How does this lease deal look?

[DMan]

Hi all,

Potentially taking delivery of a standard range 2024 Model 3 this Friday. No upgrades, stealth gray on black.

Model 3 RWD $38,990
Destination Fee $1390
Order Fee $250
Total Car Price $40,630

36mo/10k miles per year
Money Factor 0.0044000 (it's over 10%!)
Disposition Fee $395
Cost over 36 mo $24,275.91
Monthly payment $282.69

County fee $517
Registration $229.75
Sales tax $73.32

Cash down payment $12,189
First monthly payment $282.69
Acquisition fee $695

Additional Credits:
Trade in value ($13,200)
Lease Incentive ($7500)
Order deposit ($250)

Check back from Tesla ($6,963.24)

I am trying to put less down on the lease but Tesla is telling me that if I put less equity towards the lease the tax amount will go up and they will have to pull another credit report. They also said it would increase the interest charged over the lease term. Any advice is appreciated.

 

[kpanda17]

Hi all,

Potentially taking delivery of a standard range 2024 Model 3 this Friday. No upgrades, stealth gray on black.

Model 3 RWD $38,990
Destination Fee $1390
Order Fee $250
Total Car Price $40,630

36mo/10k miles per year
Money Factor 0.0044000 (it's over 10%!)
Disposition Fee $395
Cost over 36 mo $24,275.91
Monthly payment $282.69

County fee $517
Registration $229.75
Sales tax $73.32

Cash down payment $12,189
First monthly payment $282.69
Acquisition fee $695

Additional Credits:
Trade in value ($13,200)
Lease Incentive ($7500)
Order deposit ($250)

Check back from Tesla ($6,963.24)

I am trying to put less down on the lease but Tesla is telling me that if I put less equity towards the lease the tax amount will go up and they will have to pull another credit report. They also said it would increase the interest charged over the lease term. Any advice is appreciated.

your actually putting too much down, if the vehicle becomes a total loss, you loose all of that down payment
total loss protection is for the gap with depreciation and what the lease owner is due, thats built into Tesla leases, no protection for your down payment

only put $4500 down as the phone app defaults to and keep the balance of $7689 ($12,189-4500)
if you need money to keep your budget payment low, pay the $282 payment and they add to it from your $7689 savings, larger monthly due to only $4500 down
we just leased the exact vehicle in Jan, love the M3RWD, we have 2x 2023s
leasing from Tesla was straight forward, if the local person is not working with you, switch to someone else there or use the chat to review all of the terms
lastly you can email [email protected]

 

[DMan]

your actually putting too much down, if the vehicle becomes a total loss, you loose all of that down payment
total loss protection is for the gap with depreciation and what the lease owner is due, thats built into Tesla leases, no protection for your down payment

only put $4500 down as the phone app defaults to and keep the balance of $7689 ($12,189-4500)
if you need money to keep your budget payment low, pay the $282 payment and they add to it from your $7689 savings, larger monthly due to only $4500 down
we just leased the exact vehicle in Jan, love the M3RWD, we have 2x 2023s
leasing from Tesla was straight forward, if the local person is not working with you, switch to someone else there or use the chat to review all of the terms
lastly you can email [email protected]

If I put down $4500, it looks like my monthly payment goes up to $495/mo. If I finance it instead with $4500 down for 72 months it’s gonna be $608/mo at 8.79% interest according to Tesla website. About $100 more to finance vs leasing sound like a better deal?

I see they list a $7500 EV credit. Does that look like it’s actually applied?

 

[kpanda17]

If I put down $4500, it looks like my monthly payment goes up to $495/mo. If I finance it instead with $4500 down for 72 months it’s gonna be $608/mo at 8.79% interest according to Tesla website. About $100 more to finance vs leasing sound like a better deal?

I see they list a $7500 EV credit. Does that look like it’s actually applied?

For the purchase, I’m fairly certain the M3 is not eligible for the $7500.
The lease is a good deal and has access to the $7500. Stick with the lease and use the strategy I suggest for enabling you to make the $495 payments.
Be careful of the 10K mile max per year. Make sure your driving history shows you driving less. The overage per mile charge can be a lot.

 

[DMan]

For the purchase, I’m fairly certain the M3 is not eligible for the $7500.
The lease is a good deal and has access to the $7500. Stick with the lease and use the strategy I suggest for enabling you to make the $495 payments.
Be careful of the 10K mile max per year. Make sure your driving history shows you driving less. The overage per mile charge can be a lot.

New numbers are up:

Model 3 RWD $38,990
Destination Fee $1390
Order Fee $250
Total Car Price $40,630

36mo/10k miles per year
Money Factor 0.0044000 (it's over 10%!)
Disposition Fee $395
Cost over 36 mo $25,192.47
Monthly payment $388.40

County fee $517
Registration $229.75
Sales tax $73.32

Cash down payment $9,300
First monthly payment $388.40
Acquisition fee $695

Additional Credits:
Trade in value ($13,200)
Lease Incentive ($7500)
Order deposit ($250)

Check back from Tesla ($9,746.53)

Of the $9,300 cash down, $7,500 of it is Tesla EV credit and $1,800 from the trade in. Trade in is also covering any taxes and fees. He set it up so that if I removed the trade then I would have $4500 due at signing.

 

[Tezla1]

On any lease, it is generally best practice to put as close to $0 down payment as possible.

By putting a down payment, all you are doing is “pre - paying” (cap cost reduction) for a % of the total lease cost up front. This is a Big mistake bc of 4 reasons:

1. If your car is total loss in accident, your down payment is gone - insurance will not pay back.

2. The down payment amount can be invested in an interest savings account which would typically yield you more interest income than any potential savings. Only caveat here is making sure to compare the total lease interest paid over 36 payments vs the interest income - to confirm you are making more this way… or perhaps it’s breaking even, in which case, $0 down is clear winner

3. DO put the Maximum cash down towards any security deposits aka MSD.
Multiple security deposits on the other hand are completely refundable. They are essentially loans to the bank in exchange for a lower interest rate. Note on this: calculate the interest you save by putting max MSDs vs savings account to determine HOW much you save by putting $X into MSD. You get all this back when you return car at lease end.
I’ve done this many times. Note: Tesla does not allow MSD as far I know. Many luxury brand cars do however.

4. Taxes are the same no matter what you put down. Your tax is calculated on the total cost of lease divided by number of payments. You Do NOT save $ on taxes by paying a larger down payment on any lease

 

[ATPMSD]

Numbers don’t add up to me.

You state the total price of the car is $40,630, let’s ignore county fee, registration and sales tax.

You indicated credits of Trade-in at $13,200, Lease Incentive of $7,500 (which becomes a tax credit if you buy, see link below), and $250 order deposit, this totals credits of $20,950.

So if you buy the car costs just $19,680, with nothing additional down. In your case if you buy you have equity in the car when you drive it off the lot. If you shop around, your payment should be around $400 / month on a 5-year loan.

Tesla has some of the worse lease deals and can be dreadful when it comes time to turn in the car. Also, as you know there are mileage limits and wear and tear limits.

https://www.carsdirect.com/deals-articles/how-it-works-federal-ev-tax-credit

 

[Kairide]

As a long time leaser, never put money down on a lease. As others have said, you don’t have any equity in the car. So all that money you put down just goes to the dealer, or in this case Tesla.
If you crunch the numbers, typically the amount your monthly payment goes up will be less then the increased amount over the term of the lease.
Tesla does have the worst MF in the industry since they don’t have to compete with other dealerships for your business.