Trade-Ins

[mknox]

I've always wondered what happens to trade-ins.

When I left my Cadillac with Tesla, there was some paperwork to transfer the extended warranty I bought to the new owner in the glove box. The new owner called me up because I apparently needed to sign the forms for the transfer to go through (I was glad to do so). At first I was a little taken aback until he explained that my name, address etc, were on the forms I'd left. Presumably a dealer would have had me sign the forms over and protected my identity from subsequent owners. In any event, he was quite happy with the car and even received the WeatherTech winter mats and a few other goodies I'd left in the trunk.

He thought I traded in on a new Cadillac because he found it at a Cadillac dealer, so I assume Tesla must have dealt directly with GM or else a Cadillac dealer picked it up from a wholesaler. He was very interested in the Tesla I'd bought and we had a long conversation about that (maybe that Caddy will get traded in again on a Tesla!). I couldn't bring myself to ask what he'd paid because I suspect it was a fair bit more than I got on trade.

 

[Doug_G]

It is not at all unusual for traded cars to be sold on several times before they end up on a dealer lot - sometimes several times in one day!

 

[VCanucks]

When should I expect to be contacted about financing /trade ins? My delivery window is June 4 to 18th and all I've gotten so far is a standard email regarding the us options.

 

[Doug_G]

Bug them about it. My trade didn't get sorted out until the day before.

 

[Mayhemm]

Mike, Doug, et al.

So, were you guys happy with your trade deals, or would you have gone another route if you had to do it again?

I'll be looking to trade my current car come spring, but there isn't much of a private market up here for this type of vehicle. It would be so much simpler (not to mention tax-beneficial) to just be able to trade it in. I do have a ballpark number in my head that I'd be expecting to get for it, though. It's not really an "any old trade will do" situation.

 

[Doug_G]

Well, I'm certain that I would have been able to get more money selling it privately. In fact this is the first time I've traded a car in a long time.

I did think it would be a lot more convenient to trade it. Winter is a bad time to sell a car in Ottawa; it would probably be sitting around for months. Also since I was planning to go to Toronto by myself to retrieve the Model S, I figured it would be a lot more convenient if I could simply swap cars.

So I went with a simple decision-making process. First I did some research and figured out what I'd list it for if I was selling it privately. Then I knocked off a percentage for buyer negotiations. Then from that I figured on a range I'd be willing to accept as trade-in. Tesla came in with a number in the lower end of that range... but it was in the range so I took the deal.

 

[mknox]

So, were you guys happy with your trade deals, or would you have gone another route if you had to do it again?

If you have the time, I'd try and sell privately or look at other trade in options. (Some traditional dealers will take in trades even if you don't buy from them - get some quotes).

Tesla gave (and honored) a quote sight unseen, but when I looked it up, it was right at the bottom of the range for my make, model and year of car, even though my car was very clean and in excellent shape. An easy thing for Tesla to do, and made it quite convenient for me.

Mine was one of the earlier Production deliveries and I think they were still sorting things out. I was planning on exploring other trade-in options, but out of the blue I got a call saying my Model S was in and could I come and pick it up right away. The SC was packed solid with cars, and mine was in a bunch that I think showed up early. It was certainly earlier than the delivery window I was given (or right at the beginning of the window).

 

[Mayhemm]

Thanks for the input, guys.

I'll try and get quotes from as many sources as possible (dealership where I purchased the car, Tesla, maybe third-party auction house).

I've got all winter to sort this out, and I've heard spring is the best time to sell a sporty car anyway.

 

[Doug_G]

Selling privately will definitely get you the best result. A few years back I sold a minivan and was only down $2500 from when we bought it.

(Mind you we had got a really good price when we bought it. My wife is merciless with car salesmen. One summer in University she nearly took a job in encyclopedia sales... did their training course and knows all the nasty tricks. The guy even tried the "angry close" on us! We tried to walk out twice. Spent the afternoon and made sport of it. Did I mention how much I love the Tesla buying experience?)

 

[mknox]

Selling privately will definitely get you the best result. A few years back I sold a minivan and was only down $2500 from when we bought it.

The best I ever did was with my 1980 Chrysler Cordoba. I bought it brand new for $8,800 out the door (hard to believe now), owned it for 6 very trouble-free years and sold it to a friend for $5,000 after he begged me to sell it to him (he bought my next car when I was ready to sell too). I got a really good deal on the car because at that time, Chrysler was about where GM was in '09 and were practically giving them away.