Tuesday I picked up my new Tesla. At least it was new to me.
In a fit of relative frugality I purchased a used version of the luxury electric Model S, which is part of Tesla’s new certified pre-owned program. I was convinced to go on a hunt for a used Model S after test-driving the car at a showroom in my hometown of Austin, Texas.
The certified pre-owned program lets you pick up older Tesla’s tsla for about $20,000 to $30,000 less than the current generation model price tag. I’m not going to spend too much time going into Tesla’s CPO program, although if you want to investigate the market for used Teslas I recommend you start with the site EV-CPO Consolidator.
That service aggregates the listings of available certified pre-owned Teslas in the U.S. and Canada in a single place. For an optional $10-a-month subscription, the site also shows historical sales data and will alert you when a car matching your specifications hits the market.
That’s important because the best cars often disappear within a day or two.
My husband and I ended up finding a 2014 silver Tesla Model S 85 that met my distance needs (the S85 has a range of about 265 miles), and also had the smart air suspension which automatically raises and lowers the car based on where it is. The smart air suspension felt necessary given our incredibly steep driveway.
The car was in Florida and also included several other nice-to-have features such as parking sensors, leather seats and a tech package. Delivery and transport of the car from Florida to Texas cost $1,000.
After purchasing the Tesla however, we weren’t even close to closing our wallet.
In my case, because I purchased my car used, I didn’t get the $7,500 federal tax credit, which means I was on the hook for the 6.25% Texas state sales tax, which added roughly $4,000. I can deduct that later from my federal taxes because Texas doesn’t have an income tax, but that phases out with income (the more you make, the less you can deduct).
However, even if you’re buying the car new, you’re probably going to want to pay to install a more powerful 240 volt electrical outlet in your garage, rather than using the traditional 110-volt outlet scattered around your home. The more powerful outlet can recharge your Tesla overnight, with an average of 29 miles per hour, as opposed to the 3 miles per hour that the outlet you charge your phone in can provide.
For the better charger, you’re going to need an electrician to come out and install a different type of outlet and check the voltage running to your home. For us that cost was $543, but that will depend on the going rate of electricians in your area.