Calculating cost to lease

Math looks good. The main question is did the dealer confirm the $7k lease cash and the 44% residual?

 

How about miles allowance? Does that fit your needs, or will you end up owing some for miles at turn-in?

There are on-line lease calculators that should help check your math.

Be sure you figure in the possibility of some re-conditioning costs; review the lease terms carefully to see about requirements for tires, maintenance, upholstery, paint, carpets, etc. Some folks have been dinged with large costs for this.

You many not get the same vehicle pricing for leasing, since the lease company that will actually own the car drives the price/residual/money factor, terms, etc.

And, none of us can answer the question of the total cost of owning, because we don't know what will happen on depreciation with the PHEV Clarity yet.

 

We are leasing for $455 per month including tax. 12K miles/year. 35 payments. Only $1,500 down, but we will get that back from the State of California. So, essentially, no money out of pocket. No taxes, license, doc fees etc. Our deal included the first payment. That is why there are 35 payments, not 36.

 

We too decided on a Leaf vs Clarity. We turned in our 2014 Leaf. This is 3rd car we have leased. The first 2 were Leafs. Reason? Technology. The Leaf we just turned was valued much lower than the residual. Wouldn't it be nice to have a Clarity with a 150 mile range? Could it happen? Why not! The residual on the Clarity lease is $16,870.50. Our deal was through the Cost Auto plan.

 

if You're in so Cal, check Moss Bros Honda, they advertise for Touring 319/ month with 1995 Down (include 1st payment) 12k miles/mo. Simi Valley Honda also have Touring for $299 / mo with 2999 DP (exclude 1 st pay). With the CA and Electric Utility disc, you will be in $11,000 range for 3 years lease.

 

Check for regional offers from Honda Financial Services. I live in the Northeast where Honda is offering a lease incentive. My lease deal (3 yr/15K mi) is $315/mo, taxes included for the Touring model. I put $5000 down (CT has a $2000 rebate which will offset), Honda added $6500 of the $7500 tax credit as an upfront rebate (the dealer said it was $6000 and if I showed my proof of military service the dealer would add another $500. Google “Honda marketing program HP-M23”— the program was active through at least April).

 

There are so many "deals" around that you have to do the math. For example, an ad in the LA Times for a Chevy Bolt says $299 per month. Fine. Then it says $3,590 "Customer Cash due at signing" Further on it says "$2000 Factory cap cost reduction = $5,590 total due at signing" Includes sales tax, license, dealer bank and government fees. 25 cents per mile over 10,000 miles per year. Amortizing $3,590 over 36 payments adds $100 per month, so it is $399 per month. Oh and sales tax on $299 makes it about $435 month. Oh and if you do drive 12,000 miles that is an additional $500 per year or $42 per month making it $477. Just be careful. Look at all the costs. Then decide if it is a good deal.

 

We love our Clarity and are about to buy a used Spark EV because we want to go all electric. If we could buy a 3 year Clarity PHEV today instead of the Spark even for 15k we'd do it in a heartbeat. It's just such a solid car. We hear the Spark is fun to drive (it will be delivered by Carvana and we have 7 days to decide to keep it) but it is certainly much lower end than the Clarity.

We passed on the lease as our Dealer only offered us half of the value of the tax credit. They said this was because we'd just have the car for 3 years. When I asked if we bought the car at the end of the lease would they credit us the other half against the residual value, they said "ummmm.... no." Also we tend to hang onto our cars. Good luck.

 

@bobcubsfan, if you don't mind to share what is the residual value to buy the car at the end of the 3 yrs lease?
TIA
Amir

 

The residual on the Clarity lease is $16,870.50

 

Simple lease math. Total all payments including sales tax. Could be 35 or 36 payments depending on how lease is written. Add ALL upfront out of pocket, including down payment, taxes, license, doc fees charged by dealer. Subtract state rebate.

 

in Bay Area, you might have lots of interested buyer for EV/PHEV, so the dealer won't give much discount. I have couple friends in San Jose, bought their Prius / Prius Prime down here in OC - Tustin Toyota or Toyota of Orange, since they offer better deal than Northern Cal dealership.
I'm also looking for Clarity either EV or PHEV, the EV more suitable for me, if (BIG IF) they're available, i have 3 more months before my current lease expire, if the EV still not available by then I might go with the PHEV but the base model.

 

https://forum.leasehackr.com/t/2018-honda-clarity-touring-plug-in-hybrid-lease-36-mo-12k-for-385-mo-including-tax-with-900-00-driveoff-first-mos-taxes-reg-fees-southern-california/46846/4

Clarity touring
$385/month
$900 drive off

Burbank to SF is not that far.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs

 

From what I read, they bought 3 cars, all family relatives. Why they got the same color, who knows.

 

I see black and silver in stock. They took all the white. White is the most popular color, per Honda salesperson.

Looks like the location is diamond Honda in city of industry.