[kin]

Ok guys, this is going to be another of my rambling post!!

I got the figures, based on my configured price of £62280, 3 years 10k miles, £10k deposit, £880/mth, guarantee vehicle value £31302, which actually is pretty good, I think.

BUT, after 3 years , if I hand the car back, I would have handed over £40k and have nothing to show for it!!

I know some of you guys doing it through business, but I am a private buyer, may be I needed some persuasion , how would you guys justify this purchase?


Oh..I am just so naive and indecisive,

 

[Wowbagger]

You'd be better off travelling everywhere by taxi.

 

[Robwiz]

All cars cost money because they depreciate. Expensive cars lose more in cash terms (and cost more to insure, maintain, etc.)

You could also take into account the fuel savings over your Tesla ownership compared to what you would drive if you didn't buy a Tesla and assess the cost of that alternative in a similar way.

The justification is the value you attach to the enjoyment of driving and owning the car – don't they call it the 'Tesla grin'?

If you have the £40k, really like the Model S and don't have anything better to spend it on then what's to stop you?

 

[kin]

You'd be better off travelling everywhere by taxi.

You're probably right.

All cars cost money because they depreciate. Expensive cars lose more in cash terms (and cost more to insure, maintain, etc.)

You could also take into account the fuel savings over your Tesla ownership compared to what you would drive if you didn't buy a Tesla and assess the cost of that alternative in a similar way.

The justification is the value you attach to the enjoyment of driving and owning the car – don't they call it the 'Tesla grin'?

If you have the £40k, really like the Model S and don't have anything better to spend it on then what's to stop you?

You are spot on there, I shouldn't have started the thread in the first place.
Due to various reasons, I've been leasing some rather mundane cars in the last 6 years ,2 years lease, none of them cost me more than £10k after 2 years, so the thought of spending £40k in 3 years is shocking.

May be I should start re adjusting my thought processes

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

You cannot justify it rationally IMO. No one needs to spend £60K+ on a car. So the only way to justify it, if that is what you want to do, is to consider the pleasure you will get from owning it and driving it.

So for me it boils down to this: do you want it and can you genuinely afford it?

Yes? Get it and enjoy your choice without letting other people's opinion bother you. What they would do is great for them... not necessarily great for you. Only you can know if it will give you enough pleasure.

We have spent our hard-earned cash on loads of things that we have been criticised for in the past by friends and family... aeroplanes, yachts, hovercraft etc... we enjoyed all of them and to us that is all that mattered.

 

[Dennis]

Just buy it.... There are a lot more choices for EVs now, but the Tesla is a class onto itself.

If you want to spend less money, cut out things in the configuration or buy another car... There are others who moved to other EVs now in anticipation of the Model 3 release.

 

[Peter Waller]

Interesting Dilemma! Mine is £63180. 6 payments up front x 35 of £962 per month. 18k p.a. Through fleet drive on a personal contract hire. Tesla also offered me 10% down £1145 per month over 4 years to hp the car. Where was your quote from?

Little disclaimer......These figs are from memory as details at work may be 20% down

 

[kin]

Interesting Dilemma! Mine is £63180. 6 payments up front x 35 of £962 per month. 18k p.a. Through fleet drive on a personal contract hire. Tesla also offered me 10% down £1145 per month over 4 years to hp the car. Where was your quote from?

Little disclaimer......These figs are from memory as details at work may be 20% down

Wow! Thats cheap considering your annual mileage, Is that figure plus VAT?

My quote came from leaseplan go,

I am more interested in your HP, even if it was 20% deposit, the overall cost is a hell lot cheaper then leasing. Whats their APR?

Was your HP quote came from Tesla Amsterdam?

 

[nuCharge]

Fleetdrive Electric are worth a call if leasing any make of EV, they often get deals that can't be matched, even by dealers direct. They sometimes get a number of vehicles monthly they can do better than the electric avenue social trials.

 

[hopbackguy]

If you're a personal buyer, rather than company, why wouldn't you plan on keeping such a great, cheap to run car for longer than 3 years? Are you really likely to hand it back after that time? I wouldn't!

 

[Kevin Sharpe]

The technology is moving so quickly that 4 year old Tesla Roadsters are already proving very difficult for Tesla to service. Whether this will happen with the Model S is difficult to know today but I'd recommend that you lease because you'll want a different car in three years time anyway.

 

[kin]

If you're a personal buyer, rather than company, why wouldn't you plan on keeping such a great, cheap to run car for longer than 3 years? Are you really likely to hand it back after that time? I wouldn't!

Yes I am constantly trying to convince myself this is the car for me, so I just buy it outright and keep it for min. 5 years, but I know probably in next 2-3 years time there'll be a even better model coming out, and I'll be after it again!!

 

[UKTechie]

Ok guys, this is going to be another of my rambling post!!

I got the figures, based on my configured price of £62280, 3 years 10k miles, £10k deposit, £880/mth, guarantee vehicle value £31302, which actually is pretty good, I think.

BUT, after 3 years , if I hand the car back, I would have handed over £40k and have nothing to show for it!!

I know some of you guys doing it through business, but I am a private buyer, may be I needed some persuasion , how would you guys justify this purchase?


Oh..I am just so naive and indecisive,

If you are skint then forget it If not cash then trade in when next new thing you can afford comes out minus another big wedge.

 

[kin]

If you are skint then forget it If not cash then trade in when next new thing you can afford comes out minus another big wedge.

Trust me, I could easily afford the payment, but what I probably can't afford is take a £40k hit which is kind of hard to stomach.
I've had toys that cost more than £70k in the past, but never have to take a £40k hit, when I sold the car, in fact no where near.

 

[Jason Wallace]

Around 50% depreciation on a car in 3 years sounds about right to me.

In this case you are buying a car which is aiming to take a slice of the 7 series, S-Class, Jaguar market. You are also looking at something of a gamble in that nobody has a clue what the residuals on a Tesla will be - if Clarkson has an epiphany moment and lauds the Model S then every WRX owner under the sun will be wanting one

I cannot see the argument for owning an EV. In three years time you'll want to replace it as it'll be old hat.

I don't see how you can look at a Model S and make the figures work - you are going to want this for more than the plain numbers.

 

[kin]

Around 50% depreciation on a car in 3 years sounds about right to me.

In this case you are buying a car which is aiming to take a slice of the 7 series, S-Class, Jaguar market. You are also looking at something of a gamble in that nobody has a clue what the residuals on a Tesla will be - if Clarkson has an epiphany moment and lauds the Model S then every WRX owner under the sun will be wanting one

I cannot see the argument for owning an EV. In three years time you'll want to replace it as it'll be old hat.

I don't see how you can look at a Model S and make the figures work - you are going to want this for more than the plain numbers.

Understood! I just need to get over my own mental barrier, thats all.

 

[Robwiz]

Around 50% depreciation on a car in 3 years sounds about right to me.

In this case you are buying a car which is aiming to take a slice of the 7 series, S-Class, Jaguar market. You are also looking at something of a gamble in that nobody has a clue what the residuals on a Tesla will be - if Clarkson has an epiphany moment and lauds the Model S then every WRX owner under the sun will be wanting one

I cannot see the argument for owning an EV. In three years time you'll want to replace it as it'll be old hat.

I don't see how you can look at a Model S and make the figures work - you are going to want this for more than the plain numbers.

The evidence suggests that depreciation on EVs is closer to 66-70% over three years – (Fluence, iMiev/C-Zero/iOn, Twizy). Remember that the measure is (list price minus trade offer)/list price.

A three year-old EV may be old hat for some, but for those of us who aren't prepared to pay a premium to be at the cutting edge, a three year-old Model S would represent great value.

Owning a Model S long term (i.e. 7-10 years) could be a way of spreading the depreciation hit but at this point nobody knows whether terminal failure of a critical component will make the car a write-off. The only certainty is the car will lose value.

 

[kin]

The evidence suggests that depreciation on EVs is closer to 66-70% over three years – (Fluence, iMiev/C-Zero/iOn, Twizy). Remember that the measure is (list price minus trade offer)/list price.

A three year-old EV may be old hat for some, but for those of us who aren't prepared to pay a premium to be at the cutting edge, a three year-old Model S would represent great value.

Owning a Model S long term (i.e. 7-10 years) could be a way of spreading the depreciation hit but at this point nobody knows whether terminal failure of a critical component will make the car a write-off. The only certainty is the car will lose value.

When I took the test drive last week, the salesman told me its estimated residual in 3 years time is around 45%, but they reckon it would be more like 55%
Looking at my PCP, the final value is £31302 which is 50% of my configured cost incl options.
The only reason why I am even considering buying it outright is its 8years unlimited battery and drive warranty.

 

[Talon]

If I could afford a Model S I would aim to keep it going for as long as possible, possibly with a replacement battery pack (or two!) along the way. That way I would maximise the value of my investment.

If you feel like you absolutely wouldn't be able to resist the latest version in a few years time then by all means go for the PCP deal if you can maintain this level of financial commitment!

 

[Jason Wallace]

Robowiz - agreed

On the topic of £65k plus cars in general it never ceases to amaze me that those captains of industry, pension fund managers and folks with real financial nous make such disastrous choices of car (from a financial sense)

Just goes to show that a car is so much more than just a device to transport you from A to B.

Back to the EV subject, there is NO WAY that a Model S will ever make sense on pure paper. It is what you want that counts here. One option for example:

- accept that actually the vast majority of your driving is sub 80 miles each way

- work towards a situation that allows you to charge your car more often, where you will be stopping (eg. Home, shops, the office). This is called destination charging (and should be plentiful and cheap (should in the aspirational sense)).

- factor in use of rapid chargers for journeys over the range of the car

- take the money that you would have blown on a Model S and invest it, say in Trillion Fund, Funding Circle (or if you really feel that the cash can be blown find a startup which needs seed capital) and have fun helping others grow their business (while also making a profit)

- take the savings that you have made on fuel, bank them, and when the EV which you have isn't suitable rent a car, fly, take the train

- wait a few years. In 2017 when Tesla are looking at Model 3 release there will be a glut both of cars with similar range (eg. New LEAF) and a steady stream of low mileage, well maintained, highly depreciated Model Ss coming into the system.