7:20 am, September 1, 2026
Even Tesla would admit that used cars weren’t always the most important part of its business plan – but now, as the brand matures in the UK, it’s fair to say they’ve been moved up the agenda.
With more than 300,000 Teslas driving around on British roads, the brand’s used car parc is now a very large part of its business.
But while the number of used Teslas being resold by the manufacturer is substantial, what’s just as important to the America firm is other used car dealers being just as confident selling them too.
That might sound a little strange, but as James Strong, Tesla’s UK used car champion told me, it’s arguably more important.
‘We want dealers like you to be comfortable selling our cars,’ he said, as he showed me around the UK’s largest Tesla remarketing site in Longbridge, Birmingham.
I’d been invited to look around the giant facility to see how the car maker refurbishes hundreds of cars a month to sell on its Certified Pre-Owned scheme.
We arrived at the unassuming business park, on the outskirts of a housing estate, questioning whether we were in the right place. But after driving past rows of haulage firm HGVs, Tesla’s giant grey box emerged, dominating the skyline.
Spread over three floors, the Birmingham site is also home to Tesla’s UK engineers working hard on the fully self-driving technology. As excited as the team I met are about this yet-to-be-approved tech, I’m just as interested in the used car set-up.
Peering through the window of the giant storage facility from the customer car park, rows and rows of Teslas are lined up like a scene from iRobot. They’re eerily precise, and their similar looks makes them look just a little daunting from afar.
The site is designed as a pick-up location for customers who have bought new or used, but is also a great place for those buyers who want to sit in a Tesla and understand how it works. Experts are on hand to show them around and help them choose the right car.
Inside the building, Teslas stretch back around 10 rows deep. Strong tells me that on the right side of the pillar are used cars due to go out to customers, on the left are stock cars waiting to be picked.
‘This is the largest Tesla site in the UK,’ said Strong. ‘My colleagues in Manchester might argue differently, but I’m sticking with that claim!
‘It’s central for deliveries and you’ll find at the end of a quarter the new cars are everywhere. We pack them in.’
Strong explains the used Tesla business has grown quickly as the number of cars returning from lease deals and customer trade-ins increases.
‘We bring them here and recondition them – but usually very little needs doing,’ he explains.
No servicing
Strong goes on to tell me how Teslas ‘don’t need servicing’ to maintain their warranties and that little needs checking on the cars. Most Teslas are listed without service history, but Strong says that shouldn’t put anyone off.
‘Very little goes wrong on Teslas,’ he says. ‘Tyres and suspension components will need replacing, but that’s no different to other cars.
‘We can dial in remotely to cars and fix most things. They are very reliable cars.’
Teslas come with a four year, 60,000 mile warranty, but the batteries are warranted for even longer: Eight years and, depending on the model, either 100,000 or 120,000 miles.
Strong and his team at the Birmingham site have been working with Autotrader to organise a series of dealer workshops to answer questions dealers may have. He says these have been very well received and some dealers have switched to only selling Teslas as a result.
‘We price our cars using a European pricing algorithm,’ he says. ‘So the cars here will be more expensive than those on Autotrader but that’s important for us. We want there to be a distinct distance between our prices and what dealers can sell them for.
‘I want dealers to be able to make margin in the chassis from Teslas. Some buyers will come to us because we have Tesla over the door, but there is still a great opportunity for other dealers with Tesla.
‘They are the fastest selling EVs on Autotrader and are in high demand. Why sell other EVs that customers never really wanted to buy new, when you can sell ones that they did?’
That might be a bit cheeky, but it’s probably true. At a time many car makers were heavily discounting their new electric cars, Tesla was having it away in the new car market. And, in a lot of respects, still are.
The firm recently introduced a cheaper Model 3 and Y, both under the £40k price band where higher taxes kick in, and these can be had from as little as £225 per month.
Strong and the team said these had been incredibly popular. I had a good poke around one and apart from fabric seats (which I almost prefer), it’s impossible to tell the difference.
At the back of the huge warehouse, Strong shows me where the used cars are worked on. One lane is for new cars where they’re cleaned and parked up in the showroom and in the other 10 ramps are busy with staff checking over used models.
‘We have a lot coming back from brokers and on lease deals and these need varying amounts of work,’ explained Strong.
‘Usually it’s refurbishing the wheels, new tyres and simple things like that. Then they’re photographed and added to the Tesla website.’
Tesla’s sophisticated online sales are the envy of most car manufacturers. This is a brand that nailed agency sales from the start and it has been reaping the rewards ever since.
Buying a used car from its platform is just as simple as ordering a new one and its highly competitive finance deals make the cars look very good value.
‘It’s important to point out that we want all dealers to succeed selling used Teslas,’ added Strong.
‘While used cars are important for us, without a network of dealers out there selling them too and looking after customers, we wouldn’t be as successful. I’d encourage dealers to try one out, see if the statistics we’re told are correct and see how popular they are.
‘We’ve heard great things from the dealers who have tried them and most try a car for themselves and don’t want to sell it – just like you have.’
Strong is right. I was very reluctant to sell the last Model 3 we had in stock – a long range, all wheel drive model seen in the video below. So much so that when it did sell I immediately went out and bought another. And I’m tempted to sell more.
And, as their prices drop and they fall into the sub £15k market, they’re starting to look very attractive indeed. Especially when you consider the impressive ranges even the high-mileage models still offer used buyers, not to mention the smart Supercharger network.
‘You do need to understand the subtle differences between them, though,’ said Strong.
‘Tesla buyers want to know if it’s a Californian-built car, or a Shanghai one, they want to know what chip it has in it, they want to know if it has a heat pump or not.
‘So, if they want to know, dealers who are selling them need to know too. Too often we see them sold like other used cars listed with things like “electric windows” and “cruise control”. This is not the sort of detail Tesla buyers want.’
So while there might be a knack to it, selling Teslas could be a profitable opportunity.
‘Give them a go,’ adds Strong. ‘I think most dealers will be pleasantly surprised with the margin they can make and their reliability.’
You can watch our walk around of the impressive Longbridge site in the video at the top of this post where Strong shows us the subtle differences between the cars and explains what the firm does when preparing the cars for sale.