Buying at Tesla vs other companies

I decided to write this text after I watched this video, and I would like to share my own experience of buying a Tesla  Model Y and a Honda CRV. Honestly, it was a day and night experience.

Let’s start with Honda. I watched a lot of videos, and I know the exact model and trim I wanted to buy. I also know how to buy. Just for comparison, when I went to buy another Honda 4 years earlier, I spent the whole day at the dealership. I didn’t know what I wanted, and I just needed a second car. I spent a whole day there. I was lucky, because this was the time when a new model was about to be introduced, and the dealership really wanted to sell any car that soon became a previous year model. At the end, I've got quite a good deal, but I will never get that day back.

So this time I wrote an email to every dealership within a radius of 100 miles from where I live. In my email, I wrote that I was interested in the out-of-the-door price for the Honda CRV. I stated the year, trim, and my zip code so they can calculate taxes. I also wrote that I don’t need anything else, like options or an extended warranty.

If somebody asked me to visit them, I would write a polite email saying that I don’t have time to visit all the dealerships. Some still refused to give me a price, so I moved on. I’m living in a big city, and there are tens of Honda dealerships around me. And obviously, I did that from a disposable email account.

Then I played a game of capitalism. I got the best price and sent another email to all dealerships that responded, stating that I got price XXX at a different dealership, and I would buy it at the dealership that gave me that price unless they got me a lower price.

Some decided not to participate in my capitalism, and this is a fair game. Others decided to drop the price. Eventually, I got the lowest possible price and went to my local dealership for a test drive and to pick up the color because it is not possible to do it over the internet.

After I picked up the color and asked them for their price and provided an email from the dealership that provided the lowest price. They were quite unhappy about that. Very unhappy. But when they realized that I would just leave, they decided to drop the price.

They cannot drop as low, but their price was only $200 higher that dealership that provided the lowest price. But the dealership with the lowest price was around 100 miles away, and I decided that it was not worth spending 3 hours driving just to save $200.

Then I had to fight them through financing, rejecting all options and additional security. Again, it took hours of my time, and I again spent pretty much the whole day. I think they intentionally extended the buying process as revenge.

At the end, I’ve got the car I wanted at the price I wanted, but I spent the whole day finalizing a purchase and several days writing emails. Moreover, I still have a feeling that they got me somehow. So instead of enjoying my new car, I was thinking about wasted time and wondering if I paid the right price.

Just as a side note. The price that I paid was 6 thousand lower than most quotes I’ve got. Some dealerships advertised prices over 8 thousand over the price I paid, and it was before taxes. Initially, I thought they just didn’t want to talk to me and put a very high price just to stop further negotiations, but then I visited their website, and I found that their website has the same price they quoted. And it was before COVID-19.

Now, let's compare my experience with buying a Tesla. Firstly, I went to the Tesla showroom and did a test drive. Then I picked a color. After that, I went to Tesla’s website, configured the car I wanted, and placed an order. I don’t need to write any emails because the price is the same for everybody in the same country.

Then later, I got a notification in the Tesla app that it was time to select a payment method. I chose to finance it and filled in all details. They provided several possible deals. I shopped around and found that their deal was the best. So I provided all details via the same app. My application was accepted, and then I got details to pay the upfront costs.

The whole process took around 30 minutes total. And then the car was delivered to my door. I checked the car and accepted delivery. There was no stress didn’t stress out at all, I didn’t think if I missed some deal and overpaid. I just enjoyed my new car.

In conclusion, traditional dealerships do not provide any value for most of the people. Their job is pretty much to rip people off and take as much money from them as they possibly can. Typically, they prey on people who does know much about cars, and they use it to their advantage.

At a traditional dealership, people typically cannot compare financial terms unless they have already prepared them ahead of time. This allows dealshops to put time pressure on their clients. They also try to sell unrelated products that their clients don’t need, like an extended warranty or something else similarly useless. The deal is to take it now of missed it.

And even if you know all these tricks and come prepared, it is still mentally exhausting and very time-consuming. And this pretty much destroys the client experience, especially at the beginning of ownership.

Buying Tesla has a completely different experience. Prices are the same for everyone. You got financial details. You can take them or provide your own. You have plenty of time to decide and research. No stress or pressure. Nobody pushes you for unnecessary options or an extended warranty. Moreover, you can buy them later, and they will come to your home to install them.

As you can see, these are 2 completelly different worlds and completely different experiences. And more and more people chose Tesla not because they really want Tesla, but because it looks much simpler and less stressful.

I hope other car manufacturers will adopt these practices because otherwise, they will slowly lose customers to Tesla or companies that provide an experience that is similar to Tesla.