Golf 2016 lease is up. Buy, don't buy, or upgrade to 2019?

[outdoor7556]

Hi Everyone,

I'm conflicted and I wanted to hear what other's people thoughts are. I'm leasing a 2016 eGolf SE with fast charge. It's my first EV and I'm hooked. I want to have an EV as my primary car. The lease is up in November 2019. I have 17,000 miles on it. My lease is $108 a month out the door including taxes. I have some time before the lease is up, but I'm doing my research now. My options are:

1) Buy out the car for the residual of $11,400. I love the car, but I wish it had a larger battery/longer range. The range is short as I consistently get 80 miles on the GOM (guess-o-meter). It is also a tad small for my uses. I also wish it had the driver assist package but it wasn't available to me when I leased it. I'm concerned about buying out a car that I don't totally like and doesn't suit all my needs. It has been suggested that I sell it for $12,000-$14,000 but I don't know how possible that is or how much of a hassle it is. Also, if I sell it, I still need a car.

2) Lease and upgrade to a 2019 eGolf. I got a quote recently for $150 a month, 10,000 miles a year, and $5,922 down. The $5,922 includes the $3,500 in rebates ($2,500 CVRP and $1,000 SCE since I'm in SoCal) and the rest for tax, title, registration. The res factor is 38% and the residual at the end of 36 months is $12,758. This is slightly more expensive than my current lease. The 2019 eGolf SE is attractive to me because it does have the driver assist package AND it has a slightly bigger battery/longer range at 125 miles. However, I'm leasing again (I've always owned my cars) and the range is still short compared to other electric vehicles out there.

3) Someone in the forum said that there weren't any good lease deals out there so they bought a Nissan Leaf S instead for around $17,000. I plan to test drive the Leaf S and see how I feel about it. I haven't even considered it, but it does have a longer range than the 2019 eGolf AND I get to own it at the end.

I wanted to hold out for the Hyundai Kona leases or the Kia Niro EV, but they're not out yet and the Kona is overpriced at this point. If I pay $300+ a month for a lease, I might as well buy the car.

Any thoughts?

 

[johnnylingo]

1) Buy out the car for the residual of $11,400. I love the car, but I wish it had a larger battery/longer range.

So I went through the same thing last summer. While I was a bit hesitant to buy the e-Golf seeing as an 85 mile range is not a great long-term option, the buy-out prices are a steal. Mine was $13.7k and that's without a fast charger, and at under $12k for an SE w/ fast charger that's even better. Something else to bear in mind: when you trade in a car, there's no sales tax charged on the trade-in value. Example: new $30k car with $10k trade-in means only pay tax of $20k. In California with our 9%ish sales tax, this isn't chump change. This of course assumes the 2016s hold their value OK for the next couple years, which I think they will. Buy-out has some other nice bonuses: you avoid the $350 turn-in fee, maintain existing insurance rates & registration fees.

Devil's advocate: the resale values of the 2015/2016 E-Golfs could plunge below $10k over the next year, in which case you're left want a new car without much to trade-in. But it sounds like your 2016 meets most of your immediate needs.

2) Lease and upgrade to a 2019 eGolf. I got a quote recently for $150 a month, 10,000 miles a year, and $5,922 down

For just an SE? Seems a bit high. What sale price are they working off of? Several of the San Jose dealers are offering a of a sale price of $25k for an SE, which makes for numbers roughly comparable with the lease on mine ($2300 down + $77/mo x 24 months @ 7500 mi year, etc). We can blame interest rates for the lease deals looking so-so compared to 2016. Buuuuut even with the longer range, I still see it as car that could be obsolete by 2020 when 200+ mile ranges are the new normal. For me, a 2019 e-Golf would be a short term solution. Even if I didn't have the i3, I'd likely wait for something with longer range.

Regarding the Kona & Niro - just saw my first Kona yesterday. It's a smaller that I'd thought; not a whole lot bigger than the e-Golf. I'm much more likely to hold out for the Kira Niro, which is a more like a Subaru crosstrek size and looks much roomier and nicer on the interior. Another thing I really like about the Niro - it has a space large enough for a spare tire. This is a huge bonus because I take road trips in my 16 year old Forester that may involve driving some rough roads to get to the good mountain biking and hiking spots. I'd love to graduate my EV beyond just a commuter car. Nice that it offers sunroof and premium sound system too to rival my i3.

Who knows - maybe the Niro EV will be here by summer? Loving the specs on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF_MQWbToaY

 

[TwoCarsAWeek]

I was in the same situation last fall, my 2016 SE, w/o fast charger, lease came due last Oct. The buy-out value is $11,500. I bought myself 6 more months to decide since you can easily get a 6 months extension on your lease for the same price that you are paying now.

My additional 6 months is coming up next month, now I have to make my final decision to buy or not buy. I am inclined to buy it out and continue to use it for my commute. When my son turns 16 next year, then I will let him drive the eGolf. There is an added benefit that he will be range-bound!

 

[Sptgolf]

Based on what you said, I vote for getting a 2019 car. I switched form the 2016 e-golf to the 2019 Leaf S and I'm really much more happy about the increased range and seeing 150-180 miles on the meter. I use to worry about going out to lunch, and coming home with a low battery warning every day after work. Now, I don't even charge every day. If you're ok with 125 miles, then the new e-golf is a good choice too and the SE comes standard with a lot of features. The Leaf is almost a foot longer, and does feel bigger, but is not as sporty, but feels more like a mini crossover. Also, as a primary car, the quick charger would be very important. The 2016 e-golf range of 80 miles now, could go down to 70 or less as the battery degrades over the next few years. Get something new. If you are in So Cal you can message me and I can let you know the deals around here.

 

[JoulesThief]

Based on what you said, I vote for getting a 2019 car. I switched form the 2016 e-golf to the 2019 Leaf S and I'm really much more happy about the increased range and seeing 150-180 miles on the meter. I use to worry about going out to lunch, and coming home with a low battery warning every day after work. Now, I don't even charge every day. If you're ok with 125 miles, then the new e-golf is a good choice too and the SE comes standard with a lot of features. The Leaf is almost a foot longer, and does feel bigger, but is not as sporty, but feels more like a mini crossover. Also, as a primary car, the quick charger would be very important. The 2016 e-golf range of 80 miles now, could go down to 70 or less as the battery degrades over the next few years. Get something new. If you are in So Cal you can message me and I can let you know the deals around here.

Range is solely dependent on how you drive.

I drive surface streets and Blvds. Daily at 35 to 45 mph, stop lights and stop and go. My normal drive is 26 miles, round trip. I'm seeing again 6.0 to 6.3 miles per kWh again this spring in So CAlifornia, and the Guess O Meter indicates 115 miles of range on a 2015 SEL with 20,600 miles on the odometer. I get 3 trips on a charge, easily, and 4 trips are normally possible, 104 miles of range used. I just know it's not good to run the battery down that far, if you don't have to. So I take 3 trips before recharging. If you are racing to the next red light and then sitting there stopped at the red light, you're wasting energy and getting less miles per charge. Figure out a way to time the lights, by slowing down so you don't have to use the brakes and maintain steady state rate of speed. It's doable, I do it, all the time.

YMMV, drive the car with some foresight and planning, staying off of the brakes and regen, time the lights so they are green and you don't need to slow down for them at all, and your range will increase tremendously.

 

[outdoor7556]

Thank you for everyone's input. I decided on upgrading to a 2019 VW eGolf SE with DAP. I couldn't resist the larger battery and the Driver Assist Package. I still have the 2016 with me as I'm going to try to put together a private party sale. Look out for another posting selling my 2016 eGolf.

I would've liked to test drive a Hyundai Kona EV or a Kia Niro, but that wasn't to be. Maybe I'll test drive them when my new lease is up.