I know all of these will take work, just spitballing right now. I need a car for a 50 mile round-trip for training in the morning in CO. So I feel like putting all my effort into a darn LEAF. Open to spending more, but would then need AWD for winter/skiing.
Anyone else got any thoughts or plans on leasing right now in the middle of Leasepocolypse?
I am in the same boat and I concluded that, absent any great lease deals, buying a car with higher expected resale value was the best bet for lowest TCO (total cost of ownership) for the next 2-3 cars.
This guy was in the same boat and buying a RAV4 PRIME was recommended here
If you’re interested in the Hyundai Kona, Kia is offering up to $9800 lease rebate for the Niro EV and similarly just under $5k for the PHEV, in addition to other $1-2k bonus cash incentives, redacted, brings the monthly payment down very low. The Niro EV MSRP base is $39k. Kia Niro / Hyundai Kona are very similar and I’m pretty sure the same platform or manufacturing basis for that vehicle.
I’m also looking to lease to avoid buying an inflated value car right now, although I’ve also been looking at buying used under $10k to minimize the negative equity / inflation. I came across the Kona incentive when looking around and actually, when I gave it some thought, figured what I might do is get a 48 month lease with the largest rebate, and then buyout the lease in the first month. Sounds strange, but its a buying strategy that I found out people were using to get the best deal on Kia stingers, with the most incentive being offered for leasing them as opposed to financing them, and a unique Kia Financial terms loophole where kia financial doesn’t charge for ‘rent’ on early buyouts, only the remaining payments, which makes this effective to get the full $9800 rebate in the case of the Niro EV. Anyone wanna confirm if that works?
edit: fed tax credit is factored into the lease rebate.
There is nothing unique about this. That is how almost (and I say almost, not because I know of any exceptions, but they may exist) every bank is.
On the stinger, this strategy made sense because the lease incentives were significantly larger than the purchase incentives.
On the evs that get the federal tax credit, make sure that the net incentives are actually more. You end up eating at least the extra cost of the acquisition fee, etc.
The federal tax credit is outside Kia financial, its a bill passed by congress that offers taxpayers up to $7500 on new PHEV and EV vehicles bought since 2010. If you lease an EV that qualifies for said credit, the leasing company (so in this case Kia financial) gets the credit and usually, from what I’ve read / been told, factors it into the lease so that those EVs are much more affordable. Its part of the reason why there are deals like the $89 /month 24/12 terms on Nissan Leafs, or the lease quotes on Jeep Wranglers 4xe that people seem to be talking about. I think 50+ grand for a Jeep wrangler, PHEV or not, is a little ridiculous… but most these auto makers are taking the fed tax credit into consideration of their pricing. I don’t think the Kia Niro EV would be priced at $39k msrp either were it not for the credit.
Did you even read the link you posted? Like the Requirements section:
The following requirements must also be met for a certified vehicle to qualify:
The original use of the vehicle commences with the taxpayer—it must be a new vehicle.
The vehicle is acquired for use or lease by the taxpayer, and not for resale. (The credit is only available to the original purchaser of a new, qualifying vehicle. If a qualifying vehicle is leased to a consumer, the leasing company may claim the credit.)
The vehicle is used mostly in the United States.
The vehicle must be placed in service by the taxpayer during or after the 2010 calendar year.
