I am considering reserving on March 31. I have never leased a vehicle, but is there an advantage here because of the battery? How long should this battery last?
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Also, if you aren't eligible for the Fed tax credit, (ie you don't owe taxes), by leasing the finance company gets the credit and they lower the cost of the lease...so, you make a lower monthly payment.
So what's the extra cost to lease? If I buy a $70,000 Model S and get all the rebates and credits I'll pay $60,000. Not worrying about tax and everything to keep it simple. If I leased for 36 months I'll pay $33,566 and can walk away. They're not going to let me keep the car for $26,444, right? Would I not be able to get more than 26k for (in my case) a very lightly used 3 year old model S?
Don't forget that the resale guarantee and lease terms will include caps on mileage; if you decide you want to road trip or just put a lot of miles on the vehicle, that can also be a limiting factor.
I considered leasing and financing for the RVG but in the end decided I'll be buying my MX and M3 outright. I purchased my MS outright and it has depreciated about $30k over 2 years. Assuming linear depreciation (though it should be slower in the coming years), another $15k would bring me to $45k of depreciation over the 3 year RVG period, for a residual value of $55k. RVG on the vehicle would have made it worth less than $50k, and I would have been capped on mileage as well as having to pay finance charges along the way.
I value mileage on a car since I feel that's the main utility of a vehicle. The higher the mileage, the better I've used it.. at least from my perspective. So having a cap is something I prefer to avoid.
The problem with leasing a Tesla is the tax credit. They reduce the cost of the lease by using the credit to increase the residual. So that means the lease is only useful if you definitely don't want to purchase it at the end.
Of course you could lease then try to get a CPO Model 3 once the lease expires.....
I intend to have the M3 replace the MS, assuming it fits my needs. Otherwise I'll probably buy another MS once mine turns 4 years old.Thanks for this! I made a topic specifically about a RVG program for the Model 3 and the consideration of buying vs. leasing. This was the exact response I was looking for! Will you be selling your MS for the MX or M3? Or will you be keeping it?