by planet4ever (Posted Fri, 12 Apr 2013 22:50:36 GMT)
Ray
stavtom wrote:
I live in CA and it seems like after the rebates the Leaf S comes to 18800 (thinking I can get the dealer down to 17000 after the rebates?) Given this, why would people leasing the S? Seems like the current best deal people are getting for a lease is 5200 over two years and 30k max.
I think you are overlooking two points that make your lease to purchase comparison invalid:- If you go for the three year lease you can get the $2500 rebate just like people who buy.
- Tax in California in included in the lease payments, and the taxes here are high. I find it hard to believe you could walk out the door on a purchase paying $18,800, let alone $17,000. My guess is more like $22,000 once you include tax and license.
stavtom wrote:
Do people see the benefits of a lease being no repair cost the first two years, and the opportunity to buy a much better leaf in a few years? Otherwise it seems like the 5200 cost is about 1/3rd of what I can just buy and keep the car with.
In addition to the battery life issue already mentioned by others, there is the question of how much the car will be worth as a trade in if you buy it. Assuming you get a loan for the price of the car you are likely to be "under water" for a number of years. With a lease you are also paying for an insurance policy. You are basically guaranteed that the LEAF will be worth at least as much as the residual at the end of the lease. If it isn't, you walk away and NMAC has to eat the loss. If it is worth more than that, you buy it for the residual price and can turn around and sell it at market price if you want to.Ray