24 Month Lease NOT eligible for $2500 CVRP Rebate

[JoeKin]

I just found this out the hard way. I just bought my first EV last weekend, a 2019 EGolf SE, and was counting on the $2500 rebate to help out financially. I thought I did tons of research, but somehow missed the clause that you need to own or lease for at least 30 months. I’ll contact VW finance to see if I can extend my lease but I feel like it was in bad faith for VW or the dealer to offer a 24 month without letting customers know this.

 

[johnnylingo]

Yes. Any California dealer shouldn't be doing a less under 30 months unless it's specifically asked for. They did this in 2016 too when I got my 2016 SE. But in fairness at the time the rebate funds had run dry and there was speculation it would be ended.

There's also income restrictions on the rebate too. $150k/year for single or $300 for couple

 

[slk23]

I just found this out the hard way. I just bought my first EV last weekend, a 2019 EGolf SE, and was counting on the $2500 rebate to help out financially. I thought I did tons of research, but somehow missed the clause that you need to own or lease for at least 30 months. I’ll contact VW finance to see if I can extend my lease but I feel like it was in bad faith for VW or the dealer to offer a 24 month without letting customers know this.

Hello fellow eGolf driving Oaklander. I’m just curious, which dealership did you lease from? I agree that they should have been well aware of the 30 month requirement for the state tax rebate.

 

[Verkehr]

That's a bummer. The 24 month lease makes sense for high-earners who are not eligible for the rebate anyway. The dealerships ought to be aware of this and market it as such.

 

[JoeKin]

Hello fellow eGolf driving Oaklander. I’m just curious, which dealership did you lease from? I agree that they should have been well aware of the 30 month requirement for the state tax rebate.

I bought it at Sunnyvale VW

 

[Res]

24 month lease provides better residual value and really good monthly payment. Some people need 24 months lease due to temporary job.

With that being said, they use it to draw customers in with low monthly payment and then switch to 30 or 36 months with higher monthly payment because very few customers would do 24 months without rebate.

For example, $100 monthly with 24 months lease without rebate vs $160 monthly with 30 months with $2500 rebate. Overall, 30 months lease give you a slightly better deal.

 

[JoeKin]

The difference between 24 month and 36 month was only $20 per month. But without that $2500 rebate, the 24 month costs an extra $105 per month average more than anticipated. No doubt there are good reasons for some people to get 24 month leases. And it would have been an easy sale for the dealer to jump me up to 36 months had they mentioned the 30 month minimum.

Here is a great scenario for some to get a 24 month lease. If you make $300,000+ household income, you have to choose between the rebate or the HOV sticker. If you want the HOV sticker more then the rebate, then by all means the 24 month lease makes total sense. For the dealer to inform folks of these choices makes sense.

 

[johnnylingo]

For the dealer to inform folks of these choices makes sense.

Good luck with that :lol:

I've been to multiple dealers over the last couple years and none of them seemed to understand or care how the rebates worked. $7500 of federal tax liability was never discussed, nor were the income caps for the state $2500 or 30 month lease requirement.

Even in Santa Cruz and Monterey county, where there's a seasonal $1500 county rebate, none of the salepeople or sales managers at the local Nissan/VW/BMW dealers were aware of it. This included ones that were supposedly e-Golf, Leaf, and i3 specialists

The simple fact is they're trained and used to sell ICE cars, which have none of these special requirements.

 

[Sptgolf]

Yes, the rules are pretty specific that the original lease term needs to be over 24 months. That said, there are a few things you could try. Talk to the dealer, maybe you can convert it to a 36 month lease. That would be the first thing I would try; second, VW offers a 6 month lease extension, so in theory you could have it 30 months technically and apply at that time. Might or might not work, but worth a try.

 

[Joebar]

I also leased my EGolf for 24 months only, still trying to figure it out if I request an extension to VW Finance it will still qualify for CA Rebate, any advice will be appreciated.
Is it possible to obtain both, PG&E & CA, rebates on the same lease?

 

[JoulesThief]

I also leased my EGolf for 24 months only, still trying to figure it out if I request an extension to VW Finance it will still qualify for CA Rebate, any advice will be appreciated.
Is it possible to obtain both, PG&E & CA, rebates on the same lease?

Read above... the original lease needs to be over 30 months. So no, you will not qualify for the CA rebate.