At what price would you purchase a LEAF instead of lease?

[Reddy]

Sounds good to me. The only unknown (or perhaps known) is the battery degradation which you should expect now given all the AZ-TX-CA reported degradation. However, with a 35 mi one-way and guaranteed charging at work, you should be good for a decade or better.

 

[SanDust]

Not sure what the question is. Your lease payment is based on the purchase price. Your lease payments are PURCHASE PRICE - RESIDUAL. Since you can buy the car at the end of the lease for the residual there is no difference whether you buy it or whether you lease it and buy it at the residual (other than the acquisition fee which is minor and perhaps the interest is you don't need to finance).

The only question is whether you want the option to opt out of buying after three years in exchange for the acquisition fee. That's not a hard choice.

 

[cgaydos]

I am strongly considering buying a Leaf. Here is a quick breakdown of my analysis. I can buy a Leaf for $1,000 below invoice because of my company being on Nissan's "Friends and Family" Vehicle Purchase Program list, which means a 2013 S model would cost $25,986. After the federal credit of $7,500 and state (Georgia) credit of $5,000, my net cost to purchase would be $13,486! Financing this amount over 5 years would equate to a monthly payment of $236, which is roughly what I pay now per month for the gas in my current vehicle. I have a 70 mile round trip commute to work every day, but can charge for free at work (I work for a big energy utility so we have roughly 30 charging stations in our parking deck). I expect to put 20,000 miles on the Leaf each year, which means the 100,000 mile warranty on the battery will last for five years (same as the period I plan to finance). After taking all of this into consideration, the five year gas savings offsets the five year car payments total making my Leaf free. Does anyone see any bad assumptions in my analysis?

You'll need to finance the tax credits of $12,500 because the refund doesn't come until the next year after you file the returns.

Your 35-mile one way commute is fine, even after normal battery degradation. If you set the car to charge only to 80% all the time you'll get a longer battery life and still have enough to safely get to-and-from work.

Of course, that assumes you charge at home. If you charge only at work you have a 70 mile round trip commute between charges and that may get iffy over time and/or if you have a high-speed commute. If charging at home add a bit for the cost of electricity. Also, best if you get a level 2 home charger to give you more flexibility. Budget $1k for that, although you can get by for half that cost with an EVSEupgrade and a garage 240V outlet - exact cost depends on your situation.

On the plus side, add some additional savings for less car maintenance. No oil change, filter changes, etc. Your 60k and 90k mile services will be hundreds less than with a gas or diesel car. Over 100k the maintenance savings will roughly offset the cost of the level 2 home charger.

 

[Klayfish]

Not sure what the question is. Your lease payment is based on the purchase price. Your lease payments are PURCHASE PRICE - RESIDUAL. Since you can buy the car at the end of the lease for the residual there is no difference whether you buy it or whether you lease it and buy it at the residual (other than the acquisition fee which is minor and perhaps the interest is you don't need to finance).

The only question is whether you want the option to opt out of buying after three years in exchange for the acquisition fee. That's not a hard choice.

I wound up leasing my car for various reasons, but there actually is a significant difference. You're right that the lease is purchase price - residual. However, In PA, if I bought the car, I would have gotten a $3500 rebate from the state, I got nothing with a lease. Also, with a purchase, there's no gaurantee of residual (resale). It's whatever the market will support. With a lease, it's part of the written contract. Plus, in a lease, you don't have to worry about battery degradation issues. In a purchase, you do. For ICE cars, I think purchase is the way to go most of the time. But for an electric car, I think it's different.

 

[WetEV]

I am strongly considering buying a Leaf. Here is a quick breakdown of my analysis. I can buy a Leaf for $1,000 below invoice because of my company being on Nissan's "Friends and Family" Vehicle Purchase Program list, which means a 2013 S model would cost $25,986. After the federal credit of $7,500 and state (Georgia) credit of $5,000, my net cost to purchase would be $13,486! Financing this amount over 5 years would equate to a monthly payment of $236, which is roughly what I pay now per month for the gas in my current vehicle. I have a 70 mile round trip commute to work every day, but can charge for free at work (I work for a big energy utility so we have roughly 30 charging stations in our parking deck). I expect to put 20,000 miles on the Leaf each year, which means the 100,000 mile warranty on the battery will last for five years (same as the period I plan to finance). After taking all of this into consideration, the five year gas savings offsets the five year car payments total making my Leaf free. Does anyone see any bad assumptions in my analysis?

A lease wouldn't work, as you are going to be putting ~18k miles plus weekend and evening trips.

35 miles one way with reliable charging at both ends should work with an 70% battery or even less.

Note, however that the capacity loss warranty (and 2013 is the same, afaIk) is:

In addition to the existing lithium-ion battery coverage provided under the Nissan Electric Vehicle Limited Warranty for defects in materials or workmanship, the lithium-ion battery for your 2011 or 2012 Nissan LEAF is now also warranted against capacity loss below nine (9) bars (or approximately below 70 percent) as shown on the vehicle’s battery capacity level gauge for a period of 60 months or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first

You will have 87500 miles of just commuting on the Leaf after 5 years. Check out the battery loss WIKI:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/wiki/index.php?title=Battery_Capacity_Loss" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Based on that, you will likely not hit 70% before the end of the warranty or before 60,000 miles, and I'd call even odds 70% before 100,000 miles.

Battery replacement isn't well known, at very worse case you might not have a reasonable option. At very best case, you might be able to buy a higher capacity replacement fairly cheap. "Reality is what happens while you are making other plans".

I'd say go for it.

 

[WetEV]

You'll need to finance the tax credits of $12,500 because the refund doesn't come until the next year after you file the returns.

Yes, you need to finance the tax credits, but can reduce withholding now to get the money this year rather than next.

 

[supra410]

I bought mine. I seriously considered the lease option for an S. I put around 50 miles daily & close to 200 on the weekends. I would kill the mileage limits from a lease. I bought a 2011 SLe with 5k miles from Southern California for $16,500 if memory serves me right and $400 to ship it to Oklahoma. In a lease I felt trapped. Buying was for me. I could sell it and recoup most of my money if for some reason the car didn't work for me. I have batt degradation in my Leaf, but it doesn't hinder my driving habits yet.

The battery aging is inevitable. I think the biggest problem are the folks getting that brand new Leaf and depending on it's full range immediately. I noticed when prospectively buying or leasing a new Leaf. The sales staff were only interested in letting me know the cars capabilities & forgetting to mention how those great things shrink in time. I think Nissan should have been more forthcoming of this information & there wouldn't be so many disappointed Leaf pilots out there with a $14k Leaf with a $22k car loan outstanding.

 

[braineo]

Go for it. In Georgia it makes perfect sense to buy if you start with a low purchase price. Having the VPP makes it work for you. Go and get your Leaf!

 

[TomT]

Actually, it is not as clear cut as that. Manufacturer's often use a residual that is higher - sometimes substantially - than the actual resale value of a vehicle at the end of the lease. The Leaf falls in to this category. Thus, if you buy out the lease, you are paying a price that is higher than what it would cost if you simply purchased the same vehicle used...

Not sure what the question is. Your lease payment is based on the purchase price. Your lease payments are PURCHASE PRICE - RESIDUAL. Since you can buy the car at the end of the lease for the residual there is no difference whether you buy it or whether you lease it and buy it at the residual (other than the acquisition fee which is minor and perhaps the interest is you don't need to finance).

 

[evnow]

I'm paying something like $5K to lease '13 Leaf for 2 years. That is monthly rate of $220. A new price about 22k (after credit) means, I can lease for 100 months (and keep getting new Leafs every 2 years) instead of buying a Leaf and keeping it for 8 years. Another way to look at it. I'll buy a Leaf if I can sell it in 2 years for no more than $5k depreciation.

Ofcourse the question itself is wrong.

You buy if
- the car is so good you want to keep it for a long time (not sure that can be said about current Leafs)
or you don't mind taking the depreciation (resale value) risk
- you want to make extensive modifications
- you drive a lot

 

[supra410]

One thing to keep in mind about the cheap leasing every couple years, is that $200ish lease becoming a thing of the past once that $7,500 tax incentive dissolves.

 

[evnow]

One thing to keep in mind about the cheap leasing every couple years, is that $200ish lease becoming a thing of the past once that $7,500 tax incentive dissolves.

Absolutely. That is the time to buy - hopefully by then EVs worth buying would be available.