Proudly this is my first post here. I just custom ordered my model S a couple of weeks ago and I am scheduled for a mid-December delivery. I love everything Tesla represents, and haven’t been this excited to get a car since I was a kid!
Here’s my question - I have until December to decide if I want to lease or buy, but I need some advice:
1. I’m doing about 12,000 miles a year and I would much prefer to have the car for 2 years instead of 3. Problem is that puts the lease premiums sky high. If I instead finance, what is the chance that with a $7500 tax credit and $4,000 down on a $90,000 sticker that I’ll be able to sell the car without any significant negative equity in 2 years? I’m thinking I’ll probably be significantly upside down but hoping by some miracle there might some kind of workaround here?
2. If two years is not feasible, I’ll be looking at a 3 year lease verse finance (see pic), which brings me to my next question - the cost of leasing vs financing (72 mo) is slightly higher for the lease over the course of 3 years when you factor in the $7500 tax credit. At 12,000 miles a year how should I expect my s to retain its value after 3 years? Basically, in terms of overall cost, am I better off buying or leasing if I know I’ll return it after 3 years? All being equal I prefer to lease as I know it’s hassle free, but I’ll lean towards whatever will cost me the least amount of money over the next 3 years all in...
Thanks for any help and I’m thrilled to now be part of this community!