2016 Fiat 500e lease OCFiat (California)

Still i have to wonder since the sales rep was so eager to make the numbers, can this lease see 39/month? How low can it go!?

I think at this point, the numbers have been crunched by the higher powers (FCA, GM of the dealership etc etc), so negotiating with the salesperson is not going to result in reductions. As you know, the salesperson does not have any power over pricing and the Sales Manager is not going to waste their time over $10 either.

Itā€™s like the Maserati 488 deal, the price was set and that was that, not a penny less.

I would not assume so (especially considering the Maser was a one-off while this appears to be ā€˜regularā€™ or at least ongoing pricing).

OP, you cannot know until you ask.

Def turn down the ā€˜wear and tearā€™ package at almost 30% of your base lease payment. Look up the tire size on this car, and youā€™ll probably find they are pretty cheap. Not to mention leases always have guidelines around what wear and tear is considered normal. Anything beyond the sale/delivery of the car is for the leasing company or bank to decide, not the salesperson or even the dealership.

Haha. Funny you mention the maserati, it was on one of the later Amazonā€™s Grand Tour episodes with the 3 Brits. Love that show. Incredible how crappy those cars where back then and how much they have depreciated. Great interior though.

Thanks for the info guys. Definitely felt pressure to get the wear and tear. I just donā€™t like how they upselled me so quickly. As if i was pressured into getting it. I was even ready to sign!

That should tell you how much of their profit is coming from those upsellsā€¦

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So what did you end up doing and for how much? As far as tires, donā€™t know the quality of tires on the Fiat (suspect not that high), my wifeā€™s Ford Fusion has excellent set of Michelins, my 2014 Spark EV had crappy Ecopias all around and I HAD to replace the front tires on both of my Sparkies at around 12k, they were just completely worn out, I am guessing too much torque in addition to crappy tires. Just got notification from Ally leasing company (my lease is due in May) they specifically state ā€œ1/8 minimal tread depth at the shallowest tread pointā€ So you may need a set of new front tires, they should be a lot cheaper than ā€œprotection planā€.

4 OEM tires for 500e comes out to 550 installed. So I would totally go for the wear and tear.

Of course, you can get used ones for cheaper but more hassle.

i heard ontario has something 100 after tax before 2500rebate, 0 drive off for 500e sport package, can anyone confirm this ?

Nah, i didnā€™t do it. Whatā€™s interesting is that on the side Iā€™ve noticed that used fiat 500eā€™s coming from 2013 leases are up for so cheapā€¦ at auto auctions where fiat dealers dump them, and they get bought for wholesale around 4k-5k, You can find some deals on ebay or craigslist but not sure about the reliablilty. As you all know, batteries will die over time just like your AA and AAA batteries. Li-ion can only be charged so many times so expect your range to decrease over time. Perhaps 4k is worth your time since itā€™s only about 1-2k above your lease if you intend to go over 10k miles per year.

What to do, what to do.

On separate note, how are reliability issues with this car? Too soon to tell ?

IMO, itā€™s all about the cash. If you lease it, even with the wear protection warranty, you still have small amount of cash outflow, if you buy even at$4000 have to pay full amount and the tax on the full amount.
Also, not sure about reliability of the 5000, I have a Spark and (knock on wood) it has been supper reliable, just two recalls that were actually not affecting my driving at all.
Batteries are under warranty for 8 years and 100k.

Thanks for the info MnickNick. Yeah i got a call today again ocfiat is doing 69/mo 2500 down, plus lease conquest. No drive offs.

You are right. Even if you do buy a used one at 5k, you will pay registration fees upwards of $800 with DMV.

I initially thought it would be a great cheap way to get into the HOV lane, but of course there are many hidden costs to consider. Long story short, there is no free lunch.

Let me just paste them here for anyone who thought this is a cheap way to get to work.

10k miles, if you travel over 60ish miles per day roundtrip, you will go over the limit and pay a hefty .25 /mile
upwards of $280ish for DMV registration yearly
you get a rebate of $2500, and you pay the dealer a down payment of $2500 - this negates in the end
you pay TTL including first month for about $805
you pay 1k more if you donā€™t qualify for conquest lease. (you actually have a lease from competitor not from chrysler financial)
you pay $395 at the end of the lease
you pay either $15 per month for wear and tear (covers tires) which is about like 360-450 if you have them installed even if you choose cheap ones - probably if you want no hassle pay 15/mo for 36 months, but pay all of it at once so you save on tax.
you pay $22 for HOV sticker

Of course check your local insurance company for whatever it costs for insure this. For me this was $20 extra for 6 months.

Oh yeah, you best have a level2 charger, cause level1 will likely cause you overages in your monthly electric bill. Not to mention it will take like 16-17 hours to charge! I wonder how much it is regularly for someone living say like in socal per month to get up full charge everyday. $40? $80 more a month?
Cost to install level2 charger about $300-500 depending on your electrician
Cost for level2 charger at 16A ~ $300, 30A ~ $499 clippercreek modelā€¦

Seem cheap anymore ?

Yeap, nothingā€™s free. Just look at the price of HOV lane and compare to $22, a great deal.
I think I was calculating my cost to charge at $4.80 a so a day * 21 - you get an idea, batteries not the same but close. But then we got solar, so that cost is out the window.
Although I consider that I have a great experience with my Sparky, I am unlikely to get another EV when this lease ends in May. Not because I donā€™t like the EV, I just donā€™t need another lease right now, no mater how cheap it is.

Oh yeah for sure. I totally get it, 95% of the sales for this car are leases and 95% of them are commuting purposes only. Itā€™s all about the credits for Chrysler Corp. I likely will not get rid of my SUV, too comfy on long trips to Vegas. LOL.

My only debate now after reading around is deciding between buying a used 2013/2014 for about 5k-6k vs leasing. Leasing wise if you can get it around $1k/year, itā€™s not bad.

My intuition says lease still as EV market still changing. If you plan on putting a lot of miles on, no choice but to buy. Of course, They have to do something with the redesign here cause 87 miles is not much of a sweet spot for most consumers.

BTW new deal as old one expired last month: 69/mo, 10k miles, no TTL, 2500 down before rebates.

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I wanted to comment on the predicted mileage on the car.

My drive to work is 27 miles each way. Iā€™ve checked this multiple times for a dozen reasons.

Thursday, my car said 91 miles when I left for work, before I made it on the on-ramp to the freeway, I was already at 79 miles. by the time I got to work I was at 49. According to the car, I had used 42 miles to go 27. Ok.

On the way home I started with the 49 I left off with, and when I got home I had 52 (yes predicted mileage can increase while driving).

So at the end of the day (according to the car) I used 39 miles to drive an 54 actual miles.

This is why I use the battery level for judging driving distance.

This, i also have an ev and the remaining mileage is based on the prediction of the driving style

Hi All,
Glad I found this forum as Iā€™m thinking about leasing the 2017 500e. Thanks evPower for the post on putting the additional costs into perspective. I"m looking at this lease to commute to and from school (local city) as well as spare vehicle. Iā€™m currently offered the $69 a month at OCFiat and $59 a month at Puente Hills. Is the $49 at OCFiat still available? Anyone know what the minimum credit score is to qualify for this lease? If it requires a high credit score, is paying up front for the lease balance an option? Figuring $80 * 36 month at $2,880 I can pay in cash instead of financing if credit is an issue. TIA.

hey @caitcam,

I too visited OCfiat. They had the $49/mo special back then about a month ago, but that included TTL, now they have $69/mo with out TTL, $2500 down. Thatā€™s it, I am not completely sold since I will likely go in about 2 weeks or so and try to ask for $2000 down instead. If they agree to this, you will get the car for $69/mo, $2k out of pocket. You will then get $2.5k back about 30 days later since CA still has funds, and of course pay $22 bucks for the HOV sticker.

Did the Puente Hlils for $59/mo include TTL as well? That could be the deciding factor.

Also remember that you need to qualify for the $1k Conquest Rebate (ie, you need to be leasing a competitor car in the family to qualify).

I did a quick score review on their computer and I believe anyone >750 should be good.

I would avoid the wear and tear, but up to you. You will likely need to replace the tires in the 3 years, You can get a comparable set for $300-360 or so. Also, if you want to pay less, at the financing stage, pay for the wear and tear all up front should you decide to take it. You pay less in taxes.

I will say, i am hesitant to lock in this deal because Chevy Bolt, and new Nissan Leaf is coming out with longer range. Fiat will only look good if you looking for the ultra lowest price and are willing to drive this for 3 years. Funny, I was thinking about buying a 2013 Fiat off lease with 20k miles or so, for about 5k or so, but with lease deals like these, why not just go new. Advance 3 years from now, all the cars will have changed. Of course my thinking can be debunked if you drive more than 10k per year.

Hi EV Power,

Thanks for the info. Iā€™ve been calling other dealerships and I think it all comes up to be the same? For example, OCFiat is offering the $69 no TTL. Puente Hills and Ontario are offering $59 with TTL so theyā€™re saying the monthly comes out to be about $67-$69 a month.

Yes, I started looking at the other EVā€™s but really the price is whatā€™s attracting me. Iā€™ve also inquired about the pay up front leasing, and most are willing to do it with approved credit? So I asked why do we need to qualify for credit if Iā€™m paying everything up front, but so far no answer.

I was also hearing that SCE has a pilot reimbursment program in the near future for PEV installations at home, so that would be good timing for me.

Thanks everyone for your help. Total newbie to leasing and EV, but glad thereā€™s this forum.

Even though you are paying for the lease, you are still borrowing the full value of the car, with the car to be returned after 3 years, which is why they still need your credit.

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