Tesla Model Y Purchase - Best Options to Finance?
Discussion
Hello
First off, I would appreciate it if this didn't descend into politics talk. I have no interest in the politics of who owns a car company, I honestly couldn't care less.
I have decided to purchase a new Tesla Model Y so trying to work out the best way to finance it.
Currently have a BMW 330D which is worth around £12.5k according to WBAC, probably a little more via Motorway etc.
Tesla have 0% on the PCP at the moment but am I silly in thinking about sticking a higher deposit down, i.e. the value of the BMW trade in? This would bring payments down to £300pm with a £29k balloon at the end.
A £6k deposit would be around £460pm so perhaps this is the best compromise and I could use the remainder to finally get the patio done in the garden
Lease deals don't seem comparable, even on a 48 month deal with 9 up front (so still £5450) its still £605 a month.
Only alternative is salary sacrifice via my employer and this works out £685pm including the BIK but has maintenance on top (no insurance), although I feel the extra cost of this is probably nowhere near what the maintenance will actually cost over 4 years....what 2 services (maybe) and a set of tyres? Plus it locks me into this employer for 4 years.
First off, I would appreciate it if this didn't descend into politics talk. I have no interest in the politics of who owns a car company, I honestly couldn't care less.
I have decided to purchase a new Tesla Model Y so trying to work out the best way to finance it.
Currently have a BMW 330D which is worth around £12.5k according to WBAC, probably a little more via Motorway etc.
Tesla have 0% on the PCP at the moment but am I silly in thinking about sticking a higher deposit down, i.e. the value of the BMW trade in? This would bring payments down to £300pm with a £29k balloon at the end.
A £6k deposit would be around £460pm so perhaps this is the best compromise and I could use the remainder to finally get the patio done in the garden
Lease deals don't seem comparable, even on a 48 month deal with 9 up front (so still £5450) its still £605 a month.
Only alternative is salary sacrifice via my employer and this works out £685pm including the BIK but has maintenance on top (no insurance), although I feel the extra cost of this is probably nowhere near what the maintenance will actually cost over 4 years....what 2 services (maybe) and a set of tyres? Plus it locks me into this employer for 4 years.
Higher deposit may mean more risk of losing that if you crash and have the car written off. Gap insurance would be a must.
I always would prefer having more of the money in my account earning interest if it is 0%. But I get that large monthlies are less easy to stomach.
I m amazed how cheap the older stuff is now. My mate bought a Model Y ex demo AWD a year ago for £41k and feels it is worth £25k today.
Oh and tesla don t really want to service them as it isn t needed. Maybe one set of tyres, depends how it is driven, and one service if you insist
I always would prefer having more of the money in my account earning interest if it is 0%. But I get that large monthlies are less easy to stomach.
I m amazed how cheap the older stuff is now. My mate bought a Model Y ex demo AWD a year ago for £41k and feels it is worth £25k today.
Oh and tesla don t really want to service them as it isn t needed. Maybe one set of tyres, depends how it is driven, and one service if you insist
Edited by vindaloo79 on Friday 6th June 07:18
At 0% why would you want them having more of your money than is necessary?
Put down the minimum amount to get the deal, stick the rest in a savings account and pay the monthlies from there. You still have access to the money should you need it for some reason and as pointed out above are shouldering less risk.
Buying any new EV at this point is like burning money unfortunately, hence the high lease and SS costs. It will almost certainly not be worth that balloon valuation, so essentially a lease anyway.
Put down the minimum amount to get the deal, stick the rest in a savings account and pay the monthlies from there. You still have access to the money should you need it for some reason and as pointed out above are shouldering less risk.
Buying any new EV at this point is like burning money unfortunately, hence the high lease and SS costs. It will almost certainly not be worth that balloon valuation, so essentially a lease anyway.
Edited by SWoll on Friday 6th June 07:59
RayDonovan said:
Would you consider used?
I did look at used but looking at £25k ish for something worth while and those only have a year left of warranty for the most partPlus 99.9999999999% of them seem to be boring white (I jest but you see my point).
I wanted the Ultra Red and I want a Tow hitch too, plus the new ones give better range.
Time I have borrowed 13k to add to what I have now, I have a car out of warranty in a year which I then have to sell on later.
SWoll said:
At 0% why would you want them having more of your money than is necessary?
Put down the minimum amount to get the deal, stick the rest in a savings account and pay the monthlies from there. You still have access to the money should you need it for some reason and as pointed out above are shouldering less risk.
Buying any new EV at this point is like burning money unfortunately, hence the high lease and SS costs. It will almost certainly not be worth that balloon valuation, so essentially a lease anyway.
As SWoll says, at 0% put as low a deposit down as possible and put the remainder in as a high an interest earning account as possible.Put down the minimum amount to get the deal, stick the rest in a savings account and pay the monthlies from there. You still have access to the money should you need it for some reason and as pointed out above are shouldering less risk.
Buying any new EV at this point is like burning money unfortunately, hence the high lease and SS costs. It will almost certainly not be worth that balloon valuation, so essentially a lease anyway.
Edited by SWoll on Friday 6th June 07:59
OK your monthly payments are larger but the total cost over the PCP period would be the same, however, you would have earned interest on that money not deposited.
An interesting point you raised that not a lot of people realise, and appreciate that this may vary company to company. On a lot of the Salary Sacrifice schemes, if you chose to leave that employer during the period you have your car, you have to pay the remaining monthly rentals...
Wagonwheel555 said:
I did look at used but looking at £25k ish for something worth while and those only have a year left of warranty for the most part
Plus 99.9999999999% of them seem to be boring white (I jest but you see my point).
I wanted the Ultra Red and I want a Tow hitch too, plus the new ones give better range.
Time I have borrowed 13k to add to what I have now, I have a car out of warranty in a year which I then have to sell on later.
I reckon the cost of financing/leasing a brand new Tesla, especially a Model Y will only go up over time, due to weaking residual values. Plus 99.9999999999% of them seem to be boring white (I jest but you see my point).
I wanted the Ultra Red and I want a Tow hitch too, plus the new ones give better range.
Time I have borrowed 13k to add to what I have now, I have a car out of warranty in a year which I then have to sell on later.
Oh, you could always wrap a white used Model Y.
"Marketcheck also says that the average last used listed price of all four Tesla models has continued their downward trend.
Models Y, X, 3 and S have all seen average used values fall by almost a third (30%) between May 2023 and April 2025.
The average last listed price of a used Model Y sold in April was £29,938.
The Model Y has seen the largest fall in price over this time period, falling by more than a third (36.4%) from the average last listed price in May 2023 of £47,068.
This is the largest drop in price of all four Tesla models over the period covered by Marketcheck’s analysis.
The used price has fallen by 5.9% between January 2025 and April 2025, decreasing by £2,785.
The Model S has seen the largest drop in average last listed used price this year."
Source: https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/record-low-for-pr...
Wagonwheel555 said:
Thanks all
Just did a test drive and loved it.
He said the PCP is only on for orders collected before the end of June, unsure how true that is.
Its on the brand new model
Tesla mess about with APR and balloon on PCP all the time. Think the model 3 highland was 9.9% when it first came out it’s 0% now it’s a volume car that doesn’t seem to be selling as well as the previous model deals will likely return even if the current 0% becomes something like 2.9%. Good advice on here take the 0%, keep deposit as low as you’re comfortable with relative to monthly they are good multi purpose cars I know a few people who have swapped out of ICE into Model Y’s and they love them and that was the pre juniper model and the new one by all accounts is a significant improvement. Best of luck hope you enjoy the car. Just did a test drive and loved it.
He said the PCP is only on for orders collected before the end of June, unsure how true that is.
Its on the brand new model
I've also been looking at a 3 year old model Y. Love the space and drive. White leather and a tow bar are slim pickings though.
I've been put off a little by insurance quotes. £800 per year compared to £250 on the current C43. Seems totally out of proportion but guess linked to recent issues.
Going to review in 6 months
I've been put off a little by insurance quotes. £800 per year compared to £250 on the current C43. Seems totally out of proportion but guess linked to recent issues.
Going to review in 6 months
Sargeant Orange said:
I've also been looking at a 3 year old model Y. Love the space and drive. White leather and a tow bar are slim pickings though.
I've been put off a little by insurance quotes. £800 per year compared to £250 on the current C43. Seems totally out of proportion but guess linked to recent issues.
Going to review in 6 months
Probably more linked to the potential higher cost of repair in a collision for the Y vs the C43. I've been put off a little by insurance quotes. £800 per year compared to £250 on the current C43. Seems totally out of proportion but guess linked to recent issues.
Going to review in 6 months
Have another test drive at 16:00 today.
If the Wife likes it (I suspect she will), the PCP deal seems to be as follows:
Tesla Model Y Long Range RWD
Ultimate Red Colour
Tow Hitch
£1054 Deposit
48 Months
12k Miles
£651 per month
£20184 balloon at the end
My plan is to sell the BMW via Motorway (as I no longer need the money for the deposit), stick the money is savings and pay the £651 from that which should cover about 19 months. I will then save the £400pm from now that I had originally budgeted for the car which in 19 months time should pay for another 12 months or so which takes me to approx month 31 meaning I then find £651 per month for the remainder of the 17 months until I pay the balloon (probably refinance) or give the car back.
Man maths. I think
Only issue is to get the 0% APC on the PCP, I have to take delivery by end of June which is fine but if Tesla can t get me the car by then, the PCP could change which will annoy me as I could have a hard credit report search and then decide to cancel as they can t meet their own deadline.
Insurance wise I did a quote with my current company to ‘change car’ and its an extra £36 a year, we renewed about a month ago so feels like a good deal considering its worth 3-4x the BMW.
If the Wife likes it (I suspect she will), the PCP deal seems to be as follows:
Tesla Model Y Long Range RWD
Ultimate Red Colour
Tow Hitch
£1054 Deposit
48 Months
12k Miles
£651 per month
£20184 balloon at the end
My plan is to sell the BMW via Motorway (as I no longer need the money for the deposit), stick the money is savings and pay the £651 from that which should cover about 19 months. I will then save the £400pm from now that I had originally budgeted for the car which in 19 months time should pay for another 12 months or so which takes me to approx month 31 meaning I then find £651 per month for the remainder of the 17 months until I pay the balloon (probably refinance) or give the car back.
Man maths. I think
Only issue is to get the 0% APC on the PCP, I have to take delivery by end of June which is fine but if Tesla can t get me the car by then, the PCP could change which will annoy me as I could have a hard credit report search and then decide to cancel as they can t meet their own deadline.
Insurance wise I did a quote with my current company to ‘change car’ and its an extra £36 a year, we renewed about a month ago so feels like a good deal considering its worth 3-4x the BMW.
Edited by Wagonwheel555 on Saturday 7th June 07:37
Or you could buy a 2 year old <20k mile example with your car sale + a personal loan for the same monthly outlay over 2 years and end up with a 4 year old car you own outright that has a value of £15k or more?
£32k to rent a base Y for 4 years seems a lot to me as appears unlikely to be worth that balloon valuation based on current values?
£32k to rent a base Y for 4 years seems a lot to me as appears unlikely to be worth that balloon valuation based on current values?
Hi,
I was aiming to buy a new Model Y until I read about the Kia PV5 being released in December (looks like Kia can’t meet that date).
Enough about the PV5,
What delayed me signing for a a model Y before I found out about the Kia was the ‘must have taken delivery by end of June’.
Speaking to the staff at the dealership, it seemed the issue was my choice of non white colour.
They have increased demand for the non white colour options, hence they were confident if I went with the white colour it would be delivered in time,
I don’t hate the white colour I just prefer the blue or black.
I was aiming to buy a new Model Y until I read about the Kia PV5 being released in December (looks like Kia can’t meet that date).
Enough about the PV5,
What delayed me signing for a a model Y before I found out about the Kia was the ‘must have taken delivery by end of June’.
Speaking to the staff at the dealership, it seemed the issue was my choice of non white colour.
They have increased demand for the non white colour options, hence they were confident if I went with the white colour it would be delivered in time,
I don’t hate the white colour I just prefer the blue or black.
SWoll said:
Or you could buy a 2 year old <20k mile example with your car sale + a personal loan for the same monthly outlay over 2 years and end up with a 4 year old car you own outright that has a value of £15k or more?
£32k to rent a base Y for 4 years seems a lot to me as appears unlikely to be worth that balloon valuation based on current values?
Not a fan of the previous model looks wise.£32k to rent a base Y for 4 years seems a lot to me as appears unlikely to be worth that balloon valuation based on current values?
Plus I plan to buy at the end of the balloon anyway
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