I disagree. With dating, everything is new. With marriage, things are already settled.
With buying new (and selling in 3 years) and leasing, the things are similar. Im ignoring the tax and residual implications. With cars under warranty in first 3 years, it shudnt matter if leased or purchased. Whichever makes more financial sense , we should go with that. Civic Type R and BMW 5-series are on opposite ends of this example.
Type R holds its value well, and its RV for leasing is ridiculously low. BMW’s RV value is ridiculously high
Based MSRP of both 330e and the new x3 PHEV are several thousands more than the ICE models. Only 530e has the same MSRP as the 530i. That’s a much more hackable car at this point.
The e models cost more to develop and produce than a normal ICE. Typically manufacturers will just adjust the price and charge a lot more for PHEVs (i.e. the original Audi Q5 hybrid). Right now the 330e is $3000 more than the 330i. By keeping the rebate, they are keeping the price difference only $3000 instead of $6000. I am not saying this is right or wrong, just what I have been told.
I can show u the math if you want for this. I strongly considered purchasing a 530e for the extra Federal rebate. I also looked at real 3-year trade-in values. In the end, the total cost of ownership was ~$1K higher for owning, which really isn’t that great and I just didnt want to take the risk. However, if the 530e was getting the full 7500$ federal rebate and 2500$ CA higher state rebate, the math would definitely be in favor of purchasing and selling in 3 years.
I did the math as well, the math is simple, it’s the accuracy of the numbers which is not. A 2018 530e xdrive with a few common options retailing for 60k in 2017 had a residual of about 60% for 36/12 lease and carvana is currently offering ~30k for it depending on location so about 50% of value. That’s 6k in difference between lease residual and real world trade in price, there also sales tax on 100% or 40% of the car. BMW isn’t passing on the electric tax credits to lessees but they are also not hurting the lease residuals on phevs
Keep in mind that using the 530e as a comparison will bias against buying the 330e because a difference in residuals eats up more of the tax rebate. That is, a 10% difference in residuals on a 70k MSRP car is $2k more than on a $50k.
So, while it may not ever make sense to buy a 530e rather than lease, I think it may still be better on a 530e because the federal credit is a much higher share of the car’s price. It all depends on the other rebates available from buying (PenFed is $2k on a purchase, not sure what all would stack on a lease) and the MF vs interest rates available.
