The CarGurus Blog

Daily coverage of the world of cars.

Electric Vehicles

Tesla Faces Growing Pains While Planning European Expansion


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tesla-supercharger

There are some perks to Tesla ownership that customers believe are vital to the experience of owning one of the premium electric vehicles.

One of those perks is free access to the company’s network of superchargers. Another is quick and responsive maintenance and repairs.

Both of those perks seem to be fading away as Tesla grows. Customers are beginning to complain of long wait times for service and, at the same time, Tesla has announced that unlimited free charging access will soon be a thing of the past.

Is the novelty of Tesla ownership wearing off?

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Faraday’s Financial Future Already Bleak


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faraday_future

Faraday Future mysteriously stormed into the U.S. market promising a new breed of electric car that would upend Tesla.

It unveiled a supercar concept and has teased a coming crossover. It has broken ground on a $1 billion factory in Nevada. Curiously, the company has never sold, or even produced, a single production-worthy automobile.

Now its parent company, China-based LeEco, has sent a dire warning to employees that it’s having financial troubles and needs to cut costs.

Could Faraday’s Future be over before it even begins?

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Tesla: No Discount for You!


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2016-tesla-model-x

One of the joys of shopping for a new car is knowing that the price you see on the window sticker is just a starting point for negotiation.

It’s exciting to see how far under that MSRP your sharp negotiating skills can get you. Two thousand dollars? Four thousand? More?

Of course, the flexibility of the dealer depends on a lot of factors. Is the car in high demand or has it been sitting on the lot for months? What kind of kickbacks does the manufacturer offer? Is the vehicle a high-priced luxury pickup or an economy car?

Whatever the vehicle, consumers rarely find themselves paying the full MSRP.

That is, of course, unless they’re buying a Tesla.

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Will Tesla’s New Lease Attract More Customers?


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2016-tesla-model-x

Believe it or not, you can still buy a new car in the United States for under $14,000. The least expensive option on the market is the $11,990 Nissan Versa, a car that Car and Driver says, “has insultingly flimsy materials” along with a 109-hp 1.6-liter engine that makes for slow acceleration but gives reasonably good fuel efficiency.

Most of us opt to buy more car than what the Versa has to offer, but that ultra-low price is appealing to budget-conscious shoppers. If the Versa is too “flimsy,” buyers can step up to something like the $14,000 Ford Fiesta.

Once the car is purchased, it can be driven for many years with no further finance costs, which is one of the benefits of buying a car outright.

A 24-month finance term on a $14,000 car, at 3.11 percent interest, is about $600. For the same price you could drive one of the most desirable luxury cars on the market: An all-electric Tesla.

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Changes Coming for Popular Nissan Juke, Leaf


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Nissan_Juke

Electric cars shouldn’t look like electric cars if they are to go mainstream.

Tesla figured that out early, while other automakers, especially BMW and Nissan, made their electric cars look more and more… electric.

The BMW i3 and Nissan Leaf are perhaps the “most electric” looking of today’s electric cars.m BMW shows no signs of easing up on its polarizing styling, while Nissan, known for pushing the limits of good design taste, will soon unveil all-new looks for the Leaf and a slightly tamed-down design for the soon-to-be-hybrid Juke.

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