Tesla Financing

[Anonymous]

Hi Guys,

I applied online to purchase a Tesla Model Y. Put the $100 down for the order reservation and was prompted to create an online account so that I could then fill out my remaining info, such as income etc. Tesla ran my credit and did a hard pull on "Experian" but the inquiry was done by Wells Fargo, which i imagine is one of their in house banks for funding. I live in Los Angeles, Ca. for all who ask and they pulled only that 1 bureau and 1 inquiry. I was approved with Wells Fargo Financing @ 2.49% for 72 months. My scores at the time were Transunion: 750, Equifax: 760, Experian: 770.

The car is about $54,000. I put $2,000 down, by choice, and my monthly payments are $781/month. When I pick up the car in about 3-5 weeks I have to do a final payment of close to $8000, which is the sales tax, delivery fees, and the down payment.

The whole process was super painless and a total breeze. A small word of advice guys, only apply for a car if you have good credit. It makes things easy and quick. 

Credit Utilization: 9% , Total Available Credit $240,000

[AllZero]

Congratulations on your approval! Thank you for sharing the data points.

[ccquest]

Congrats on the new car, but how do you go from $2000 down to $10000 down?

[ridgebackpilot]

Congratulations on getting a good APR from Wells Fargo through Tesla Finance.

When I purchased my 2020 Model 3 last month, Tesla couldn't find a good rate for me. My scores were only slightly lower than yours and I have a thick file. So I ended up financing the car through Navy Federal CU, which gave me a better rate than Tesla's lenders. One quirk in Tesla financing is that for some reason they don't allow you to finance fees associated with purchasing their cars. Another reason to avoid Tesla's lenders unless you can both get a good rate and have the money to pay the fees separately.

How long will you have to wait for your Model Y? I hear deliveries are taking a few weeks or months these days. Also, look into insuring your car through Tesla as well. I was able to save about $400 per year by using Tesla's insurance company for the same coverage over State Farm, which insures my other cars and home.

[blindambition]

Congrats on the sweeeeet ride!! Great DP for the forums! Enjoy!!! 🙌 

[Anonymous]

@ccquest  Not sure if you've purchased a vehicle before but when you finance a car you pay sales tax for the full value of the vehicle. I decided to put down $2,000 extra towards my vehicle/loan purchase so the breakdown is like so: $2,000 cash down payment + $5,400 sales tax + $1,200 title/license/Registration.

Hope that helps clarify things !

[ccquest]

I have purchased a number, but never gone back and done an extra down payment or anything like that. I have done $0 or $2k down.

The other post by @ridgebackpilot kinda aligns with what you're saying though, normally/in my experience all those would be rolled into the financing not something done separately. Thanks for breaking the numbers out for me though, guess if I want a Tesla in the future (bring out a coupe that's not crazy expensive like the Roadster!) I'm going to go with my own financing to have it all rolled together.

[Anonymous]

@ccquest  Yea it looks like Tesla doesn't let you finance the sales tax. Must be a tesla thing. Typically you don't want to finance sales tax anyway but for sure it's something that every other car company offers. To each their own !

@ridgebackpilot  I ordered the car 08/11 and I got a text 08/17 from Tesla saying that I should expect delivery in 3-5 weeks. Hopefully it arrives in that timeframe. I'll keep you posted when it arrives with more DP's

[Schwartzinator]

SoCal Tesla owner here as well. I too was surprised to see the sales tax due at pickup. Forwhatever reason, this is how Tesla rolls where BMW for example rolled the sales tax and all fees into my last auto loan. 

[BmoreBull]

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@Anonymous wrote:

A small word of advice guys, only apply for a car if you have good credit. It makes things easy and quick. 

First, congrats on the new vehicle. I had to chuckle at the above though. Unfortunately, all of us aren't fortunate enough to be in a position to only buy a vehicle when you have good credit. Everybody's situation is different. Some are rebuilding and some have had financial hardships, especially in these times. I actually started my rebuild after finding myself needing a car and unable to obtain favorable financing. Luckily, I came across this forum and received a lot of help and advice. Again, congrats on the new car. And thanks for the pro tip. 😉😉

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