financial planning too. Tucking away pretax dollars when those dollars would otherwise be lost to you from relatively higher taxes is taking advantage of an opportunity available to you now (doesn't mean you need to go with the company plan, you could just buy TSLA ). Getting a smog free car which is also a safer choice for moving you and yours is also an opportunity available to you now (they make it, you can afford it, interest rates are low). Opportunity is precious.

 

[Bardlebee]

I got back from my test drive. Nothing could have prepared me for what I experienced. Of course they had the performance so it was super fast and amazing. Wow, I have never had my heart race from acceleration before!

I am still not sold on the performance since its already a cost threshold to get the 85kwh non-performance so I am going to stick with that if I do go through with this. Me and my wife are going to go over some spread sheets this weekend and discuss the "what if's" from this stock. While I could hold onto the stock, I don't feel I would like to. I know in my heart it will be more later, but I feel I could use the money in other places.

This is certainly a personal choice I think. I have been working day/night for 8 years to get where I am in my career and now that I got here. I think it is time for 8 years of fruits from those labors, as well as being financially responsible.

Is it possible to have a quarter life crisis? Hehe

Anyway, the car was amazing. My wife's take away was that she wasn't impressed by the regen braking which took me some time getting used to. But she said that is something that would grow on her pretty quickly. She loved the car beyond that, five stars. As long as we make this purchase as a team and its not a "the husband wanted it so I let him" kind of purchase, our marriage should be safe.

All in all, I was amazed by the sport setting. I was amazed that you could even change that. I have watched millions of youtube videos and nothing could prepare me for the torque. I only hope the standard 85 has that same feel. I know it won't be has strong, but I love that torque feel from the electric vehicle.

After that, I am now typing from work, of which I had to go back to my old car. Don't get me wrong, the V6 Mustang is neat and again I am not a car person so its kinda no preference on that. But hitting the gas in that car wasn't even close. Filling up at the gas station tonight was 50 bucks and I can only imagine what it will be like in 10 years. It was only a little over 10 years ago that I saw gas at 1.50 a gallon. Now 3.00 a gallon is a god send. I think more and more about how finite fossil fuels are and how important they are and how much we shouldn't waste it on fuel. I can't imagine the gas prices when my kids are older. It's silly to think even though the Model S is so popular, but I also feel like if I don't buy the car then I am not supporting the cause of EV's. I could get a Prius, but I feel like I would be supporting the commuter vehicle. Its a nice car for commutes, but I feel mankind can be better then that and make an affordable 300 mile car and me as a consumer should show that desire.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. I am very tired. Only got 3 hours of sleep so I am glad I didn't wreck the 120k vehicle. My mom loved it and so did my wife. Now we just need to figure out if it makes sense to us long term.

 

[AlMc]

I got back from my test drive. Nothing could have prepared me for what I experienced. Of course they had the performance so it was super fast and amazing. Wow, I have never had my heart race from acceleration before!

I am still not sold on the performance since its already a cost threshold to get the 85kwh non-performance so I am going to stick with that if I do go through with this. Me and my wife are going to go over some spread sheets this weekend and discuss the "what if's" from this stock. While I could hold onto the stock, I don't feel I would like to. I know in my heart it will be more later, but I feel I could use the money in other places.

This is certainly a personal choice I think. I have been working day/night for 8 years to get where I am in my career and now that I got here. I think it is time for 8 years of fruits from those labors, as well as being financially responsible.

Is it possible to have a quarter life crisis? Hehe

Anyway, the car was amazing. My wife's take away was that she wasn't impressed by the regen braking which took me some time getting used to. But she said that is something that would grow on her pretty quickly. She loved the car beyond that, five stars. As long as we make this purchase as a team and its not a "the husband wanted it so I let him" kind of purchase, our marriage should be safe.

All in all, I was amazed by the sport setting. I was amazed that you could even change that. I have watched millions of youtube videos and nothing could prepare me for the torque. I only hope the standard 85 has that same feel. I know it won't be has strong, but I love that torque feel from the electric vehicle.

After that, I am now typing from work, of which I had to go back to my old car. Don't get me wrong, the V6 Mustang is neat and again I am not a car person so its kinda no preference on that. But hitting the gas in that car wasn't even close. Filling up at the gas station tonight was 50 bucks and I can only imagine what it will be like in 10 years. It was only a little over 10 years ago that I saw gas at 1.50 a gallon. Now 3.00 a gallon is a god send. I think more and more about how finite fossil fuels are and how important they are and how much we shouldn't waste it on fuel. I can't imagine the gas prices when my kids are older. It's silly to think even though the Model S is so popular, but I also feel like if I don't buy the car then I am not supporting the cause of EV's. I could get a Prius, but I feel like I would be supporting the commuter vehicle. Its a nice car for commutes, but I feel mankind can be better then that and make an affordable 300 mile car and me as a consumer should show that desire.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. I am very tired. Only got 3 hours of sleep so I am glad I didn't wreck the 120k vehicle. My mom loved it and so did my wife. Now we just need to figure out if it makes sense to us long term.

Nice write up. You describe yourself as 'not a car person' so the S85 should be fine. Large purchases/decisions are usually not easy to make. You sound like a very smart guy with a supportive wife and mother (family)....I am sure you will be happy with whatever decision you come to on this matter.

Best of luck

 

[Bardlebee]

Nice write up. You describe yourself as 'not a car person' so the S85 should be fine. Large purchases/decisions are usually not easy to make. You sound like a very smart guy with a supportive wife and mother (family)....I am sure you will be happy with whatever decision you come to on this matter.

Best of luck

Thank you! And thanks guys for your time. I will give you an update on what happens in a few months. I will reference this thread if you don't remember haha. I will also be on the forum, so I won't be a stranger.

 

[Zaxxon]

I have watched millions of youtube videos and nothing could prepare me for the torque. I only hope the standard 85 has that same feel. I know it won't be has strong, but I love that torque feel from the electric vehicle.
.

Watch this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXovmFnnSgo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Every time I look at that video, I come to two conclusions: 1) the P85 is ridiculously fast, and 2) the S60 is way faster than any car I have ever owned. Unless you are a big sports car person, I think the S85 will thrill you quite enough.