Any 3/31 reservation holders or owners who won't order until you can lease?

[206er]

I'll grab the Model 3 via loan (for the longest term possible) if I have to in order to secure the full federal tax credit, but would definitely prefer to lease. Low monthly payments are super important to me.

Our current Acura ILX was a lease which we ended up buying for a decent residual price as a "bridge car" from our last car, an '06 Civic which was paid for but totaled in an accident, to an affordable Tesla.

I've never used/owned a car for longer than 5 years, and today it just seems silly to me to want to outright own an expensive depreciating asset like a car with the way tech is advancing.

And really, unless we somehow fall in love with the 3, I see us using it for about 3-5 years, and then jumping to an S, X, Y, or some other brand offering a good electric vehicle, ideally via leasing. Presumably, there be a decent selection of good quality, non-weirdmobile electric upgrade options available from 2020-21 onward. Envisioning something like a more expensive approach to iphone upgrades, which I do about every 2 years, until personal car ownership becomes a thing of the past and we're all zipping around via hyperloop, bikes, walking, or car sharing services.

 

[voip-ninja]

IMO This is especially relevant with EVs and “v1.0” vehicles in the 2018-2021 time window, where there will be (hopefully) a rapid growth of offering (other EVs from many brands with drastically new features in autonomy, safety, battery etc) at the same time as a growing acceptance/adopter profile. From what I observe it seems residual computations from largely ICE manufacturers are taking none of this into account.

I do think Tesla vehicles somehow are above/ahead of this game somewhat. For example, we purposefully leased a M-B b-class in 2015 because their residual value prediction was computed as a traditional car, but it clearly was not reflecting what I could actually sell the car for today given all the spectrum of bolt/m3/leaf2/soulev/rapid charging/ etc available! But besides the car being mostly excellent for out kid commute needs the difference in cash is best reinvested in a change in fleet.

In the case of the Tesla vehicle, I agree that future versions will negatively impact resale value. We don't know though when those vehicles arrive or how much of an impact it will be.

Since Tesla offers no lease support I will do my own lease.... I will take advantage of $12,500 in state and federal tax credits to purchase my $50,000-$55,000 Tesla Model 3 which will bring the cost down to $37,500-$42,500.

If I decide to get rid of the car in 3-4 years then the tax credit that was lopped off the front end will take some of the sting out of the car taking an unusual hit to residual value. I expect value of the car in 3-4 years to be no more than 50% of pre-tax MSRP.

 

[voip-ninja]

I'll grab the Model 3 via loan (for the longest term possible) if I have to in order to secure the full federal tax credit, but would definitely prefer to lease. Low monthly payments are super important to me.

Our current Acura ILX was a lease which we ended up buying for a decent residual price as a "bridge car" from our last car, an '06 Civic which was paid for but totaled in an accident, to an affordable Tesla.

I've never used/owned a car for longer than 5 years, and today it just seems silly to me to want to outright own an expensive depreciating asset like a car with the way tech is advancing.

And really, unless we somehow fall in love with the 3, I see us using it for about 3-5 years, and then jumping to an S, X, Y, or some other brand offering a good electric vehicle, ideally via leasing. Presumably, there be a decent selection of good quality, non-weirdmobile electric upgrade options available from 2020-21 onward. Envisioning something like a more expensive approach to iphone upgrades, which I do about every 2 years, until personal car ownership becomes a thing of the past and we're all zipping around via hyperloop, bikes, walking, or car sharing services.

It's just my humble opinion but "lower lease payment" is one of the worst reasons to lease. If the goal is to keep monthly outlay low then a better approach is to purchase a 3 year old high reliability car with cash, and then not have a monthly payment. The savings will more than cover the cost of any repair, which for most cars will be pretty low over the first 10 years of ownership.

 

[Runt8]

It's just my humble opinion but "lower lease payment" is one of the worst reasons to lease. If the goal is to keep monthly outlay low then a better approach is to purchase a 3 year old high reliability car with cash, and then not have a monthly payment. The savings will more than cover the cost of any repair, which for most cars will be pretty low over the first 10 years of ownership.

I'm assuming the goals (plural) are to drive a Model 3 and keep the monthly outlay low.

 

[206er]

It's just my humble opinion but "lower lease payment" is one of the worst reasons to lease. If the goal is to keep monthly outlay low then a better approach is to purchase a 3 year old high reliability car with cash, and then not have a monthly payment. The savings will more than cover the cost of any repair, which for most cars will be pretty low over the first 10 years of ownership.

In my opinion, it isn't. Assuming that I plan to upgrade my car anyway every 3-5 years (and only want to go ev), having extra money every month to put towards other things or my next lease seems like a perfectly fine way to proceed.

As for my next car, I'm only interested in buying/using a reliable 4-door ev that 1) isn't a weirdmoble (sorry Leaf/Bolt/i3) and 2) I can afford (eliminates virtually all Ss/Xs). Unless I can snag a super low priced, low mile 2014 or newer S that's in incredible shape, the Model 3 is my only option.

 

[roscoe]

IMO This is especially relevant with EVs and “v1.0” vehicles in the 2018-2021 time window, where there will be (hopefully) a rapid growth of offering (other EVs from many brands with drastically new features in autonomy, safety, battery etc) at the same time as a growing acceptance/adopter profile. From what I observe it seems residual computations from largely ICE manufacturers are taking none of this into account.

I do think Tesla vehicles somehow are above/ahead of this game somewhat. For example, we purposefully leased a M-B b-class in 2015 because their residual value prediction was computed as a traditional car, but it clearly was not reflecting what I could actually sell the car for today given all the spectrum of bolt/m3/leaf2/soulev/rapid charging/ etc available! But besides the car being mostly excellent for out kid commute needs the difference in cash is best reinvested in a change in fleet.

Did you end up leasing your Model X?

 

[206er]

Since Tesla offers no lease support I will do my own lease.... I will take advantage of $12,500 in state and federal tax credits to purchase my $50,000-$55,000 Tesla Model 3 which will bring the cost down to $37,500-$42,500.

What state do you live in where the tax credits total $12,500 and how long does it take for someone to establish residency (lol)? In Washington, we only get the $7,500 federal credit.

 

[voip-ninja]

What state do you live in where the tax credits total $12,500 and how long does it take for someone to establish residency (lol)? In Washington, we only get the $7,500 federal credit.

Colorado has a $5,000 income tax rebate for EV buyers that I believe goes through the end of 2018. I pay well more than $5,000 in state taxes so should qualify for the full credit.

 

[gambit48]

Doesn't Colorado allow that $5,000 to apply to used EVs, as long as they haven't been registered in the state yet? That's freaking amazing.

 

[Runt8]

Colorado has a $5,000 income tax rebate for EV buyers that I believe goes through the end of 2018. I pay well more than $5,000 in state taxes so should qualify for the full credit.

It's actually a tax rebate in Colorado, so you get the $5000 regardless of the amount of state taxes you've paid.

 

[voip-ninja]

Doesn't Colorado allow that $5,000 to apply to used EVs, as long as they haven't been registered in the state yet? That's freaking amazing.

Yes, and they even allow the seller of the car to claim the rebate on your behalf and simply remove it from the sale price of the car. Tesla though is not doing this yet.

 

[internalaudit]

It's just my humble opinion but "lower lease payment" is one of the worst reasons to lease. If the goal is to keep monthly outlay low then a better approach is to purchase a 3 year old high reliability car with cash, and then not have a monthly payment. The savings will more than cover the cost of any repair, which for most cars will be pretty low over the first 10 years of ownership.

Yeah, we made the mistake of buying/financing the last two cars we have brand new -- 11 Accord coupe and 16 RAV4 Hybrid.

in December 2010, not all cars sold in Canada had electronic stability control. The sole car we had was an 02 Civic (still with me) but it didn't even have ABS. Of course I wanted something decent and safe for my wife because she's the one who usually does the long commutes to work. I usually am the designated driver when the family goes out on the weekends.

Then when our toddler turned one and started walking, my wife demanded we get a SUV. I told her the toddler can climb up the car seat soon and there is no need to get rid of the 2-door Accord. I wasn't too sure about Honda's CVT and was sure Toyota's Hybrid Synergy drive implementation was great that we went with the RAV4 Hybrid. Looking back at press release in late 2015, we went with the top of the line because the lower hybrid model didn't have heated steering wheel and ACC at that time. I usually don't like buying the top of the line because a lot of features I don't really care for. Again, safety and convenience for my wife are key.

So far, the two vehicles have been holding up well. The Civic is a daily beater that I drive for now.

Then soon, my older daughter may pass and get her graduated license and that means I will bid adieu to the Civic because the rise in my insurance premiums will be a almost $1.5k. This is where the M3 potential comes in (next third car), which is why I'd rather have AWD (likely safer but we'll still go with winter tires) and may be forced to get the 310 mile version for my wife's once a week commute.

The ticket prices of our household's vehicle purchases keep going higher. If I were single, the only requirements I would have in a vehicle would be besides getting good MPG and being quite reliable: electronic stability control, adaptive cruise control, and possibly automatic emergency braking. My Accord only has the first but it's in such a good shape that it's pointless to get rid of it to spend more money on a replacement vehicle that may become more problematic down the road with more complexities owing to CAFE regulations.

I'm also on the side of the fence where I keep driving the older car and let my wife and soon, my daughter drive the newer ones but they don't like joining internet forums.


Going back to the topic, I don't really regret buying brand new because for Honda's and Toyota's a three year-old vehicle would only be discounted by around 25-30% of the then MSRP and we usually can get some discounts on the MSRP anyway so the discount is probably more like 20-25% plus the PDI savings. It's unlike the States with lots of cheap used vehicles flooding the market all the time and lots of ways to rid of existing vehicles at decent prices (avoid tire kickers and lowballers) by selling to a wholesaler.

 

[Zaphod]

I'll grab the Model 3 via loan (for the longest term possible) if I have to in order to secure the full federal tax credit, but would definitely prefer to lease. Low monthly payments are super important to me.

Well, if low payments are super important, hate to tell you Tesla leases suck. With very few exceptions, the lease rate and loan rates are not that much different. Other manufacturers play number games with money factors and pump up residuals giving significantly more attractive lease rates. Tesla does not do that.