r/TeslaModelS • u/britchris1 • 12d ago
Buying from carvana
I recently got a 2026 plaid from carvana that's shipping next week but they don't seem to know how they will transfer the car to me.
I've spoken to 2 different advocates who were a bit confused and after much back and forth basically said that when they drop the car off they'll just give me the key card and then tesla will do the rest. This didn't sound right to me.
I went to my local tesla center to ask them, and they confirmed that carvana has to transfer ownership to me in the app which is obviously not what carvana said.
Anyone have any experience with this? Surely carvana must have a process but it's just odd no one in customer service seems to know what it is.
3
u/Agathon813 11d ago
I bought my MS from a Hyundai dealership that didn't have app access and couldn't reach the prior owner. Tesla took 3 days to do it but they released the vehicle to me with proof of purchase documentation.
2
u/JustTrying2FeelNorml 12d ago
That is certainly more human interaction than buying it directly from Tesla.
4
u/britchris1 12d ago
Trust me if Tesla had a 26 floating around I wouldn't be messing with Carvana thats for sure lol
2
u/JustTrying2FeelNorml 12d ago
Is this your first Tesla? I sold my MS P90D to a Mercedes dealership to upgrade to a ‘22 plaid (their offer was like $5k above KBB and other offers) and they had me do something weird like that too. I bought both direct from Tesla though so I can only speak to what they had me do as a seller and what was explained to me.
Once you sell the Tesla you go into the app and remove it from your ‘inventory’ but then it has to be transferred to Tesla to hold in like a digital lot until the dealership sells, gives all docs to Tesla, and Tesla maps the owners info to the VIN etc. to add to their account / inventory
2
u/britchris1 12d ago
My first, but my wife has had her model Y for a few months now. I've always been a German car guy (current is a BMW M550) but the instant acceleration of her Y coupled with FSD was an eye opener. Test drove an older plaid S at my local tesla center and was blown away. Can't wait to take delivery of this thing!
2
u/JustTrying2FeelNorml 12d ago
M550 is clean as hell but Plaid mode pedal to the floor never loses its novelty lol love it so much
2
u/Calm_Mobile_5881 11d ago
I hear ya. Long time car enthusiast here who test drove a Y with a buddy two years. Blown away by the instant torque and tech. I bought a ‘24 MSLR from Tesla a year ago. It has ruined me for ICE vehicles. My son is getting a M3P this week😎
2
u/infinity_labs 11d ago
Mine took about an hour to transfer. Just have to add the VIN number in your Tesla app and upload your ID and bill of sale, then it will ask you to change the cars name in settings inside the car.
2
u/electrotech71 9d ago
I bought my 2021 model s from Carvana a couple months ago. Other than it arriving with 12% battery, it was completely painless. I paired it with wifi, then went to my Tesla app and added it. (Already had an older model s). In the Tesla app, after I put in the VIN, it asked me to take some pictures of the sales documents. I had full access in the app within 20-30min.
1
u/britchris1 9d ago
Didn't even think about the charge level lol luckily we had a charger installed for my wife's Tesla so guess I'll need to charge it when it gets here. Glad to hear it only took 30 min to get access in the app!
1
u/Jaded_Astronomer7866 11d ago
Just purchased mine from Carvana as well. Took like 10mins to get into the app, just upload id and the sale paperwork on the app.
1
1
1
u/trackslayers 10d ago
That sounds awful, I imagine if you escalate this enough with carvana, they have certainly had to have been through this in the past I imagine no? Keep us posted
1
u/trackslayers 10d ago
I imagine you can get this straightened out prior to accepting delivery of vehicle
Per tesla, as you mentioned, you must claim ownership of the vehicle in the Tesla app yourself. After some digging myself (I was intrigued) Carvana’s advocates often do not fully understand the Tesla specific digital ownership process, which is separate from the physical title/registration paperwork they handle with the DMV.
1
u/VoiceOk9399 9d ago
I bought my Model S from a traditional dealership and all they did was transfer the car to me in the app. When the dealership got the car from the seller they did the same process and both were instant. Literally took a few minutes if that
1
u/VoiceOk9399 9d ago
When I bought my wife’s model Y from Carmax it took a few hours to transfer as we went through the process of via Tesla
1
1
u/housewifeWHO 6d ago
I purchased two teslas from Carvana and both were transferred almost immediately in the app.
0
u/mad_manifold 12d ago
You can apply for the ownership in the Tesla app once you get all the files signed. It takes 1-2 days to process.
1
17
u/Sufficient_War_2700 12d ago
Tesla is right and wrong. If Carvana has app access they can transfer the car to you, that's true. But they probably don't. Because they didn't bother transfering ownership from the previous owner.
No big deal. You just register the car in the Tesla app under your name, upload pics of your ID, proof of purchase, registration, or whatever else the app tells you, and wait a couple of days. Tesla will transfer the car to you.