End of lease: next steps

[egolfEr]

So my 2016 silver eGolf lease is up in 5 months, though I will cross 36k miles in a month. Used model S are still $45k, no eGolfs available now, 2016 volts are still $20k.

I have the option to buy the eGolf for $12k....

Any suggestions on what to do.

 

[tbier]

Buyout the eGolf and drive it for 2 more years until there are more new and used options.

The 2016s are going for $15-18k retail.

 

[pheonix]

i am in a similar situation as my 2016 SE lease is up in January, 2019. Midway thru the lease, I purchased extra 5k miles at $.15/mile and will probably end up with over 42k miles at the end. My residual is $11,926 and i don't think the car will be worth much more than that. I am not planning on keeping the car since the range is barely enough for my commute. Plus the car usually get charged up to the max and draining down to single digit almost everyday so not sure about the health of the battery.
Hopefully VW will have something available by then. If not, most likely a VOLT or Leaf or i3.

 

[RonDawg]

How much for the extra miles?

Does the car's range work for you?

Is there anything else about the car that would make you hesitant to lease an identical (including range) new one?

 

[johnnylingo]

I've already bought an i3 to replace the e-Golf, but am currently mulling buying the e-Golf anyway to continue using as a commuter car as long as I'm still at my existing job. At a $12k purchase price and going for more than that on the used market, it's the best value you can get in an EV right now.

 

[egolfEr]

Why is VW not selling eGolfs...I bumped into someone who bought a new 2017...for $17k after rebate in CA and says he has no problem getting 140 miles. This is a huge step up from 2016, where I am barely getting 80 miles.

Come on VW...why cant you get your act together.

 

[egolfEr]

I've already bought an i3 to replace the e-Golf, but am currently mulling buying the e-Golf anyway to continue using as a commuter car as long as I'm still at my existing job. At a $12k purchase price and going for more than that on the used market, it's the best value you can get in an EV right now.

What kind of pricing did you get on an i3?

 

[johnnylingo]

What kind of pricing did you get on an i3?

Got the PG&E $10k cap reduction plus standard dealer discount. So a loaded i3s REx with an MSRP of $61k had a sale price of $48k. As a bonus, was able to qualify for a Santa Cruz/Monterey county rebate of $1500 for BEV and $750 for the REx.

Very cool car, though it's not anywhere near worth the $15-25k more than a 2017 e-Golf. Heck, even the Focus or Leaf make more sense. But I've always wanted an i3 and now I have one.

 

[egolfEr]

What kind of pricing did you get on an i3?

Got the PG&E $10k cap reduction plus standard dealer discount. So a loaded i3s REx with an MSRP of $61k had a sale price of $48k. As a bonus, was able to qualify for a Santa Cruz/Monterey county rebate of $1500 for BEV and $750 for the REx.

Very cool car, though it's not anywhere near worth the $15-25k more than a 2017 e-Golf. Heck, even the Focus or Leaf make more sense. But I've always wanted an i3 and now I have one.

So $48k - $10k - $7500 - $1500 - $750 = $28,250?

 

[johnnylingo]

So $48k - $10k - $7500 - $1500 - $750 = $28,250?

The $10k from PG&E comes off top, which is nice because you don't get taxed on it. So after discounts, sales tax brought it up to $53k. Then the rebates: $7500 Fed + $2500 State (had to co-sign with with GF so we could qualify) + $750 county + $500 PG&E customer = $41,750. Roughly the same price as a well-equipt Model 3, which is the only comparable car in terms of interior and "wow" factor.

It was an OK deal, but value-conscious folks will likely conclude it's safer to just lease one for $400/month and then take the local rebates off that.

 

[msvphoto]

Why is VW not selling eGolfs...I bumped into someone who bought a new 2017...for $17k after rebate in CA and says he has no problem getting 140 miles. This is a huge step up from 2016, where I am barely getting 80 miles.

Come on VW...why cant you get your act together.

VW is selling e-Golfs faster than they can build them. Just not for the USA market. The EU market, especially Norway I gather, is gobbling them up. I have my doubts we will see any 2018s here in the US at all. The looming possibility of tariffs can't help either.

There are some "new" untitled 2015s and 2016s popping up at dealers on the usual Ntl. search sites for pretty crazy prices now. Hardly any 2017s. Demand (and prices) for used seem to be on the rise now. Supply and demand.

Bring on the I.D. and others. Hopefully 250+ mile range with a reasonable price. Bolt alternatives would be good. Jaguar I-Pace is coming soon but that will be close to Model X/S prices. (But, since it is a Jaguar maybe it will depreciate really fast.)

 

[egolfEr]

So interestingly enough...I was looking up some chargers on eBay...and saw an Ad from Volkswagen for leasing a 2017 EGolf....can they even do this as there are no eGolfs available in all of Souther california. This is a bad as the Honda Clarity electic ads( those are also no where to be found)

$2999 down, $319/mo

 

[RonDawg]

The Clarity EV DOES exist, but they are extremely hard to find. Basically you put your name on a waiting list at your local dealer, and wait for their call to come in when one shows up.

 

[egolfEr]

The Clarity EV DOES exist, but they are extremely hard to find. Basically you put your name on a waiting list at your local dealer, and wait for their call to come in when one shows up.

It is ironic that Honda is running a national ad campaign on the 20k mile leases and barely has any supply. I think this is a sales scam, where they get you in the door and then sell you the hybrid...which costs more .

 

[RonDawg]

The Clarity EV DOES exist, but they are extremely hard to find. Basically you put your name on a waiting list at your local dealer, and wait for their call to come in when one shows up.

It is ironic that Honda is running a national ad campaign on the 20k mile leases and barely has any supply. I think this is a sales scam, where they get you in the door and then sell you the hybrid...which costs more .

No worse than a Nissan dealer advertising cheap Versas and then trying to upsell you into an Altima or a Maxima.

 

[user 703]

Our lease is coming up. We decided to keep our 2016 SEL.

Positives
[*]It is low mileage at 18,000 miles. No real wear and tear so far.
[*]Maintenance is minimal. Added bonus - our local VW dealer's service department is infamous and avoiding it is at a premium.
[*]Range degraded only a bit - maybe 5-7% (the Guess-o-Meter is now typically indicating 88-102 miles range, down from 94-108 miles initially). Charged at L2 every time. Typically up to 100% charge. Ran it down to single digits a good number of times. A function of commuting distances. This does not seem to have had a significant effect.
[*]White stickers in the Bay Area. Conservatively estimated, these stickers save us 80-100 hours commuting time a year.
[*]Interior and materials beat all direct competitors.
[*]Handling. The e-Golf feels superior to Teslas which are much less sophisticated in terms of driving dynamics than one would think.

Negatives
[*]Range. We would have moved on to a 2017 (ahem, 2018) e-Golf in a heartbeat.
[*]Did I mention range?
[*]Rear seat leg room (barely good enough now for city trips with the kids, but not for much longer)
[*]Dead-end with no interest/support by VW.

If the battery does not degrade unduly, we'll keep the SEL for another 2-3 years. We'll then trade in for whatever nice car with 250+ miles range which is also nice to drive and does not have a plasticky interior. I suspect we'll have plenty of choices compared to today.

 

[miimura]

[*]White stickers in the Bay Area. Conservatively estimated, these stickers save us 80-100 hours commuting time a year.

Before you buy out the lease, you should know that the White stickers are only good through 12/31/2018. If the stickers were issued before 1/1/2017, you are not eligible for any further solo HOV access for that car. If your stickers were issued in 2017 or 2018, you can apply for the new Red stickers which will expire on 1/1/2022

Reference:
https://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/carpool/carpool.htm

 

[synergy]

I've already bought an i3 to replace the e-Golf, but am currently mulling buying the e-Golf anyway to continue using as a commuter car as long as I'm still at my existing job. At a $12k purchase price and going for more than that on the used market, it's the best value you can get in an EV right now.

My 2016 e-Golf SE lease is up in October; about 10K miles on it and 100 mile range typically. Got a Model 3 for longer trips but I think its worth buying out the lease at $12K to keep as local car. Anything I'm missing?

 

[TwoCarsAWeek]

I am in the same boat, just extended the lease for 6 months. Same terms as existing lease.

 

[JoulesThief]

Bought my 2015 SEL in early Oct, 2015. 17900 miles on it.

Serves it's purpose.

Battery, so far, doing very good. I still regularly show 115 to 118 miles of range on a charge, on the GOM. Consistently showing 6.0 to 6.7 miles per kwh when driven on surface streets, on the GOM.

Unless I can find a great deal on a lease return 2017 SEL in a few more years, I'm stuck with this one for the long haul.