eGolf - Lease or Buy

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Joined
Aug 19, 2017
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I am on a waiting list for my first ever EV, an eGolf of course. I would like the veteran owners of such vehicles to inform of best options to acquire the car given the life expectancy of batteries and the absence of market data on resale values and/or residuals values in cases of a lease? Thanks ever so much.
 
Much of this depends on what year, what trim, and the deal you're getting.

General rule of thumb for EVs is to lease, as in 2-3 years the battery range will be obsolete and the car's value will be down significantly. The BMW i3 is a prime example: it's a no-brainer you want to lease and pay $400/mo rather than see depreciation of $7k a year. With the e-Golf however it's difficult to tell since it's only been out two years so can't really compare lease residuals vs. used market price. Currently, you may as well flip a coin.
 
The lease is the safe bet. Chances are, used values will plummet when longer range EVs take over the market.

Personally, I bought with cash, planning on driving mine "into the ground".
 
The lease deal you get will also depend on your location. There are many more Canadians on the group now and the lease and finance situation up there is very different than California.
 
If you don't plan on driving more than 12,000 miles per year a lease is your best option. If you plan on driving more than that then look for a used or certified pre-owned e-Golf and go from there. I have already put 15K on mine in 8 months and went with the CPO option. The leases don't offer you great mileage options but with the expected depreciation as the longer range models come out you don't have to worry about it with a lease. You just have to stay under those allotted miles. That isn't a problem for most E.V. drivers and VW does offer additional mile every now and again as well. You just have to pick what is best for you but those are most of the items on here everyone will tell you to weigh your decision on.
 
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