Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

$35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

tesla.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

641–650 of 741 posts

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#641

Post by linuxftw »

vgoh1 wrote: post #608

Tesla - love them or hate them, you have to admit, this move is bold, even borderline insane. I can't tell if this is going to save the company or wreck them, but I have to admire the balls of the leadership! At the end of the day, I think it's a pro-consumer move, provided Tesla allows independent re-sellers to cater to those who want a more traditional experience.

Most of the Tesla 'dealerships' I have seen simply don't have the real estate of normal dealerships. There's no way they can rollout a consumer car to their present locations.

However, it appears they're doing all sales online? Smells like a last-ditch effort to cut operational costs. It's one thing to consider buying a $35k online sight-unseen (I never would), but are people going to shell out $80k+ for the luxury models? I just don't see how they will. Sitting in and driving a car is the most important aspect of buying one, IMO.

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#642

Post by rchaud »

LandR wrote: post #622
tomjakubowski wrote: post #441

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Most people less that 40 barely have a liquid cash of 50K. If you're talking about the US, this is the greatest understatement I've seen in some time. I don't have a very good source handy, but for the median American under 40, try more like "$1,000".

> try more like "$1,000". Wow. Given your healthcare system and the potential costs of being ill combined with having such a low amount of savings / safety money. Losing your job could potentially terrifying in the US. How do people live what that level of stress continunally? I could lose my job tomorrow and live for 4-5 years on savings and I'm not comfortable with that amount and occasionally find myself worrying…

> How do people live what that level of stress continunally?

Financial literacy is low, and financing is available on everything. Just tell the person that they can buy something with no money down and you're halfway to making the sale.

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#643

Post by linuxftw »

From the article: > At the same time, we will be increasing our investment in the Tesla service system, with the goal of same-day, if not same-hour service, and with most service done by us coming to you, rather than you coming to us. Moreover, we guarantee service availability anywhere in any country in which we operate.

Woah. Elsewhere [0] it's describe as a fleet of mobile trucks. Don't they know that it's illegal/against community rules to service vehicles in a driveway or (for city folks) on the street?

For any major warranty work, I can take my new vehicle from just about any other brand to the shop, they give me a free loaner vehicle while it's being worked on. I would be outraged if my only option was 'fix in my driveway after we get the parts, meanwhile you just wait there'

Fail.

[0] https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/28/18245296/tesla-stores-clo...

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#644

Post by leesec »

pcurve wrote: post #171
codeulike wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So presumably they are hoping many $35k buyers will be tempted by the $37k which presumably has a better margin for Tesla

I don't think anyone will actually buy $35k model. They made it so undesirable that it's almost laughable. Reminds me of 2004 Honda Accord DX model with $16995 with roll-up manual windows, plastic hub caps and manual tranny that hardly anyone bought. Most will opt for $40k premium model. Though 37k is much better value, it's missing the core features that tickle fancy of Tesla buyers. Standard Interior Includes: Manu…

What features? 37k has everything I need besides that sweet Performance model acceleration.

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#645

Post by squish78 »

ghaff wrote: post #526
sjwright wrote: post #507

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always thought it was weird that we negotiate a price with new car purchases. I do negotiate hard on my cars (and on behalf of family) and I hate the process. It's stupid. I'd much rather the manufacturer nominate a fixed price and not allow any negotiation at all. Then the manufacturer would be forced to pick a price that competes with the market. There are only a few things that excite me more about a Model 3 tha…

There are no haggle dealers and have been no haggle brands from time to time. One problem is that the people who like and think of themselves as driving a hard bargain don’t like the inability to do so

RIP Saturn

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#646

Post by short_sells_poo »

tibbon wrote: post #464
saberience wrote: post #421

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More favorably compared by who? I’ve sat in model 3,s, and x, and when compared with similar priced BMW or Mercs, there is a massive difference in interior luxury and comfort. Seriously, go and experience being inside a 100k 7 series bmw to a 100k model s. It’s like night and day in comparison. The Tesla’s always feel cheap in comparison. The handling, road noise, luxury features, seat comfort, etc are all inferior i…

I’ve had the opposite experience. A friend took me for a drive in their model 3 recently. At one point we hit around 130mph, and it was the smoothest and quietest ride I’ve ever had at the speed. That being said the BMW 7s I’ve been in were all from the early 2000s, but I never found any other car to be as quiet as a Tesla.

You are comparing cars 15(!) years apart. I'm sure that pretty much every car today is a considerably nicer experience than a model T ford, but that's hardly a fair comparison :D

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#647

Post by BoorishBears »

gregw2 wrote: post #600
steelframe wrote: post #481

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just bought a car this week and got a loan because the lender gave me $3,000 for borrowing from them. I have to wait 45 days before I'm allowed to pay it off, but there's no penalty for doing so. I have a 0% interest rate for 7 years on my other car. That's literally free money.

Typically it's not free money. You chose to forgo getting/negotiating a greater discount on the purchase price. There's no way the lender could do business otherwise.

If your investment vehicle can’t make up missing out on a couple of grand of “haggling” (highly dependent on a myriad of factors by the way) then you need to seek out better ones.

The average new car is around 35k. 35k with 7 years of returns even with extremely conservative investments should very handily make up for any lost bargaining power at purchase.

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#648

Post by BoorishBears »

omegaworks wrote: post #310
BoorishBears wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think they both deserve credit, in reality returning a 30 thousand dollar object is never going to be smooth. The finance has already written you a check, they’ve already done all this leg work. You’ve already driven it, if you’re purchasing it in earnest you might have already invested in charging infrastructure for your home, a whole laundry list of friction. Then there’s what happens to the car you returned. I w…

>The finance has already written you a check, they’ve already done all this leg work. Oh boo hoo. Finance does a little more work. I feel for the people doing the refurbishing, sure. They're probably squeezed to death non-union wage labor. But the Pinstripes in finance? The likelihood the work they do for your loan involves "legs" at all is nil.

That’s kind of rude to people who didn’t earn it.

I spent hours on the phone talking to these people when they realized my closed loan was still affecting my ability to get a car and they went up and down trying to get someone to fix it.

Maybe they were just typing in numbers into a computer and hitting transfer but they’re still people doing a job.

I wouldn’t feel to good taking someone’s information, going over the process with them then having them call back in a week to tell me never mind we have to do it all over again.

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#649

Post by viscanti »

BoorishBears wrote: post #136
BenoitEssiambre wrote: post #37

"To achieve these prices while remaining financially sustainable, Tesla is shifting sales worldwide to online only. You can now buy a Tesla in North America via your phone in about 1 minute, and that capability will soon be extended worldwide. We are also making it much easier to try out and return a Tesla, so that a test drive prior to purchase isn’t needed. You can now return a car within 7 days or 1,000 miles for…

“Courageous” If anyone has ever had to cancel a car sale you’ll realize how much of a hassle it truely is to “return a car” Your credit report will show a loan even after it’s been cancelled for weeks. I once cancelled financing for a car due to it not being as described. Started looking for a new car and found it. Got denied for a loan because my score showed a 60k loan with 0 payments made. It took almost 2 months…

How often are vehicles returned before zero payments? It sounds like you had that case on a vehicle before this where presumably you could have test drove the car.

This move makes sense to me. They're able to shave off thousands of dollars for each buyer. Presumably most people aren't returning cars immediately or if they really care about checking the car they rent one for a day instead of the limited test drive from the dealer. So I think most buyers will think it's worth it to save a couple thousand at the cost of having a slightly harder return process.

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#650

Post by marklyon »

londons_explore wrote: post #575
turtlegrids wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's cheaper to Tesla if they "deliver" it at their factory. I took delivery of my Tesla at the Fremont factory. was still forced to pay full delivery fee. insane.

I wonder what an efficient car delivery service could cost? A car transporter carries 11 cars and can drive say 500 miles per day at a cost of $500 per day (including driver, fuel, and vehicle rental). If the average delivery distance from factory to customer is 1500 miles, then transport cost works out to $136. Add to that the 'last mile delivery' which is probably going to involve a $20 per hour employee driving to…

Strangely, my YouTube suggestions keep offering me videos that explain why this is a bad idea:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-inPRBhonfY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXoOEuH9Jag

Post reply on HN