Deal check - 2020 Prius Prime

Hi all,

I’ve been shopping for an EV for the last couple weeks and while I was initially looking at pure EV’s (mainly eGolf and Leaf), I decided to start considering a PHEV. I am interested in a Prius Prime LE, but the lease deals don’t seem very good. I’m looking at it like this: I could lease one for approx. $450 per month after tax (see link for calculator), or I could purchase, which works out as such:

Purchase price: $24,200
Tax: 2,057
Term: 60
APR: 2.99%
Payment: 471.69

If I sell after 36 months, then the car would effectively have cost me this much:
Payments: 16,981
Remaining principal: 10,975
Incentives received: 6,800 (4,500 fed tax, 1,500 CA rebate, and 800 PG&E rebate)
Resale value: $20,000 (approximate based on KBB 2017 vehicle with 36K miles)
Net cost over 36 months: 1,156 (16,981 + 10,975 - 20,000 - 6,800) or 32 per month

It seems silly to lease when this is the purchase option, but perhaps I’m missing something?

Thanks for all the help!

No way it’s worth $20k in 3 years.

2 Likes

I have the dame dilemma now.
It seems like it makes sense to purchase the car, even if the market value after 3 years will be around 18K. Quick check in carmax etc. shows that most 2017 Prius Prime are resold at about 22K.

The main risk for me is the tax credit. I’m not sure I’ll have $4500 in tax liabilities, so worried that I’ll buy it and then won’t see this money back.
Any tips on how to create a tax liability? :slight_smile:

I assume for $450 a month, you were confused and they were actually offering two cars… Right?

Have you looked at the ioniq?

Do you have an IRA? You can convert it to a Roth IRA to create some tax liability.

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Yes, I did consider the Ioniq, though the PHEV is a similar situation as the Prime.

What about the EV? The base models all went quick, but there are probably still some limited trims out there.

leased Prius maybe also qualify rebate (4,500 fed tax, 1,500 CA rebate, and 800 PG&E rebate)?

You don’t get the federal rebate on a lease.

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Maybe some dealer pass to customer?

No, dealers nor leasees get the federal rebate.


“As noted earlier, if you’re leasing a vehicle, the credit stays with the manufacturer that’s offering the lease since it is the actual owner of the car. In most cases, however, the tax credit has been factored into the cost of the lease, so the customer still benefits.”

Sometimes the manufacturer passes it on as part of an incentive. Neither the leasee or the dealership have anything to do with this.

assume dealer can apply $6000 rebate, this is an example calculator for Prius.
$159 Monthly + 0 DAS

Why would you assume that?

Current incentive is only $1500 without loyalty.

Also, the Prius prime starts at $27k, so your MSRP is wrong.

1 Like

I saw the purchase price from OP and miss type as MSRP, my bad.