4 ms·

I'd totally lease one to try it out and see if it fits my lifestyle and availability of charging stations in my city.

marquis 15y ago
Speaking of leases I'd like to see more people leasing cars over buying them. It would lead to less old cars being on the road and better up-take of electric vehicles. There are weeks or months when I rarely drive (I'm travelling or over the summer months when I'd rather cycle). ZipCar et al are great to see existing but cover a tiny, tiny niche. If there were some kind of subsidy in the lease direction we'd probably also see better prices. I guess car ownership in the U.S. is too far embedded though for this to really change but I bet if leases were tax-deducible on a personal level we'd see something happen quickly on that front.
- rdl 15y ago
  It isn't as I'd the off lease used cars jut disappear. They get sold -- no one leases 2-5yo used cars, but buying a nice $50k car used after 2y of lease with better than new warranty and service for 25-30k and keeping it for 5-10y seems to be working pretty well for me. What you'd really need for leases to get old cars off the road is a design for refurbishment and upgrade, like military vehicles, aircraft, etc. It is reasonable to think electric cars may go that way, with drivetrain swapped out for a new one, but that kind of design usually increases weight and cost. It probably makes sense to just sell used cars at a discount, or to scrap them. The only way to get used cars off the road is a progressive inspection and road tax system like in Japan, and even them most of the old cars get exported and driven elsewhere.
  - hkarthik 15y ago
    I've considered buying a $50K car used after 2 years. Are there any brands you recommend sticking to when going this route? I know some of them just gouge you on the maintenance costs after 30K miles or so.
    - rdl 15y ago
      You really need to look at the specific model, not just the brand. I think there are sites like Edmunds TCO and Consumer Reports which are good about model reliability. I'm really happy with the Audi A4 (B7), made from 2006.5 to 2008, with the 2.0TSI engine. They're probably $10-25k used now.
vaksel 15y ago
leasing is a pretty huge commitment...I'd only do it for a car like this if the leasing companies allowed trading leases through sites like leasetrader etc

Speaking of leases I'd like to see more people leasing cars over buying them. It would lead to less old cars being on the road and better up-take of electric vehicles. There are weeks or months when I rarely drive (I'm travelling or over the summer months when I'd rather cycle). ZipCar et al are great to see existing but cover a tiny, tiny niche. If there were some kind of subsidy in the lease direction we'd probably also see better prices. I guess car ownership in the U.S. is too far embedded though for this to really change but I bet if leases were tax-deducible on a personal level we'd see something happen quickly on that front.

rdl 15y ago
It isn't as I'd the off lease used cars jut disappear. They get sold -- no one leases 2-5yo used cars, but buying a nice $50k car used after 2y of lease with better than new warranty and service for 25-30k and keeping it for 5-10y seems to be working pretty well for me. What you'd really need for leases to get old cars off the road is a design for refurbishment and upgrade, like military vehicles, aircraft, etc. It is reasonable to think electric cars may go that way, with drivetrain swapped out for a new one, but that kind of design usually increases weight and cost. It probably makes sense to just sell used cars at a discount, or to scrap them. The only way to get used cars off the road is a progressive inspection and road tax system like in Japan, and even them most of the old cars get exported and driven elsewhere.
- hkarthik 15y ago
  I've considered buying a $50K car used after 2 years. Are there any brands you recommend sticking to when going this route? I know some of them just gouge you on the maintenance costs after 30K miles or so.
  - rdl 15y ago
    You really need to look at the specific model, not just the brand. I think there are sites like Edmunds TCO and Consumer Reports which are good about model reliability. I'm really happy with the Audi A4 (B7), made from 2006.5 to 2008, with the 2.0TSI engine. They're probably $10-25k used now.

vaksel 15y ago

leasing is a pretty huge commitment...I'd only do it for a car like this if the leasing companies allowed trading leases through sites like leasetrader etc