So…
One of the negatives of the end of year is that a lot of folks who have procrastinated are trying to fit as much stuff in before the new year hits.
One of the things that affect Tesla owners during this time of year is the probability of being provided a nice P85 Tesla Model S for a loaner is less than at other times of the year. Why is that? Well. Tesla has provided the top of the line Model S for its loaner fleet in the explanation that they did not want any Tesla customer to be deprived of a vehicle that is less capable than the vehicle that they bought from Tesla. (of course the car they do provide is limited to 80 mph, but that’s a small point.) As a result, when the Roadster or Model S is in service, I have gotten a P85 loaner vehicle from Tesla.
However, the last time I’ve had service done on my Model S, I was provided with an Enterprise Rental Car ICE Chrysler 200 or was it a Chrysler 300. Either way, it was no Model S. Now this was expected as we’re nearing the end of the year and Tesla makes its loaner fleet available for near immediate purchase from interested parties. When we finalized our Model S order in the summer, we could’ve picked up something similar to our configuration a week out from the time we finalized. I was, at the time, complaining about the increase in accessory prices and my contacts at the Tesla store in Costa Mesa could have provided a loaner purchase at a discount. Additionally, to cover the mileage that the loaner vehicles would’ve endured, Tesla credits so many cents per mile from the sales price.
We decided against it, and thus I did not get the vehicle.
Surprisingly, since Tesla is the manufacturer of said vehicles and the loaner fleet have manufacturer tags, they are all eligible for the new purchase benefits. These benefits are the Federal Tax Credit and whatever State incentives you may be eligible for. (in California, this is a rebate for $2,500 for the purchase of a pure Battery Electric Vehicle of a certain kwh capacity.)
So, back to the procrastinators and Tesla’s loaner fleet. People that want the full tax incentives and obviously won’t have their vehicles built and delivered by 12/31 still have an option to get into a Tesla and get the benefits due to a new EV purchaser.
On a different note, other tax credits are set to expire this year. Namely the installation of an EV charging station. In the past, it would seem that Congress would renew the $1,000 residential credit for installing an EV charging station in one’s home. This year, apparently they did not extend this and as a result, if you, dear US based reader, are planning on purchasing an EV soon and need to install a charging station anyway, go ahead and do so prior to December 31, 2013. You may be eligible to have up to $1,000 credited back to you. If you’re a COMMERCIAL location, the credit is even more generous. It is 30% of the costs up to $30,000. However, it is now December 19, 2013 and seeing that commercial locations tend to get bogged down by such things as building permits, etc. I wonder how probable it would be to install these things by the end of 2013.