evnow said:
abasile said:
What this means is that Tesla is able to offer additional value to the customer, and get paid for it. That's what successful businesses do!
I know you didn't mean this - but just a fun fact.
Nissan-Renault is now the world's largest automaker, beating VW & Toyota for the first 6 months of this year.
http://fortune.com/2017/07/28/renault-nissan-largest-automaker/
In other news - there is a lot of griping by Model 3 reservation holders that the options on 3 are too expensive and this the uptake will be lower.
Another thing with the Tesla Model 3 is that aside from the $1k reservation deposit, another $2,500 is required to secure a delivery date. The issue I find is Tesla's financing department (partnership with FI's and not in-house) will not pre-approve a borrower until 30 days before delivery. It would be better if credit check is done before that $2,500 deposit is placed and if the financial circumstances and employment situation don't change much, then at least the borrower will feel at ease that he will be approved just prior to delivery.
Tesla is offering 2.5% 8-year financing here in Canada and I think that's a pretty good deal but auto loans from other FI's will be at least 6% per annum. Car makers' financing/leasing arms provide subsidy and I guess with Tesla, the Model S and X buyers are generally the well to do to affluent households.
My wife and I have good credit and above median household income but of course we do have sizable mortgage, some loans (backed by investments) and a RAV4 loan that will have around 18 months left. We usually financed between 3 and 4 years but if the rate stays the same from the 4th to the 8th year, I might as well take the offer especially when we are going to pay MSRP anyway.
I'm just being pragmatic because no way am I going to pay 6%/year to finance a vehicle, not even a Tesla, if we're not approved for financing.
Many reservation holders will be in a similar boat. This could come as a surprise if they get rejected by Tesla Financing and will need to pay a higher interest rate than they expected.
I've raised the issue on TMC but hey, the fans just told me to have a back up auto loan ready. In Canada, the FI's work as an oligopoly so 6% is the minimum for auto loans, even to excellent paying borrowers.