Price paid for Kona Electric

P

Petrocelli

New Member
My Mercedes lease was running out, and I went to look at a Kona Ultimate. I loved the car, but the salesman wanted $5,000 over sticker. He claimed a lease with $2,500 drive off would cost around $800 a month!

In the end, I leased a Mercedes C300 2 door Coupe with $2,400 drive off for $615 a month. But I really wish I could have gotten an EV.

What did you pay for your Kona, or what is your lease cost?
 
Yeah, we just ran into that while shopping here in So. Cal. They call them "Market Adjustment" with mark ups anywhere from $2500-$5000. I emailed 8 different dealers, and finally found one that did not have a "Market Adjustment." They didn't have the color my wife wanted but offered to do a dealer trade.

Ended up with a great deal, $370/mth lease with $5000 down, 36 mths.
 
dmatt13 said:
Ended up with a great deal, $370/mth lease with $5000 down, 36 mths.
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Thanks for your response. That is a great deal. Questions:

1. When you say $5,000 down, is that all cap reduction, or does that include first month's payment, license, etc.
2. How many miles did you get.

Love the car. Best EV out there for the money. Congrats!
 
The $5000 includes 1st mth pymt, tax, license, etc. I received the $500 cash bonus as a veteran, and Hyundai gives $7500 rebate when you lease (because you can't take the $7500 tax credit when you lease)

I opted for 10,000 miles per year because I never turn the car in, I just refi and buy it at the end of the lease.
 
I leased a Kona Limited for $440 (tax and license)/mo 10k miles per year, $4500 down (cap reduction and first payment), $7500 cap reduction for fed incentive. Had to be adamant with the dealer to get a reasonable price. Walked out of the dealership a coupe of times because they were just being plain stupid about the price. They eventfully called me and agreed to my terms. I am located between Los Angeles and Bakersfield CA. Talked to 4 or 5 dealerships in effort to get the best price.
 
The prices are crazy here aren't they!! We walked out of a dealer who was asking $45k for an SEL w/733 miles on the car !:mad: They said it was used in a movie shoot, and wouldn't budge price. The car was still a mess and we said no thanks
Had to make sure our dealer didn't do a dealer trade with them!
 
I was looking at a Tesla Model 3, and really wanted an EV. I was scared away by the lack of customer service and reliability issues, so I think you Kona buyers all did great!

The good news: since 1997, I had leased 7 cars from the same Mercedes salesman at the same dealer. When he heard I was seriously considering an EV, I got a Mercedes C300 Coupe, which normally leases for around $750, for $615 a month (with 15,000 miles). So although I am envious of you Kona owners, I'll suffer through for another 35 months. Then it's EV time!

01-2019-mercedes-benz-c-class-coupe-ny-1.jpg
 
I personally could never lease a vehicle as I'm driving over 30k miles per year.. Going to hit 8000 miles on it today since 6/28..
I paid $36100 on a $38300 MSRP and got the color that I wanted..
 
I got it for slightly under invoice in CT

I paid $43,800 for the Ultimate (includes destination fee)
minus $2000 state rebate
minus $7500 federal rebate
+ taxes, DMV
 
Pfft, amateurs :)

If you want an inexpensive Kona move to a Canadian province like BC or Quebec and start a business. Preferred Kona(something between a limited and ultimate in options) will set back the US dollar equivalent of around $21,000 after a 7-8K provincial rebate and up to a $20K federal income tax break for purchase of business related EV, you can claim 100% of EV cost up to a max of 55K+ sales taxes in capitol cost allowance against your business income.
 
apu said:
If you want an inexpensive Kona move to a Canadian province like BC or Quebec and start a business.
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Like that's easy :). On the plus side, my wife is already a hockey fan, so I suppose she would sort of fit in.
 
ericy said:
Like that's easy :). On the plus side, my wife is already a hockey fan, so I suppose she would sort of fit in.
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BC is probably the place I would want to live if I'd ever move to Canada.. I've been vacationing 6 times in BC and AB for the last 7 years. This year will be the first year since 2013 that I won't travel there as I spent most of my vacation days taking my family to my native Austria as also other european countries..
 
BlueKonaEV said:
BC is probably the place I would want to live if I'd ever move to Canada.. I've been vacationing 6 times in BC and AB for the last 7 years. This year will be the first year since 2013 that I won't travel there as I spent most of my vacation days taking my family to my native Austria as also other european countries..
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Did some training in Salzburg , beautiful area and amazing sites.
 
Hmmm, yeah, still remember the Innsbruck Winter Olympic games (on TV, not it person). Beautiful place indeed, and I want to visit there, too, sometime. And these days, still think of Austria where they manufacturer Rotax engines. Have owned a couple, and still have one (in an airplane).
 
This is a interesting thread to me as I'm looking for a Kona in SoCal; but for a buy, not a lease.
I'm turned off by the "mark ups" and wonder where these deals are located?

Apparently SoCal is a specific area for the mark-up activity; true ? If so, I wonder why? Maybe the usual supply/demand situation ?

Finally, it would helpful if all posters would indicate their shopping area.

Thx for the info.
 
Ed Zwieback said:
This is a interesting thread to me as I'm looking for a Kona in SoCal; but for a buy, not a lease.
I'm turned off by the "mark ups" and wonder where these deals are located?

Apparently SoCal is a specific area for the mark-up activity; true ? If so, I wonder why? Maybe the usual supply/demand situation ?

Finally, it would helpful if all posters would indicate their shopping area.

Thx for the info.
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I'm in Florida but I bought my Kona SEL for $36100 at Massey Hyundai in Hagerstown/Maryland

In SoCal, the cheapest dealer that I found was
South Bay Hyundai
(424) 337-0115
20433 Hawthorne Blvd, Torrance, CA 90503

They don't seem to mark those cars up based on their listings on Autotrader. They don't have any SEL's though... just limited and ultimate models
 
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Here in MA, there doesn't appear to be any "market adjustment" shenanigans. I got my Ultimate in June just under MSRP for $45,200. I leased so after $7,500 tax credit adjustment + $12,000 trade in + $1,000 deposit, my payment is just $261/month for 36 months (10,000 miles/yr). I drive 30k miles/year and use the lease as a cash flow reducer. I'll end up refinancing and buying it out at some point along the way.
 
Just purchased in MA and got about $2k off the sticker of a 2019 Limited. Claim was that it was "below" cost. It was below the listed invoice, but with holdback and such, I'm sure the dealer did OK. I did alright, but not great on my trade-in. Not exactly a wheeler/dealer, but felt OK and had my first commute this morning. Oddly, when picking up the car, it showed 299 miles of "range". That dropped to 289 after driving it home (and probably hitting the pedal a bit 'cause it's fun). 45 mile commute to work only consumed about 40 miles off that range, and my driving score was about 50/50 between economical and normal even at highway speeds of 65-70. Interested to see how things trend.
 
I leased my Limited in May at Bob Baker Hyundai in Carlsbad, CA. They were charging basically the MSRP (I can't remember exactly what it was, but right around $41K) minus the $7,500 tax credit. My 12,000 mile, three year lease cost $5,000 down and $429 per month. I just got the $2,500 California incentive check a few weeks ago in the mail. Plus I get an annual EV credit on my SDG&E bill. The size of the credit depends on the state cap and trade program but this year it was $850, applied in August.

I checked out several dealers in San Diego and southern Riverside and Orange counties. The first place we looked, in Escondido, was adding $4,000 to the sticker price. The dealer in Poway was doing the same thing. There was one dealer in San Diego (in Kearny Mesa, I think) that wasn't adding a markup. There was such a shortage of these vehicles at the time that, when I started looking, I couldn't even get a test drive. The Carlsbad dealer had a waiting list. When I finally closed out my Fusion Energi lease in May they happened to have a black one on the lot that wasn't claimed. I was hoping for red but went for the black one, and I now really like the black paint, grey trim and blue/gray interior.

I'm also saving a huge amount of $$ on fuel due to the SDG&E super off-peak rates for EV owners.

I decided on the lease for several reasons:
  • Less $$ down (I had no trade-in on my Fusion, which was also leased).
  • I should be able to keep it under 12,000 per year with my 35 mile per day commute.
  • If I really like the Kona in three years I'll just buy it when the lease is up. Right now I don't think there's another car out there that I would rather be driving.
  • EV technology is moving so fast and there are going to be dozens of new models available by 2022. With a lease, I have the choice to walk away and into something better, if I want to, without having to worry about trading it in or selling it.
 
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