For the world of me, I cannot figure out why anybody would buy a fuel cell car, but Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai are all selling many more than I thought possible. These all list at about $59k before incentives. So then I figured it must be the fantastic lease deals these companies offer, less than $400/mth for 3 years and free fuel. Hard to find any equivalent new loaded luxury vehicle anywhere near that price. So then I thought that the 3 year old ex-lease cars would sit on car lots and not be sold. Wrong again! For the last month I have been tracking used Mirai on cars dot com and they have had about 30 cars listed on any given day. During February, 17 were sold and generally for about $22k. So these cars are being sold at about the same rate they appear.
I can understand leasing at $399/mth, but purchasing at $22k would be about $380/mth financed over 6 years and fuel will cost $200 to $400/mth depending on driving use. This means the used car buyer pays 50% more than the original lessee for a car that will be near the end of its life in 6 more years. IIRC by law the H2 fuel tanks have to be replaced after 10 years and this will cost more than the car is worth. And of course if there is a major mechanical failure this car will not be cheap to repair.
So why do people buy these cars? If you, or someone you know bought an H2 FCV, please respond with the rational for purchase, I would really like to know.
I can understand leasing at $399/mth, but purchasing at $22k would be about $380/mth financed over 6 years and fuel will cost $200 to $400/mth depending on driving use. This means the used car buyer pays 50% more than the original lessee for a car that will be near the end of its life in 6 more years. IIRC by law the H2 fuel tanks have to be replaced after 10 years and this will cost more than the car is worth. And of course if there is a major mechanical failure this car will not be cheap to repair.
So why do people buy these cars? If you, or someone you know bought an H2 FCV, please respond with the rational for purchase, I would really like to know.