Long gone are the days of $110K EQS’s leasing for $350/mo and zero drive offs.
Today $350/mo barely gets an Equinox EV, an Ioniq5 is pushing $400. The best EV leases out there have monthly payment 1% to 1.25% per month of the MSRP, so one would pay 12% to 15% per year.
Is buying 1 to 2 year old, low-mileage depreciated premium EV (EQE/EQS, i4, e-tron, A6/S6 e-tron etc…) at 35% to 50% off its original sticker a more financially compelling alternative as it will (hopefully) be less likely to suffer a 12 to 15% (of its original MSRP) in additional depreciation per year over the next 2 to 3 years?
It’s much harder to find good deals but at the end of the day they’re still cars and they’ll be discounted if dealers desire and your negotiation skills.
EVs will drop and depreciate due to the fact that the technology is rapidly evolving.
whether or not it’s a better financial decision depends on you.
i personally don’t want to deal with out of warranty cars especially luxury brands but that’s just me
Anomalies in the market make not the norm. Bear in mind that most people were likely still in the high $xxx on your example model with the earliest adopters often paying double that.
There are different dynamics at play these days not least of which is supply, which is a direct inversion of the market conditions 2-3 years ago.
That being said, If your risk tolerance allows for you to consider a used BEV then you may be best off going that way that if current lease pricing is off putting to you. Just be very mindful of the remaining warranty and look for the possibility of a CPO that you may be able to extend.
I purchased a 2107 BMW i3 off lease in 2020 for $19.5 - the original sticker was $55K.
I had the vehicle for 5 years before selling it.
It still had 1 year of warranty coverage which came in handy when the 12V battery died. Other than regular car maintenance, brake pads, rotors and tires I had no issues. The i3 was a simple EV compared to the tech in newer cars.
For the price I paid I considered the risks of major issues acceptable. If you are looking for a used high end EV with loads of tech the calculation would be different. The used cost would not be trivial and without some kind of warranty the exposure to major repair costs is out there.
In the end it does not matter which you choose as long as the financial fundamentals work for YOU.
I prefer the comfort of new EV leased for 24 month under the manufacture’s warranty. But that’s me, your calculus may be different.
I think you’re right that buying a 1-2 year depreciated EV is the next best option (new EV leases make no sense at all anymore with current CA electricity pricing).
I think it really depends on your charging economics. In CA, with PG&E rates at 35c/kwh off-peak, and 55-60c/kwh peak, not sure it makes sense. Public L2 is usually 55-60c/kwh.
I got one of those ultra cheap loaner EQE leases, with 2 free years of EA charging. It was basically a free lease when that was included. The lease is just about nearing the end.
Without the massive discounts, I have no interest in getting another one. I had to get new (bought used but still) tires at 20Kish miles and insurance on the EQE is 40-50% more than the the 2nd most expensive to insure car I have. Registration is more expensive as well for an EV.
The below answers are good but I would add “sticker price” for any EV sold before the end of the EV tax credit is basically meaningless since they all had $7,500 of government rebates. The sticker price very much factored in that everyone would get a free $7,500 rebate.
Yes. I am looking for my 3rd next year. I am not some tree-hugging hippie, but like the clean quiet elegance of an EV. We have two now. Also, in my experience maintenance is negligible. If the tech does not break the cars just go.
In Ca it’s still cheaper to pay for electricity to run your vehicle than gas, especially at current prices that aren’t coming down anytime soon. Insurance depends on make and model, as well as insurance company.
It’s more a function of where you live than what carrier you use.
Thoughts and prayers for EV drivers in NY state.
The more expensive the EV the higher the delta becomes comparing a similar ice vehicle. A slight dent that affects the battery can mean a write off for an insurance company. Two cars, one EV one ice. Same minor accident can be $3K damage to the ice but a total write off for the EV. If the two cars are $30K, the premium difference will be lower than if the two cars are $80K.
That’s the wrong benchmark. Your 35c/kwh on PG&E off-peak has to compensate you for the EV higher initial premium over the gas model, which i don’t believe it does anymore even with gas at $5-6/gallon.
The EV insurance data at best usually has bad methodology and at worst is just fake. I found this map that is completely different than the one you put up.
This one has a source attached but I have no idea whether one is right and one is wrong or if they are both BS. Who knows. My anecdotal experience in Virginia has been the opposite of yours re EV insurance.
However, even with perfect methodology we still don’t really understand what’s going on since is insurance rates are so opaque. But we do know that Teslas make up about 50% of EV market share and for reasons known and unknown Tesla drivers are much more accident prone than the average EV driver. If you were to remove Teslas from the EV insurance question, I’d wager a lot of money EV insurance rate probably starts to look a lot better compared to comparable gas cars.
As I’m starting to look at rates for my potential next car, I’m beginning to realize the errors in my own thinking about this.
I called my insurance agent to ask about the rate for an EQB during the recent EQB mania. It’s about 50% more my current car… which is a Golf Sportwagen. So, while increase in insurance is much more than my current car, it might make more sense to compare it an ICE version of the same car (EQB → GLB) and then (for me) try to do some basic calculations to see if the difference in insurance rates (assuming the EV is more expensive) is outweighed by the fuel savings (I drive freq but only for a few miles each times roundtrip).
With the EQB/GLB there’s a directly comparable EV to ICE. There are some BMWs where this also exist (5 and 7 sedans), but, in general, I don’t know if this is the case. And, even if for direct comparable pairings, is there is demographic difference btw the driver that gets the EQB vs. the GLB.
So, as you perhaps are more broadly alluding to, insurance rates are bit difficult to compare, depending on the comparison you’re wanting to make…
Same data source. If you notice the fonts and colors and style are all the same. Difference is using one is all ice vs all evs vs like for like comparisons.
That isn’t obvious from the website I pulled it from or the image itself. But even if true that defies logic. That would mean EVs do not cost much more to insure in Florida than ICE cars but it is much much more expensive to insure an EV in Florida compared to its ICE equivalent? Those both can’t be true.
I think I have a pretty good insurance apples to apples comparison I can share.
I traded my $55k 2004 Silverado LT 4wd crew cab for a $96k '24 Silverado RST AWD EV and the insurance rates for the same coverages were the same, Progressive and Liberty Mutual don’t care if they’re ICE or electric.
A '25 Blazer EV is the same +/- a few bucks as a Ford Escape so in my experience you need to get quotes that apply to your driving history, your credit, where you live and so on.
You need to check between insurers as well. My Charger Daytona EV would be ridiculous with Progressive but is the same as my Blazer EV with Liberty.
Get quotes before you sign. With that resolved, now we can spend our time on ‘which oil do you use’ and how often do you change it threads. (Hint: never with an EV and to manufacturer specifications with the lease for ICE although I have seen some service departments trying to play the heavy/severe service card lately).
It’s only the entry level EVs not leasing well at the moment. Anything midsize-ish still has an edge even vs buying used compact EV sedan/SUV. There are still a bunch of loaner Optiq/Lyriq in the high 300 and low 400 range depending
Please show us which mid level EV’s are “leasing well”, and what is a good lease? I’m guessing worse than a few years ago. Maybe I missed Optiques leasing in the $300 range currently.
