Tesla Model S is so well-received that even 100,000-mile examples are sold for good money.
The 2018 Tesla Model S 100D had already traveled 103,999 miles through Georgia before it reached the CarMax auction lot. The Uber level of daily driving barely exceeded the 100,000 mile limit to sell this unit on CarMax’s front-line. It was in perfect condition with no accidents in the Carfax history and one owner. This unit would have likely sold at a high price to Tesla enthusiasts. There was one problem.
The Tesla Model S model was the top-of the-line, but the manufacturer did not offer any warranty. This was because the 8-year/100,000-mile factory warranty was already invalidated by the odometer reading. The battery life and longevity of this vehicle is something that any buyer would be interested in. How high was the battery’s depletion? What was the expected battery life? Electric vehicles can often be viewed as rolling time bombs, which lose their value once the batteries are replaced.
It can be difficult to figure out how many cars are stored in auction lots that have the size of a football field. This is especially true for CarMax, which sells approximately 15,000 vehicles weekly nationwide. Each wholesale auction that sells millions of off-lease and trade-in vehicles every year has had a slow pace in providing these basic EV batteries to thousands of dealers looking to purchase these cars. This risk can reduce the sale price once the hammer drops. With EVs, there is a lot of risk. Sometimes, you might end up bidding for a perfect car. Sometimes you end up with a three-ton weight paperweight that will run thousands of dollars to fix. These electric vehicles, like the Tesla, are at risk of becoming junk-bond stocks. While Teslas currently hold their value better that many other cars, the pre-sale inspections at auctions have had trouble giving the same level.
However, I was surprised that the one sold for $50,500 plus $650 purchase fee. This is a lot of money for me. It’s just over the price of the double-wide mobile house I purchased on 5 acres at the Alabama border in 2016. The property is now rented for $1300 per month. Maybe I could get a better return by listing the high-end Tesla on Turo. It would be difficult to call this a great deal. The price of the wholesale model of this particular Tesla is almost $35,000 lower than that of the retail version (around $83,000 on average). This sounds awfully bad for the seller, but it turns out that this Tesla with a high mileage actually has approximately 80,000 miles more than the average 2018 Model S (with an engine reading in the mid-20s). My personal choice would have to be my 5-acre palatial double-wide. This purchase was not without risk, as is the case with all purchases. If I had known more, I would have loved this car, but the risk was too great.