Help me pick a car

  1. Bay Area (apartment, no plugs), 760 FICO
  2. Just need backup camera (remote start would be a nice bonus)
  3. 24mo/10k should do (36mo if better deal)

I’m looking for something under $200, but would prefer a luxury car for under $300 (all inclusive).
I’m still considering an EV as I qualify for the additional low income rebate and hopefully won’t again, but waiting on the legislators to sort it out. There’s a parking garage down the street that offers free charging.

Open to any options but these are what i’ve come across

  1. i3 (again, depending on rebate)
  2. Jetta (seems like there are great deals right now)
  3. Honda Accord Sedan (I love the design and seem cheap too)
  4. Acura ILX (edmunds gave me a $1,750 offer code towards ilx and tlx and heard they’re good leases already)
  5. Kia Optima Hybrid (test drove it and it was ok. Coming from an '03 Accord V6 so seemed a little slow)
  6. S60 (I like the CC a lot and is my top choice if I can get a great deal)
  7. 5 series (If I can find one for 300, it’s a no brainer)

Sorry if I’m asking a lot, but when I went to test drive the Optima Hybrid, it was my first time at a dealership, so I have no idea what I’m doing. This forum has been everything to me lol.

Go for the i3. Free charging is like getting free gas (around 1k worth a year)

Chevy Cruze or Malibu?

Rear view camera is standard and remote start is an available option/standard on some trims.

Free juice at parking garage but how much does parking cost?

I’ve seen corolla S plus @$150 for 12k 36 month

If the rebate was available I’d be gunning for it now. Thought I could wait til December for a car but idk if my current one will wait that long

Never looked into American cars. How cheap can those get?

There’s a free one a mile away.
But that parking garage nearby costs 75 cents an hour during business hours, but free after 5 when I’d use it.

Thanks, but not getting a corolla or sentra.
I’d prefer a Jetta over those in that price range.

The Residual on i3 REX is still 71% for 24 month, and 68% for 30 month. You shall still be able to get a deal

You should be able to get a Cruze for under $200, or slightly over if you get a fully loaded 2LT trim. Malibu in the low 200s, or in the mid 200s fully loaded. Here’s an example of a deal that was mentioned recently: 2016 Malibu LT w/ options $219 Mo $995 Drive off MSRP $26,790

Again, if I go that route, I’ll have to wait for the rebate situation to get straightened out.
@vhooloo electricity rates are comparable to gas prices? I feel like that defeats the purpose unless you’re purely doing it for the planet.

I’ve never even blinked at an American car tbh.
The Malibu looks nice, a bit more than I would wanna spend tho.

Yeah I wasn’t sure what size car you were looking for, because you listed a Jetta, which is small like the Cruze, and an Accord, which is larger like the Malibu.

The Cruze was my first choice when I started looking a few months ago, but I ended up in a Jetta Sport. The trade off was no remote start, but instead I get a nicer looking exterior and fantastic leather seats.

ILX if you want some luxury. Honda Accord comes nicely equipped as well. I3 can be had for cheap if you do msd and have patience.

BMW i3 come with a free charging program for two years. It is from NgrEvgo. The program give you 30 minutes DCFC or 1 hour level 2 charging secession. The car shall have about 80% of capacity after each secession.

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$47,490.00 MSRP
$8,500.00 SD Volvo up front discount
$38,990.00 Vehicle Price
$3,650.00 Rebate
$3,711.66 Tax
$481.75 Fees

$39,533.41 Due on Delivery

$0 Down payment
$483.47 per month 36 months/10k miles

These are the numbers I got for a S60CC I really like…liked.
How can it be so much after such a hefty discount?

Because you have to pay the 4k tax upfront (ouch). States that require upfront tax on entire vehicle price are not lease friendly.

This is California. I thought we didn’t have to do that

Yup so the Cap cost should be 36k, not 39.5 k. WIth that, you will get a residual of 24k, so your payments should be around 12k/36 months = 333 per month.

Also you should have the 1k conquest credit as well, will reduce another 30 from payment

Now we’re getting real warm.
I wonder why he quoted me that way though. Irks me
I’ve emailed him, probably won’t hear back til tomorrow.

In the meantime, I’m trying to crunch numbers on the ilx and 3 series (330e or 320i)

The ilx:
MSRP: 28840
Sales Price: 24293
Edmunds Rebate: 1750

Threw it in the calculator and got $212/mo (incl. tax) with $857 drive off on a 36/10k
Does that sound right or am I missing something?

2016 Acura ILX Base Lease Quote.
24 Months, 10k Miles,
Drive off $700.00
Monthly at around 207.
Money Factor 00011.
Residual for 24 months 10k miles:59%.

Dealer said he has to verify the 1,750 edmunds cert so he didn’t include it in his quote.
I plugged the numbers into the calculator and couldn’t get the payments that low so idk how much less it would be with that cert.