Context: We use public transit for work commute(NY metropolitan area).
So, my car is mostly for leisure, running errands and vacations(like Maine, upstate, VA etc). So, for the most part we don’t really need FSD every single month. However, we could easily get FSD now for a month in the summers or when we have longer drives planned.
Ordered a new Y and I would love to tint the Y. But, I’m worried about the cops pulling over. Especially since my wife would also be driving this and don’t want her hassled. Also while I value the heat rejection in summer, I don’t want my car to be an ice box in winters. Maybe the cars heats up a bit in winter sun without the tints? I don’t know if i’m making sense!
What’s a tint that matches the back if I only tint the front sides without making it too noticeable to be pulled over?
I had to jump in on that sweet sweet APR! Planning to sell my current car to Carmax/Carvana and invest it in HYSA or index funds. I remember watching Youtube reviewers back in 2014(?) showing the Model S and I was so amused to see the undercarriage being empty lol! It was so aspirational at that time to buy a Tesla and finally that day has come! 12 yrs later!
Couple of Q:
Situation:
• Buying a 2026 Tesla Model Y Premium RWD for $46,630
• You have an existing car worth $17,000 (both Tesla and Carmax offer the same)
• You’ll drive ~8,000 mi/year, plan to keep the new car 6 years then sell
• NJ resident, 6.625% sales tax, $4,000 NJ EV incentive available
Your two real choices:
Choice 1: Trade your current car directly to Tesla
• Tesla credits you $17,000 toward the new Tesla
• You also get $1,126 off your sales tax (NJ trade-in tax credit)
• You finance the rest at 0.99% for 72 months: $348/month
• Over 6 years, you pay $25,032 in monthly payments + $3,300 down
• At year 6, you sell the Tesla for ~$18,600
• Your total cost over 6 years: $26,732 (or $4,455/year)
Choice 2: Sell your car to Carmax for cash, invest in S&P 500, finance the full Tesla
• Carmax pays you $17,000 cash. You put it all in S&P 500.
• You pay full NJ sales tax on the Tesla (no trade-in credit, so $1,126 more in tax)
• You finance more, so monthly payment is $607/month
• Over 6 years, you pay $43,709 in monthly payments + $3,300 down
• At year 6, you sell the Tesla for ~$18,600 AND cash out your S&P 500 (worth ~$30,117 at 10% returns)
• Your total cost over 6 years: $15,293 (or $2,549/year)
Choice 2 saves you $11,439 over 6 years.
Where the savings come from:
• S&P 500 gains on $17,000 over 6 years: +$13,117
• Lost NJ trade-in tax credit: −$1,126
• Extra interest on the larger loan: −$551
• Net advantage: +$11,439
The risk in Choice 2:
It depends on S&P 500 returns. If the market returns:
• 0% (terrible decade) → Choice 1 wins by $1,677
• 1.6%/year → tie
• 5%/year → Choice 2 wins by $4,104
• 10%/year (historical average) → Choice 2 wins by $11,439
The S&P would have to return less than 1.6%/year for 6 straight years for Choice 1 to win. Even a high-yield savings account currently pays 4-5%. So mathematically, Choice 2 is the better bet for almost any realistic market scenario.
Practical considerations:
Both choices are essentially the same level of hassle since Carmax handles all paperwork just like Tesla would for a trade-in. The only real difference is you make two transactions (Carmax sale + Tesla purchase) instead of one.
My recommendation: Choice 2 — sell to Carmax, invest in S&P, finance the Tesla. The math is clearly better and the hassle is nearly identical.
There have numerous posts where this has randomly popped off. Also, on Apple support forums. It appears Apple at least knows but doesn’t want to do anything about it.