I’m based in Florida and I’m about to sign a lease for a Model Y AWD (Diamond Black, 12k miles/year). Before I pull the trigger, I’d love to get the community’s feedback.
I like the self drive feature. It seems no other brand has it they way Tesla has…
Here are the numbers I ran through the Leasehackr calculator:
MSRP: $52,130
Term: 36 months / 12k miles per year
Monthly Payment (pre-tax): $594
Monthly Payment (with tax): $636
Due at Signing: $2000
Residual: 60% ($31,278)
Money Factor: 0.00294 (~7.05% APR)
Effective Monthly Cost: $682
Leasehackr Score: 6.8 years
Screenshot of calculator attached for reference.
Does this look like a fair deal for Florida, or should I be pushing harder / looking at alternatives? Appreciate any thoughts or comparisons you all might have.
I can’t suggest another model with these specific capabilities, but you should look at Mercedes & BMW. Especially at that price, which is not a good deal.
The “self-driving” capability is more hype than reality. I’ve had my Model 3 since 2018. Not sure if things have changed since then, but FSD was an expensive add on not included in base price.
Without a FSD purchase, I’m not sure what exactly it can do wrt stop lights, highway driving, etc.
If you require red-light detection and local road navigation, then FSD is your only commercial option. Comma.Ai has potential but is still experimental. However, I don’t see any of the Tesla optional discounts included in your quote:
American heroes and/or lyft discounts, if you qualify or can figure out how to qualify (it’s not hard).
If you are a first-time tesla owner, you will want to use a referral code.
If you have owned Tesla’s before, you should be using your loyalty code.
Look for in-stock inventory discounts. Most are demos, some maybe repaired. They sell quick.
You can acquire an account preloaded with referral credits, but that’s getting harder these days.
Check for discounts with your local utility.
Just like any other vehicle, the deal gets much better if you can take advantage of more discounts.
It doesn’t sound like you’ve used FSD recently. I believe it’s the best system on the market right now. Substantially improved over older releases, especially since adding the front camera on the refresh models. Best UX and only system (attempting) to do local roads and red-light detection (although it has a habit of running them). MB system isn’t even hands-free. BMW system is highway assist only.
Brother, I just drove FSD v12 today and was honestly overwhelmed by how well it handled small streets, intersections, and traffic lights… felt very close to true autonomy. For me, the capability is real. Since I’m leasing, paying the $99/month subscription is the smarter move.
Everyone I know with FSD and HW4 swears it’s a night/day experience compared to cars with HW3. I do believe that it’s way better these days.
Having said that, I also have a MYP and whenever a friend/family asks about getting a Tesla, my first response is no, don’t do it. But that’s my opinion
Nothing really compares to Tesla’s FSD. However, I must admit that I really enjoy BMWs ADAS system as well. It has hands-free on the freeways, and for local streets, although it can’t detect stop signs or traffic lights, you can still use it if you have a lead car (essentially it’ll follow a car ahead of you and stop appropriately on local streets.)
We have both Tesla’s and BMW’s in our household, and there’s no question that for quality and luxury, the BMW wins. Also in terms of EV leases, the BMW cost is much, much less than the equivalent MSRP Tesla. (Tesla lease deals aren’t great, and you can’t negotiate them, so it’s challenging for us to provide feedback on LeaseHackr!!)
But if you are a technophile and want the best in ADAS, Tesla FSD is unbeatable. I sincerely wish other companies would catch up soon! Rivian’s AI-based next gen ADAS will be out next year. Can’t wait until we have more choices than Tesla!!
Just get it, there’s not much you can do about the pricing except referral code, whatever they offer nowadays. I am on my 3rd Tesla 2025 MY Performance and have used FSD only when they offered it for FREE trials etc. it is excellent. I have some credits that expire next year so I may use them for FSD monthly to deplete before they expire. SuperCharging is the best for road trips etc. never had issues and I travel to Vegas quite a bit 300+ miles one way… compare it with a purchase vs lease but you’re probably better off just leasing it. I used about $4K in referral credits from my account so I purchased mine, same with my previous two purchased them, Y and 3
I only keep one financed (owned) car. My 2025 Mercedes is on a lease, and so will be the Tesla.
Financing a second car just doesn’t make sense to me, it’s one of the worst financial moves you can make. Unless it’s a classic you truly love (like a ’67 Mustang), having two financed cars in the garage is basically throwing money away. In five years, that “asset” will have depreciated to almost nothing.
With leasing, on the other hand, if you negotiate good deals, you’re always driving a brand-new car with full warranty coverage every 2–3 years without being stuck holding onto something that’s losing value the moment you drive it off the lot.
And for me, I’m looking for the FSD only. That’s why I went with Tesla.
And surprisingly, the space in the seat is really good, is not as comfortable as my Escalade, but superior than a glc63.. that was the decision factor for me.
Being able to have the fsd while having come comfort!
