The reality of vehicle depreciation hit hard for a UK Tesla owner when he took his one-year-old electric car for a routine valuation – and discovered it had lost almost half of its original value in just 12 months.
Harley Perkins, a YouTuber known for his automotive content aimed at UK drivers, documented the moment he learned the value of his year-old Tesla – Elon Musk’s billion dollar baby.
The Tesla Model Y, purchased for £52,000 (approximately $70,200 USD), had less than 15,000 miles on the clock and remained in very good condition. Despite this, the valuation from WeBuyAnyCar came as a harsh surprise.
In a video posted to his YouTube channel, which quickly gained viral traction, Perkins took viewers step-by-step through the appraisal process.
“Must say I’m not looking forward to this one,” he said candidly in the clip titled “WeBuyAnyCar ruined my year.”
“Let’s see how much money we’ve lost in the past year.”
‘Pretty good condition’
“We all know what’s going to happen he’s going to lowball me, but that’s WeBuyAnyCar for you – they’ve got to make money they’re a business at the end of the day,” Perkins said as viewers watched the vehicle inspector check the electric vehicle (EV) for “any chips or any marks, any dents.”
“This car is in pretty good condition,” Perkins added of the car, that had no significant damage and nothing that would traditionally justify a massive drop in value.
The reality of vehicle depreciation hit hard for a UK Tesla owner when he took his one-year-old electric car for a routine valuation – and discovered it had lost almost half of its original value in just 12 months.
Harley Perkins, a YouTuber known for his automotive content aimed at UK drivers, documented the moment he learned the value of his year-old Tesla – Elon Musk’s billion dollar baby.
The Tesla Model Y, purchased for £52,000 (approximately $70,200 USD), had less than 15,000 miles on the clock and remained in very good condition. Despite this, the valuation from WeBuyAnyCar came as a harsh surprise.
In a video posted to his YouTube channel, which quickly gained viral traction, Perkins took viewers step-by-step through the appraisal process.
“Must say I’m not looking forward to this one,” he said candidly in the clip titled “WeBuyAnyCar ruined my year.”
“Let’s see how much money we’ve lost in the past year.”
‘Pretty good condition’
“We all know what’s going to happen he’s going to lowball me, but that’s WeBuyAnyCar for you – they’ve got to make money they’re a business at the end of the day,” Perkins said as viewers watched the vehicle inspector check the electric vehicle (EV) for “any chips or any marks, any dents.”
“This car is in pretty good condition,” Perkins added of the car, that had no significant damage and nothing that would traditionally justify a massive drop in value.
Shocking valuation
Similar Tesla Model Ys on platforms like AutoTrader were being listed at around £36,000 to £37,000 ($48,000 to $50,000 USD)
Still, when the final valuation came in, Perkins – and his audience – were visibly shocked. “So, let’s see what the price is. Are you ready, guys? Are you ready? Look at this,” he said in disbelief.
The offer: £27,132 – roughly $36,700 USD. This figure represented a drop of nearly £25,000 from the original purchase price.
Asked to justify the valuation, the employee explained the Tesla was graded as a ‘Grade 2’ car. That means it had a few blemishes – but “no chips,” the evaluator said – as only a ‘Grade 1’ vehicle is considered to be in perfect showroom condition.
