121–130 of 153 posts
The cheapest Tesla will be $46k once the tax credit expires at the end of the year. While that is a lot cheaper than before, it's still out of reach of the vast majority of Americans. I'm rooting for Tesla but that is a huge gap to close.
During 2019, cheaper versions with a smaller battery are expected, maybe even hitting the promised 35k for the entry level model. But probably still limited to the black color, others cost extra.
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Just bought new Honda from the least known shady dealer in the town and even they were so crooked. They added in Karr Security Alarm for $999. It's like buying PC with malware. Then they tried to push paint protector for another $400. Again complete scam. As I refused all these, their finance guy tried to push Century Automotive Services after-market service contract for $2400. Again complete waste. I told them I don…
Those aftermarket warrantees and add ons are nearly pure profit. That's why they push them. They probably make more selling the warranty than they do selling the car itself.
I was surprised by some of the cost benefits of EV. I did a rough total cost of ownership for my wife's Model 3 vs my Audi A4. Over five years (@17k miles per year) it came out to the Model 3 being ~$10k cheaper than the A4 despite the Model 3 having a higher sticker price. Because I know it will come up, I know these prices are not reasonable for most people and certainly far from the promised $35k. This is just a c…
Ah, that's an interesting breakdown. For me, those numbers boiled down to "a Tesla M3 is $10k cheaper than an A4 because it gets $10k of government rebates" - 7500 : Federal tax credit - 2500 : California rebate Of course, the argument is that fossil fuel vehicles are the beneficiaries of unaccounted-for negative externalities, and that these rebates rectify that somewhat. But it's interesting that the A4 would other…
1. Saving $5k by not getting Auto Pilot (The A4 doesn't have it so maybe it wasn't fair for me to include that in the price to begin with)
2. The true MPG the A4 gets on your normal commute (She's in a lot of stop and go traffic. I had to guess on the optimistic side. My gut feel is the A4 would get more like 25mpg, but I'm being optimistic with the Model 3 range of 310 too)
3. The actual costs of maintenance and repairs. It's estimated to be a lot less than the A4 but only time will tell.
4. You live in an area with reasonable power prices off-peak. That can bump the electricity costs in some areas by 50% or more.
5. I've seen people get a home plug installed for 1/3 of what I was charged.
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It’s different because with Tesla you can’t negotiate. The price is the price, take it or leave it. With a traditional dealership, you can refrain from negotiating, but then you’re leaving money on the table, potentially thousands of dollars.
So they have better salespeople that will never negotiate? Seems like a win for them.
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The F-150 has a base price of $28k. The Chevy Silverado also has a base price of $28k. Those are MSRPs, so you can get them cheaper with bargaining, though of course the average person ends up paying more because they're adding on options. I have no idea where you're getting those $43k figures from??
The average person ends up paying a lot more. Here is where I got my data from Ford F150 - https://www.truecar.com/prices-new/ford/f-150-pricing/ Chevy Silverado - https://www.truecar.com/prices-new/chevrolet/silverado-1500-... Thats the actual average paid.
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Here is what I do, and it works well: 1. Call the dealer and ask for the internet sales manager. 2. Tell the manager exactly what you want (many people are not able to do this accurately and consistently). 3. Ask for the out-the-door price. 4. Repeat for any number of dealers that you are willing to drive to. 5. Buy from the dealer you choose. I usually get several quotes within $100 or so of each other. At that poin…
You need to be careful and make sure to select dealers that are outside of their conglomerates. When we were shopping our last Subaru no one would budge on us until we started talking with Oregon dealers, then all of a sudden they'd drop the price a ton. Turns out almost all Subaru dealerships in SW WA are owned by the same owner under different names so they just coordinate to not deal unless they know they're actua…
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Those aftermarket warrantees and add ons are nearly pure profit. That's why they push them. They probably make more selling the warranty than they do selling the car itself.
This doesn't happen with other franchises like McDonnalds or Subway or 7-11. These franchise owners are not allowed to load up snake oil on customers, they deeply care about brand experience and all goods+services are tightly controlled in exchange for monopoly over some territory. Many of these franchises don't even have huge margins or profits. Car manufacturers somehow aren't able to do this.
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Common in my experience receiving goods on delivery. Take your time. They understand.
Your anecdote differs from what I read on the Tesla forums and Twitter, where pepe are being rushed to sign. Go see for yourself, there are many posts. Big oil conspiracy?
We sold our vehicle because the monthly payment, insurance, gasoline, and parking costs were adding up to about $1000 a month. I planned on downgrading from an Infiniti to a 3 year old Honda Civic or Fit. I visited three dealerships in my area. The experience was horrible at all three. I consider myself a decent person, but I now judge people who work in car sales or car sales management and not in a good way. Anyway…
And I had pretty good experience buying my car via a site where I could configure it online, get price from a dealer (online), come in, see them honor this price (which was not the best possible but quite ok) and get a car without an exhausting sleazy spiel. Unfortunately, this was years ago and the site that did it is long dead.
I still think it was a great model, however I can understand how families like mine buying a new car once per 10 years (maybe) or so can't sustain a viable business model, while sleazy car salesmen deliver the $$$$, so however I hate this, they have much better chance to survive than honest and customer-friendly buying experience.
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For those that haven't had the Tesla experience, it's a refreshing change of pace. They don't have dealerships, only showrooms and service centers. You can schedule a test drive at a showroom (or online), and your rep will be happy to help you configure your car right there if you decide to buy, but you can also go home and leisurely plan your configuration over the internet. You can see the price of every option bef…
Believe me, any dealer will happily escort you thru a similar order process if you're paying list price.
One family member bought a Mazda, and then two months later it was stolen from their home, stripped for parts and burned.
Insurance would only pay out in the form of a cheque to a dealer, and the dealer would only deal in-person, even when told they just wanted an exact replacement for the previous car. The sales guy wanted the opportunity to upsell on some other feature, rather than take the guaranteed sale.
Even now, with the advent of the internet, it's stupidly difficult to figure out what options are available, their pricing, etc and to configure a car. Oh no, you have to visit the dealer to know all that. Bullshit, the dealer's doing it online, why can't I?