Newbie Who Needs HELP Leasing an EV

Ask the Hackrs
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1

Hello Leasehackr fam,

I am an absolute 1-head when it comes to leasing as I have only previously bought cheap beaters in my early 20s. I am in the market for a Mustang Mach-e / Kona 2022 EV / VW ID4. I am located in northern NJ and I have no idea where to start.

I saw a reddit post recommending utilizing a car broker to get the best deals but I don’t know if that would be true in the EV marketplace as the supply and demand is probably different from the gas market.

My only stipulation on one of the models is price and eAWD. Does anyone in the community know how I should proceed? If it’s relevant my credit score is ~710.

Thank you in advanced for any and all assistance.

Best,

Element2112

2

Well toss out the Kona, it doesn’t have AWD.

So what’s your ‘price’ those you listed are around $600+ I believe.

3

What’s the rule of thumb? 10% of post tax monthly income? If so $430.

4

Rules of thumb are useless. What is your budget?

Mach-e doesn’t lease well. Throw it out. ID4 will lease, but still not particularly well.

Do you have to have EV only or will a PHEV work?

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5

I don’t know anything about PHEVs so if there is value out there could be viable. Also my parameters are just a crossover / SUV EV and I guess PHEV can be considered aswell. 2022 Kia Niro EV looks to be $350 a month (0 down 36 month term 15k miles) 2022 Kona is similar

6

I bring up PHEVs because inevitably this conversation will at least take a fleeting pass at the Wrangler 4xe based on value for an EV/PHEV with inclement weather capabilities at a high value proposition.

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7

Is that because the 4xe holds value like a stud?

8

Really high residual values, dealers willing to give substantial discounts on orders, and a lessor that hasn’t clamped things down adds up to a sweetheart deal.

I don’t know how the NJ no tax on EVs works though and if that is extended to PHEVs. That’s definitely something work exploring in detail when picking a target.

9

You said AWD and neither has that, so throw out those considerations.
So at 430 you aren’t getting an EV I guess, time to up your budget a lot.

10

The NJ tax exemption is for full EVs only. Not that it should be the final factor. It’s nice to have but you could definitely get a PHEV vehicle (ie 4xe) for less than a full EV (Mach E) even if you are paying sales tax.

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11

Bottom line is that if you are looking for an EV and you are in NJ, you are much better off waiting for the market to improve and for the Charge Up rebate to return. You’re literally leaving thousands on the table buying something now, plus receiving little to no discounts (or markup!)

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12

When is this due to hit 7/22?

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They replenished funding last year around July I believe. It didn’t last very long this time so you should be prepared to move quickly if and when you find something you want. Keep in mind that the incentive has caps on it related to MSRP. You need to be under $45,000 to get the full rebate and under $55,000 to receive the partial rebate. If the vehicle you want falls within those windows then it’s probably best to wait until the program is funded.

14

Now will this apply to how the leases are structured or just for those who intended to purchase? Again, my car purchasing experience is buying 100k+ mile beaters

15

The rebate applies to purchases and leases, provided that the lease is for at least 36 months.

16

This is the worst time to lease in the history of leasing so why would you start now?

17

My car is on its last legs, and I just got a nice boost of income. At the Ford dealership as we speak and the Mach e’s are all 5k over msrp. So yeah it’s probably not an optimal time to buy. Are there any benefits buying on 12/31, I’ve heard that technically when deals are the best. Again that’s a gas vehicle adage some I don’t know if that’s transmutable.

18

One should never go into a dealership without already having the deal worked out.

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19

Ok so you need to replace your car soon but that’s not a compelling reason to take a bad lease. And 99% of vehicles are leasing from bad to worse these days.

So you need to start at what car payment you can afford to finance and then pick something that’s known to hold value well even before COVID.

Is there a reason aside from fuel efficiency to pick a BEV or PHEV?

That’s a pre-supply shortage adage that is irrelevant to vehicles of any propulsion

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20

While there may be some anecdotal truth to “last day of the month” deals, in today’s market there’s really no truth to it at all due to inventory constraints. Dealers are maximizing profit on every sale and are not particularly concerned about volume bonuses, assuming that they even exist right now with so little inventory to go around.

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