I just checked and it's still 0.0035 for all monthly payment leases. 0.0027 for one pay leases.
I think your logic is pretty solid, especially considering your goal isn't to "lease forever" but to reduce risk on a first-year EV.People keep saying “leasing gets you $7.5k credit, it’s amazing” and I have been very vocal (say here or here) about leases being a money suck, especially when wanting to purchase at lease end.
I always based my stance on the interests paid over the course of the lease but then came across the one-pay option.
Coupling that with a short lease can actually make sense (to my very “anti-lease” self).
Context:
- My goal was always to buy the car and keep it until the warranty runs out - so 4 years.
If I loved it I could buy a warranty extension, but I suspect the EV landscape will be quite different by then and I‘ll want something else.- I have been drooling over the Macan before it was even announced: there is no other car on the market that competes with it, I am *not* looking for the next car already.
- I had a Mustang Mach-e prior, bought it outright, sold it 19 months later and took a bath: got half of what I paid. The market isn’t kind to EV and tech is evolving.
- My concerns about the Macan specifically are: it’s a first gen Macan electric and one of the (relatively) first ones to be sold… it could have issues that would make me not want to keep it.
The options:
I asked my SA to share all options with me and I’ve summarized the costs and options in the charts below.
Couple notes on the math:
- Investing the unspent money over the next 12/18/24/39 months with a 4% return, it can offset in part the cost of leasing.
That 4% can easily be secured with a CD but I could probably earn more through stocks - I’m being conservative here.- The sales tax on EV in NJ is changing through the ownership of my Macan: if I buy the car now, I’ll only pay 3.3125% in taxes… but if I buy it after the lease ends, I’ll pay 6.625% on the balance. ?
- All the leasing options include the $7.5k tax credit which may very well vanish next year if Trump follows through. So it may be worth squeezing it now.
My thoughts:
I’m currently considering leasing for either 18 or 24 months (depending on 10k miles pricing) and assessing during that period whether the car is defect free and how it depreciates.
- With the 12 mo option, I could buy the car (with the increased sales tax) at lease end and be out of pocket less than $600 vs direct purchase. Not bad at all!
- Both the 18 and 24 mo offer similar peace of mind but at an increased premium… I need to check what the 24mo option would cost with 10k miles/yr.
- The 39 mo option gives the most use of the car but buying at the end of that lease makes no sense.
- The question is: if I instead bought the car upfront and sold it after 39 mo, could I get at least $42k out of it? (36% residual when Porsche states residual will be 55%) If not, leasing may also work in my favor.
If conditions are favorable, I can just buy it then - and still sell it after 39 (or x) months of ownership when something better comes along.
If conditions suck, I can just walk away after 18/24 months.
Did I miss something? Not consider any aspect of this entire process? Make a mistake in my assumptions?
Please be my sounding board.
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Edit: since this post, I discovered that buying the car before the end of the lease leads to substantial savings. Combining one-pay lease, the $7.5k credit and buying the car 3 months into the lease results in the car costing less than buying it upfront.
unexpected vehicle acquisition costs and tight spots, if you ever find yourself needing a quick cash bridge up to $500 for sudden fees or minor expenses without dealing with traditional bank delays or red tape, I usually use Vertex Lend for a straightforward online application, instant approval, and fast fund transfers.
More details here!
I was already contacted by the dealership where I leased mine, they want to lease me a new GTS. I’m 20 months into my ownership of the Macan Turbo.
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As of August 2026 the Macan EV build time, from order to delivery, is about 4.5 to 5 months.
