telero
Member
Let me preface this by saying that we didn't really need a Spark EV, and actually stood in line to put down a deposit for a Tesla Model 3. But I have been interested in an EV since having test driven the Tesla Model S. This is essentially a holdover until the Model 3 is available -- hopefully in just a couple years.
Ended up getting the Spark in no small part due to the information that bro1999 has put out there. The only way it made sense for us to go for the Spark was if it could replace one of our ICE vehicles, while costing less than we were spending in gas, and taking into account the cost of electricity for charging. Between the local $99/month lease deal being offered and the private offer and farm bureau discounts bro1999 has previously mentioned, we were able to make it work.
Overall negotiation took a little longer than I would have liked because the sales person I was working with (and others at the dealership) was unsure how to get the private offer and farm bureau discounts to work. He was using their internal calculator and trying to add the discounts was apparently breaking things because the discounts were adding up to more than 40% of the MSRP. The sales guy was very good at keeping persistent and trying to make it work, even coming up with workarounds such as getting me a cash rebate after the fact. My goal was to get the smallest monthly payment possible, so I did push to to get the discounts applied up front, and eventually it was submitted and approved with the discounts applied.
The details for the $99 deal. In Oregon there is no sales tax, but also no state based EV rebate.
MSRP: 26745 (1LT with fast charge)
Selling Price: 23800 (2945 off, or 11%)
Incentives: 10475 (standard lease cash)
Residual: 10698 (40% for 3yr/30K)
Acquisition fee: 595
Money Factor: 0.00040
If you run that through the lease calculator you get a $99/month, with $99 first month due at signing.
My deal.
MSRP: 26745
Selling Price: 23800
Incentives: 11475 (lease cash + 500 private offer + 500 farm bureau)
Residual: 10431 (39% - opted for 3yr/36K)
Acquisition: 0 (fee waiver for bumping up money factor)
Money Factor: .00095 (bumped up because of acquisition fee waiver)
Monthly: $74
In this particular case, using the acquisition fee waiver to bump up the money factor actually saved about $4/month. If we had stayed with the 10k/yr mileage it would have been $67/month. But we will likely be closer to 12k than 10k. And if we were to go that far over at $0.25/mile, that would have been about $40/month to add to the cost. Much better to add the mileage at $0.04/mile instead.
We did include some other factors in deciding if the net cost would be better. The $500 rebate for the Bosch charging station was one. We would have bought a level 2 charger anyway, so the $500 is a bonus. The dealer also includes 4 services for checking fluids and rotating tires. The dealership normally includes 2 oil changes, but for the EV they do 4 services since there is no oil. We'll also be able to sell one of our ICE vehicles 2 years sooner and with around 25k less miles, meaning less depreciation and higher selling price. The only thing I thing we missed out on (and that I won't dwell too much on) is that there was a $750 lease conquest offer previously that would have replaced the $500 private offer. That would have shaved another $7/month off the cost.
Overall I would say I like my ICE vehicle better, but I do like being in an EV (especially the torque). I'm sure it will grow on me, the long term money and environmental savings will help.
Ended up getting the Spark in no small part due to the information that bro1999 has put out there. The only way it made sense for us to go for the Spark was if it could replace one of our ICE vehicles, while costing less than we were spending in gas, and taking into account the cost of electricity for charging. Between the local $99/month lease deal being offered and the private offer and farm bureau discounts bro1999 has previously mentioned, we were able to make it work.
Overall negotiation took a little longer than I would have liked because the sales person I was working with (and others at the dealership) was unsure how to get the private offer and farm bureau discounts to work. He was using their internal calculator and trying to add the discounts was apparently breaking things because the discounts were adding up to more than 40% of the MSRP. The sales guy was very good at keeping persistent and trying to make it work, even coming up with workarounds such as getting me a cash rebate after the fact. My goal was to get the smallest monthly payment possible, so I did push to to get the discounts applied up front, and eventually it was submitted and approved with the discounts applied.
The details for the $99 deal. In Oregon there is no sales tax, but also no state based EV rebate.
MSRP: 26745 (1LT with fast charge)
Selling Price: 23800 (2945 off, or 11%)
Incentives: 10475 (standard lease cash)
Residual: 10698 (40% for 3yr/30K)
Acquisition fee: 595
Money Factor: 0.00040
If you run that through the lease calculator you get a $99/month, with $99 first month due at signing.
My deal.
MSRP: 26745
Selling Price: 23800
Incentives: 11475 (lease cash + 500 private offer + 500 farm bureau)
Residual: 10431 (39% - opted for 3yr/36K)
Acquisition: 0 (fee waiver for bumping up money factor)
Money Factor: .00095 (bumped up because of acquisition fee waiver)
Monthly: $74
In this particular case, using the acquisition fee waiver to bump up the money factor actually saved about $4/month. If we had stayed with the 10k/yr mileage it would have been $67/month. But we will likely be closer to 12k than 10k. And if we were to go that far over at $0.25/mile, that would have been about $40/month to add to the cost. Much better to add the mileage at $0.04/mile instead.
We did include some other factors in deciding if the net cost would be better. The $500 rebate for the Bosch charging station was one. We would have bought a level 2 charger anyway, so the $500 is a bonus. The dealer also includes 4 services for checking fluids and rotating tires. The dealership normally includes 2 oil changes, but for the EV they do 4 services since there is no oil. We'll also be able to sell one of our ICE vehicles 2 years sooner and with around 25k less miles, meaning less depreciation and higher selling price. The only thing I thing we missed out on (and that I won't dwell too much on) is that there was a $750 lease conquest offer previously that would have replaced the $500 private offer. That would have shaved another $7/month off the cost.
Overall I would say I like my ICE vehicle better, but I do like being in an EV (especially the torque). I'm sure it will grow on me, the long term money and environmental savings will help.
