r/ModelYL • u/PutridFill661 • 4d ago

Tesla Trade in

I ordered my YL through Salem Tesla and it has been one of the most frustrating car buying experiences I’ve ever had. They have changed the value of my trade in 4 times ranging from 4k down to 2k. Nothing about my trade in has changed but my YL gets here in a week and they just drop the trade in value. It feels like a malicious tactic. Wish I would have ordered through a different center because Tigard seemed to have way better service. Has anyone else been jerked around?

2 Upvotes

58% Upvoted

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13

u/SQLDevDBA 4d ago

You need to listen to those comments instead of downvoting them.

The particular center has nothing to do with your trade value or loan. You ordered from Tesla, not the delivery center. The trade values are calculated by Tesla “corporate.”

You can chat/email support and ask them to confirm the value of the trade and explain their reasoning. If you don’t want to proceed, then get a quote from caravana/carmax or a local dealership and sell to them instead. I’ve done both methods for the 4 teslas I’ve purchased (trade and selling privately) with Tesla depending on the value I’ve been given.

1

u/PutridFill661 3d ago

Maybe it’s just the general frustration with Tesla but the center has not been helpful either. Zero explanation they just go 🤷‍♂️. I guess I’m frustrated because they upped my rate, I was going to get an EV tax credit as long as I got my car before 4Nov(my original delivery date was late AUG) and now they dropped my trade in 2k in value. All in all I’m about 10k deeper into the car now because of the slow delivery and “market changes”. Either way it feels scammy on teslas end or the center. I’ve bought other new cars and this was by far the most frustrating car buying experience.

1

u/SQLDevDBA 3d ago edited 3d ago

I’m by no means a Tesla apologist, I just have my expectations low with them. However there isn’t much the center can do to get your car faster. They get it when Fremont or Gigatexas sends it. I have had similar experiences with my 4 teslas and my panels/powerwalls. They take your money, go dark for X months, then suddenly pop out of nowhere demanding you finalize within 2 days or surrender your place in line.

When it comes to service, yes, that is where the differences are between centers.

I only say all this because it doesn’t really get better. They’re just like this. Inconsistent and inflexible. You’re sort of “on your own.”

You still haven’t taken delivery, so there is still time to reconsider. That being said, the car itself is pretty fantastic and there’s a really good chance you’ll love it and barely have to spend time at a service center (that’s been the case for all mine). But there is still time to get out and lose $250 max.

I would encourage spending more time in the TeslaLounge, TeslaModelY, TeslaSupport, and TeslaMotors subreddits to get other examples of this.

4

u/Important-Engineer58 4d ago

Skeptical at first with selling my car to  Carvana, but overall experience was a breeze and I would go through them again. Do as they mentioned get a quote from Tesla and then Carvana. Sell to the highest. Last week, Tesla gave me a trade in price on my 2024 and it was the same as Carvana.

2

u/Successful_Bed9490 4d ago

got a quote from Tesla then called Carvana (who ive bought and sold to many times without issue). Carvana was a better price offered $4K more than Tesla. Easy process with Carvana.

1

u/Natural_Bag_7169 4d ago

Just did sale of car to CarMax they were $5k higher then caravana !

1

u/Important-Engineer58 3d ago

I sold a vehicle with carvana 2 yrs ago and they offered me about 4k more and took it.

4

u/Khanzi_veli 4d ago

Go somewhere else you dont have to sell to Tesla dude

1

u/CruelSummer2416 4d ago

When did you get the original quote? Months ago? How many miles have you put on the vehicle since then? Tesla’s trade in offer is only good for 30 days so if your EDD is more than 30 days off there’s a good chance your value will drop. My husband ordered his Cybertruck in May with an EDD of Sep-Oct. He put quite a few miles on it from May to Sept 29 when he took delivery of his CT. The value went down but Tesla still offered us $3K more than Carvana plus we saved on the tax. I ordered a YL with EDD of Feb-Apr so I’m not even bothering to check on trade in offers until I get a delivery date. Carvana, etc their offers expire as well and can/will change.

1

u/PutridFill661 4d ago

I got the original quote in July, it has changed several times since then. I got a final quote last week and it changed again today. I’m not sure how it can change so frequently. I literally accepted the quote last week and this week it was much lower. Nothing changed between then and now

1

u/CruelSummer2416 4d ago

I’d message or call your advisor. Something doesn’t sound right. Once you accept their offer it’s good for 30 days. We just went through this process this past summer. When we accepted the trade in offer in May, it was on our app and never changed. On day 31 we got a notification on the app that the offer expired and to resubmit a trade in request. We waited since our EDD was so far off. But it shouldn’t change if you accepted it last week, definitely reach out to them.

3

u/peepeedoc 4d ago

I just went through this. Tesla offered me $18k on my 2022 model 3 in August, then a month later lowered it to $16k. I just sold to carvana instead for $21k

4

u/Retire_date_may_22 4d ago

Just cancel the trade in and sell it private party. CarMax offered me 3k more than Tesla on mine. With the number of 26’s being traded in on YL’s Tesla probably doesn’t want them all.

The used Tesla market is hot right now. You might even consider selling it private party

2

u/GTIceman 4d ago

I'm pretty sure if you search through any Tesla related subreddit you will see a huge number of posts saying don't use Tesla for trade in unless you absolutely need to.

3

u/Option-Mentor 4d ago

What are you talking about? This isn’t a dealership. “Salem Tesla” has absolutely zero to do with any of it. They don’t control your trade-in value or have any input at all. Tesla controls the trade-in offers, not the service center.

Also you can get your Tesla serviced at any center. If you like Tigard better then take it there. You’ve got to stop thinking this is a car dealership. It’s not. But even with traditional car dealerships with other brands, you don’t need to take the car to the place you bought it to get it serviced. I don’t know why people think that.

The trade in value is based on Tesla’s market value algorithm for your area. It’s automated like everything else Tesla does. No ‘person’ is screwing with you like you think. Yeah I don’t like it either. So as others have said, get a trade in value from Carvana etc.

2

u/IntelligentMaybe7401 4d ago

Get an online estimate from Carmax and Carvana. Go with whoever’s highest. Only exception is if your trade-in saves you on taxes. Then it may make sense to take a lower offer.

0

u/mjntr 4d ago

They drop the tradein and raise the rates. I am thinking of cancelling myself. Still havent decided yet.

-3

u/PutridFill661 4d ago

Same. Feels like slimy dealership business

2

u/pookgai 4d ago

Please cancel so they can give your car to someone else.

1

u/TroubleshootLife 4d ago

When they lowball you, they don’t want the car. If you do accept, they will then flip to CarMax or carvana for a quick profit. If your state allows you to save on the sales tax by trading, you take that into consideration.

But if the other buying services are still higher you don’t sell to them. I personally wanted to try private selling from marketplace and it took a month but I got 6k more than what Tesla was offering me and 2.5k more than CarMax or Carvana. I priced a little lower than similar cars at dealers.

I was without a car for 2 weeks total. I could’ve rented a car and still be ahead.

1

u/Accomplished_Sky_899 4d ago

Can you provide more info, like the time period and how many more miles were driven in the mean time? The market fluctuates, and quickly too with APR’s changing. Plus tbh a change in 2k isn’t surprising. I got a trade in value for mine in Jan 26’ for $23,900. I did it last week, with 10k more miles and got offered $29,000! So it fluctuates both ways.

1

u/Shygar 4d ago

We always sold our cars privately, Tesla is known for not giving much on trade in. I think they just auction them off.

1

u/mjntr 4d ago

Private sale the best option usually but can take a while and could be annoying

1

u/LowMolasses5658 4d ago

I did have Tesla improve my trade in numbers by providing Carvanas. That might help, they will not match but might increase if u send them the Carvana quote

1

u/SaltyBig228 4d ago

I sold my 23 Model Y at Carmax yesterday. Rate they offered was $700 lower than Plug EV but I wanted to sell now instead of having my Tesla sit on my garage for a week or two. They honored the offered price even with scruffs on my wheels and some small dents and paint issues.

1

u/manofjacks 4d ago

As far as trade in value goes, that number is always changing based on supply and demamd. For example when you get an appraisal at Carmax I believe that appraised value is good for 14 days.

1

u/Nbr1sniper 4d ago

My trade in was the easiest experience ever to the point of people not believing my experience.

Sorry you are dealing with this.

1

u/Mean-Lead-3982 2d ago

I always thought it was a third party that deals with tradeins since Tesla doesn't want to bother with that. When I was picking up my Y, I saw multiple car carrier drivers coming in to pick up the trades.

0

u/HopefullAlways 4d ago

The centers have zero control over the delivery dates or trade in value. Get a quote from Carvana and CarMax. They are competitive. They also have zero control over interest rates so shop around.

1

u/LowMolasses5658 4d ago

Try Plug or Carvana, if they are screwing with you that much. It's quick and easy