Please help to decide [question about tesla leasing]

[Loco_Nomad]

I want to order two Model 3s (one blue with white interior, one white on black, both no FSD), one for my wife and one for my mom, replace their 17 Rogue and 17 Civic...
I want to lease because that makes the payments close to what I'm paying for both ICE cars, actually about $50 less
$5000 downpayment for both
Is it really that bad? I keep hearing that specifically Teslas's lease is the worst... please help to figure out, why?

 

[redcap7]

If you are from CA, you will be able to rebate $2000 from your down payment after you accept delivery.

 

[bayarea97]

So I am a big proponent of leasing cars...I know many are not. In your situation though I don't think its the right thing to do.

Redcap is correct you can claim back the clean air rebate in California of $2k per car after you take delivery. (There is an income limit to this though and I believe you can only apply for it twice you would have to check on that.)

Are you planning on doing the long range models? If so after tax and 5k down I bet you are looking at 1200 a month for the two cars on a lease. That is A LOT of money every month going towards two cars that you eventually will have to go give back to Tesla and cannot buy at the end of the lease.

You must have a high income to be considering this so maybe this isn't an issue for you. Just something to think about. Honestly if I were in your shoes I would think about buying at least one of them and get a low interest rate to get as close to the lease cost as possible. Put more cash down or something.

 

[UpperMeadow]

The lease for Tesla M3 is horrible. You will pay for practically the entire car, then be forced to turn it back in. Can’t purchase it at lease end. The interest rate (money factor is exorbitant). I give it an D- for lease value. Suggest buying , especially with all the rebates. Depending on your income you can get $10,500 in grants and rebates(not tax rebates, real money) in CA.

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

There are 3 benefits to leasing:
1. You only pay about half the sales tax (this will save you around $2K-$3K per car)
2. Automakers set the lease price based on predicted depreciation, so if they're wrong and the car proves to be a turkey (e.g. BMW i3, 1st gen Leaf, etc.) at least you won't own that extra depreciation.
3. Writing off the lease for your business might have some tax advantages that are preferable to a purchase write off in some cases.

The caveats are:
1. They know you're saving some tax so they just charge more.
2. They know that you've been lured by the lower monthly payment so they just charge more.
3. A lease is by far the most solid and permanent commitment you can make to a car. You are freakin' stuck with it.
4. When returning the lease they will charge you fees for everything in the (literal) book. If your tires have been used, they'll say they need replacement. Same for the brakes. And everything needs to be OEM (replaced windshield, tire brand, etc.) or they fine you. By comparison, when returning a purchased car they just glance out thru their office window and check the "Excellent" box on Kelley Blue Book.

So the bottom line is that if you can spot the next big turkey (Hummer, Fiat, etc.) and lease it just at the moment the automaker's desperation is peaking, you might save $100 or so by committing to the profound hassle of a lease.

And the top line is that if you choose the lease because that's all you can afford, you'll only make yourself poorer in the process.

 

[Gasaraki]

I want to order two Model 3s (one blue with white interior, one white on black, both no FSD), one for my wife and one for my mom, replace their 17 Rogue and 17 Civic...
I want to lease because that makes the payments close to what I'm paying for both ICE cars, actually about $50 less
$5000 downpayment for both
Is it really that bad? I keep hearing that specifically Teslas's lease is the worst... please help to figure out, why?

If you are ok to give back the cars after 3 years and losing your money then it's fine.

 

[Tom Martin]

I want to order two Model 3s (one blue with white interior, one white on black, both no FSD), one for my wife and one for my mom, replace their 17 Rogue and 17 Civic...
I want to lease because that makes the payments close to what I'm paying for both ICE cars, actually about $50 less
$5000 downpayment for both
Is it really that bad? I keep hearing that specifically Teslas's lease is the worst... please help to figure out, why?

 

[Tom Martin]

All leases are bad! It's like renting a car. You're putting out the money but not getting any equity in the car like you do when you buy.

 

[MadMax082]

All leases are bad! It's like renting a car. You're putting out the money but not getting any equity in the car like you do when you buy.

Leases make sense if you get a car for business. You can write it off.