Lowest Priced Commuter Car Advice

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Hi Everyone,

Looking for some friendly advice on how to find the “lowest priced” commuter car. The car will be used exclusively for commuting M-Th, 70 miles roundtrip and I couldn’t care less about the brand or model, though would prefer electric. Unfortunately that search hasn’t been as fruitful as I had hoped. I am well aware of the challenges this market presents so any advice is appreciated. It seems like most of the brokers here specialize in higher end cars so are my only options to just grind and call every dealer with an electric car for that mythical $89/month lease payment? (I know that’s not realistic and not a part of my search)

I also understand lowest priced is a relative term but I’m trying to avoid this being a “wanted” post and just looking for general advice on what to do for someone new to leasing.

Thanks

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Nissan Leaf, but double the cost now.

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People are reporting CX-30s going for $300
Oops wrong person @Soton

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Depends on how you define “lowest” priced which is not defined by monthly payments.

The lowest TCO (total cost of ownership) without any excessive financial risk is going to be buying a reliable car such as a Toyota and buying the OEM 8yr/125k extended warranty from dealers who sell on those forums.

Jumping on the leasing hamster wheel, especially in September 2021, is not going to get you the lowest TCO.

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So you are going to drive ~18k miles a year on commuting alone and you want to lease?

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Only M-Th so 4 days a week x 70 x52 14,560 miles per year if only used for commuting.

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Correct, and even that’s assuming I’m going to work everyday. This will be a third car and, again, exclusive to commuting. My other car is a sports car and cannot be driven during the winter so this car will be used 9-10 months out of the year to get me safely to and fro work.

Perhaps naively, I’m looking for the lowest monthly payment with the lowest DAS. I have no desire to buy the car at the end of the lease. Any particular dealer in the Northeast that’s offering electric vehicles at a reasonable lease payment? I’m based in Delaware but have no issue driving several hours to pick it up.

Thanks again.

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Wont matter, the ny and nj dealers are getting a rebate for residents, and you arent one, so the deals are not there

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And even that is a high estimate since almost nobody works 52 weeks.

OP, one thing to consider, if going electric, is that you would require fast charging at home to replenish that much juice between each working day.

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And I guess I wouldn’t rule out Ionique.

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Buy a used Bolt under warranty if you can park and charge outside. Great commuting car, low TCO, and you’ll get a new battery in 1-2 years. 70mi is at the limit of what you could charge at home nightly at 110V, but with 4 days/week you can top off to 90% in one day off.

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Not quite true. There are brokers in the Marketplace that work with brands such as Chevy, Honda, Toyota, etc.

What is your realistic budget?

What about your second car? Can it be used for commuting?

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Putting snow tires on the sports car might not be the worst idea to get through the shortage crisis as opposed to locking in a horrible lease deal this fall.

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Ideally I don’t want to spend over $250/month for the car.

I wish but that’s my wife’s car and she’ll need it.

I’ve thought about it before but it’s a 500hp mustang and it’s just not something I want to risk in the winter.

I’ve seen a 2019 Hyundai Ioniq and a Nissan Leaf for about $20k. Any opinion on the idea of putting $3k down and taking a 72 month loan to keep the payments low or is that dumb? I don’t like the idea of a 72 month loan for such a small amount but it’s to keep the payments low and pay enough off over the next 3 years to sell it without a loss. In 3 years we’ll be do for a new family truckster so I’ll take my wife’s car and that will become the third, commuter car.

Thanks again for everyone’s input, much appreciated.

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