Will the Slate Truck and Slate Accessories be financed together or can we pay separately?

[Mac-Tyson]

I was just thinking about if we are forced to finance the accessory options or if I just want to pay for all the accessories outright with my deposit then finance the truck is that an option for a lower monthly payments? Also if I bought all my day 1 accessories, paid off my truck, but then wanted to get an SUV Kit but finance it by itself is that an option? Slate Accessories are not like traditional trim options so this is an interesting thing to think about and something I hope we can get an answer on.

 

[KevinRS]

Probably financing details is another thing we will hear more on in June.
I would assume that buying the accessories separately will of course be an option, because you can always buy them after you have the truck. Not sure what you mean by buying the accessories with your deposit though, and how that would lower payments. If you buy them instead of putting that deposit towards the loan, payments will be higher.

 

[IanNubbit]

I'd say it looks like this
At time of sale: Lump everything together into one loan/sale, similarly how dealerships add things like steps and roof racks not built with the vehicle but can be thrown into the initial sale.
After sale: You are on your own, see personal loans or credit cards lol

But all honestly this is how I see it going. With having no lease options on the vehicle, I expect only 3rd party finance so I see no reason for them to get into loans for accessories after that fact

With the idea of buying your accessories up front, I'd say either have them as a separate order, or just have a big down payment that covers the cost of them. Either has the same result.

 

[ScooterAsheville]

Just an idle thought. It would be cool if somebody eventually starts an online "Slate parts and accessories swap" site. Just not me - I'm far too lazy.

Could be part of a "Slate Club of America". As an old Miata owner (3 of them), I was part of the Miata Club of America, which had all kinds of cool features like that. Miata owners are super cool. People will physically help you modify or repair your Miata and not ask for a penny. Just because it's a huge family (more than a million Miatas have been built and sold over three decades).

If the Slate catches on and thrives, it would be cool if something similar happens.

 

[IanNubbit]

Just an idle thought. It would be cool if somebody eventually starts an online "Slate parts and accessories swap" site. Just not me - I'm far too lazy.

Could be part of a "Slate Club of America". As an old Miata owner (3 of them), I was part of the Miata Club of America, which had all kinds of cool features like that. Miata owners are super cool. People will physically help you modify or repair your Miata and not ask for a penny. Just because it's a huge family (more than a million Miatas have been built and sold over three decades).

If the Slate catches on and thrives, it would be cool if something similar happens.

Miss my Miata friends in DFW. Loved the build days we did in garages with a handful of people. Slate would be so great for that exact thing.

*written while wearing my Millionth Miata tour shirt with a signature on the left rear quarter if the musuem car🙂*

 

[ZuliMuli]

I'd say it will look more like traditional vehicle sales at initial purchase with addons being apart of the vehicle sale if you chose them at the time of order. We don't know how soon the Individual parts/kits/aftermarket for Slate official parts (like the SUV kit among other things) will be available (one would assume very quickly after orders open up but we just don't know) so as of now I would plan to add as much as you want to the original order, and use any money you are saving to buy accessories outright and put it towards the down payment which would act like buying them out and lower the monthly as it would lower the principal of the loan. (assuming your buying not leasing that's a whole different equation)

 

[IanNubbit]

I'd say it will look more like traditional vehicle sales at initial purchase with addons being apart of the vehicle sale if you chose them at the time of order. We don't know how soon the Individual parts/kits/aftermarket for Slate official parts (like the SUV kit among other things) will be available (one would assume very quickly after orders open up but we just don't know) so as of now I would plan to add as much as you want to the original order, and use any money you are saving to buy accessories outright and put it towards the down payment which would act like buying them out and lower the monthly as it would lower the principal of the loan. (assuming your buying not leasing that's a whole different equation)

I believe that Slate said items like thr SUV kit that are expected to be high optioned items were going to be available at launch. Can’t remember where, but I feel like that sounds familiar

 

[cadblu]

I believe the following excerpts from Slate's FAQ page will help answer the OP's questions:

What financing options do I have?
You can finance your vehicle with Slate at competitive terms at the time of purchase, or you can use a bank of your choice.

Can I finance the EV charger or accessories?
Yes, we intend to offer financing for chargers and accessories when purchased through Slate at the same time as the vehicle.

What payment methods can I use?
Whether you use Slate financing, arrange a loan with another lender, or pay in full, our website will make it easy.

 

[KevinRS]

Slate will likely arrange financing with one or more banks, the same banks that finance other cars. They could offer something for after the sale purchase of accessories, but that would be more like a credit card or the buy now pay later offers available in stores and on many websites. Again, the actual loan would be through a separate company that does that kind of thing, and has the licenses and such for it.

 

[ZuliMuli]

I believe that Slate said items like thr SUV kit that are expected to be high optioned items were going to be available at launch. Can’t remember where, but I feel like that sounds familiar

Yes I was more questioning how quickly they'll be available for separate purchase, I'm sure they will be available to purchase as an addon with the truck at the same time. I think I've heard that said as well in an video interview

 

[IanNubbit]

Yes I was more questioning how quickly they'll be available for separate purchase, I'm sure they will be available to purchase as an addon with the truck at the same time. I think I've heard that said as well in an video interview

The parts won’t be sold any different from new vehicle purchase imo. Would make no sense. The parts don’t ride in/ship with the truck, realistically they are a seperate order all together. You’re VIN and your window sticker won’t say you ordered them.

 

[KevinRS]

The parts won’t be sold any different from new vehicle purchase imo. Would make no sense. The parts don’t ride in/ship with the truck, realistically they are a seperate order all together. You’re VIN and your window sticker won’t say you ordered them.

This has to be right, shipping of vehicles would be more expensive if the shipper had to account for various packages along with it. Parts may ship from different places, even different parts of the country, using different methods. You may have the payment bundled into the financing deal, you may get the truck and parts shipped to someone contracted to install before you pick the truck up, the truck factory will only be making and shipping out trucks.
The VIN number is only going to encode that it's a Slate, and what battery it came with. The rest will be sequential.

 

[ZuliMuli]

The parts won’t be sold any different from new vehicle purchase imo. Would make no sense. The parts don’t ride in/ship with the truck, realistically they are a separate order all together. You’re VIN and your window sticker won’t say you ordered them.

This has to be right, shipping of vehicles would be more expensive if the shipper had to account for various packages along with it. Parts may ship from different places, even different parts of the country, using different methods. You may have the payment bundled into the financing deal, you may get the truck and parts shipped to someone contracted to install before you pick the truck up, the truck factory will only be making and shipping out trucks.
The VIN number is only going to encode that it's a Slate, and what battery it came with. The rest will be sequential.

So we have no idea how Slate will do it, but many OEMs ship accessories with the cars. I work for Subaru and we make the cars to spec, major things that could be customized are done on line (things like wheels.) Then we literally have SoA (Subaru of America) drive the cars out of the factory and next door to be modified or put straight onto transport. So say you wanted the side mirrors that project a light down on the ground when you hit the unlock fob button, that gets installed next door at SoA, they also throw in the rubber weather mats, they even preinstall the cage divider thing before shipping them.

So back to what I was saying we don't exactly know how Slate will do it, we do know they won't install any of the big accessories from the factory like the SUV kit, roof racks, ect. (They will probably will do wheels on line, I can't see them sending a whole set of wheels and tires separately and give everyone steelies) But that doesn't mean that you can't order them all at the same time or that you probably will need to order them at the same time if your one of the very first to get a chance to put an order in till they get a secondary process going to order accessories separately.

 

[E90400K]

IMO, Slate trying something non-traditional by offering several different un-built versions of their truck that are created post manufacturing by the owner is not going to be well-accepted by the auto industry's traditional/legacy auto loan companies. Slate will even need to make such a proposition to its financial partner/banking institution for its direct-to-buyer financing. This may result in higher finance fees because the lenders will see higher risk.

Tough to be a maverick...

 

[IanNubbit]

So we have no idea how Slate will do it, but many OEMs ship accessories with the cars. I work for Subaru and we make the cars to spec, major things that could be customized are done on line (things like wheels.) Then we literally have SoA (Subaru of America) drive the cars out of the factory and next door to be modified or put straight onto transport. So say you wanted the side mirrors that project a light down on the ground when you hit the unlock fob button, that gets installed next door at SoA, they also throw in the rubber weather mats, they even preinstall the cage divider thing before shipping them.

So back to what I was saying we don't exactly know how Slate will do it, we do know they won't install any of the big accessories from the factory like the SUV kit, roof racks, ect. (They will probably will do wheels on line, I can't see them sending a whole set of wheels and tires separately and give everyone steelies) But that doesn't mean that you can't order them all at the same time or that you probably will need to order them at the same time if your one of the very first to get a chance to put an order in till they get a secondary process going to order accessories separately.

What we do know is what Slate has said so far. And that is multiple times “you can install the accessories yourself, or one of our trusted repair partners can help you”. That alone should show that they aren’t anywhere near the assembly line, nor are they adjusted in house. The ONLY thing they have committed to doing themselves so far is wraps, and even that involves sending the truck down the street to a new dedicated building currently being built just for production and installation of Slate wraps. So unless they decided to LOAD the pockets of a local shop with thousands of Slate, you will either have to cordinate those installs, or Slate will help you, it won’t be included in the price for one, because that would mean the people who want to install themselves (which I see being a large proportion, maybe not the majorty, but certainly not a small fraction) are paying for labor they aren’t getting, or Slate will have to add another price for install which would not be nothing for something like the SUV kit.

Slate isn’t following industry ways, they make one vehicle on the assembly line, and that’s it, I don’t think people fully understand that, if you buy different, the stock ones are going to be dismounted, tires and sensors swapped and rebalanced. If they started mounting the customer requested tires, that would variance, different machines for mounting different wheels and tires, and new tooling for mounting to the vehilce. This is all cost and complexity added to the vehicle and assembly Slate has built this brand on avoiding.
I highly doubt they are going to make 3-4 different ways to install parts (on the assembly line, post assembly line, direct to installer, and direct to consumer). The realistic scenario they have discussed is 1 option with 2 different shipping locations.
1.) truck ships to you and parts shipped to you (likely as a pallet).
2.) Truck ships you YOUR choose installer after an agreed upon price with them along with the parts, then you pick it up with them

Bonus) Truck will always ship to you first (I could see them wanting customers seeing the blank slate first, and test driving before anyone gets involved, then ship the parts to your installer so you get to see the before and after first hand

honestly that last one would seem like the best scenario for all. Even if you are only buying Slate for an SUV kit, I think seeing the truck first is important. This will also make the post accessory sale process, flow identical to the during sale process which again, streamlined and simple. Now I really hope they do the latter lol, it’s the best as far as customers being able to inspect the vehicle, and is better for Slate to ensure assembly line consistency and not having to point fingers with repair shops before the customer even sees the vehicle, plus I think seeing the transformation is valued for EVERYONE to see to know what the vehicle is fully capable of.