I own a 22 Tesla 3SR+…I also recently leased a 23 Subaru Forester.
Both aren’t being driven very much…under 7500 annually most likely.
If I go on, say, a 200 miles RT road trip, am I better off putting the miles on my owned Tesla (can charge at home for about .25/kwh) or on leased Forester…I’ve been able to get gas around $3.30 gallon, and get easily 30 MPG on the freeway road trips.
It’s been a while since I’ve owned a car, so I’m not sure how much the extra mileage affects resale, etc…if it matters, I’m in LA.
Are you asking whether you should spend $0.08 per mile on a Tesla or $0.11 per mile on a Forester…for a 200 mile trip? You should think really carefully because, on a 200 mile trip, you final decision could make a $6.00 difference!!!
Or are you wondering if selling a Tesla with 22,000 miles vs 22,200 miles will have a bigger impact than selling a Forester with 22,000 miles vs 22,200 miles? If I were a Tesla buyer, I might pay $2 more for a car with 200 less miles. If I were a Forester buyer, I might pay $1 more for a car with 200 less miles.
No…I lease the Forester, so the only cost really will be gas. I’ve owned them before, and never had to pay a penny in maintenance/tires/brakes during my leases. I’ve never been over 30K miles either.
But when you drive a car, any car, that you own, it depreciates it and will cause more repairs/maintenance down the road.
Obviously, if it’s a one time thing, I don’t care. But I’ll probably take this trip a dozen times over the year…or at least 7500 miles over the next three (child in college).
I guess the question is how much, aside from charging/gas, does a mile take off the value of a car
And, yes, for me that’s a road trip!
Assuming the Forrester is broken-in, I’d put the w&t on it, and use the miles you’re paying for. Plenty of space for whatever pirate booty you might bring home.
If you can get away with FREE charging while staying at a hotel (some may have L2 for overnight charge) or even close to your home before the trip-take the Tesla, otherwise drive the Subaru to max your TCT
I wouldn’t worry too much on the “after” for resale since those 200 miles won’t really make a big difference even if taken dozen of times-nobody knows the future value of the car… so don’t worry/stress too much, take them RT’s enjoy the ride and spend more time with your kid/s
Here-use this to compare the price while changing the miles to the same vehicle… shouldn’t fluctuate too much, maybe $500 every 3-5000 miles, but as mentioned before-you can’t really predict future prices and what happened to Tesla pricing recently, so there’s that
I’d drive whichever one you would rather spend 200miles in… This is something you’d see asked in a Bogleheads forum… Or discussed at a Costco food court.
You own and lease 2 cars. You made those financial decisions to have vehicles that drive places. Not to sit in your driveway and retain value.
Honestly, (and I feel for you as a fellow Tesla owner) your Tesla has decreased in value so much over the last few months that 200 miles won’t even register.
Choose whichever suits your trip needs better. The only thing I would think about is charging wait times in the CA area.
The car which is more fun to drive during the road trip or the one that gives the most out of the road trip. Having the best time is most important for me during a road trip.
I don’t even know why this is a discussion. If you leased a car and are not using the miles or will be under, use them. You are paying for the 7500/yr regardless of how many actual miles you drive (assuming you stay at/under) whereas your Tesla will depreciate each time you drive it. Obviously, you should drive your Tesla since you bought it, and 200 miles will not make big difference in depreciation, but in this scenario, I don’t see why you wouldn’t drive the Subaru.
