
Tesla wants to sell you a used Model S - crapshoot101
http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/06/tesla-wants-to-sell-you-a-used-model-s/
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larrys
I want someone to explain HN's obsession with anything Tesla related. Is it
the technology, the disruption or just Elon Musk's involvement?

I understand articles appear that get upvoted I'm just wondering why this type
of news would get upvoted.

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seanflyon
> Is it the technology, the disruption or just Elon Musk's involvement?

Yes, yes and yes.

~~~
gutnor
Well except that this article has nothing to do about technology or disruption
( that is a recognised business model used as noted by the article Tesla
direct competitors ), and indirectly about Musk.

That is so banal, AFAIK almost all brand have some sort of certified second
hand channel, that I don't even know what sort of on-topic discussion it is
supposed to bring.

The article itself has nothing else to offer either - no idea on the pricing
or what happens to your access to the supercharger network with a second hand
Tesla.

Very weak for a HN article.

~~~
seanflyon
I actually did not up-vote the article (for all the reasons you stated), but I
do think the general "obsession with anything Tesla related" is warranted.

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hnnewguy
> _who want to forgo gas and buy a Tesla but cannot afford the high price of a
> new Model S_

I love the idea of someone concerned about costs and prices buying a $50,000
used luxury vehicle with an unproven long-term reliability track record.

Edit: Wow, downvoted twice before I could even fix my typos. What a community.

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ericabiz
"Elon Musk previously guaranteed the resale value of the Model S. Announced in
April 2013, those who financed a Model S are allowed to return the vehicle
after three years for 43 to 50 percent of its sticker price — just in time to
buy a new Tesla vehicle."

I wonder why those numbers are so _low._ For reference, I recently leased a
2015 Mercedes C400, and the residual (programmed into the lease) is 61% after
3 years. When you're looking at a $70,000+ car, the difference between 43% and
61% is pretty dramatic.

I'm wondering if Musk/Tesla believes that the technology will change so much
that in 3 years no one will want the older Teslas, or just that people who
want to buy a Tesla will not care about residual value. Perhaps both?

~~~
jasode
Not sure why you're comparing a lease residual to a Tesla buyback.

The lease residual is a price for the buyer to _buy_ the car outright.

The Tesla resale guarantee is a price for the buyer to _sell_ the car.

I wouldn't expect those % figures to be the same. I would expect the buy-to-
own price to be higher than the sell-back price. Same concept as trading in an
old car to the dealer for one price while the same dealer turns around and
sells that used car to another buyer for a higher price.

Btw, when I turned in my car after a 36-month lease, the leasing company
immediately offered to ignore the lease residual specified in the contract in
an effort to entice me to buy the car. They immediately lowered the price
because the leasing company didn't want the car back!

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arjie
I wonder what the effects are of buying a luxury car cheaply. Surely at least
some portion of buyers are buying it because it's cool to have a Tesla. I
guess it matters how big a portion.

~~~
eridius
What are the effects of buying a used BMW or Mercedes-Benz? I'm not aware of
that having any detrimental effect on those brands.

~~~
TallGuyShort
In fact I've heard BMW commercials that tout their cars' ability to retain
resale value better than anyone else.

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jonah
What I wonder is why people are turning in their leases/selling their cars so
soon?

What are the ratios of, gets a new car every couple years, more car than they
could realistically afford, wasn't meeting their needs (range, passenger,
luggage, person capacity), etc. etc.

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Moto7451
I have some friends that only lease cars because they want a new one every two
years. It doesn't matter if the car is perfectly OK and in great shape, they
want a new car. They'll even lease the same car again.

I imagine car companies love them :).

~~~
r00fus
Is there some tax-favorability to leasing cars?

[http://www.businessinsider.com/tax-loophole-on-luxury-
cars-2...](http://www.businessinsider.com/tax-loophole-on-luxury-cars-2012-11)

~~~
brk
Not usually. In fact where I live (NH) the taxes work against it. Your annual
fees are based on cars value. I was previosly doing a new lease vehicle every
year (two vehicles on 2-year lease terms with staggered renewal years).

Now we buy and hold vehicles for 5-10 years.

