Kia Niro EV-Should I wait? Does anyone have a Niro or Kona? Is this a terrible deal?

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Hello all, We test drove the Niro EV and we are in love. I know that is not a good position to be in when negotiating, not to mention we also need a car fairly soon. This makes me nervous since I have never leased a car or bought anything under 10 years old. I know the first generation of cars and electronics tend to be kind of buggy/have issues. Does anyone have a Niro EV or a Kona that can tell me if they have had issues? Has anyone had a first generation ev before? Do they tend to work out the issues through software updates, or is it best to wait for a 2nd or 3rd gen?

I don’t think the dealer that I have one reserved with is giving me all the fees even though he said he doesn’t add on any fees… the numbers just don’t make sense as far as I can tell, and the other dealerships won’t give me any numbers yet. The one I reserved is coming in two weeks.

The numbers he has given me are 389.50/month plus 36.03 in taxes with a $22,166.40 residual. This is for 36 months with 12,000 miles. The msrp is 46,180 and he is adding on 2,500 because there is such high demand. He is taking 8,700 off to make up for the tax credit, and the monthly payment above is including the 2,500 California rebate and an additional 800 down to make a total of 12,000 off the cap cost (48680-12000=36,680). When I asked what the money factor is he said 0.00238, but from what I can tell he hasn’t factored that in to the monthly payment… from my calculations based on the money factor, residual, cap cost, and taxes(9.25%), it is coming to 593.46/month.

Of course this is my first time trying to calculate a lease, so I am hoping someone can help me figure out what is going on here. Am I totally wrong, or is he trying to rope me in by making it sound like a better deal? I can see myself purchasing this car at the end of the lease if it doesn’t have a lot of issues due to being a 1st gen, but I wouldn’t be able to use the tax credit if I purchased it. As far as I can tell, a rough estimate of financing would be $55,836 total, and leasing and then financing would be $47,275 total, assuming we financed it after purchase. (this is also without any purchase fees he hasn’t told me about yet, and of course the interest rates will have changed by lease end) Based on his monthly payments the total to lease and then buy would be $40,437 plus any fees, but that just doesn’t seem right.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated! Should we go for it, wait for a second gen, or try to lease a hybrid or cheaper EV instead? We need a second car since we have a baby and my husband takes our only working one to work daily. It isn’t safe to stay in the mountains during fire season with a 9 month old and no transportation. Thanks in advance!

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What is he smoking?

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Yeah, very shitty of him. I just got a call that they got some in at a closer Kia. I am trying to get some numbers out of them. Of course they all seem reluctant to give them. They know they can sell them so they just want to rope you in and count on you just going for it.

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He is trowing the post sale credits in so you don’t see how bad his deal really is. Every time i negotiate an ev deal i tell them i don’t qualify for any post sale credits so they don’t even try to pull this crap. I had a first gen eGolf and all the issues i had were very minor, didn’t even bother to fix them.
What is the reason to lease an ev that just got on the dealer lots? If what you liked the most in the car is the drive then try the other ev on the market…they will be much cheaper and most have big discounts on msrp rather than shady demand adjustments.

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Yes, you should wait. Your love affair with your brand spanking new car will end within a few weeks, while your bills will keep coming.

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I just got off the phone with him, and he said all fees are included except a $300 disposition fee if I decide not to purchase it and do not lease another kia. He also said that those numbers are accurate, so the total cost for the three year lease will be (389.50x35) 13,632.50 + (36.03x35)1,261.05 in taxes + 800 down (the other 11,200 of the down are rebates that I will qualify for) for a total of $15,693.55 whereas the best financing I can get would be 2.49 for 48 months, 2.74/60,3.24/72, or 4.24/84. Best case scenario (It would be rough making the payments for a shorter term), 72 months would be a total price of $55,278. If I financed after the lease it would be around $40,869 total which is quite a difference. Am I crazy or does it seem like the lease numbers he’s giving me are wrong?

We are going solar soon, so an ev would save a lot in gas. I would just lease cheaper ev, but I can see us keeping the niro for a long time, so it makes sense to have the lease money going towards purchasing a vehicle instead of just losing that money. This car seems like it would be a lot more practical for our family than a bolt or leaf. I will go test drive them before making a final decision though.

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Just go and check the other cars. Add the eGolf to that list. Forget about this one. In 3 years when the lease is up you can check the Niro again and get your deal. I’m on PV with 2 ev…you are going to save a ton.

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even if I want to buy, not lease? Don’t you lose a lot of money by just leasing and walking away?

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Also they have a great warranty for the battery. 10 years or 100,000 miles.

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You really need to stop shopping and start reading this forum. On EVs, because the fed credit and post sale rebates the leases are super cheap and you do not lose any money. That $10k one pay lease deal posted on here for the Bolt doesn’t even cover depreciation on that car.

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Are you able to give me a link to that particular post? I mean technically you are loosing some money if you don’t own any part of the car… right? Sorry I’m new to all of this.

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And if you own you are not? This is a depreciating asset, the only question is how much you lose and if you want to deal with out of warranty repairs.
Just search the forum for Bolt using the search function…depending on where in Ca you are you can talk to any of the Chevy sale people on here… chevysalesgirl, SOCALChevyPro, ChevyPhil
They can also sell you the car if that’s what you want.

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Thanks for your help. That was one reason the niro is attractive, they have an extremely good warranty. I will check them out.

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Hi. Please pm or text me 3235743360. Thank you

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Since warranty is important to you check the list in this article…in case you decide to buy something:

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Thanks, I’ve actually seen that already. The Kona warranty is unbelievably good, but I do like the niro better on a lot of aspects.

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That isn’t that great or exceptional. Most brands offer a similar warranty. If you want to purchase it, purchase it. Kia has a very high MF and you can pay less in interest if you just finance it from the get go. Do not reward a dealer who marks up an EV with your business. Move along to another dealer that isn’t so scummy

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With only 1 kid, the Bolt of Leaf will fit fine.

Bolt Leases are in the low $200’s , and that is before any state/city/utility rebates.
Go check it out with the husband. He may end up driving that to work instead.

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Perhaps the newer clean sheet EV cars from H/K do well, but I’m presently coming off one of the plug in hybrids (Sonata PHEV) and I personally was not impressed with either drivability, nor reliability of the line.

Under no circumstance accept an unwarranted markup.

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I would suggest buying a cheaper used EV. They have depreciated a lot since new and can be great values for people who don’t commute long distances or don’t commute at all.

Or buy a used ICE car if you don’t drive much