Buy or Wait?

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olbedhead

Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2019
Messages
6
Hey all,

New guy to the forum. I've just started looking after having an eGolf lease for 20 months. The 114 miles that gives me is more like 80 :cry:
I have 4 months left on the lease but as i've been looking at the i3 i've gotten so excited about it and some of the deals i'm curious what people have seen happen.

So i'm looking at the 2019 i3 Bev with the eucalyptus...

I was originally going to lease but i'm not seeing very good deals for that. At $350/month + any extras they add on i'm guessing that's $400 a month. Maybe they will drop their price come September? However, one problem with the lease is that you don't end up with a car at the end of the deal. If i do a new lease, i'm looking at about $14K over 3 years and walk away with no car. (again)

Here's what i'm seeing as the pros on the buy side:
$49,135 - 11% from dealer=
$43740 . -10,000 USAA=
$37730 . -$7500 Fed=
$30320 . -$1500 Loyalty
$28700 . -800 PGE
$27,900 + $4000 Tax and +700 Fees
-------------------
$32,600.00 / 60 months = $543
Vs.
$400 / 36 months = $14400.

So, do i wait and see if some crazy lease deal comes up or do i buy a car that seems great for a decent price that i'm pretty sure i'll be happy with for the next 5 years if not beyond?
 
There's something to be said about a purpose built EV versus the more common adapted ICE. It really comes down to how long do you think you'll keep the car. Leasing, you'll almost certainly always have free service, but, an EV generally doesn't require a whole bunch. BMW service does tend to be more costly than some other brands. Out of warranty, you can find others to do routine things, but when it comes to unique BMW EV things, that may be best left to the dealership...just depends.

I bought mine. I'm happy with that decision. I am thinking of trading it for an X5 hybrid now that they put a bigger battery in the thing (well, we may not see it until next year in the states) that would allow me to use it all EV most of the time, but have the grunt to pull a trailer or take a long road trip whenever that is desired and have one car rather than two.

I don't know how BMW is on the federal tax credit, but that may be approaching the end for them
 
Jadnashuanh,

I would advise you against going with Hybrids with bigger batteries , except the volt and clarity, as only these two give good performance on battery only mode 0-60 in 8-9 seconds or less in BEV mode

Otherwise , They are just a confused driving experience, when i drove the 3/4 series i

If you drive on pure battery the performance would be significantly below other BEV EVs, which is would beg the question , you have power , which you cannot use every time. Save it for those special days,but carry the load and pay for it every day

If you drive on gas+battery then , again, neither you will consumer your battery quickly on short trips , when you have charge and you will need to burn gas for at least 10 mins, if you accidentally press the gas.

They are complicated , and ICE needs regular exercises tooo

GMs discontinuation of hybrids , should be the proof that pure BEVs is the way to go.
My 2 cents for your long term decision
 
New BEV vs. a Used REX has definitely been on my mind. a 2017 with range finder for low $20 - $22K is pretty appealing.

I have 4 months left on my golf lease so i'm early but once you get excited about one of these it's hard to wait!
 
olbedhead said:
So, do i wait and see if some crazy lease deal comes up or do i buy a car that seems great for a decent price that i'm pretty sure i'll be happy with for the next 5 years if not beyond?





Wait out the lease on your eGolf and see what is available. You can buy a car at the end of a American lease. You can either pay the residual value OR work with a dealer to buy the car and sell it back to you.


In general, lease new, buy used. Leases are typically the least expensive way to drive a brand new car for 2 to 4 years.

With an i3 that means 94Ah used or 120Ah new. I wouldn't want to own or lease a REx past the end of the warranty. I'd consider a 120Ah BEV as a long-term car.



We've had each of our 3 EVs on what passes for a personal lease in the UK. I've been doing this because the technology is changing so quickly. Our current i3 will likely be the last leased car.
 
If you bought a new i3, you'd be the 1% who did/does. Just be aware of that. A lot of people will be eying your car after you decide to sell it. Curious why you're not going the middle ground and buying a lease return rather than buying/leasing new. You can own the car for less than the new price and not much higher than the lease rate your calculating.

As you approach the high 20k range and definitely over $30k, there's a lot of other cars to choose from. The i3 is typically attractive for value. The MSRP is overpriced to start with so I wouldn't consider too highly on the list of "discounts" you've included.
 
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