Tesla buying advice - New? Used? Lease?

xsy77

Hi guys,

I'm very keen on buying a Tesla and looking for some financial guidance on making the correct call. Looking for any advice from anyone who has looked at this themselves.

Lease - Too Expensive?
The lease options seem pretty expensive when comparing them to similarly priced petrol/hybrid cars (weird considering my research says their depreciation rate is good), so I have ruled that out as an option. Unless someone can correct my research or provide a link to a good deal?

Buy New - Business users get far better treatment?
Buying a new Model 3 seems a good choice for business owners with lots of clever ways to "discount" the purchase price via tax write off's, Benefit in Kind, VAT etc. However as a simple employee (not a VAT registered business owner), the options don't seem nearly as attractive. Am I correct or have I misunderstood something?

Buy Used - Risky?
I have seen used Model S' advertised for approx. £35k. My research has told me to look at models no older than 5 years old to benefit from Tesla's 8 year battery warranty. This would give me 3 "worry-free" years of driving and someone else has taken the hit on the initial depreciation. My research has also advised me that the car should further depreciate by circa £10k in those 3 years which is the true cost of my 3 years ownership, assuming I pay with cash savings. As an added bonus of buying used, I may find a car that has unlimited supercharger usage as I understand this is no longer an option on new cars.
1. Should I look at finance options? All of the options I have seen increase this £10k cost considerably because of the interest payments! Any credit cards likely to give me a £35k credit limit to avoid the interest?
2. Is the 8 year battery warranty worth anything? i.e. will I need it? and If I do, will they honour it painlessly?
3. Is it sensible to buy a used Tesla? i.e. Do they age well? Are there any specifics to look out for?
4. Is the free supercharging transferable to the new owner (me) and is it worth hunting for?

Any general suggestions or lessons learned?

n.b. I am aware that this is a premium product and that there are LOTS of cheaper (but still good) alternative EV's that I could get for less. My employer used to have a pool Tesla Model S and I thoroughly enjoyed myself when I got to use it which is my main rationale for wanting one. In my opinion there is nothing competitive against their Model S/3 in terms of style, driver assistance (autopilot), range and charging infrastructure. I am happy to be advised of other cars to look at but I am keen to avoid this thread being bombarded with "just buy something else" comments

Thanks in advance!

BOWFER

Nationwide Vehicle rentals have the M3 from £390 per month for business users (so the price excludes VAT).
That's for 48 months and 10000 miles per year.

MX5huggy

Join one of the Tesla’s owners groups, forums or Facebook for more info.

I would not buy a 5 year old £60k car (of any brand) with no warranty, parts and labour will be ruinous for replacement of fair wear and tear items. Yes the battery has a warranty but the battery ain’t going to fail (hence they give it a warranty). Ever had an iPad last 8 years? 

A new M3 is £44k you’ll have to decide if auto pilot is worth the £5.6k extra (hire a driver occasionally?)

Free super charging is going to be worth it if you drive hundreds of miles from home regularly (yes it’s transferred to new owners unless Tesla turn it off because the car has been written off).

if you have cash that is better than using credit. Can you get a credit card with a 45k limit some people can. 

There’s a lot of premium EV’s being launched this year. But nothing that is without a doubt better than a Tesla.

xsy77

BOWFER said:

Nationwide Vehicle rentals have the M3 from £390 per month for business users (so the price excludes VAT).
That's for 48 months and 10000 miles per year.

Thanks for the lead but its still too rich for my blood. That's Circa £25k cost for 4 years driving AND I would be liable to MOT it twice! I'm still surprised its so expensive as you can get a the Merc C AMG Line for £17k for 4 years!

BOWFER

xsy77 said:

BOWFER said:

Nationwide Vehicle rentals have the M3 from £390 per month for business users (so the price excludes VAT).
That's for 48 months and 10000 miles per year.

Thanks for the lead but its still too rich for my blood. That's Circa £25k cost for 4 years driving AND I would be liable to MOT it twice! I'm still surprised its so expensive as you can get a the Merc C AMG Line for £17k for 4 years!

One wee tip for anyone leasing is to arrange collection before the next MOT or service is due.
Even if it's only a matter of days, doesn't matter.
Surprised you think that money is too rich for a £40K car TBH, I don't know what you 'expect' to pay.
Can't comment on the Merc, I have no interest in them, but my wife's Evoque is £356 a month and my Polo Gti is £320 a month.
So £400 for a Tesla M3 seems fair to me....

xsy77

MX5huggy said:

Join one of the Tesla’s owners groups, forums or Facebook for more info.

I would not buy a 5 year old £60k car (of any brand) with no warranty, parts and labour will be ruinous for replacement of fair wear and tear items. Yes the battery has a warranty but the battery ain’t going to fail (hence they give it a warranty). Ever had an iPad last 8 years? 

A new M3 is £44k you’ll have to decide if auto pilot is worth the £5.6k extra (hire a driver occasionally?)

Free super charging is going to be worth it if you drive hundreds of miles from home regularly (yes it’s transferred to new owners unless Tesla turn it off because the car has been written off).

if you have cash that is better than using credit. Can you get a credit card with a 45k limit some people can. 

There’s a lot of premium EV’s being launched this year. But nothing that is without a doubt better than a Tesla.

Thanks for your advice!

My friend has a 14 plate Tesla model S and says it has been one of the cheapest cars he has ever owned to maintain. I appreciate this may be a one off however. Anyone actually bought a used Tesla and able to comment?

My understanding is that the battery warranty isn't just for absolute failure but that it holds at least 70% of its original charge after 8 years. I have younger devices that have nowhere near 70% so this seems like a good thing to me... I don't know the specifics though in regards to battery depreciation or the likeliness of it dropping below 70% before the 8th year.

The M3 is £41k, not £44k. The Long range option is £48.5k.

Autopilot is a standard feature but is upgradable to "Enhanced" for £3.4k or "FSD" for £6.8k. Both the latter options are still in "Beta" and my research tells me that there are not worth it... Yet! I've only ever personally used the standard Autopilot and have to say that I loved it.

HHarry

My brother bought a second hand Model S, which he absolutely loves.  The battery pack did fail at 60,250 miles, but was replaced under warranty.

justworriedabit

Other than the battery pack from what I've read and heard they are pretty robust. Indeed, lectric motor has very little to go wrong with it.

xsy77

BOWFER said:

xsy77 said:

BOWFER said:

Nationwide Vehicle rentals have the M3 from £390 per month for business users (so the price excludes VAT).
That's for 48 months and 10000 miles per year.

Thanks for the lead but its still too rich for my blood. That's Circa £25k cost for 4 years driving AND I would be liable to MOT it twice! I'm still surprised its so expensive as you can get a the Merc C AMG Line for £17k for 4 years!

One wee tip for anyone leasing is to arrange collection before the next MOT or service is due.
Even if it's only a matter of days, doesn't matter.
Surprised you think that money is too rich for a £40K car TBH, I don't know what you 'expect' to pay.
Can't comment on the Merc, I have no interest in them, but my wife's Evoque is £356 a month and my Polo Gti is £320 a month.
So £400 for a Tesla M3 seems fair to me....

I've leased a few Mercs in my past but they have all been over 2 years (to avoid the 3 year MOT issue). Great tip there and will remember that! Thank you sir.

Some examples:

C200 AMG Line Edition 2dr 9G-Tronic - A £40k car but can be had currently for £338 per month, 10k miles PA. I have seen them cheaper!

Hyundai Ioniq 100kW Premium 38kWh - A £33k car can be had for £210 per month, 8k miles PA. Only £309 upfront!

As far as I understand it, leasing is usually priced on the depreciation the car and since Tesla 's are claimed to be good for depreciation, leasing should, in theory, be more attractive than it is currently. 

xsy77

HHarry said:

My brother bought a second hand Model S, which he absolutely loves.  The battery pack did fail at 60,250 miles, but was replaced under warranty.

Thanks for this. Do you know if it was painless or did they put up a fight for the replacement?

DrEskimo

My Father-in-law bought a 2016 Model S a couple of years back from an auction and has minimal fuss with it. It was the FL model and he upgraded the software to enable a higher battery capacity (was a 60 model, which was just a software limited 75) and also enabled AP1.

Couple of items under warranty but nothing major, and had no issues getting Tesla to fix it. His has free super charging so regularly uses it to drive to Italy.

As you say, it's probably worth around £10-12k less given the miles he's driven. I imagine any lease on a brand new Model s will be prohibitively more expensive....You can always just buy a used model, keep it a few years whilst under warranty, save the lease payments you were going to pay and then sell/trade it in and buy another used model with warranty...exactly the same concept as leasing, but much cheaper and no punitive contract on mileage or how long you keep it.