Hey
Given all the EV Lease tax pass through incentives, $2,200 lease incentives, and 10%+ off MSRP on the iX leasing is a great deal for that car right now. So leasing makes more sense than financing / purchasing outright.
I was wondering if I did want to hold the car for longer than 3 years, are there any tax / interest benefits to buying out the least the day / week after starting the lease vs waiting till the end of the lease? I understand the value of the car could be very different compared to the residual… but if we assume that is accurate do I gain anything from buyout today vs in 3 years?
AFAIK, if your payoff amount at the start will exclude interest due and sales tax (applicable in your state) from the remaining payments. Your pay off will be approximately:
Residual PLUS
Remaining payments MINUS
Interest of remaining payments MINUS
Sales tax of remaining payments
Add your cap cost and residual together and multiply it by your MF. This is your interest charge for each payment.
Whether or not you will come out ahead depends if you can get a good interest rate on financing balance.
Honestly, with the MF being so low (2.664%), I’d ride out the lease and see how you like the car long-term, try to avoid the risk of diminution of value in case of an accident, and see how these actually hold value (if at all).
I would not buy out the vehicle now–the benefit of the lease (other than the $7500) is knowing exactly how much “ownership” will cost you. If the vehicle loses what I think it will in 3 years, the residual value will likely be thousands higher than what the car is actually worth, and you’ll want to be rid of it.
Just imagine–within 3 years BMW will likely switch to 800V architecture and an NACS charge port. Ain’t nobody going to want a used iX with 400V architecture and a CCS port in 2026.
