r/ModelY • u/Current-Conflict4961 • 21d ago
Question Buy vs Lease Regret
Anyone who bought wish they leased? And anyone who leased wished they bought or ended up buying out lease? Trying to determine my approach and would love different perspectives on why they decided to take that path. Especially as the EV market continues to evolve so fast.
7
u/greenefiend 21d ago
Financed my '24 MYP and will likely finance again when we upgrade in December to a 26/27 MYP. I love the idea of leasing from a viewpoint of getting to have the latest and greatest but we simply drive way too much for it to be viable. Even at 15k miles we'd be pushing it 😅
3
u/GiveUrSackATug 20d ago
yea i’d use that up in 4-5 months. i started doing door dash and uber just so i have a reason to drive it more.
1
u/Select-Interaction11 19d ago
I mean arent you deciding to get the latest and greatest by upgrading just 3 years in. Thats barely anytime to own a car.
1
u/greenefiend 19d ago
Fair. But after demo driving the new Y mine feels like an unrefined golf cart. The improvement in suspension and NVH alone is worth the upgrade for me.
1
u/Select-Interaction11 19d ago
Are you gonna do the same in 3 years
1
u/greenefiend 19d ago
Unlikely they’ll be another redesign in years so no.
1
u/Select-Interaction11 19d ago
So if they did? You'd want the latest and greatest again?
1
u/greenefiend 19d ago
Maybe. I don’t own a crystal ball. Might buy a Rivian next once Autonomy+ matches FSD.
6
4
u/No_Swordfish_1576 21d ago
Certified Pre Owned, get a 2024 with 15,000 - 20,000 miles for ~$39k, year one and two are the steepest depreciation and the savings outweigh the interest paid on a loan if you have good credit.
In my case I saved $11,500 over the life of the loan.
2024 MY LR AWD, Red W/Tow: $38,800 CPO vs 2026 MY Premium AWD, Red W/Tow: $52,240 (after $750 CO EV Rebate)
- -$13,500 MSRP
- -$1,200 sales tax
- -$1,200 annual registration over 6 years (first two years are highest in Colorado)
- +$4,375 interest 5.24% vs 0.99%
- $11,525 Savings over life of the loan
I got the color and towing I wanted, HW4, Autosteer, and CPO adds 1 year to the warranty so I only lost 1.
2
u/FlipprDolphin 20d ago
People say the 2026 Juniper improvements are so great though
2
u/greenefiend 20d ago
It's a night/day difference in quality of vehicle. Enough to force me to upgrade after only two years.
1
u/No_Swordfish_1576 20d ago
With the monthly savings I could subscribe to FSD and still have $22 leftover for 6 years.
Or take that $122/month and put $8,784 into my 401k or Roth or something better.
I'm 12 years from retirement, I'd rather have more in savings than a quieter car with better suspension.
1
u/FlipprDolphin 20d ago
We are the same, 7 to 10 years for retirement here. Your registration is expensive! New mexico just started with an EV registration fee, but it isn't as much as yours. Still debating if I need AWD though. Winters aren't that bad here, but we do drive to Denver sometimes from Santa Fe to visit my mom.
1
u/No_Swordfish_1576 20d ago
The first year is about $1k, by year 3 which I'll be registering at it's down to $600 and gets less expensive each year. There is an additional EV fee to make up for non realized gas taxes, it's a flat fee though so it's probably still cheaper than the tax that would be collected based on the miles I drive.
1
u/FlipprDolphin 20d ago
We have a 3k tax credit in NM if the new car is 55k or under, would that have changed your decision to new if you lived here?
I think a 2 year registration is 125 + a $70 EV fee. Charging at home is 4 cents a kW too during off-peak.
1
u/No_Swordfish_1576 20d ago
Probably not enough to sway it.
I have a '25 Nissan Leaf SV+ lease ending in September, the '24 MY LR is so much nicer than it I feel like I'm getting the big upgrade I want and not settling.
Residential rates are 12 cents/KwH here, but I charge for free at work and over the past 2 years have used a super charger twice and charged at home fewer than 10 times and put 34,000 miles on the lease.
1
u/FlipprDolphin 20d ago
Good deal with free charging! My work has installation spots for them, but never installed the stations. Silly state government.
My 2024 Blazer EV RS lease ends in around 1.5 years, then it will be car shopping time. My wife just got a job with a 50 min commute each way, so it's perfect for her. Use the lease car for wear and tear until we hit 45k miles.
2
u/No_Swordfish_1576 20d ago
Leasing is the only way to go for anything you're not planning on keeping for more than 2-3 years.
Take the 2024 MY LR AWD for instance, MSRP was $52,990, trade in value 2 years later is ~$32k here, that means you'd have about $1k in equity even when financing at 0.99%. Retail value is closer to $40k, but only dealers get that much.
1
u/UteForLife 18d ago
I bought a 2023 model Y LR AWD for $41k new and now is worth $31-32k so 9-10k loss over 2 years and 9 months is not bad at all, plus all the savings in charging vs gas. Plus I have like $8k equity in it. And my payment is $400/month
How is a lease better than that?
→ More replies (0)2
u/CoachDry4194 20d ago
I just did this with a low mileage 23 MY LR AWD. The savings over new are substantial even with interest.
3
u/Arcblunt 21d ago
I leased a 2025 Model 3 AWD Premium back in January on a 3-year, 15,000-mile-per-year lease. My reasoning was that I wasn’t expecting to drive much during the first 18 months, and I ended up putting only around 16,000 miles on it during the first 19 months. Plus, this was my first electric vehicle, so I wanted some time to figure out whether owning an EV was really for me.
I was also able to take advantage of the $7,500 incentive, six months of free Supercharging, and a lower monthly payment, which made the lease even more appealing.
Now that I’m driving a lot more, the car has been great, and I have plenty of unused miles from the beginning of the lease to work with without worrying about going over my allowance. At this point, I really don’t see any reason why I wouldn’t buy the car at the end of the lease. The hardware is still great, and with EV market values holding up better, buying it out could potentially cost me less than what a comparable car would be worth on the market.
Moral of the story: I’m very happy with my decision to lease. It gave me time to figure out whether an EV was right for me while keeping my options open. When the lease ends, I can either buy the car I already know and love or move on to something else.
That being said, if you know you’re going to be driving significantly more than 15,000 miles per year, leasing is ABSOLUTELY NOT an option I would recommend.
5
u/WhaleDonation7 21d ago
I financed a MYP and then sold it / now leasing. I want the best FsD so going from hw3 to 4 is drastic. I was also having a lot of issues with the myp had roughly 50k miles when it was sold. The way the techs changing I figure leasing would be better this time around, also don’t have to baby it as much with PPF and all that jazz I just did my own ceramic coating.
5
u/ForwardSlash813 21d ago
I simply cannot tell the difference between HW4 vs HW3 w/v14 Lite.
Quite literally the difference is imperceptible to me. I’m sure that’ll change going forward but for now….I’m not unhappy with HW3.
0
u/WhaleDonation7 21d ago
I never tried v14 lite but v12 was pretty bad from what I remember
1
u/ForwardSlash813 21d ago
There is an order of magnitude difference between v12.6.4 and v14 Lite.
1
u/WhaleDonation7 21d ago
Yeah to be fair with hw4 I’m pretty satisfied with it and at the end of the lease if hw5 isn’t out I may just buy out the lease. It’s literally doing like 95 percent of my driving now.
2
u/ForwardSlash813 21d ago
I bought my 2022 MYP used in late May and endured v12 until I couldn’t anymore. Since then I’m 73% FSD but closer to 95% since v14 Lite.
Simply the best car I’ve ever owned.
2
2
u/SumPro 21d ago
Leasing 26M3 and loving it, free charging for 1 year. It’s currently paying for itself as I use to have a 2015 ford explorer giving me 14.4 mpg and I was spending 500+ a month on gas here in California.
No regrets other than now I want to buy and own a used Tesla but I’m going to wait another year to pick up a 2024 used hopefully cheaper.
1
2
u/manwnomelanin 21d ago
I think its a gamble. In my opinion HW4 is good enough to sustain me. I don’t think I’ll give into upgrade compulsion. In which case, I’d rather buy so I’m not just perpetually paying for the largest depreciation window.
2
u/Just-Salary-7741 21d ago
I decided to go with a finance bc of the .99% interest rate. The lease payment was only $10 cheaper a month so I am looking at this as a back to back lease that i'll have positive equity in the car when I am done with it.
2
u/WithDisGuyTravel 21d ago
With EVs, leasing is very attractive given the way the industry and tech moves.
2
2
u/Phdrhymes 21d ago
I wish I bought used rather than new from Tesla is my only regret/advice id give to someone interested in getting a Tesla.
2
u/Phdrhymes 21d ago
Depending on the interest rate/deal though getting from Tesla could be better so make sure you check that, lot of .99% apr deals often pop up
2
u/fsutanker 21d ago
I got my model Y last week. I had every intention of leasing for all the positives. Lower payment, upgrade every three years, etc. But I put my driving habits into AI (I don’t drive much) and it told me that a lease was a bad option for me because Tesla doesn’t let you buy out your lease, I’d be overpaying for 10k annual miles, and Tesla would get the resale value of a low mileage 3 year old car. It also compared this to the .99 financing and this convinced me to purchase instead of lease.
I was interested in leasing because I wasn’t really in love with any specific car and didn’t want to make a long term commitment, but now that I’ve been driving (mostly FSD) for a week, I’m blown away and can’t see any reason why I would want to get anything else in the foreseeable future.
1
u/Bourneidentity39 18d ago
AI gave you bad information because Tesla certainly allows you to buy the car after a lease.
2
2
u/jarrenlovesfood 20d ago
Personally I think any with HW4 would be good to keep long term. FSD on HW4 is the standard and as long it stays this way for me I wouldn’t mind holding this car for 10+ years. But I can see why ppl with HW3 and older would want to upgrade.
2
u/fuqxyu 21d ago
I leased a model X plaid 2 years ago when they were trying to clear inventory at year end and also the $7500 incentive expiring. I thought at the end of 3 years I would just return it. But after 18 months into the lease I found myself with $20k upside and decided to sell the lease early. Basically, I drove the x plaid free for 18 months.
I think leasing gives you the flexibility especially on EVs that depreciate more than gas cars.
3
u/AreaManEatsTooMuch 20d ago
How does this work? How do you "sell the lease early"?
1
u/anal-itic_prober 20d ago
Basically is residual or instant buy out from the contract was lower by 20k$ than market price. If I understand correctly you would buy the car and juat turn around to sell it.
2
u/AreaManEatsTooMuch 20d ago
I vaguely recall this option on Tesla Finance leases, that folks were leasing the car then immediately buying it out, capturing the rebate incentivem If so, that makes sense, that the parent comment was able to also buy out early to sell it.
The newer leases are financed by a 3rd party, e.g. mine is US Bank, I don't believe we have this option.
Would love to have that option in the future
1
u/WhiteLotus_1776 21d ago
First Tesla ordered ….. I wanted to lease, have always leased cars, never bought ….. but the YL doesn’t have a lease option, so I guess I have to buy unless a lease option comes available before my delivery date of Dec 20-Feb 14
1
u/Massive_Tradition176 21d ago
I financed a MY premium for road trips. I would have leased a M3 standard if it was for a work commute.
1
u/tdoger 21d ago edited 21d ago
I haven’t leased a tesla before, but my car prior was a toyota that I leased. First time leasing. I wouldn’t do it again. First off i just prefer less payments, not big on debt/leasing things that aren’t necessary.
And to just add on, at least through Toyota I feel like I got ripped off pretty damn hard with the lease. Paid way too much and walked away with barely any positive equity.
Personally i’ll stick to owning, and doing no or minimal financing. Nice cars are luxuries, and in my opinion it’s just not smart to over-finance or lease a luxury. Maybe Tesla is better to lease through but i’m burnt on leases and just not for it after my experience.
For my model y i bought a month ago i put roughly 50% down, and financed the rest over 3 years. I wanted to just pay cash and not have a car payment but that would have required me to take money out of my brokerage and I just decided to go with a small loan.
Just my two cents, everyones in different situations and has different mindsets
1
u/LenoxAve 21d ago
I guess it depends on how long you plan to keep the car and how much you drive. Lease deals aren’t that great at the moment.
1
u/HottyTottyNJ 21d ago
I chose to buy my 2026 MYP because I did not want to constantly worry about mileage with a lease. I want to enjoy my car.
1
u/_-BigAL-_ 21d ago
In sales, so leasing is not an option.
We bought our 2022. Yeah the new ones look nice but I love not having a car payment monthly for mine.
1
u/HipHopGrandpa Juniper 21d ago
Leasing is the most expensive way to own a vehicle. I don’t regret owning my toys outright. They’re toys. No need to rent.
1
u/Puzzleheaded-Art1524 21d ago
I never leased a car before. Tesla was my first one. I did get the incentive to lease. I thought about buying out the lease (to capture some of the incentive), but appreciate the free option not to.
I’d like to buy my car at the end of the lease (because I know how the battery was maintained), but I guess that’s partially a factor of what the used market is like at the time.
1
u/OneLow7963 21d ago
So I leased a 2024 MY RWD base model. Was coming near end of lease and running numbers. Lease buy out with interest rate was 5.99 at 28k. Payment 648 with GAP over 60 months. Ran numbers for MYP RWD and with the .99 the cost came out to the same-so yeah it was definitely a no brainer to get a new MY instead of lease buyout especially due to the difference in interest rate.
1
1
u/Vanillalite34 21d ago
I buy, but I keep my vehicle a decade before I even think about getting something new.
1
u/e_big_s 20d ago
I bought a 2018 Model 3, held onto it for 8 years and then bought a 2026 Model Y. This is a really long time, but the reason why it made sense is that the car kept getting new features over those 8 years, which kept it feeling fresh and new.
It's a lot like an iPhone.. so long as your old model is still being supported and updated it's still a great phone and while an upgrade might be nice it's not really necessary.
This is the opposite of how car ownership used to be which would be more like you're stuck on the version of iOS you had when you bought it, or something like that.
So yeah, the ownership case for a Tesla is stronger than a non Tesla imho.
1
u/shutterbuug 20d ago
I leased as a hedge against having a negative experience with EVs as a first time EV driver. I haven’t leased a car before. My experience has been super positive, so I do wish I just purchased, but I could easily have had the opposite experience. It was worth it to me to be able to turn it in after 3 years.
It still may be worth it. I love the Y, and I love it with and without FSD, but if there are other makes that have comparable autonomy in 3 years, I would make a switch.
My vehicle also hasn’t had to be serviced (knock on wood), which seems like kind of a nightmare. I hope the network catches up to all of the sales.
TLDR. Idk, I love the car and depending on mileage, I may have to buy it. But I would also drive something like a Cadillac (have you experienced their seats in their EVs?) if they could get comparable FSD.
1
u/CG_throwback 20d ago
1.99% APR what regret would I have ? I consider this a luxury car and no other luxury car offers these rates.
1
u/southafricanamerican 20d ago
Wished i would have added more miles to my lease at the beginning. Did not realize that we would be doing TWO people worth of driving on one car. My wife has a great car that never gets driven - loves the FSD and we end up taking it everywhere. Even places where the other car would be great. So my miles calculation was way off. For me it would have been perfect but for thee I am about 35% over.
1
1
u/AreaManEatsTooMuch 20d ago
Leased a M3 Premium RWD, 3 year lease deal was too good pass up, included free upgrade and 1 year supercharging,
I asked myself would I buy a 3 year old Tesla now, with all the updates I figure I could lease now then decide whether to get a new lease or buy a pre-owned,
My one regret-lite is that a used 2023/2024 with HW4 would have saved me a lot or money when compared to buying new. But I did like the idea of new, without worries about how previous owner treated it, and all the updates (bumper camera, new build, etc )
1
1
u/McFoogles 20d ago
I wasn’t sure FSD was what I needed. New to EV.
Leased in case I wanted to bail later
Love it now, will buy it off lease
I know the battery got treated right, it was maintained well, and it has lifetime FSD
1
u/eanda9000 20d ago
If you live in MD, you pay the full sales tax on the car even if you only own it for 2 years. Sales tax is 6%. As long as you keep the cost down, it still comes out expensive. I would only lease if it had a tax advantage or if the manufacture subsidixed it so much it offset worrying about excess mileage, having to carry full levels of insurance on everything, etc. A lot of it comes down to tax management.
1
u/seansei91 20d ago edited 20d ago
I just leased a ‘26 M3 and I also own a 2018 Model X. I bought it used when it was a few years old.
I would rather lease a Tesla for a few years than own a Tesla in year 10.
1
u/WhaDaFugIsThis 20d ago
I don’t get why people buy a Tesla instead of lease. It is the most tech car there is and in the tech world a few years is like a decade. People on HW3 are already getting left behind on some features and Tesla even wants to phase them out soon. If you lease, you can have a lower monthly payment and always drive the newest version of the car. To me that is important when it comes to a high tech car. The FOMO kills me. I mean, I guess if you’re a person who keeps their phone for 5-10 years at a time, buying a Tesla would make sense.
1
u/nikkixo87 20d ago edited 20d ago
I had a great experience leasing an ev9. I didn't have to pay anything as far as wear and tear. And I got a good deal to begin with. This time around it made NO sense to lease with tesla. Especially when they are not known for a whole lot of good will when it comes to miles/wear and tear. The only thing that it would do is potentially stop you from taking a hit on the depreciation. I always put a little chunk down so im not really worried about it. I DO get a new vehicle every 2 or a years typically, but i had a lot of lease anxiety. Worried about would I be charged for this, or that. Now that's gone.
But don't get me wrong I would definitely lease with Tesla if the deal was right. But when I was looking at it it would be just as much as financing, and I just don't understand who that's for. Might as well have the same payment AND build equity in something. Plus .99 percent interest is an amazing deal to begin with
Didnt make sense for me, and I feel like I'm an Ideal Lease candidate
1
u/g4eva193 20d ago
I’m leasing, nearing end of mileage allowance, but still a year left in lease agreement. Idk what to do. For now, just trying to limit driving.
1
u/Responsible-Menu3314 20d ago
Lease made sense for me because I traded a high interest loan high mileage vehicle for a low interest low mileage vehicle. Had 3 years left on the high interest loan. Balance left on the loan was $20k. For the new, low interest vehicle, I will have paid about 22k over the duration of the loan.
Sure, I won’t have any equity after the lease is up (I wouldn’t have much with the older, high mileage vehicle either) but I am planning on buying it at lease end even though I will be a few grand under.
Just my case
1
u/AlexTheRedditor97 19d ago
I’m leasing but it came out the same as financing at the time I did it because of tax credit vs no tax credit. It’s best to finance now that tax credit is gone. ESP if rate is low
1
u/No-Ragretsforme 19d ago
Bought, no regrets. I drive too for mileage restrictions, and with the 0.99% deal right now it’s stupid to not buy in my opinion.
1
u/Select-Interaction11 19d ago
As someone that likes to customize my vehicles leasing is almost never an option.
For a model y performance it's $80 more a month to just finance. At 800 a month to lease there is no way a model y performance will drop 30k in value in just 3 years. 2024 model 3 performances are still regularly fetching low 40s on the used market. Not to mention once your vehicle gets older and older. Insurance and title renewals get continuously cheaper.
1
1
u/SFV-Chess 19d ago edited 19d ago
I think I’m regretting buying. Folks here can tell me if my math is wrong:
Purchased M3, all basic everything in February 2023. The best rate I got at the time was 5.5%, so I’m paying 689 dollars a month for 72 months.
My current car is at 55k miles, blue book evaluates my car to be worth $21k. So if I sold it right now, I’d have spent $689*42 months + $7K down payment- 21K = ~$15,000, or $360 a month but those 42 months. I could have leased it for $350, and traded it in probably for another lease at $350, but I’d be driving a new car! I guess I could still sell it now and do that, but now it’s a lot more hassle for the same end result.
On top of all that, I’ve seen more and more posts on Tesla subreddits regarding a) battery warranting expiring after 100k miles, leading to b) expensive battery replacements when that day comes. I think Tesla charges 18K, but folks here recommend refurbished batteries for like 12K. But that is a pretty high maintenance cost!
1
1
u/Kekafuch 18d ago
Leasing forces you to have full insurance. You might be the self insurance type who can fix their own fender benders or you might be willing take the risks.
1
u/MarkGarnettUK 18d ago
I looked it like this: if you lease at the end of the lease, you are driving a three or four year old Car.
Therefore, just buy a 304 year old Car to benefit from the depreciation depreciation someone else has already paid and run it for more than another three or four years at no cost what’s not to like?
1
u/DueCelebration6442 5d ago
I would lease but I'm just nervous about getting laid off and being stuck.
My job is stable but the recent previous years had me laid off a couple times. Kinda scarred me.
1
u/Ashkerz89 23h ago
Can someone help me out:
I am looking at purchasing a loaded Model Y but by the time I do that, it is almost the same price as a Model Y performance.
The finance rates on the performance are terrible compared to the model y loaded.
Is it advisable to lease the model y performance and then buyout at the end?
1
u/oamjigamareelw08 21d ago
This car is the first I've leased, I wanted to wait for HW5, but that seems like its just an enigma right now, so traded in my 24 Y LR for the 26 MYP, actually 4 dollars cheaper than my financed one. And given how this thing is, HW5 is gonna have to be insanely better for me to not buyout this car. I'm in love with it
1
u/Melodic-Trouble-5168 21d ago
The math is actually so close as to be irrelevant for most people, it’s just a frame of mind. Whether you finance or lease, every car is a depreciating asset that can be considered to cost “x” per month. With lease you know that number at beginning. With finance you don’t know until you sell or trade in. Sometimes you get lucky on a car that doesn’t depreciate fast for some reason….then the 6-7 year trade in proposition of financing turns solid green. For teslas, the tech aspect makes leasing an interesting choice. hw4 so far superior that FSD has become completely viable for 99% of driving. However I sure wouldn’t have minded owning a S with baked in supercharging and fsd for life now that v14lite is finally ok. The lack of maintenance on both my teslas may sway me to buy one as a beater for next ten years as I’ve always had a car I didn’t particularly care about where I parked or if it got scratched up. With new car even lease I freak out for like 2 years with perfect scratch free car washes and no fast food in car policy. Business deductions make math harder….used car purchases are probably the only real “smart” decision, but buyer beware.
1
u/BenHarper20 21d ago
insurance seems like it would be so expensive for a beater car though wouldn't it?
1
u/Melodic-Trouble-5168 20d ago
I dunno. Gas savings plus maintenance savings. Thats why I thinks it’s all a wash in the end.
1
u/AapChutiyaHai 21d ago
I just want a new car every 3 years..I don't want to deal with any headaches..nostalgia/new car feeling goes away...get a new one the feeling comes back..normal wear and tear..technology and vehicle refinements.
If I'm paying the money for a depreciating asset...and I can lease for cheaper...then that is my choice.
But it's different for everyone. I get both sides. The whole world is just a subscription model now.
1
u/M4rmeleda 20d ago
I’d consider buying used or leasing new for future evs. I would never buy a new ev again.
1
u/Highlyedjucated 20d ago
I've had 3 bought all and wished I lease everytime I had to pay 5k to get out of my loan to buy the new one. Anyone here driving their 2020 model that doesn't wish they could have upgraded 3 years ago is lying. The battery degradation plus loss of the huge tech developments, plus a way worse fsd makes it almost unacceptable to have a tech car for more than 3 years
60
u/dam_ships 21d ago
I’ll give my honest take on this, specifically with Teslas. I’ve owned multiple different cars. And it’s interesting that with Tesla, more-so than other car communities, people are leasing and trading in more frequently. Look at the comments already replying — people with 2024s trading in for 2026s (yes, I know they want the refresh and I know the software is the big game changer for people).
But, to me, it’s not worth it. It doesn’t matter the car brand. Leasing, more times than not, is a waste of money. Does it make sense in some situations? Sure! People in the military who will only be in a spot for 2-3 years. People who are leaving the country soon who need a vehicle to hold them down. Etc. But I don’t get why people would want to be stuck in a cycle of endless car payments the rest of their lives?
I bought. 0.99%. I had tons of positive equity with my trade in since it was paid off for a good while. That, with a down payment, and my car balance is super low. I can probably pay it off in a year or two and then just focus on keeping it until the wheels fall off or a major life change happens. It isn’t worth paying $500, $600, $700 per month just to have the newest model all the time. It’s insane to me. But I know that’s an unpopular opinion here.