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A possible new Tesla owner (Model 3) !

5K views 31 replies 12 participants last post by  Kbm3 
#1 ·
Hello all!

I have been a fan on Tesla for a while and I now have the opportunity to buy a Model 3 (one of the first 100 made) from a Tesla employee. They decided to sell the car and buy a Model X instead so I have the chance to buy the Model 3 for what he paid for it ($57k). I could not be more excited!

My question is with regards to it being one of the first 100 made, should I expect any first run issues? I am located in Central California and there is no dealer in the Central Valley so I would have to drive either a few hours North or South to have any warranty issues taken care of.

I have been following the Model 3 owners club on Youtube and Twitter for a few months and I am looking forward to participating on the forum!
 
#2 ·
(...) My question is with regards to it being one of the first 100 made, should I expect any first run issues? I am located in Central California and there is no dealer in the Central Valley so I would have to drive either a few hours North or South to have any warranty issues taken care of. (...)
Well that sound exciting indeed...
In the end, it's your time and your money. I would not worry about it... IMHO. the benefits of having the car early largely outweigh the drawbacks to having to drive a few hours to potentially address issues.

One (dumb) question... is the car to your liking at least... color, wheels? ;)
 
#3 ·
If you pay him what he paid for it (including sales tax), you'll have to pay the DMV sales tax again when you register the car, so that's double sales tax in a way...Since he gets to claim the federal tax credit, you might see if there's any room to negotiate the price to help cover your sales tax...
 
#7 ·
Unfortunately, there is no wiggle room. I look at it like this... I was going to put a deposit on a Model 3 anyway and I would be so far down the list that I would not be able to get the tax credit anyway (because they are going to sell well over 200k before I would get mine). So to me, the tax credit didn't factor in either way, although it would have been nice to be able to use it to negotiate. I imagine there will be a time in the next year or so where buyers may be able to negotiate on a used one but not right now, the demand is too high (IMO).
 
#4 ·
Most likely things to look out for are:
- Panel misalignments
- Headlight (I think) recall (the early ones had fogging issues)

Also as @RandyS said, you won't get the Federal Tax Credit of $7,500 but the owner will be getting it very soon, so see how that (and taxes factor in).

There is only one combination that gets to $57,000 - Black, aero wheels, enhanced autopilot, and full self drive. Is that the combination you want?
 
#8 ·
Most likely things to look out for are:
- Panel misalignments
- Headlight (I think) recall (the early ones had fogging issues)

Also as @RandyS said, you won't get the Federal Tax Credit of $7,500 but the owner will be getting it very soon, so see how that (and taxes factor in).

There is only one combination that gets to $57,000 - Black, aero wheels, enhanced autopilot, and full self drive. Is that the combination you want?
The combo is:

Base Price - $35,000
Red - $1000
Larger Battery - $9000
Premium Upgrade - $5000
Enhanced Auto Pilot - $5000
Delivery, etc - about $1000

So the total is about $56,000 and he is selling it to me for $57,000. So I am not going to have to pay double taxes because I am paying for the car for pretty much what they paid for it before taxes.

I did ask him about the panel misalignment because I remembered reading about it somewhere and he said no issues there. He said he did have to have something done with the rear seats regarding some wiring but it was fixed and its the only thing he's done under warranty.
 
#10 ·
He said he is not allowed to sell the car for profit but they are allowed to sell them if it "doesn't fit their needs" and he is buying a Model X anyway. I guess once you add taxes in the price of the car, he is selling it for less than he paid for it.... I assume that's why he is asking $57k for it, to help offset some of the taxes.
 
#14 ·
Tesla employees get access to deeply discounted MS/MX that are basically “refurbished” or for whatever reason couldn’t be delivered without going back to the factory to fix. These cars are not available to the general public and are snatched up quickly by employees. For them, they could basically get a nicer car with free supercharging for the same price (if not cheaper) than a loaded Model 3.
 
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#15 ·
Tesla employees get access to deeply discounted MS/MX that are basically "refurbished" or for whatever reason couldn't be delivered without going back to the factory to fix. These cars are not available to the general public and are snatched up quickly by employees. For them, they could basically get a nicer car with free supercharging for the same price (if not cheaper) than a loaded Model 3.
That is exactly what he said he is doing. He is buying a used Model X that apparently employees only have access too. Lucky him!
 
#16 ·
I am about to head to San Jose to pick it up!

The owner said it was mostly manually assembled in the VIP batch for the first delivery (makes sense since it is #89). He said the quality check level much higher than the standard car. Of course, we also all know about some possible issues with those first batch, hand assembled cars like the panel alignments. He said his was straight but I will check it out when I get there.

I also don't feel like he is trying to sell me on the car, I would think that he knows he could sell it for what he paid for it at any time with the demand being so high right now. He said he got 5 emails on it right after he got mine but took down the add as soon as we agreed to a deal.
 
#18 ·
Take the deal and run! I would. You are getting pretty much what you were going to get one through the normal waitlist anyway and are getting it right away. Sounds like a good deal to me.
 
#20 ·
Thanks everyone! We are now the proud owner's of the #89 Model 3 ! THIS CAR IS AMAZING!!!!!

He had the Aero Wheel vinyl wrapped in red. I am not a huge fan and neither is my wife but we took the Aero's off and the wheels underneath look GREAT! I just need to figure out a way to protect the lugs, they are pretty exposed without the Aero caps on them. Suggestions anyone?

I am going to go post and introduce myself in the introduction forum. Here's a few pics!
Wheel Tire Car Vehicle Vehicle registration plate
Wheel Car Vehicle Tire Land vehicle
Sky Font Astronomical object Flash photography Science
Tire Wheel Car Vehicle Land vehicle
 
#32 ·
Tesla employees get access to deeply discounted MS/MX that are basically "refurbished" or for whatever reason couldn't be delivered without going back to the factory to fix. These cars are not available to the general public and are snatched up quickly by employees. For them, they could basically get a nicer car with free supercharging for the same price (if not cheaper) than a loaded Model 3.
There are many ways in which the Model 3 is nicer. To me, it comes down to personal preference.
 
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