Leaf 2015 lease vs buy

I am planning to get a leaf this year. Would like to know if i should buy or lease?

The answer is 'it depends'.

Most people lease. I leased.

Therefore I say lease.

Start by asking yourself if your 2015 Federal Tax return will have at least $7500 in total tax liability. If not or uncertain, the $7500 tax credit won't be fully applied. Leasing would be the only way to take full advantage of the credit. A leasing company can make much better use of this tax credit and take the depreciation write-off. Normally this means a lower cost of capital to the consumer.

Next, consider resale value and future market demand on this vehicle. Think of the LEAF as technology tool similar to buying a computer. What is the resale on your 3 yr. old laptop? With some luck, a much better and less expensive EV product will be on the market in the next 2-3 years. In which case, the resale value will likely drop like a rock and leasing becomes a hedge against this risk.

Finally, consider the technology and mechanical aspects of the car. Thus far, mine has been an excellent trouble-free car but there is no way to know what the future holds. If this car turn into a garage queen, at least I can toss Nissan the keys at the end of the lease and walk away. If not and resale value make sense, then exercise the purchase option. In most cases, leasing makes the most sense on a LEAF.

Depends on where you live and how you plan to drive the car. I just bought (not lease) a 2015 S, I chose to do so because I qualified for the $7500 federal credit and in California we also get a $2500 state rebate (which we still get if we lease, but only the 36 month lease). I was going to be on the edge of 15,000 max yearly mileage I could drive on a lease. I also bought while they were running a rebate of $3500 off and my wife was able to get an additional $2600 off through an agreement with her company, so the purchase made a good deal of sense. If you plan on driving a decent amount of miles, can qualify for rebates, don't buy warranties or service plans, you can do ok with the purchase. Based on my calculations it was roughly a wash either way. I found that I would need to sell the car for $14,000 in two years, or $11,600 in three years to break even on the car. I was ok with that.

To put it simply, I tell everyone to lease when it comes to an EV...

What state do you live in? What price is the dealer offering?

In the US, if your federal tax liability is $7500 or more for the year, then you can get back $7500 on your federal tax.
State incentives vary.

I live in Colorado. They have an electric car credit up to $6000, whether or not you paid in that amount of taxes to the state.
The formula is this
((MSRP of lowest priced trim - Federal Rebate - "Grants, Credits, or Rebates") x Battery Capacity)) / 100

So for the Nissan Leaf:
($21,300 (base price of Leaf after $7,500 federal credit) X 24kWh)/100 = $5,112 Credit

I got a $3500 rebate from Nissan, so I assume that will further reduce the credit.

Also, it is unclear to me what qualifies for "Grants, Credits, or Rebates". I paid $22,799 (includes $3500 Nissan rebate) for a 2015 Nissan Leaf S with quick charger package, before dealership handling fee, taxes, and $800 in nonsense fees. I don't know yet if my discount from MSRP will factor in.

If based on the price I paid, minus the federal credit, I will be getting $3672 back.

Also, I got such a good deal due to some minor hail damage. There is hardly a Leaf in Denver for sale without it. They are fixing it for free, but there is a back log so it will be a while.

For my 2012 I leased because I was unsure of the battery longevity.

For 2015 I am leasing because I expect that EVs will be improving significantly in the next few years. There are now a number of competitors and competition will be more direct. In particular, if Tesla puts their Model III into production as planned, it will be a fairly direct competition with the existing crop of sub-100mile EVs.

Can't the mods put up a BIG link to a FAQ that tries to answer oft-repeated questions like this?

Leasing make sense. Get a new battery with each new lease!

But if you commute, then check how many miles you are allowed per year. Leasing forever makes less sense financially.

I bought a used car, not sure if I should have, but I'll put on more miles than a lease would allow for without penalty.