Car Buying Notes: Early April Update

Things have quieted down a lot on the car buying front. Which is weird because I will likely have a new car before the end of April. How is that possible? It’s not as interesting to share what I’m learning when it is all centered on one car rather than a comparison of several. Or at least it seems that way to me.

There was a moment of drama while we were on spring break. I had several price alerts set and got a message that the Volkswagen dealer in Lafayette marked down their 2023 ID.4s over $15,000. One that fit most of what I was looking for was marked down nearly $18,000. Crazy!

I spent a few hours back in the research rabbit hole, reviewing my numbers and lists, but eventually realized that even for that much off MSRP, I would be unhappy leasing a car that was about to be replaced with a version that fixed most of its flaws. Factoring in the Federal tax credit, even with the dealer markdowns the ID.4 was barely cheaper than a Tesla Model Y. Even less so on a lease.

So no ID.4 unless the nicer 2024s show up in April.

Last week I test drove a Model Y for a second time. The first drive in February I was just trying to get a general feel for the car, and comparing it to the Kia EV6 I had driven the previous day. This time, after nearly two months of reading and watching videos about the car, I wanted to pay more attention to the little things. I wouldn’t say I did a highly technical test drive. I just wanted to remind myself how it felt, how easily I could access settings on the screen, etc. I even kicked it into Full Self Driving mode for a moment, although I’m not sure I did it correctly so I wouldn’t say I actually turned the car loose. I wasn’t brave enough to let it change lanes on its own so took over after traveling less than half a mile with it on.

When I was finished, I was confident I had my next car. Now it’s just a matter of deciding what exterior and interior colors I want.

Unless something crazy happens in the market in the next two weeks, of course. There’s still time for one more frenzied period of comparing cars against each other.

It has been fascinating to watch the Tesla market over the past couple of months. The company had been in a cycle of steep price cuts to solidify its market lead. But on both March 1 and April 1, Tesla raised prices by $1000. I figured these were ploys to drive end-of-month and end-of-quarter sales. That proved to be true as the price increases only applied to buyers who were ordering custom builds. Cars that were in transit or on lots still get fat price cuts.

And the crazy thing about Tesla is that the longer a car sits on the dealer lot, the more they get discounted. It seems to be $400–500 per day. But sometimes it’s less, sometimes it doesn’t change at all. There’s a science to letting a car sit on the lot long enough to drop another $1000 or so before someone else snatches it up. In a period when Tesla sales have slowed significantly, I’m not sure there’s been a better time to buy one. I will likely bring home my new car at a sales price close to $30,000 less than what a friend of mine paid for his Model Y just over two years ago.[1]

One thing I’ve tried to keep in mind as I’ve gotten deeper into this process is that, as great a tool as the Internet is for researching any purchase, it also tends to focus on and magnify negatives. In my many hours of research, I’ve often slipped into worrying about which set of flaws I was choosing to take on rather than concentrating on each car’s strong points. That’s always part of the process. You don’t want to buy a car that does ten things great but one thing horribly, and that flaw counter-balances all the good. See why I stopped shopping the Kia/Hyundai EVs because of their electrical issues.

This fear of the bad gets reinforced by how negative message boards and YouTube videos can be.[2] As I get closer to pulling the trigger, I’ve had to remind myself that even with its shortcomings, whatever car I bring home will be an amazing piece of technology that makes what I was driving just a few years ago look woefully primitive in comparison.