Tesla - Financing a Model 3

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nzkiwiman

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#252779 11-Jul-2019 13:56

For fun and games I was checking out the Tesla Model 3 options when I noticed the "loan" option.

I started playing around and it actually looks like - based on all the information provided on the website - that I could afford to get a Tesla Model 3 via finance. ($15k deposit, $1200 a month)
The catch seems to be that at the complete order paid, in very small print it mentions that after you pay the $3k deposit you will be taken too a partner to complete financing.

Which got me thinking .. would the information on the website still be accurate, or would the interest rate and monthly payments increase ..

So, has anyone actually financed a Tesla via the website?
If so, what can you tell me about the process and are the costs the same as indicated or different?

eracode

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#2274620 11-Jul-2019 14:04

Deposit is $15k or $3k? - your post mentions both.

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nzkiwiman

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#2274627 11-Jul-2019 14:14

At the moment you seem to need to pay $3k to secure the vehicle, so I am not sure if the $15k deposit would actually be $3 + $12k, or is actually $3 + $15k

Hense questions if anyone has done it

Obraik

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#2274636 11-Jul-2019 14:41

Based on what I’ve seen in the US, the $3k and the $1500 (if you reserved years ago) is counted towards the deposit. So you’d need another $12k to bring your deposit to $15k. Tesla NZ are pretty quick to reply to emails if you want to confirm it.

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wellygary

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#2274646 11-Jul-2019 14:53

nzkiwiman:

The catch seems to be that at the complete order paid, in very small print it mentions that after you pay the $3k deposit you will be taken too a partner to complete financing.

Which got me thinking .. would the information on the website still be accurate, or would the interest rate and monthly payments increase ..

Tesla aren't a registered Financial Service Provider in NZ

https://fsp-register.companiesoffice.govt.nz/

So they can't do the financing themselves, but there is no reason to believe that the rates and payments being indicated to you would change....

eracode

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#2274740 11-Jul-2019 17:38

wellygary:
nzkiwiman:

The catch seems to be that at the complete order paid, in very small print it mentions that after you pay the $3k deposit you will be taken too a partner to complete financing.

Which got me thinking .. would the information on the website still be accurate, or would the interest rate and monthly payments increase ..

Tesla aren't a registered Financial Service Provider in NZ

https://fsp-register.companiesoffice.govt.nz/

So they can't do the financing themselves, but there is no reason to believe that the rates and payments being indicated to you would change....

That’s probably what they mean by the word ‘partner’ - a financier partner - bank or finance company.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

Linuxluver

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#2274891 11-Jul-2019 22:59

eracode:
wellygary:

nzkiwiman:

The catch seems to be that at the complete order paid, in very small print it mentions that after you pay the $3k deposit you will be taken too a partner to complete financing.

Which got me thinking .. would the information on the website still be accurate, or would the interest rate and monthly payments increase ..

Tesla aren't a registered Financial Service Provider in NZ

https://fsp-register.companiesoffice.govt.nz/

So they can't do the financing themselves, but there is no reason to believe that the rates and payments being indicated to you would change....

That’s probably what they mean by the word ‘partner’ - a financier partner - bank or finance company.

Yes. They have a couple of local finance companies they have been working with. You get a different deal with each. You can also cancel an order at any time.....and I think they also let you return the car within 7 days if you're not happy with it. But you won't have it for the 7 days unless they got all the money first. But you'd get the money back. I don't know if those finance companies would levy any penatlies in that case. But when I went through this trialling a Model S order, the site dropped me out into a page that let me compare two local finance providers....and they weren't identical. It's worth checking out. Watch out for any balloon payments at the end of the term. It would bwe a shame to faithfully pay the monthlies for 60 months...and then fall over on a $12,000 final payment or similar.

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premiumtouring

355 posts

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#2274971 12-Jul-2019 07:18

Tesla offers very competitive finance through UDC. Last I checked it was like 6.9% p.a.

The way it works is you find a vehicle you're interested in, let's say, the fully specced Model 3 for $100k.

You place your order online and they'll debit your credit card $3,000 for the reservation. Your order is sent for production with the next batch of builds for AU/NZ (normally 2-3 months wait). If you cancel your reservation, your deposit is refunded and your car is added to local Tesla Inventory and sold to someone else.

Hot tip: There is a 99% chance whatever configuration you end up choosing for your Model 3 is already in stock on the boat headed to New Zealand for August. So you should actually get your car relatively quickly.

Once you've placed your reservation, your Owner Advisor from Tesla will put you in touch with a financial advisor at UDC who will run you through the motions of structuring your finance.

The finance company is where you pay your final deposit. Last I checked it was approximately 10% deposit* to UDC (so, in the above example, $100k-$3k = $97k *.1 = $9,700).

That means you will be financing a total of $87,300 over 36/48/60 months.

Hot tip: The default loan option on the website includes a 'balloon' payment as part of the calculation (to make it seem affordable).. This is not compulsory and you can obviously structure the deal differently if you'd prefer to pay the car off sooner with no balloon payment (and less interest paid)..

UDC work closely with Tesla to sort everything out so the actual experience is very smooth.

So what else?

Paperwork is normally signed when you pick up the car.

You must also secure Insurance before they'll release the car to you. Expect to pay $2k per year (regardless of your age or driving history), with a 1% excess. Tesla have a special arrangement with Vero's "Insure my Tesla" which is the recommended go to for at least the first two years or 80,000kms.

On delivery day there is an orientation which takes about 2 hours, be sure to download the Tesla app and have that ready so that they can get it paired up with the car for you.

More details..

I used the Model 3 as an example, but if you're actually looking to get a Model 3 check out this article I put together on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/everything-you-need-know-launch-model-3-new-zealand-kris-hyman/ which covers everything you need to know about buying a Tesla in NZ, or more specifically, a Model 3.

Also, if you found this helpful, feel free to use my referral link to place your order (only other Tesla owners can offer these) which will score us both 1500km's of free supercharging credits.

Any other questions feel free to hit me up here or in PM.

* This may vary depending on your credit - but it looks like the calculator now 'defaults' to 20% deposit.

Edit: Added link to calculator.

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nzkiwiman

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#2275185 12-Jul-2019 11:16

Thank you so much for the above post;

I was looking up "standard financing offers" via places like UDC and MTF and thought that the 6.9% advertised interest rate that Tesla mention seemed too cheap (based on seeing anything between 9-16% in my travels). However if it is a special rate, then it is very good and is probably the difference between affording and not affording the car.

The balloon payment did worry me slightly as my monthly payments budget has a bit of wiggle room, but not really enough to try and save $20k
So it's good to know there is an option to not have that in the loan, though it does mean I might have to increase the loan term

Do Tesla do trade-ins? Or would my current car have to be sold privately?

premiumtouring

355 posts

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#2275186 12-Jul-2019 11:19

nzkiwiman:
Thank you so much for the above post;

I was looking up "standard financing offers" via places like UDC and MTF and thought that the 6.9% advertised interest rate that Tesla mention seemed too cheap (based on seeing anything between 9-16% in my travels). However if it is a special rate, then it is very good and is probably the difference between affording and not affording the car.

The balloon payment did worry me slightly as my monthly payments budget has a bit of wiggle room, but not really enough to try and save $20k
So it's good to know there is an option to not have that in the loan, though it does mean I might have to increase the loan term

Do Tesla do trade-ins? Or would my current car have to be sold privately?

No worries - glad I was able to help clear up some things for you.

Yes, from what I understand Tesla do Trade Ins but I can’t comment on whether you’d be better off selling on Trade Me or trading in.

Obraik

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#2275188 12-Jul-2019 11:29

nzkiwiman:

Do Tesla do trade-ins? Or would my current car have to be sold privately?

They seem to be low balling on the trade ins as I don't really think they want to deal with them. You can try, but you'll probably end up getting more selling it on TradeMe (if you can stand the whole TradeMe selling experience) or you could take it to Turners and see what they'll offer.

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tdgeek

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#2275232 12-Jul-2019 11:49

How many are coming in August? @Obraik is yours in that shipment?

wellygary

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#2275234 12-Jul-2019 12:00

Obraik:

They seem to be low balling on the trade ins as I don't really think they want to deal with them.

Well its not like they can stick them on the lot,

I'm guessing they have an arrangement with another dealer/auction place to directly on sell them, given the number of hands its being passed through a low price is not a surprise.

nzkiwiman

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#2275239 12-Jul-2019 12:08

Might have to fire off an email to UDC via the link provided and see what they have to say

I don't "like" getting into debt when it comes to purchasing a car - I've only purchased two cars in my life, and paid in full for both of them
Ideally I would love to get a "demonstrator" Tesla 3 and save a few thousand off list, however that could be unlikely given how popular they could be.

premiumtouring

355 posts

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#2275249 12-Jul-2019 12:30

nzkiwiman:
Might have to fire off an email to UDC via the link provided and see what they have to say

I don't "like" getting into debt when it comes to purchasing a car - I've only purchased two cars in my life, and paid in full for both of them
Ideally I would love to get a "demonstrator" Tesla 3 and save a few thousand off list, however that could be unlikely given how popular they could be.

I’ve got a few contacts there if you want an intro.. just drop me a PM.

Obraik

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#2275260 12-Jul-2019 13:00

tdgeek:

How many are coming in August? @Obraik is yours in that shipment?

Tesla doesn't release numbers, so we'll have to look at the following months report from the Ministry of Transport that will list the total registrations by model. Sadly, mine won't be in this shipment. I'm going to be ordering the Performance version (non-upgrade) but I've had some family issues pop up that I need to take care of first so probably won't be ordering until the first half of next year.

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