I gave a good rundown of the search tools I used in my last post and shared some of the interesting things I discovered about Tesla along the way. Now we’ll get into the search itself and a few little side adventures at dealerships. My search started in earnest in late May of 2019. I went to the different car search sites and poked around in my spare time, even checking the Tesla site occasionally. I set up searches in “The Top Four” and eagerly awaited new email updates each day.
My Good Friend Slim Pickins
I had focused on a 2016, pre-facelift Model S P90D with Ludicrous mode because that was right in the sweet spot of my price range. A 2016 and a half or later just cost too much more, at least $10k more. Since I would keep the car for a long time, probably at least 7-8 years, it made sense to stick to my guns and get all the options I wanted. That meant not so patiently waiting for a fully loaded, red 2016 Model S to appear on the open market. To be quite frank, it was slim pickins. Everything I found was at the very top of my price range or wildly over it. Everything else I found was either out of state or just not what I was looking for. In fevered fits of doubt and desperation, I would start sifting through lower models and different colors, trying to convince myself that this shiny red pearlescent unicorn I’d been dreaming of was just a fantasy, like a cartoon overlay from a Deadpool movie. It would prance across my field of vision, make obscene gestures at me, then scamper off to parts unknown. I found a nice silver one locally that had been on the market for several weeks, but by the time I started to seriously consider compromising on color and options, alas, it was gone. There was also a nice one in Florida, and another in Georgia that I inquired about, but the logistics were so daunting that I couldn’t rationalize all the time and expense of a long-distance purchase, it seemed better to do the impossible, patiently wait.
This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things
In the meantime, I thought it would be fun to take a test drive in a Tesla, especially since my wife had never driven one. I’d driven a Model S on a test drive 4 or 5 years earlier, but the only Tesla I’d driven recently was my sister-in law’s new Model 3. She was super excited when she got it. She brought it over to the house, and I asked her if I could take it for a test drive. She knew I was a car guy, so she was happy to oblige. We went through some of the bigger streets near my place, and she told me about all the options, how to drive it, and driving an EV, it was a nice little drive together. When we got to a nice open spot, I asked her if I could open it up a little. She said, yeah, go ahead. However, for a brief moment, I think she forgot about my long and sorted history with powerful cars and forgot that I had previously had an EV and that I was an…um, enthusiastic driver. So, when I opened it up, I meant it and just mashed my foot to the floor. That little Model 3 scooted off in a burst, and she immediately clinched onto the door handles and dash as the g-forces pushed her into the seatback. She wasn’t too happy with me. Now, in her defense, that was my bad. I should have warned her and probably should have reminded her that I was a not-so trained professional. But, that wouldn’t be the last time I surprised someone on a test drive.
Sorry about that, back to the test drive I was initially working towards. My wife had never driven a Tesla, so it seemed like a fun idea to schedule a test drive with Tesla and get her familiar with the car. I scheduled a test drive at our local dealer, and we had an appointment for three days later. When we got there, it was bustling, like all the dealers in our area. You could tell the staff was really trying to manage everything, but it was a busy place. We checked in and had to wait a little while, maybe 10 minutes, but nothing too bad. We goofed around with the demo Model X and marveled at it’s overly complicated doors. The rep arrived, and we found him to be super helpful, knowledgeable, and friendly. He checked to ensure we still wanted to test drive a Model S, and we said, please and thank you. As we walked to the car and got settled in, he told us all about the car we’d be driving and its functionality. We got in this really nice, white, fully loaded 70D with me at the helm and took off. We took the car on the freeway, and I got to try Autopilot for the first time. It was quite a trip. I’d driven Mercedes and Bentleys with variations of distance adjusting cruise control, but never something that changed lanes on it’s own and steered itself. It was a nice, pleasant test drive and really gave my wife a feel for the car.
We stopped along the way and asked my wife if she’d like to test drive the car, but she didn’t feel comfortable driving a car of that size. Completely understandable, so I didn’t pressure her. The Tesla rep knew we were interested in a Model S now, but we had also discussed the possibility of buying another Tesla for her in a couple years, a Model 3 or Y. So, he asked if we’d like to take a shorter test drive in a Model 3. We thanked him and took him up on the offer. We parked the Model S and hopped in a brand-new Model 3, one of the mid-range models. It was a nice car, but a big contrast from the Model S we were just sitting in. I started off at the helm because my wife wanted to get a feel for the car before she drove it. So, we set off for a quick trip around a couple long, wide-open streets in an industrial area.
As we drove along, the rep chatted about the Model 3 and shared some details about the car. As we approached a corner, he was talking about how fast the car was and how well it handled due to the low center of gravity. He said, "You can open it up a little if you’d like, it’s a Saturday, and it’s pretty empty out here." Now, he said to open it up a little, but all my wee pea brain heard was, Scott, please feel free to mash on the accelerator and test the limits of the vehicle. I glanced over at him as we kept approaching the corner and clarified, "It’s ok to open it up a little, around the corner?" So, at this moment, he’s probably thinking, I’ll be like every other person on a test drive who pushes on the throttle a little, really feels the car pull, then backs off because they’re just not used to that kind of torque or handling. He responded and said, "Yeah, go ahead and open it up a little and get a feel for the handling." About the time we were done with our internal and external dialogues, I was easily within 50 feet of the corner…too late for him to change his mind. So I mashed on the accelerator, tossing him and my wife into the seatbacks, then I quickly scanned the upcoming corner and street for pedestrians and traffic, it was all clear. For that brief moment in time, it was a picture of perfection, wide-open street, clear corner, fast well handling car, it was Nirvana. I pulled wide, then yanked the wheel back towards the corner and accelerated through, trying hard to break the back tires loose. In the process, as the Model 3 tried to stay gripped to the blacktop, it flung my wife towards me and the Tesla rep towards the center of the back seat, almost in slow motion. I promptly apologized and said "Sorry about that, I got a little carried away. You're right. It does handle well."
Testing My Patience
A couple weeks had passed since I started my search. I still wasn’t having any luck finding a car that met my criteria. I had found one in Arizona that was perfect, but it was $6,000 more than I could spend, and it was about 6 hours away. So, I tried not to pine over this perfect car that I couldn’t have. Since I was still in a holding pattern, it seemed like a good opportunity to actually go test drive a P90DL if I could find one. I told my wife that, since it was proving difficult to find a P90DL, maybe I could just settle for a lesser model and save a lot of money in the process. Well, I had recently seen one online that met a lot of my criteria, but it was blue and a little out of my price range. I was pretty set on my red, fully loaded P90DL, but if I could haggle the price down, the blue one could work.
I had seen numerous Teslas advertised all over the different websites from one specific dealer about 20 miles from me. They seemed to be specializing in used Teslas. They had good pictures and good listings, and that’s where I found the blue P90DL. I called about coming to check out the blue Model S and another P85 they had on the lot. I wanted to make sure the cars were in stock and ready to go before my wife, and I made the trip over there to check out the cars. From the second I walked in the door, you could tell I wasn't their kind of customer. Ironically, I was walking in to look at two of the most expensive models they had on the lot. Well, I was patient and courteous, but it was not reciprocated. You could tell this guy felt like we were wasting his precious time, but there wasn't anyone else on the lot.
He showed us over to both cars and I noticed they were both kind of blocked in. Since we called ahead I just assumed he'd have the cars staged and ready for a test drive. No worries, I was just surprised because that's what a lot of dealers do, they stage the cars for you so you can look them over and take a test drive without having to juggle cars. We went over to one of the cars, I asked some questions, he answered, then I said I'm ready to take a test drive. He got offended and very condescending was like, yeah, we don't do test drives here, it says right on the window, as he pointed to small print on the window sticker.
I was patient and responded, "Ok, well, how do I know if everything on the car works ok and that it drives properly?" He said, "Because we inspect each car, so you know it's ok." I said, "Cool, I appreciate that. What kind of warranty do you offer if something happens to the car since I can't test drive it?" He said "We don't offer warranties. Our cars are sold 'As Is' unless there is a portion of the manufacturer warranty still available." I responded and said, "Good to know, but I'd like to test drive it before I buy because that's pretty standard for purchasing a car, and I'd like to make sure everything is ok first hand." I honestly wasn't being pushy or insistent at all. I was just trying to work through the logic. He got impatient and even more condescending and said, "You know this is a Tesla. If you go to the Tesla dealer, they don't let you test drive a car before you buy it." He continued, "Tesla's don't have problems like normal cars, you know that? They don't have engines and transmissions. There isn't anything to break like a typical car." I said, again, still shockingly politely. "But, they still have complicated systems like steering, brakes, suspension, and systems related to the battery and propulsion system I'd just like to make sure everything feels right before I commit to a large purchase like this, that's all." He again returned to his impatient condescension and told me "Look, we sell plenty of cars and a lot of cars to people out of state, and they never test drive them." He continued, "And part of the reason we don't do test drives is many people just come here to test drive these nice cars, but they don't want to buy. And, it's just not in our insurance to allow people to drive these cars on the streets." My wife and I were in a state of disbelief.
I told him, "Ok, thanks, no worries. My wife and I will just chat for a minute and get back to you." So my wife and I were like, what the heck is going on here? We both agreed to just go home. So I walked back into the office and said "Thank you for your time if we decide we need further assistance, we'll contact you," and we left. My wife and I had both the means and the intent to buy a car that day if one of them suited us. Even if we didn’t like one of those, we might be back to buy one from him in the next couple of weeks if my unicorn ended up on his lot. But wow, this guy was rude, condescending, and judgmental and had no patience for us asking questions like, "Can I test drive a car?"
You expect many odd things at a car dealer, especially a used car dealer, but I've never seen anything like that. I’ve window shopped at all kinds of luxury dealers when I had no means or intent to buy, and they were always gracious and polite, maybe a little aloof at their worst. It didn't seem like he was just having a bad day either. You could tell he'd been asked questions like this before and didn't have any patience left. Basically, you're supposed to show up, take his word for everything, buy the car, and drive off. How I got through that whole exchange without giving that guy an earful, I’ll never know. I think my wife and I knew, as it was unfolding, that it would make a funny and unbelievable story one day, so it wasn’t really worth responding to that guy. Please, never buy a car without a test drive of some sort.
Finally, A Break in the Case
After weeks of searching for that one bright red lead sled with all the trimmings, I finally got a break. I told you about that red P90DL I saw in Arizona. Well, apparently, it was still sitting on the lot more than three weeks after I initially saw it. And, the dealer had quietly been dropping the price every week since I first saw it. In a random twist of fate, I got an email from CarGurus regarding two Teslas in Arizona that recently had significant price drops. One of those Teslas was the red P90DL, and it was sitting right at the very top of my price range. Sweet! I was stoked. Not only had they dropped the price considerably, but according to the CarGurus fair market value estimator, it was about $6,000 below fair market value. I immediately fired off an email to the dealer asking if the car was available. After a few hours and some phone and email tag, the dealer confirmed the car was still available and ready for a new home! The price was right, it had all the options I wanted, now all I had to do was negotiate a deal on a used luxury car 400 miles away in another state. What could possibly go wrong?
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