darkfinger

Hi,
I'm a longtime lurker and wanted to ask for advice. I've decided on a Panamera e hybrid but I'm baulking at the high cost of a Porsche lease. Based on the pricing I was given it'll cost about $70K for a 3 year lease which doesn't really make sense. I could buy, but it seems more sensible to buy a 2016 off lease for around $60K and then deal with selling after 3 or 4 year. I'd probably just buy it cash rather than finance. Any advice on whether this would be a mistake, if something odd happens to the viability of the hybrid after an additional 3-4 years or if the newer cars have something compelling that I should consider.

Many thanks!
D

Johnny5Alive

The lease only makes sense as hedge against depreciation. Porsche leases are expensive but make sense if you plan to dump the car in a few years, and don’t want to put anything down as depreciation can be a real problem in that scenario.


Do you own a business?

darkfinger

No I don't

Johnny5Alive

Purchase a used one.

jnolan

you will not qualify for the Federal tax credit or state rebates with a lease. Also worth noting is that Porsche leasing deals are pretty goddamn awful. Financing is really cheap right now, I am paying 2.04% through BofA

hueydumps

Not true - you get the tax credit if you lease. I think it only makes financial sense if you own a business and can write off the majority.

darkfinger

Thanks for all opinions. I'm going to buy a 2016 or 2017 e-hybrid although there are hardly any 2017's available.

Johnny5Alive

Correct. The tax credit is baked into the lease. Because PFS purchases the car and leases it to you, the tax credit is factored in as a sort of a down payment. Leasing is always more expensive if you intend to keep the car long term. Owning a business and the associated write offs for vehicles like this make leasing more favorable, but the depreciation write offs on certain purchases for business owners level the playing field.

because you don’t own a business, my advice is to purchase a CPO 2017 car. Buy a lease return. If you can find an agreeable leftover 2018 even better. I don’t think they made many e hybrids for the 2017 model year, but I am turning in our Carmine red panamera later this year and I think whoever gets it is getting a great car.

Outlaw

So your saying Porsche is applying for the tax credit on your behalf for federal and state tax credits and incorporating it into your payment ?

jnolan

No. In a leasing arrangement the leasing agent, typically the manufacturer, is rightfully entitled to the credit because they are the technical buyer of the asset. The benefit of the tax credit gets passed on to the party leasing the vehicle by bumping the residual value the lease is based on by the amount of the tax credit. So the tax credit gets baked into the monthly payment, one hopes but the fact remains that Porsche leasing is a really expensive way to go so any tax credit pass through is subject to scrutiny.

In a lease situation the person leasing the vehicle is not qualified to apply for the Federal tax credit. It is expected that the amount of the credit will be passed through.

irv09

One other consideration with the e hybrid is the cost to replace the battery. You would escape that potential expense of replacing the battery with a lease, but you could just factor in trading the car before the time for replacing the battery with the purchase option.

darkfinger

I am curious as to why there are no 2017 e-hybrids available. Did Porsche skip that model year?

Thanks

jnolan

2017 was the first model year for the 971 generation, the e-hybrid was introduced in 2018.

darkfinger

Thanks

uniqueMR

Lease only if have a business. Otherwise buy.