Tesla lease vs purchase

[number12]

i see many people here saying they leased. My options are so skewed how did anyone get to the decision leasing was better? I've always leased and not sure how numbers are so different. Especially with autopilot 2.0 rumors makes me want to iron this out more.

Look at picture for price break down I received.

Basically $13k down for a lease and same monthly payment vs $2500 down

LEASING

~$1,265/mo

~$13,596.50 due at signing (TAVT+ Acquisition Fee+First Month Payment+Registration+ 5K down)

Cost over 36 months: $49,202

Cost to own: $102,927



Any input is very much appreciated. Thank you

 

[Hitman007]

The reason I didn't lease was fear of liking the X so much we would go over even 15k miles per year. I didn't want that limitation. Also do you get the 7500 tax credit if you lease? Because technically if you lease you never own the car. So you would not be entitled to the tax credit? I don't know but worth checking into with your CPA

 

[gavine]

I bought because the car was way more than I normally pay for a car and I was concerned I wouldn't be able to get out of a lease if I ran into financial problems. With the purchase, I could at least sell the car, even at a small loss if necessary.

 

[Rich Meister]

I bought because the car was way more than I normally pay for a car and I was concerned I wouldn't be able to get out of a lease if I ran into financial problems. With the purchase, I could at least sell the car, even at a small loss if necessary.

You can always transfer your lease. There are many Tesla's on swapalease and on similar sites. The process of transferring a lease is actually a lot easier than selling a used car. Atleast BMW has the process down, i've already been through 3 lease transfers.

 

[number12]

I didn't make it clear. Financing is basically -$5000 down because I would get credit next year return.

Lease has credit "factored" in. It's almost a $20,000 swing bs leasing and financing over 3 years.

 

[number12]

I bought because the car was way more than I normally pay for a car and I was concerned I wouldn't be able to get out of a lease if I ran into financial problems. With the purchase, I could at least sell the car, even at a small loss if necessary.

I'm not trying to be mean, but I don't think you have ever leased a car if you have that mindset. It's just another way to finance. You can always purchase for rest of payments +residual.

 

[cranker2k]

I used to lease a lot of Lexus and BMW leases. To save on lease factor (similar to interest), I would do a one-pay lease. Lexus supports it and BMW Financial just deduct monthly from a pre-pay account which is not beneficial. Tesla can't do the entire thing on one-pay; only 25% cap reduction.

Normally lease can be of benefit since you don't pay taxes on the whole thing in most states. However, current lease at a equiv. of 4-5% APR doesn't seem to be that attractive. Buying gets $7500 federal credit.

I'm in the boat of deciding lease versus buy also. But right now I'm leaning toward buy. Sorry not quite helping...

 

[Rich Meister]

I used to lease a lot of Lexus and BMW leases. To save on lease factor (similar to interest), I would do a one-pay lease. Lexus supports it and BMW Financial just deduct monthly from a pre-pay account which is not beneficial. Tesla can't do the entire thing on one-pay; only 25% cap reduction.

Normally lease can be of benefit since you don't pay taxes on the whole thing in most states. However, current lease at a equiv. of 4-5% APR doesn't seem to be that attractive. Buying gets $7500 federal credit.

I'm in the boat of deciding lease versus buy also. But right now I'm leaning toward buy. Sorry not quite helping...

This is also a big no no on leasing. You should not do a 1 pay lease since you would lose all that money if and when there's a total loss accident. You do not get any of that money back from the Lessor.

 

[Rich Meister]

I'm not trying to be mean, but I don't think you have ever leased a car if you have that mindset. It's just another way to finance. You can always purchase for rest of payments +residual.

Lease gets a bad wrap but even my dad has come around to the idea since it offers more flexibility. The biggest being you can always buy out a leased car however you cannot try to lease a car you initially bought.

 

[xav-]

Something I don't get.

How can $13k be due at signing when the down payment is $5k?

 

[xav-]

Something I don't get.

How can $13k be due at signing when the down payment is $5k?

I found my answer: OP is from Georgia one of the few leasing unfriendly state.

Georgia Car Lease Tax - by LeaseGuide.com

OP,
How much sales tax are you paying? Are you paying sales tax on the entire vehicle???

 

[xav-]

Short answer OP is in your particular case leasing is probably a very bad idea. Tesla do not lease well in general, then you are in a lease unfriendly state (GA). You can go to lease dedicated forums (such as leasehackr) I believe most will urge you to not lease)

Also:

- I think tesla also did not include the $7500 tax credit on their cost to own. So your real cost to own is more like $95k.

- cost to lease does not seem to include the $13k drive off! Cost to lease is more like $59k!

Do the math.. Leasing is a terrible option in your case

 

[gavine]

I'm not trying to be mean, but I don't think you have ever leased a car if you have that mindset. It's just another way to finance. You can always purchase for rest of payments +residual.

I have leased several cars, but the payments were in the $400/mo. range which is easily affordable for me. Even if business was slow, I would still be able to cover that (I'm in sales and on straight commission). The Model X lease would have been more like $1500 per month and I was concerned that I might run into trouble and not be able to pay it. I didn't realize there were ways to get out of a lease early. I was always told you had to pay the full residual if you wanted to get-out. I can't come-up with $90K to do that, especially in financial distress. So I felt more comfortable with the purchase and the ability to sell or trade-in if worse came to worse.

 

[gmtom1]

i see many people here saying they leased. My options are so skewed how did anyone get to the decision leasing was better? I've always leased and not sure how numbers are so different. Especially with autopilot 2.0 rumors makes me want to iron this out more.

Look at picture for price break down I received.

Basically $13k down for a lease and same monthly payment vs $2500 down

LEASING

~$1,265/mo

~$13,596.50 due at signing (TAVT+ Acquisition Fee+First Month Payment+Registration+ 5K down)

Cost over 36 months: $49,202

Cost to own: $102,927



Any input is very much appreciated. Thank you

Just curious - did tesla provide you with the calculation sheet you attached or did you do that on your own? Seems like something Tesla prepared for you.

 

[number12]

Just curious - did tesla provide you with the calculation sheet you attached or did you do that on your own? Seems like something Tesla prepared for you.

tesla provided, but i asked for info in GA and SC.. both were terrible lease deals. Purchase was straight forward.

 

[UCLA98]

I prefer leasing because I want to drive a new car with the latest technology every 3 years. Also, manufacturers redesign the body every 6-7 years. I wouldn't want to get stuck with an older body style for 6-7 years. Most of the cars (BMW and Mercedes) that I've leased are unreliable and I have had bring them to the shops for repair very frequently. My current leased BMW 750LI only has 54k miles and I had to bring it in for repairs at least 5 times.....more than 10 times if I include the routine maintenance sevices . When the cars are still under the warranty (5years, 50k miles), all the repairs will be performed at no charge. By the time the warranty expires, I return the car and get a new one with a new warranty.

I am still waiting for my model S (sorry for being in a wrong forum) to be built. From reading all the problems that Tesla owners have complained about their cars, I think it's better to drive a car and get free repairs when it is still within the warranty period.

 

[number12]

I prefer leasing because I want to drive a new car with the latest technology every 3 years. Also, manufacturers redesign the body every 6-7 years. I wouldn't want to get stuck with an older body style for 6-7 years. Most of the cars (BMW and Mercedes) that I've leased are unreliable and I have had bring them to the shops for repair very frequently. My current leased BMW 750LI only has 54k miles and I had to bring it in for repairs at least 5 times.....more than 10 times if I include the routine maintenance sevices . When the cars are still under the warranty (5years, 50k miles), all the repairs will be performed at no charge. By the time the warranty expires, I return the car and get a new one with a new warranty.

I am still waiting for my model S (sorry for being in a wrong forum) to be built. From reading all the problems that Tesla owners have complained about their cars, I think it's better to drive a car and get free repairs when it is still within the warranty period.

While I agree with keeping expensive cars under warranty and liking new cars often you are missing the point.

It's just numbers and gambling. Essentially it's a $18,000 swing for me up front to lease vs buy. Who is stopping me in 3 years from trading in just like a lease and skip the acquisition fee? Just money right? You are saying residual value is higher than what you can sell it for. While usually that is the case an $18,000 up front cash swing at least merits a thread and discussion.

Arguments of leasing vs purchasing is only about money. Even people that say is the effort they are saving trying not to sell a car is still about money. Bc you could go to CarMax or trade it in wherever you are buying or leasing your next car.

Everyone who can afford a tesla should have a pretty good understanding of money


(Posted from iPhone)

 

[xav-]

While I agree with keeping expensive cars under warranty and liking new cars often you are missing the point.

It's just numbers and gambling. Essentially it's a $18,000 swing for me up front to lease vs buy. Who is stopping me in 3 years from trading in just like a lease and skip the acquisition fee? Just money right? You are saying residual value is higher than what you can sell it for. While usually that is the case an $18,000 up front cash swing at least merits a thread and discussion.

Arguments of leasing vs purchasing is only about money. Even people that say is the effort they are saving trying not to sell a car is still about money. Bc you could go to CarMax or trade it in wherever you are buying or leasing your next car.

Everyone who can afford a tesla should have a pretty good understanding of money


(Posted from iPhone)

OP,

Could you please review my posts above? I spent like 20 min reviewing your profile and your attachments and provide feedback. I even got 10 min late at work for it.

I hope that was not a complete waste of my time. Thanks

 

[number12]

I found my answer: OP is from Georgia one of the few leasing unfriendly state.

Georgia Car Lease Tax - by LeaseGuide.com

OP,
How much sales tax are you paying? Are you paying sales tax on the entire vehicle???

I honestly didn't see your post. I'm doing this from my phone on the go.

Sales tax in ga is 7% or a littler under 7000. I guess they make me pay it all and up front.

I will respond better when I get to a CPU

 

[xav-]

I honestly didn't see your post. I'm doing this from my phone on the go.

Sales tax in ga is 7% or a littler under 7000. I guess they make me pay it all and up front.

I will respond better when I get to a CPU

No worries

leasing sounds like a terrible option on your case. In most states you would pay it over time on the portion of the car that you use. You lose $3.5k on that alone.

The numbers that I saw look just terrible. It sounds like the effective cost is $1,500 a month once we add what's due at signing. For a $85k car (after deducting the $7,500 tax credit) that is very very expensive.

For reference a lease is considered a great deal when the monthly is equal to 1 percent of the MSRP, assuming no down payment and very little due at signing, and 10k miles a year.

By the way I am not saying you should take everything I say for granted. You can go to a lease forum and see what they say. I think they will really be shocked by this.

Not covered here I know many people familiar with leasing reject the idea of a down payment as they have some implications in case of an accident. You may want to look into that as well. Sales tax should play in that regard too as it is due up front.