-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Talk me out of ending my Model 3 lease early to go purchase one
- Thread starter clayton006
- Start date
I did talk to them yesterday. I talked to leasing, that sent me to customer service, that sent me to sales. Essentially I would need to pay for my lease in full to move to something else with them. I'm not doing that, and that is the expected response I had. The other option is to swap it to someone else. I did create an account with swapalease just in case I decided to go with that option.
I think I'm just going to keep it the 3 years and see what the EV landscape is in that time.
I think I'm just going to keep it the 3 years and see what the EV landscape is in that time.
Mattopotamus
Member
Just be mindful of your miles. The main reason I did not lease a Tesla is because it is closed ended, and I knew I would be driving it more than my previous ICE vehicles.
FWIW...
I had this same discussion with myself before deciding to lease. My general concern is that I love the car, but I am not sure what that Tesla ownership experience will look like in 3 years. I ran the numbers and despite some who will say a lease is inevitably a bad deal, in my case it was pretty much a tossup with purchasing, putting down the exact same cash, and making the same monthly payment on a real-world-rate loan for 36 months; which is to say, the loan would be paid down to about $34,000 on my $49,000 purchase, so a shade over 68% residual. It might be worth more than that in 3 years, but I doubt I will be leaving very much on the table by leasing.
In any case, yes I do not currently have the option to purchase at the end of the lease at a fixed price , but I would not be surprised if we are given the option to purchase at the then-market price, whatever that turns out to be. Even if not, I can always purchase some other 3-year-old Model 3 if I insist.
I had this same discussion with myself before deciding to lease. My general concern is that I love the car, but I am not sure what that Tesla ownership experience will look like in 3 years. I ran the numbers and despite some who will say a lease is inevitably a bad deal, in my case it was pretty much a tossup with purchasing, putting down the exact same cash, and making the same monthly payment on a real-world-rate loan for 36 months; which is to say, the loan would be paid down to about $34,000 on my $49,000 purchase, so a shade over 68% residual. It might be worth more than that in 3 years, but I doubt I will be leaving very much on the table by leasing.
In any case, yes I do not currently have the option to purchase at the end of the lease at a fixed price , but I would not be surprised if we are given the option to purchase at the then-market price, whatever that turns out to be. Even if not, I can always purchase some other 3-year-old Model 3 if I insist.
Mattopotamus
Member
I've been very generous with miles when leasing, and I've never been in a position where I made out better 3 years down the road (eg, leasing was a smart decision). With that said, I plan on keeping my current TM3 for 4-5 years when I should be able to churn a decent profit towards a downpayment on a new one.
Rex Kramer
Member
How likely are you to want a Cybertruck once they are available? Would you replace your 3 with one?
Exactly.
You've got a fixed contract, and aren't in a position to get a better deal, but nothing is stopping you from getting a new or used (M3P) car in 3 years.
Also, they very well may allow you to purchase the car when the lease is up - after all, it is going to be sold to SOMEONE ELSE, and you may just end up with a better deal than your lease would have allowed if the car value drops by then.
You can't "end your lease early." Unless there is some clause in the lease that allows you to pay some portion and give the car back, which I don't believe there is, you would be responsible for all the lease payments AND you would hand in your car. Only a stupid person would do that. You're stuck with it for the full term unless you find some 3rd party swap. Apparently Tesla only officially allows one lease transfer and you can not do that in the last 12 months of the original term. If you can find someone to take it now I would probably do that and then just rebuy the car at the really low interest rates we have (1.9% to 2.5% is easy to find) to save money on the finance costs of the lease (though the acquisition fee and any transfer fee might have already offset any savings you'll see between lower finance rates and Tesla's money factor). If you can afford to pay for it in cash now (and aren't earning above 2.5% on that cash) then that would be an option that would save you a couple thousand over the life of your loan.
1. Keep your lease because there is no "get out of jail free card"
2. Transfer the lease now and buy the car at lower interest rate or in cash
Those are your options. I would never lease a Model 3 or Y unless they change the buyout restriction at the end of the lease or if I had a business that could write down the expense of the lease.
(I did previously lease a Chevy Volt because it allowed me to get more of the federal tax credit passed to me [at the time], I had the option to buy out at the end, and their money factor was under 1% effective interest rate)
Edit: I also think it is highly likely that Tesla will change their rules by the time leases are due and allow a buyout or will dump them into used inventory. The idea for a robo fleet is great and all, but will NOT be in place in the next two or three years. There's a chance you can follow the VIN after you turn in your car and purchase it back via the used Tesla inventory and possibly snag a warranty on it if Tesla decides to offer any extended warranties once out of warranty Model 3s start to show up in used inventory. There is also a chance you can get any state incentives if there exist any where you are for used cars. WA has a sales tax exemption for used EV's under like $30k or $35k... some states might be more generous)
