Stormtrooper
New member
- Joined
- May 26, 2015
- Messages
- 2
Just leased a 2015 Spark EV 2LT with DC charging provisions, 18,000 mi/yr (I have a 60 mile roundtrip commute), 36 months, $315/month, effectively $245/month after $2500 CA rebate.
I bought my boss' 2003 Lexus IS300 six months ago and was paying on average $400/month for premium gas, which would only have gone up (recently went to the only gas station in downtown LA since it was the closest one and I was almost out and paid $4.68/gallon, which was $0.50 higher than the place by my house). I definitely would've liked to have paid less for the lease, but it still saves me money based on what I was spending on gas, plus full synthetic oil, and imminent repairs since the Lexus is already 13 years old and almost 200,00 miles.
- - Re: saving $$ - Calculating my savings on my average monthly gas cost has got to be a conservative way to look at it. I say that because I drove 13 miles home earlier after a DC quick charge at Trader Joe's; half of the drive was downhill on Fairfax with lots of regen breaking and the other half was freeway driving at 56 mph. When I got home I averaged 7.2 miles/kwh. That's about 240 mpg. :mrgreen: Seems like that would equal greater savings. Obviously I won't get that all the time, but I was stoked to see that level of efficiency. At one point I think the trip odomoeter said something like 12 mi/kWh and 127 miles of maximum range before I hit the freeway. -- Sorry for rambling, just geeking out on the the prospect of trying to hyper-mile this bad little car!
I wonder about my lease being a good deal because originally I went to the closest dealer to my house to look into the lease deal that had just started ($139/month, 0 down). I got a quote for the 1LT, 18,000 mi/yr, dc quick charge. My credit score ran 679 but the dealer said they would give me the tier 1 credit rating, $240/month $800 due at signing. A few days later I made up my mind to get the car, but they didn't have any with the dc fast charge or a good color, so I waited a week or two, and then the dealer said he wouldn't be able to get one for 8 weeks because the lease deal had moved so many cars. He said I shot myself in the foot for waiting so long. Probably not the best phrasing for inspiring customer loyalty. I said I was willing to wait if there weren't going to be any cars for two months.
Meanwhile, I looked on Chevy's site, and low and behold they have an inventory checker, so I looked and there were a bunch of Spark EVs in the LA area, but for some reason this dealer couldn't get one and decided to tell me I had to wait two months? In which time I would have paid for two new tires since the old ones have bubbles, probably another $1000 in gas easily, $70 oil change, etc. $240/month or not, I was going to at least go see what deal I could get right now.
I went to a place that had 6 Sparks when I first called on Friday, and only 2 left when I came in on Saturday. These things are moving fast. The only two cars left were white 2LTs. I was hoping for silver, maybe black, but white would do. Stays cooler anyways. I had to come back the next day since I came in late the night before and couldn't get a response form the banks. My credit score was 681 this time and they offered me $340/month, 0 down. I asked for lower and they came back with $329/mo $340 down (basically same thing as before, just paying first month down). I said I needed closer to $300 they came back with $315/month, $340 down and that included the first month. So I agreed to that price, tacked on the lease protection for $0.90/day to cover up to $5000 in annoying things that might (probably will) happen to the car in the next three years that insurance wouldn't cover, and zipped out of the parking lot in sport mode.
I've had the car over a week and really enjoy it! I've DC fast charged a couple times and can't wait to see more fast charge stations around. Between the 240V chargers at work and 12 Amp charging at home, I don't really need DC charging often, but it's handy in a pinch. I want to drive my car up to San Luis Obispo (where I'm from) from LA, and there are currently maybe enough DC chargers on the route that I can make it all the way without having to stop for a slow charge, but I would have to be driving for max efficiency to make it. Will probably be attempting that soon!
Anyways that's pretty much all the details. $315/month and $240/month are pretty far apart, and the 2LT - 1LT difference doesn't account for $75 (though the upgraded interior is definitely pretty sweet). The 2nd dealer said I was three tiers below top tier at 681 and there's no way the other dealer could get me top tier financing; the banks won't allow that. That seems pretty likely, but at any rate I'll never know. The only lesson there really is have better credit and you won't have to worry as much if you're getting the best price you can, haggling aside. Thoughts?
I bought my boss' 2003 Lexus IS300 six months ago and was paying on average $400/month for premium gas, which would only have gone up (recently went to the only gas station in downtown LA since it was the closest one and I was almost out and paid $4.68/gallon, which was $0.50 higher than the place by my house). I definitely would've liked to have paid less for the lease, but it still saves me money based on what I was spending on gas, plus full synthetic oil, and imminent repairs since the Lexus is already 13 years old and almost 200,00 miles.
- - Re: saving $$ - Calculating my savings on my average monthly gas cost has got to be a conservative way to look at it. I say that because I drove 13 miles home earlier after a DC quick charge at Trader Joe's; half of the drive was downhill on Fairfax with lots of regen breaking and the other half was freeway driving at 56 mph. When I got home I averaged 7.2 miles/kwh. That's about 240 mpg. :mrgreen: Seems like that would equal greater savings. Obviously I won't get that all the time, but I was stoked to see that level of efficiency. At one point I think the trip odomoeter said something like 12 mi/kWh and 127 miles of maximum range before I hit the freeway. -- Sorry for rambling, just geeking out on the the prospect of trying to hyper-mile this bad little car!
I wonder about my lease being a good deal because originally I went to the closest dealer to my house to look into the lease deal that had just started ($139/month, 0 down). I got a quote for the 1LT, 18,000 mi/yr, dc quick charge. My credit score ran 679 but the dealer said they would give me the tier 1 credit rating, $240/month $800 due at signing. A few days later I made up my mind to get the car, but they didn't have any with the dc fast charge or a good color, so I waited a week or two, and then the dealer said he wouldn't be able to get one for 8 weeks because the lease deal had moved so many cars. He said I shot myself in the foot for waiting so long. Probably not the best phrasing for inspiring customer loyalty. I said I was willing to wait if there weren't going to be any cars for two months.
Meanwhile, I looked on Chevy's site, and low and behold they have an inventory checker, so I looked and there were a bunch of Spark EVs in the LA area, but for some reason this dealer couldn't get one and decided to tell me I had to wait two months? In which time I would have paid for two new tires since the old ones have bubbles, probably another $1000 in gas easily, $70 oil change, etc. $240/month or not, I was going to at least go see what deal I could get right now.
I went to a place that had 6 Sparks when I first called on Friday, and only 2 left when I came in on Saturday. These things are moving fast. The only two cars left were white 2LTs. I was hoping for silver, maybe black, but white would do. Stays cooler anyways. I had to come back the next day since I came in late the night before and couldn't get a response form the banks. My credit score was 681 this time and they offered me $340/month, 0 down. I asked for lower and they came back with $329/mo $340 down (basically same thing as before, just paying first month down). I said I needed closer to $300 they came back with $315/month, $340 down and that included the first month. So I agreed to that price, tacked on the lease protection for $0.90/day to cover up to $5000 in annoying things that might (probably will) happen to the car in the next three years that insurance wouldn't cover, and zipped out of the parking lot in sport mode.
I've had the car over a week and really enjoy it! I've DC fast charged a couple times and can't wait to see more fast charge stations around. Between the 240V chargers at work and 12 Amp charging at home, I don't really need DC charging often, but it's handy in a pinch. I want to drive my car up to San Luis Obispo (where I'm from) from LA, and there are currently maybe enough DC chargers on the route that I can make it all the way without having to stop for a slow charge, but I would have to be driving for max efficiency to make it. Will probably be attempting that soon!
Anyways that's pretty much all the details. $315/month and $240/month are pretty far apart, and the 2LT - 1LT difference doesn't account for $75 (though the upgraded interior is definitely pretty sweet). The 2nd dealer said I was three tiers below top tier at 681 and there's no way the other dealer could get me top tier financing; the banks won't allow that. That seems pretty likely, but at any rate I'll never know. The only lesson there really is have better credit and you won't have to worry as much if you're getting the best price you can, haggling aside. Thoughts?