Consumers looking to buy an almost-new Tesla Model S electric car — without spending a fortune — are in luck: Tesla is now selling pre-owned vehicles on its website for the very first time.
Tesla Motors has become an industry leader for eco-friendly electric cars, and with so many leases of the popular Model S electric car now coming to a close, the California-based car manufacturer realized it had to change up its sales protocol in order to get rid of so many incoming used cars.
Tesla’s certified vehicle program was launched quietly in April, the Wall Street Journal reports, so that consumers would be able to purchase used cars at a substantially lower price than new models, without sacrificing the manufacturer’s maintenance and reliability checks that are often absent from used car sales. Similar to other luxury car companies, Tesla offers a four-year, 50,000-mile limited warranty on all used vehicles.
Tesla is expecting to have a full inventory of Model S used sedans this summer, as the first set of three-year leases come to a close, and the company is already anticipating that consumers will be very interested in purchasing used models of the eco-friendly vehicle, which hit markets in mid-2012.
According to TIME, a new Model S vehicle can cost anywhere from $75,000 to $105,000 (before tax incentives and gas savings are factored in), and the cost is largely dependent on the battery. A used Model S, on the other hand, ranges from $60,000 to slightly over $100,000.
The new Tesla online marketplace allows customers to browse available pre-owned vehicles, and Green Car Reports notes that consumers are able to filter results by color, location, and model.
According to the WSJ, Tesla hopes that this new pre-owned vehicle program will attract more new customers who would otherwise be hesitant to spend money on a new Tesla vehicle. Additionally, the online sales feature is likely to reach a larger audience, especially considering that Tesla doesn’t sell its vehicles through independent dealers.
“If they plan on posting the vehicles online it will expand the market greatly as most online shopping demonstrates; the buyer will be able to search all the available used models in all markets quickly by just a few clicks, otherwise the buyer would have to go to the dealerships physically,” says Jon Krueger, Quality Director, Dependable Auto Shippers.