Tesla wants to sell you a used Model S • Hacker News Board

Re: Tesla wants to sell you a used Model S

#21

Post by sliverstorm » Mon, Oct 06, 2014, 10:47 PM UTC

larrys wrote: post #15

pkorzeniewski wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Affordable to buy, but to maintain? It's not like you can go to the first mechanic around the corner to fix something in Tesla, and I'm quite sure original parts are ridiculously expensive. It's the same thing as with luxury, old cars - you can buy, for example, an old Porsche 911 quite cheap, but you will pay twice the price for repairs.

On a new Porsche 911 (had two of them recently) snow tires cost me $1800 [1] (it actually does a nice job in the snow with them) and the first oil change was something like $400 or so at the dealer. I sold the second one recently (got a Porsche Suv) and it actually retained a fair amount of it's value after 2 years of use. I was surprised. On a model that I sold I was able to get $450 approx for the snow tires. That…

You had to spend a lot on them because they are wide, which is because the 911 is a high-performance car. It would have been the same with any Corvette, Camaro, or Charger.

Complaining about expensive tires on a fast sports car is like complaining about the poor battery life on your 19" 4GHz laptop with discrete graphics.

Re: Tesla wants to sell you a used Model S

#22

Post by eridius » Mon, Oct 06, 2014, 10:48 PM UTC

arjie wrote: post #18

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.

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.

Re: Tesla wants to sell you a used Model S

#23

Post by 001sky » Mon, Oct 06, 2014, 10:49 PM UTC

funkyy wrote: post #20

larrys wrote: post #3

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.

The company that changes one of the oldest and most established industries. People were hating them and here is change. Old companies protected by government just for a reason that there is no alternative got in people nerves.

People were hating them and here is change.

The financial system very efficiently bankrupted the Auto industry, no problem.

Re: Tesla wants to sell you a used Model S

#24

Post by TallGuyShort » Mon, Oct 06, 2014, 10:51 PM UTC

eridius wrote: post #22

arjie wrote: post #18

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.

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.

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

Re: Tesla wants to sell you a used Model S

#25

Post by gutnor » Mon, Oct 06, 2014, 10:51 PM UTC

seanflyon wrote: post #6

larrys wrote: post #3

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.

> Is it the technology, the disruption or just Elon Musk's involvement? Yes, yes and yes.

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.

Re: Tesla wants to sell you a used Model S

#26

Post by Mikeb85 » Mon, Oct 06, 2014, 10:52 PM UTC

pkorzeniewski wrote: post #7

arenaninja wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm excited for the advancements in battery technology. Personally, I upvoted this one because it could put it in my price range

Affordable to buy, but to maintain? It's not like you can go to the first mechanic around the corner to fix something in Tesla, and I'm quite sure original parts are ridiculously expensive. It's the same thing as with luxury, old cars - you can buy, for example, an old Porsche 911 quite cheap, but you will pay twice the price for repairs.

Electric cars have far fewer moving parts than gasoline cars. Electric motors are also more or less bomb-proof, they rev to a high enough range that gears aren't needed, so pretty much the only thing that can go wrong on a Tesla is the battery/electric system.

And of course the usual tire/brake maintenance...

Re: Tesla wants to sell you a used Model S

#27

Post by jonah » Mon, Oct 06, 2014, 10:55 PM UTC

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.

Re: Tesla wants to sell you a used Model S

#28

Post by larrys » Mon, Oct 06, 2014, 10:56 PM UTC

sliverstorm wrote: post #21

larrys wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On a new Porsche 911 (had two of them recently) snow tires cost me $1800 [1] (it actually does a nice job in the snow with them) and the first oil change was something like $400 or so at the dealer. I sold the second one recently (got a Porsche Suv) and it actually retained a fair amount of it's value after 2 years of use. I was surprised. On a model that I sold I was able to get $450 approx for the snow tires. That…

You had to spend a lot on them because they are wide, which is because the 911 is a high-performance car. It would have been the same with any Corvette, Camaro, or Charger. Complaining about expensive tires on a fast sports car is like complaining about the poor battery life on your 19" 4GHz laptop with discrete graphics.

Where did I say or why did you get the impression that I was "complaining"?

Re: Tesla wants to sell you a used Model S

#29

Post by ericabiz » Mon, Oct 06, 2014, 10:59 PM UTC

"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?

Re: Tesla wants to sell you a used Model S

#30

Post by Moto7451 » Mon, Oct 06, 2014, 11:00 PM UTC

jonah wrote: post #27

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.

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 :).