Thoughts on Purchasing Second Hand Tesla in 2025 Considering Current Political Climate?

mavis30551 on 25/03/2025 - 15:59
Last edited 25/03/2025 - 16:07 by 1 other user

I am in the market for a new car.

I honestly would love to just buy another Camry. Was the best car I ever had, but alas FBT exemption is making me look towards EV's. (Plus my previous $30k brand new Camry is over $40k brand new now, wth is up with that!)

I've already discounted buying a new Tesla, I don't agree with Elon's political views but surely some 3 year old Tesla's coming out of 3 year novated leases couldn't be a bad deal?

If I cash in on the drop in value to Tesla and get a good deal on a few year old Tesla am I still supporting Bozo over there?

Obviously other things to consider like battery health and I'm sure depreciation will be even worse but you don't buy a second hand car worried about depreciation as much do ya.

What are peoples thoughts? They're setting fire to them in the states surely that doesn't happen here. Is buying second hand just as bad as buying new when it comes to supporting muskies ideals.

Automotive Tesla Inc

Comments

  • MS Paint on 25/03/2025 - 16:00
    +9

    @jv - any suggestions?

    • Murkymerv on 25/03/2025 - 18:38
      +10

      Since when have cars and political climate been an issue ? Oh , let me guess šŸ˜…

      • Dr Phil on 26/03/2025 - 08:10
        +1

        In which case we should not be buying any Chinese cars, be they EVs or ICE vehicle

        But reading further OP has listed several other reasons to avoid a Tesla

        One choses a particular car to buy for thier own reasons (not for those of others) and I think OP has already concluded and made thier decision

        • JoBevo on 28/03/2025 - 16:07

          Does that mean the chinese should also stop buying our dirt? Lol.

          I would hate to imagine what the impact of that would be to this country, some people need to use their brain a bit more.

        • Cletus vandamme on 28/03/2025 - 19:53
          +3

          Why stop at Chinese cars? China is the main reason consumer products are as affordable as they are. People seem to paint China as some sort of villain but never seem to ever be thankful for the things they have made.

          • Euphemistic on 28/03/2025 - 20:07

            @Cletus vandamme: China has done some pretty ordinary things. They dont appear to treat their population or the environment very well. BUT, there a lot of countries that also have pretty ordinary track records on human rights and maintaining a clean environment.

          • Rally Dave on 31/03/2025 - 19:01
            -2

            @Cletus vandamme: Do you not pay any attention to what happens in the world or do you live with your head stuck in the sand. Do you not realise China is an adversary, they have put tariffs and sanctions on us a lot on recent years. They have attacked our ADF personnel, they have fired missiles in our waters, they use slave labour to build cars, they build military bases in other countries territorial waters, etc. They are a threat by all measures but most people ignore that as they can buy something cheap from there

  • Brick50 on 25/03/2025 - 16:03
    +10

    Bought one last Monday, 2021 SR+ from Pickles Auctions with 67000kms and battery health is 93%

    • mavis30551 on 25/03/2025 - 16:04

      from ATO

      1 July 2022
      Eligibility. You do not pay FBT if you provide private use of an electric car that meets all the following conditions: the car is a zero or low emissions vehicle. the first time the car is both held and used is on or after 1 July 2022.

      I am curious how much you paid though?

      • Brick50 on 25/03/2025 - 16:06
        +2

        31.5k it was, Not allowed to inspect car prior to auction

        I didn't buy it for any FBT purposes.
        Even if I was eligible for a lease as well it didn't make sense for my circumstances, so I just used funds from home loan offset

        • Wiadro on 25/03/2025 - 16:26
          -2

          31.5 before or after the fees?
          About 4K to get it on roads.
          So call it 35k
          Iā€™d rather buy something better for that

          • Brick50 on 25/03/2025 - 17:04
            +10

            @Wiadro: After all auction fees, not sure what 4k fees you speak of

            stamp duty and 12 months reg, plates, rwc & vicroads appointment fees would be $2500 all up. Bought 40+ cars and never bought a car with 12 months reg so not including rego fees would be $1800 or so

          • wozz on 26/03/2025 - 16:36

            @Wiadro: In NSW last Tesla i purchased at $51k.
            Total fees was somewhere arouns $50 after exemptions
            Nowhere near 4k.

    • entropysbane on 26/03/2025 - 12:18

      Battery health should be the key criterion for second hand EVs

      • WhyAmICommenting on 27/03/2025 - 00:27
        +4

        Only if youā€™re buying a 10 year old Nissan leaf. Tesla have good range and unless itā€™s somehow defective very unlikely to be an issue.

        • meong on 27/03/2025 - 14:30
          +1

          They use different battery between their RWD vs AWD/Performance btw.

          • WhyAmICommenting on 27/03/2025 - 15:37
            +1

            @meong: True. Still, Iā€™ve seen no evidence of significantly reduced/unusable Tesla batteries except because of accidents.

            • meong on 27/03/2025 - 19:13

              @WhyAmICommenting: Oh yeah just saying ideally you want to buy an EV with NMC battery.

              • WhyAmICommenting on 27/03/2025 - 21:43

                @meong: I think you mean LFP if 2nd hand but both should be fine.

                • meong on 27/03/2025 - 22:40

                  @WhyAmICommenting: Why do you think LFP is better for 2nd vehicles?

                  I assumed NMC is better in general for long range anyway.

                  • WhyAmICommenting on 27/03/2025 - 23:01

                    @meong: Yes NMC is often used for long range models but they should only be charged to 80% for daily use.

                    If someone just charges to 100% all the time then LFP will cope with that better.

                  • May4th on 27/03/2025 - 23:55
                    +2

                    @meong: LFP has more stable chemistry, less risk of thermal runway, less need to look after when charging and generally less degradation. downside is less energy dense so bigger heavier and less performance. this is why RWD tesla uses LFP while performance/long range uses NMC

                    • meong on 28/03/2025 - 00:37

                      @May4th: Interesting…

                      I got the MYLR so now I'm questioning my battery degradation now šŸ˜…

        • entropysbane on 27/03/2025 - 17:23

          Any age. Any manufacturer.
          95% plus no worries
          85% to 95% think carefully
          Less than 85% it would be a no from me unless very cheap.

          It is not a vehicle age issue, but how it has been used and charged.

    • axlfan on 28/03/2025 - 20:14

      Sounds like a good car.

      Dumb question: so why would the owner sell it via pickles?

      • Brick50 on 28/03/2025 - 20:25

        Returning a novated lease most likely

        • axlfan on 29/03/2025 - 13:55

          So they would have lost money on this?

  • Duckie2hh on 25/03/2025 - 16:14
    +10

    Considering Current Political Climate

    What does this have to do with cars?

    • mavis30551 on 25/03/2025 - 16:18
      +41

      A lot really. Specifically Tesla.

    • Euphemistic on 25/03/2025 - 16:19
      +6

      A little more accurately, the political climate in the USA, plus the recent actions of the public figurehead of tesla.

    • mapax on 25/03/2025 - 16:22
      +4

      Terrorists have fire bombed Tesla dealerships, shot cars and lit charging stations on fire because they donā€™t like Elons political stance.

      • CaptainJack on 25/03/2025 - 19:40
        +13

        Jesus, there are a lot of (profanity) in that country.

        • WhyAmICommenting on 27/03/2025 - 00:27

          Jesus wept.

        • Nugs on 27/03/2025 - 00:31

          The fish rots from the head……
          .

      • tasty-falafel on 27/03/2025 - 11:15
        +17

        To be fair, there's a bit more to it than just a "political stance", and I think it's disingenuous to downplay it to that level. The way I see it is -

        1) Musk, the richest man in the world is has taken charge of a "department" of government efficiency, and is systematically dismantling or firing organisations and key people who have been critical of him, his companies, or have pending investigations. For example, the gutting of the FDA who was investigating Neuralink, the head of the FAA who had been critical of SpaceX, USAID and the inspector general who was investigating Starlink.

        2) He is illegally cutting programs which have been approved by congress, and should be dismantled by congress, leaving thousands without job, with many having to be rehired after it goes through the courts. They are simply cutting things that they disagree with, and have already been approved.

        3) He is positioning his companies to take on additional government contracts which is a massive conflict of interest, for example the $2b FAA Verizon contract which they are now trying to replace with Starlink.

        4) Probably the thing that has angered people the most, his choice to do "that" salute (and no, it's not a Roman salute), then doubles down, then make jokes about that political party back in the 1940's. While doing these things he also chooses to support right-wing borderline fascist parties like the AFD party in Germany, which openly trivialises the atrocities that happened in the 1940's.

        In summary, it's not just his political stance, there's a lot more to unpack here.

          • Randolph Duke on 28/03/2025 - 10:06
            +9

            @DewinDell: Agreed, he did more than one.

          • tasty-falafel on 31/03/2025 - 11:44
            +2

            @DewinDell: Using that logic people aren't committing domestic terrorism by burning Teslas, it's just Roman dislike āœ‹šŸ˜Ž

        • trapper on 29/03/2025 - 15:08
          -2

          It sounds like you may not realise that DOGE is strictly an advisory body.

          Its purpose is to review government finances, pinpoint waste and fraud, and nothing beyond that.

          DOGE submits its recommendations to the executive branch, which then determines the next steps.

          Every country should have a DOGE.

          • Euphemistic on 31/03/2025 - 12:15
            +2

            @trapper: They already had a process for what dog is doing, but they fired the people who control that.

            Australia has processes that regularly audit government spending. There are processes of review for govenrment activities. Even internally government agencies try to become more efficient so they can do more with less. On top of that we have regular changes in government leadership that point things in a different direction and cut and add processes. We dont need a special department of 'cull everything and see what happens'

            • trapper on 03/04/2025 - 20:16
              -4

              @Euphemistic:

              They already had a process for what dog is doing, but they fired the people who control that.

              Well they can't have been very good at their job judging by the outrageous waste DOGE is continually digging up.

              • Euphemistic on 03/04/2025 - 21:30
                +1

                @trapper: Dogy is all smoke amd mirrors. Theyve only accounted for a tiny fraction of what they are claiming as savings.

              • klaw81 on 04/04/2025 - 09:13
                -1

                @trapper: You'd have to be some kind of credulous moron to believe DOGE's accounting.

                Independent review of their claims have found enormous discrepancies between their claims and what's actually happening.

                • trapper on 04/04/2025 - 11:40
                  -3

                  @klaw81: All the receipts are openly published here: https://doge.gov/savings

                  $140B so far - a long way to go though I agree.

                  • klaw81 on 04/04/2025 - 13:03

                    @trapper: There are numerous organisations examining DOGE's claims, and they've been forced to retract or correct a bunch of their claims to the tune of tens of billions of dollars.

                    DOGE have recently substantially reduced the amount of detail provided on that website because apparently being fully transparent meant it was far too easy to fact-check and their errors were embarrassingly obvious.

                    Finding savings by simply eliminating government agencies and firing people en masse (in some cases in a manner that various judges have deemed unlawful) isn't exactly a laudable achievement - especially when these agencies were tasked with enforcing regulations protecting health, environment, national parks etc.

                    If somebody calls that kind of thing a "waste" then I'd consider them to be a waste of skin and oxygen.

                  • Euphemistic on 05/04/2025 - 17:37

                    @trapper: Even if it was $140B (its higgly questionable), its only a tiny fraction of the $2T they said theyd save.

                    • trapper on 07/04/2025 - 11:08
                      -3

                      @Euphemistic: $1T is the aspirational target for DOGE, so 14% of the way there.

                      It has only been two and a half months though, so doing pretty well.

                      • Euphemistic on 07/04/2025 - 15:19

                        @trapper: Except DoGy figures arent real, they are highly inflated. They are never going to be $1T of savings due to 'waste and fraud'

                        • trapper on 07/04/2025 - 15:38
                          -2

                          @Euphemistic: The receipts are all there. You can follow DOGE on X for daily updates too (with receipts)

          • cephh on 05/04/2025 - 03:38

            @trapper: it's biased as (profanity)? DOGE's job is to cut federal spending and what they believe is that some spendings are "waste, fraud, and abuse" and yet they still send billions to foreign countries, gulp!

      • EitherWayUp on 27/03/2025 - 16:06
        -3

        Terrorists or the "tolerant" left?

    • moar bargains on 25/03/2025 - 16:27
      +3

      Well there will be a lot of some dumb people selling their cars to spite The Chief Twit (ignoring the fact that they've already given him their money). In similar fashion, there will be people changing their mind about buying a Tesla now that their favourite tech bro apparently no longer aligns with their worldview, which may lead to Tesla discounting some stock. Probably have to wait and see how much that actually plays out here.

      People who care more about how far their dollar goes than what some billionaire thinks could pick up a bargain.

    • meong on 27/03/2025 - 14:31

      People who are ashamed of owning a Tesla will sell their car at a bargain.

    • AustriaBargain on 28/03/2025 - 10:51
      +1

      Plenty of Jewish people still won't buy German cars. These things do matter, if not to you then the people you live with in society.

      • Duckie2hh on 28/03/2025 - 10:57
        -1

        Plenty of Jewish people still won't buy German cars

        lol do they also not take any medication (Merck, Bayer, etc).

        • AustriaBargain on 28/03/2025 - 11:17
          +1

          Some of them, probably they try to avoid it. Germany did some pretty bad things to Jewish people like 80 or so years ago.

        • machej on 29/03/2025 - 15:40
          +1

          Meds kind of a bit less discretionary than a car. Generics are also a thing for many after the patent ends.

  • netjock on 25/03/2025 - 16:17
    +4

    Never a good time to buy a depreciating asset. If you need it then buy it.

    It might be FBT free.

    The question is what basis are you claiming for car usage (right now) or you not claiming at all? If you claim 5,000km at the current rate of 88c km ($4,400 basically pays for rego, insurance and probably a good deal of fuel) or actual cost method.

    • bigticket on 27/03/2025 - 11:40
      +1

      Correct me if I'm wrong, but $4400 is what can be claimed as a deduction, the actual dollar savings on
      tax would max out at $1980 ($4400 x 0.45) at the highest tax rate.

      • netjock on 30/03/2025 - 10:32

        You are assuming OP is at 45% tax rate.

        You also got to know under what basis FBT is worked out for OP.

        The joke used to be buy a Tesla for $60k so you can save on fuel and maintenance. How long before you save $30k in fuel and maintenance. It is a sum everyone needs to work out.

        Tax "saving" is a way to suck people into a bad deal.

        • May4th on 30/03/2025 - 12:52

          like any other new car. and there's no need to buy new with NL, you can buy a $35k 3 year old model 3 down the depreciation curve. very hard to be worse off if you are on the top bracket though as the spreadsheet posted by a reditor/ozbargainer shows. you can be paying 15% interest and still be better off

          • netjock on 30/03/2025 - 20:38

            @May4th: Another assumption of top bracket tax rates. Have you seen the distribution of incomes?

            • May4th on 30/03/2025 - 22:30

              @netjock: go fiddle with the spreadsheet. there's no arguing with numbers

              • netjock on 31/03/2025 - 10:03

                @May4th: Of course. It is like that same spreadsheet from WA Tesla owners association a few years ago how a Tesla Model 3 is cheaper than a Camry which is based on the fact residual values will remain high and forgetting to account for consumption of tires / servicing (even if you haven't changed / done it).

                You ever had someone tell you they are a millionaire / billionaire by savings a few bucks on FBT.

                FBT is just topping on the cake if you can making it work without it. It is only temporary and economics can change overnight (like losing your job). Your NL is guaranteed but losing or changing jobs isn't.

  • Euphemistic on 25/03/2025 - 16:18
    -6

    At this point it mainly seems to be new stock teslas getting torched. Are you willing to risk that yours just happens to be the one that ends up roasted on the slim chance that some loony takes a dislike to the nearest Elon mobile?

    Other than that, there are some other options for EVs in thw used market.

    • mavis30551 on 25/03/2025 - 16:19
      +3

      Ive had a look, its really slim. Particularly long ranged EV's

      • Euphemistic on 25/03/2025 - 16:21

        Are you really sure you actually need the long range? Lots of people seem to forget that for most driving they dont travel much more than the charge your standard wall socket can supply overnight except very rarely.

        • mavis30551 on 25/03/2025 - 16:28
          +3

          I do los of day trips to the coast about 2 hours away.

          Would be much easier if I dindt have to worry about range tbh

          • chuq on 25/03/2025 - 16:35
            -2

            @mavis30551: I do day trips that are 2hr 20mins each way on a regular basis. I live in one of the few parts of the country without superchargers, and it's still no stress.

            • Brick50 on 25/03/2025 - 17:05
              +4

              @chuq: Assuming you charge when you get there? My SR+ wouldn't do 4hr 40 driving without charging

              • chuq on 26/03/2025 - 00:13
                +1

                @Brick50: I do a 10 minute toilet/snack stop at some point during the trip. That adds 20% or so to the battery.

              • wozz on 26/03/2025 - 16:41

                @Brick50: In traffic it would :D i think speed/distance is more important than time

                During the week i can easily do over 8hrs driving and still have charge left in sr+

          • Euphemistic on 25/03/2025 - 18:39
            +2

            @mavis30551: Sounds like youre a true candidate for long range then.

          • Dslrfirst on 26/03/2025 - 09:04
            +1

            @mavis30551: why "tbh"?

          • wozz on 26/03/2025 - 16:40
            +1

            @mavis30551: Fyi only I drive minimum 150km each day, never have an issue with range in standard model 3.

            During a week if i drive 800km it costs me $8 in electricity. Could do it for less if i scheduled for solar or free time of day too.

    • Dslrfirst on 31/03/2025 - 09:06
      -1

      Why "At this point" if you must use "Now".

  • Cluster on 25/03/2025 - 16:20
    +7

    If you like the car, buy it. It's your money.

    Is there an increased risk of the vehicle being vandalized in Australia? Sure. But it's not as bad as in the USA. Unless you buy parts or servicing from Tesla then no money will flow back to Musk.

  • Porker on 25/03/2025 - 16:24
    +13

    As an alternative, consider BYD? eg. Seal in place of model 3.

    I'm currently reviewing novated leasing a Sealion 7.

    • Make it so on 03/04/2025 - 15:37

      I test drove a Seal and a Sealion 7. The Sealion 7 is amazing, and still very sporty while more practical and with better features. It's slightly more expensive than a Seal Premium, but the insurance is cheaper such that you quickly make up the difference.
      BYD is now the largest EV manufacturer, and the quality is right up there.

  • Russell Dupsumtucka on 25/03/2025 - 16:26
    -2

    Bozo is dead. I don't see what he has to do with your car buying decisions.

  • Benoffie on 25/03/2025 - 16:27
    +27

    Who buys cars based on politics?

    Clearly not the vast majority of people. Otherwise it would rule out huge swathes of manufacturers and their governments.

    • Euphemistic on 25/03/2025 - 18:40
      +7

      Plenty of people not buying chinese cars because 'china bad'

      • brendanm on 25/03/2025 - 19:04
        +23

        I think people simply don't buy them because the cars are crap.

        • Euphemistic on 25/03/2025 - 19:31
          +5

          There is that too.

          Tesla isnt just tanking because of their wierd leader. They havent kept up with the market. Current models have aged and they arent offering anything new except the stupertruck. The model 2 is a non starter. Self drive is delayed and delayed. Competition/choice has increased.

          That and we are finding out that more and more they are trying to get around regulations, have a bunch of lawsuits against them and they collect a whole bunch of data about your usage.

          • brendanm on 25/03/2025 - 20:50
            +8

            @Euphemistic: I also wouldn't buy a Tesla.

            • Euphemistic on 25/03/2025 - 21:40

              @brendanm: 3-4 years ago id have considered it. Not anymore. There seems to be better options now. The ioniq 5N sounds pretty cool and looks good, but its waaayyy out of budget.

              • wiltonson on 26/03/2025 - 18:06
                +2

                @Euphemistic: you'll be surprised some of the tech is actually better on the Tesla compare to ioniq when paying the similiar model range.

                • Euphemistic on 26/03/2025 - 19:20
                  +2

                  @wiltonson: Tech isnt everything. Driving exlerience and style wpuld win out over some extra tech features. Ultimately, its a driving thing, not a laptop.

      • Benoffie on 25/03/2025 - 19:47
        +1

        Which is perfectly fine, I appreciate informed consumers.

        Just dont know why we need a post for someone's diatribe re Tesla. We'd be here for all and sundry if we all did it.

      • Binchicken22 on 28/03/2025 - 10:24

        Yeah "China bad"… What a ridiculous take aye… Not like they literally run concentration camps for certain racial groups n shit hey.

    • Make it so on 03/04/2025 - 15:38

      I wouldn't buy it based on politics, but I would buy it based on principles. I won't throw money at someone I consider deeply unethical.

    • Aureus on 25/03/2025 - 20:45
      +17

      Running?? He isn't running the government, he is dismantling it.

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