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People stunned after man takes $70,000 Tesla to car-buying service to find out its value after just one year
Online users were shocked after an influencer took a $70,000 Tesla to a car-buying service to see how much it was worth after just one year.
Harley Perkins is a British YouTuber who shares content focused on cars, motorbikes, vans and offers insurance advice and tips.
Two years ago, Perkins posted a video of him taking his Tesla Model Y in to see how much the car had declined over the 12 months that he had owned it.
"I bought the Tesla for £52,000 ($70,000). It's got less than 15,000 miles on, so let's see how much money we've lost in the past year," he said, adding that he had driven less than 15,000 miles in the vehicle so far and had spotted the same model going for around £37,000 ($50,322) on AutoTrader.
Tesla owner stunned by staggering valuation
The clip shows the WeBuyAnyCar representative inspecting the car to see if it has any scratches, chips, marks, or dents.
Perkins insisted that his vehicle was still in good condition, having covered relatively few miles since he purchased it.
However, the content creator was left stunned when the employee said the car would be worth just £27,132 ($36,896) - which is £24,868 ($33,200) less than Perkins had originally paid for the car.
The employee explained that the car had been classified as a Grade 2 vehicle due to minor imperfections in its condition.
"Grade one vehicle has no chips or [blemishes], so I'll put yours as a grade two, which is the next best," he said.
Perkins then questioned how much more the company might offer if his Tesla had qualified for the highest rating.
He suggested that the car might be valued around £30,000 ($40,000), but the man said he was unable to provide an exact figure.
Viewers shocked by Tesla's dramatic drop in value
After the video circulated online, viewers flooded the comments with reactions to the difference between what Perkins paid and what he had been offered.
One user slammed: "This is why people need basic finance lessons at school," while another reacted: "You lost 16k in a year, f**k mate, that's horrendous."
"You get a tesla for its gadgets, and the self parking doesn't work easily takes 5 to 10k off regardless of age cause its the feature you buy the car for," a third added.
A fourth said that over £2,000 ($2,700) a month loss is "great way to lose money," while another blasted at the company, writing: "The only time you go to them is if you're in need of some quick cash. It's just another company taking advantage of people that are in need."
However, not everyone blamed the car itself, with several viewers instead criticizing WeBuyAnyCar for what they believed was an excessively low offer.
"Never take your car to we buy any car. How ridiculous a 73 plate tesla with only 15K miles to be valued at the price," one said, while a second shared: "He can’t value cars. He inputs data into a programme which tells him the value. He has no clue."
Meanwhile, one user warned that cars are "the worst investment" and advised people not to buy it unless they're "super rich".