I am seeing a lot of large downpayments for Teslas in the forum. I thought it was a bad idea to put so much cash into a vehicle. Cash that could earn interest or a return elsewhere. Yet, I'm seeing $10k, $20k, and I read in the auto approvals thread someone put $25k down on a car and still applying for 72 month loans. I have never put more than $5k down and have always received a sub 4% interest rate. One time getting 0.9% on a CPO BMW. The longest auto loan I've ever had was 5 years.
In additon, I have read that Tesla's retain their values a lot better than most luxury vehicles and have less mechanical issues due to the lack of a combustable engine. Is it still necessary to put so much down on these cars? I am looking to get a slightly used 2019 Tesla 3 Performance with autopilot and was thinking of putting no more than $5 down. I think Tesla's website defaults to 10% down. So, for a $50k purchase, they suggest or require $5k.
Is it because people aren't being approved for $50k and are getting aaproved for only $30k and have to put down so much? Historically, I have always been approved for auto loans without having to bridge the gap with a large down payment. I have been a BMW customer for over 10 years. And my credit has never been past 740. So, it's not like my credit was supurb. I've always had a relatively high DTI in the 30% - 40% range.
I like the idea that you can't haggle Tesla prices. Makes things less stressful and more transparent when purchasing a car. I'd rather have teeth pulled than going to a car dealer to purchase a car. Okay. Maybe not. But you get the idea. 
I'm waiting for Tesla to come out with some deals. I read that their full auto pilot price started out at $5000, then increased to $7000. Now it is $8000. They have sub 3% interest rates on their 72 month loans. I'd like to see them under 2% before I pull the trigger.
@adelphi_sky wrote:I am seeing a lot of large downpayments for Teslas in the forum. I thought it was a bad idea to put so much cash into a vehicle. Cash that could earn interest or a return elsewhere. Yet, I'm seeing $10k, $20k, and I read in the auto approvals thread someone put $25k down on a car and still applying for 72 month loans. I have never put more than $5k down and have always received a sub 4% interest rate. One time getting 0.9% on a CPO BMW. The longest auto loan I've ever had was 5 years.
In additon, I have read that Tesla's retain their values a lot better than most luxury vehicles and have less mechanical issues due to the lack of a combustable engine. Is it still necessary to put so much down on these cars? I am looking to get a slightly used 2019 Tesla 3 Performance with autopilot and was thinking of putting no more than $5 down. I think Tesla's website defaults to 10% down. So, for a $50k purchase, they suggest or require $5k.
Is it because people aren't being approved for $50k and are getting aaproved for only $30k and have to put down so much? Historically, I have always been approved for auto loans without having to bridge the gap with a large down payment. I have been a BMW customer for over 10 years. And my credit has never been past 740. So, it's not like my credit was supurb. I've always had a relatively high DTI in the 30% - 40% range.
I like the idea that you can't haggle Tesla prices. Makes things less stressful and more transparent when purchasing a car. I'd rather have teeth pulled than going to a car dealer to purchase a car. Okay. Maybe not. But you get the idea.
I'm waiting for Tesla to come out with some deals. I read that their full auto pilot price started out at $5000, then increased to $7000. Now it is $8000. They have sub 3% interest rates on their 72 month loans. I'd like to see them under 2% before I pull the trigger.
My previous cars were a 2010 Prius the battery went out and the dealsership wanted 6k to repair a vechile worth 4k. My current vechile is a 2019 Toyota C-HR. I see all kinds lf problems when they hit 100k miles such as the CVT tansmisson going out needing replaced for 4k and the current bluebook value for it is 12k less then what I paid. Now when you at a used 2018 Model 3 is worth the almost the same as a new 2020 model. Coupled that with the batterys tend to last 300k-500k miles, little maintence and no gas they are worth it. Plus they are just insanely fun to drive.
I just financed a 2020 Tesla Model 3. Tesla Finance doesn't loan money itself. They simply shop your financing around to several lenders, looking for the best rate thay can find. In that sense, Tesla isn't like Ford, Mercedes, GM, BMW, and the other auto manufacturers; Tesla doesn't have it's own captive lending bank.
In my case, the lenders Tesla found offered me unattractive rates. Both Navy Federal and PenFed offered me much better rates than the lenders Tesla found. I put less than 10 percent down and my scores are in the mid-700s.
The moral of this story is: Don't rely on Tesla to finance your Model Y, especially with your scores. You'll almost certainly have better luck with your own bank or credit union. Good luck; Tesla is a remarkable ride; less like driving and more like flying a fighter jet low and fast! :-)
@Anonymous wrote:
@adelphi_sky wrote:I am seeing a lot of large downpayments for Teslas in the forum. I thought it was a bad idea to put so much cash into a vehicle. Cash that could earn interest or a return elsewhere. Yet, I'm seeing $10k, $20k, and I read in the auto approvals thread someone put $25k down on a car and still applying for 72 month loans. I have never put more than $5k down and have always received a sub 4% interest rate. One time getting 0.9% on a CPO BMW. The longest auto loan I've ever had was 5 years.
In additon, I have read that Tesla's retain their values a lot better than most luxury vehicles and have less mechanical issues due to the lack of a combustable engine. Is it still necessary to put so much down on these cars? I am looking to get a slightly used 2019 Tesla 3 Performance with autopilot and was thinking of putting no more than $5 down. I think Tesla's website defaults to 10% down. So, for a $50k purchase, they suggest or require $5k.
Is it because people aren't being approved for $50k and are getting aaproved for only $30k and have to put down so much? Historically, I have always been approved for auto loans without having to bridge the gap with a large down payment. I have been a BMW customer for over 10 years. And my credit has never been past 740. So, it's not like my credit was supurb. I've always had a relatively high DTI in the 30% - 40% range.
I like the idea that you can't haggle Tesla prices. Makes things less stressful and more transparent when purchasing a car. I'd rather have teeth pulled than going to a car dealer to purchase a car. Okay. Maybe not. But you get the idea.
I'm waiting for Tesla to come out with some deals. I read that their full auto pilot price started out at $5000, then increased to $7000. Now it is $8000. They have sub 3% interest rates on their 72 month loans. I'd like to see them under 2% before I pull the trigger.
My previous cars were a 2010 Prius the battery went out and the dealsership wanted 6k to repair a vechile worth 4k. My current vechile is a 2019 Toyota C-HR. I see all kinds lf problems when they hit 100k miles such as the CVT tansmisson going out needing replaced for 4k and the current bluebook value for it is 12k less then what I paid. Now when you at a used 2018 Model 3 is worth the almost the same as a new 2020 model. Coupled that with the batterys tend to last 300k-500k miles, little maintence and no gas they are worth it. Plus they are just insanely fun to drive.
Yeah man! Thanks! I'm pretty excited myself. Life has afforded me a unique chance to get a Tesla. I'm in my upper 40s. Time to reward myself. I am wavering between a used and a new one. I'd like a 2019 that has less than 10k miles so that I can take advantage of the 4 year warranty. It would be our second car. So the miles wouldn't rack up as fast.
I'm looking at the ones with Full Self Driving and the performance upgrade (4.4s). The (3.2s) version "new" may be a little out of my price range. I could eek out affording a new 2020 with performance upgrade if there are some good financing deals. Been seeing a few used with all I want for $7k cheaper than a new one.
@Anonymous Sounds like Penfed may be your best shot since you have history with them, you will definitely want GAP as well but putting more down is good and has a good/better chance of getting a higher loan even better rate. ^^ Let us know what they say/you decide and hopefully you get it in a few months 
