Purchasing much better than leasing?

So I had thought that with the enormous amount of lease incentives on Sparks ($10,475 base lease cash + private offers), leasing would be cheaper in the long run than a straight purchase.

For example, I received $11,475 in lease rebates on my $27,135 Spark EV 2LT (10,475 + $500 farm bureau + $500 private offer). I leased it for $150 a month for 36 months (all TTL rolled in). Residual is $10,854, so if I were to make all lease payments and purchase at lease end, it would cost $16,254. Subtract the $2,300 MD credit, and final out of pocket is $13,954.

But this month, I see that an MD dealer is offering the same exact Spark EV I leased for $19k BEFORE any federal/state credits, as all Sparks are eligible for 20% off MSRP.

So factoring in MD tax (~$1,500), it would be $19k + $1,500 (tax) + $599 (doc/reg fees) - $7,500 (fed) - $2,300 (MD) = $11,300!

So over $2,600 cheaper to purchase outright compared to leasing + buying. I thought leasing would be at the worst a wash.

You're comparing lease + buy used from dealer vs buy new, which isn't apples-to-apples.

This is your per month lease cost.
Lease = ($150/mo * 36 - 2300)/36 = $86/mo

Since warranty period is 8 years, I see it this way.
Buy = 11.3K / (8 yr * 12mo) = $118/mo

But let's assume 11 year life instead of 8 yr. Then buy would be
11.3K / (11yr * 12mo) = $85.60/mo

Only if you drive the car for 11 years does it get cheaper than lease. But not really, because you'd have to shell out the full amount outright and skip out on investment earnings (ie, stock dividends at 5%/yr). If you factor that in, lease is cheaper than even 15 years of ownership. Include maintenance and repairs (ie battery replace), and it may be that lease is cheaper than infinite number of years of ownership.

We're getting hell of a deal on SparkEV lease. It's too bad it'll all end soon...

SparkevBlogspot said:

You're comparing lease + buy used from dealer vs buy new, which isn't apples-to-apples.

This is your per month lease cost.
Lease = ($150/mo * 36 - 2300)/36 = $86/mo

Since warranty period is 8 years, I see it this way.
Buy = 11.3K / (8 yr * 12mo) = $118/mo

But let's assume 11 year life instead of 8 yr. Then buy would be
11.3K / (11yr * 12mo) = $85.60/mo

Only if you drive the car for 11 years does it get cheaper than lease. But not really, because you'd have to shell out the full amount outright and skip out on investment earnings (ie, stock dividends at 5%/yr). If you factor that in, lease is cheaper than even 15 years of ownership. Include maintenance and repairs (ie battery replace), and it may be that lease is cheaper than infinite number of years of ownership.

We're getting hell of a deal on SparkEV lease. It's too bad it'll all end soon...

Click to expand...

I factored the $2,300 MD credit out of the total leasing costs at the end of my calculations. So pretty sure it's still an apples to apples comparison. If I were to buy my lease out today, it would actually cost $15.8k, since buying it out early would result in saving ~$400 in rent/finance charges on the lease.
15.8k - 2,300 = $13.4k total out of pocket buying out the lease today.

Still over $2,100 more than a straight purchase.

Of course, GM Financial may be willing to negotiate on the buyout price on the Spark EV after 3 years....some other leasing companies allow negotiations (not Ally though, they suck!!).

Either way it's still super cheap....talking insane versus ludicrous deal. Lol

You factored in the rebate and you're still paying $150??? Wow, that's a lot more than factory lease. I got the factory lease last year as follows.

$450 to drive out for first month payment and paperwork (registration, etc)
$139/mo 38 lease payments
$11/mo tax
$2500 CA rebate

$3650 total / 39 = $93.60/mo

SparkevBlogspot said:

You factored in the rebate and you're still paying $150??? Wow, that's a lot more than factory lease. I got the factory lease last year as follows.

$450 to drive out for first month payment and paperwork (registration, etc)
$139/mo 38 lease payments
$11/mo tax
$2500 CA rebate

$3650 total / 39 = $93.60/mo

Click to expand...

Nonono, I didn't factor the rebate in the $150 monthly quote, I just took out the $2,300 at the very end.

Factoring the MD credit from the beginning, the monthly would be $86.11.

Let me try this again:

Lease -
Monthly payment after all incentives: $86.11 x 36 months.
Buyout price: $10,854
Total lease payments + buyout = $13,954 ($13,554 if I bought out lease today)

Purchase -
$19k + 1,500 tax + $599 fees -7,500 - 2,300 = $11,300

So purchase would be ~$2,200 cheaper than lease + buyout today.

But with a lease, you get the benefit of the fed tax credit immediately (I would qualify for the full amount, so that's not an issue).
Can also dump the car after 3 years after just $3k in payments.

Either way, you can't really lose. For flipping purposes, a purchase would be better though.

I see. You took out the rebate from the post lease purchase price. If you're looking at flipping the car, yeah, what you say is true. But as monthly cost to drive it, lease is better as my math shows.

Speaking of purchase price, have you seen some MD dealers advertising under $17K for new 2016? They can't be claiming rebate / tax credit, can they? That would put post subsidy SparkEV at $8K in MD! That just seems way too low. Since I'm in CA, I can't say how MD dealers can lie about things. If this is true, you might be able to flip it by buying in MD and selling at other states, such as Canada; they're 51st state, right? ;-)

SparkevBlogspot said:

I see. You took out the rebate from the post lease purchase price. If you're looking at flipping the car, yeah, what you say is true. But as monthly cost to drive it, lease is better as my math shows.

Speaking of purchase price, have you seen some MD dealers advertising under $17K for new 2016? They can't be claiming rebate / tax credit, can they? That would put post subsidy SparkEV at $8K in MD! That just seems way too low. Since I'm in CA, I can't say how MD dealers can lie about things. If this is true, you might be able to flip it by buying in MD and selling at other states, such as Canada; they're 51st state, right? ;-)

Click to expand...

Cheapest I've seen is $18k for a base 1LT.....so that would be a little over $10k out of pocket after all incentives and taxes/fees are accounted for. If I use my GM card bonus earnings I have currently, that would bring the price down under $10k...and I know I can get $12.5k from Carmax. Hmmm

Just purchased a Black 1LT with DCFC for 18,005 + taxes/lic/doc/fees. With fed credit my total everything is 13k and change. If california ever get more cash I'll net 10.5k.


This is not to shill, but this is my 3rd time buying/leasing a car and I've had the best experience at Concord Chevrolet with the Internet Sales Specialist, Johnny Huynh. Read below if you care for the detail.

I contacted a few local dealers and gave them my price, which is based on information from this forum. First 2 dealers (actually should be considered one since they are owned by same entity) were about $500 away and won't budge. I had a few dealers I intended to call before I'd reconsider my target price, but I ended up not having to once I received an email from Johnny.

Within the hour from the time I called him, we were able to work out the numbers and select a car. I agreed to send him my license and insurance info ahead of time so he can prepare all the paperwork before I arrive. When I arrived at the dealership, he showed me the car then lead me to the showroom waiting area. A few minutes later he showed me the print out of cost summary and it was actually better than what I had asked for! Whether or not this was intentional, I certainly appreciate it. Moments later I was with the finance person signing paperwork. I was in the dealership for about 30 minutes.

I wish all car buying experiences would be this way - you call, you agree, you go pay and you drive off.

And when the payments are done you get to keep the car !

I was on the same boat comparing leasing vs buying. But I ended up buying it. Mine is a blue 2LT with a hair less than $20.8k OTD. After $7500 Fed tax rebate (pretty sure I will have the whole amount back) + $2500 CA rebate (just hope CA will get the funding soon) = my net is around $10.8k.

Assume I will own it for 8 years (battery warranty), salvage value maybe like $1.5k - $2k?.... it's around $91.70/ mo [($10800 - 2000)/96 mo]. Or I can own it for 3 years and sell it. I checked KBB on a 2014 spark EV with around 18k miles which sells for $8.5k. So my monthly comes to only $63.90/ mo [($10800 - $8500)/36 mo].

Comparing the lease program Chevy is offering now $150/mo including tax for 39 mo on a 1LT [($6150 - $2500 rebate)/39 mo], $93.60/ mo. And don't forget there's a $400 disposal fee when you return a leased car. That's around $10 more each months.