EVs and leasing

[ChollyWheels]

I have high-hopes for Slate -- I love the approach (modular, simple, manual dials, no frills, fast enough), which is a radical departure from what everyone else is doing, and with the very likely incoming dramatic spike in gasoline prices the timing may be perfect.

But Tesla is considered the first successfully scaled American car startup since Chrysler started... in 1925! And many have tried.

For now, Slate is all unknown -- price, what the demand will be, what initial problems the first off the line will have, how good support will be, and so on....

So the conservative move, for EVs from startups (any startup - Rivian, Lucid, whoever) is to lease, not buy. Ideally, leasing with a right to buy later.

Anyone here have opinions on this -- and whether leasing will be an option?

 

[sodamo]

Sure, my opinion
Slate has stated, leasing not currently available.
I have never leased a vehicle
likely to never lease a vehicle.
don’t see a personal vs business rationale to lease a vehicle.
can count on one hand with majority of fingers left over number of people I’ve known to personally lease.

 

[thespacecowboy]

I have no intention of leasing this vehicle, or really any vehicle. A luxury vehicle with high depreciation may make sense to lease if you don’t plan to keep it long but this is not that.

If it’s what we’ve been promised, it’ll be an affordable vehicle that I won’t intend to resell any time soon. It’d be my daily for several years until it’s no longer practical for that and it becomes a second/work vehicle until it doesn’t make practical sense to own anymore. There aren’t too many things that can go wrong with an EV, so once I need to replace a battery out of warranty and it costs more than is prudent I’d consider getting rid of it. But I anticipate that would be 10-15 years down the line. Hopefully more.

 

[SparkYellow]

My current daily driver started as a lease. I could have financed it at the time, but the monthly payment was lower on a lease. I fully intended to buy it at lease-end and I did. I drove way more than the allotted miles but it wasn't a problem for a buyout. I have never got a car knowing that I'd replace it after 3 years. I have owned used cars on their last legs though. A bimmer fanatic once told me that it is smarter to lease them. Another bimmer fan would only finance them and keep for 3 years.

I hope leasing will be an option for Slate. As an independent contractor, I can deduct lease payments as business expenses. I will have to track my mileage to figure out the percentage of business/personal use. It might even make sense for me to go with higher mileage allowance and higher payments during the first 3 years with a lower residual value for buyout. Just some preliminary ideas.

 

[KevinRS]

Most EV leases offered seem to be closed end leases, without a buy-out option at the end. Many of them also seem to be short, and when you calculate the down payment in, they aren't as good of a deal as the payment makes it seem.

 

[SparkYellow]

Most EV leases offered seem to be closed end leases, without a buy-out option at the end. Many of them also seem to be short, and when you calculate the down payment in, they aren't as good of a deal as the payment makes it seem.

Oh no why is that? 🙆

 

[beatle]

I leased my R1T. It was far cheaper to do this vs. buying. I have the option to buy at the end, but the residual will be higher than the street price. It would have been an even better deal if VA didn't make you pay sales tax on the entire value of the vehicle. Not all states make you do this.

I would definitely lease a Slate if I could. Not knowing their future, if the company folds, you can still just turn in your truck that depreciated 70%+ into the bank at the end of the lease.

Rivian didn't start leasing their vehicles for 2 years after their first customer deliveries.