I’m thinking about holding out for a Taycan in a couple of years so in the meantime I’m debating buying “like new” or leasing. I’ve never leased however I hear there are tax benefits for leasing through my business but also drawbacks in not being able to mod the car. Furthermore I just learned of leasing CPO - is that even a thing? What would be the best approach if planning on holding on to this car for no more than 2 years? I’m primarily interested in the 4S E-hybrids.

 

Talk to your tax person about the accelerated depreciation deduction on vehicles with GVWR of 6,000 lbs or more, for which the Panamera 4 E Hybrid ST may qualify.

 

During my career I was involved extensively with commercial vehicle leasing, not only as a lessor but also experience as a lesser managing leased fleets. A big part of leasing economics (profit) is the residual value of the asset at lease end. High end cars historically decline in market value at a slower rate then Fords and Plymouths, so lessors love them because the car has a solid predictable end of lease value. This is the big reason a high end car lease can be Competitive with debt financing, especially if a less than full life period is desired. So most of the time leasing a Porsche can be a good deal for a person under the right circumstances. That said, I’m not sure leasing a Taycan will be a good idea at this time as both the service life/history is unknown but also the residual market value at two, three, four years, etc. I’m not suggesting the Taycan will be a bad car, just that crystal ball for predicting the future value will be less clear and make the lessor be conservative in their rates. Businesses try to err on the profit side in these circumstances.

 

Panamera depreciates a lot harder than say a 911 or Cayman, but either way you are going to lose that $$ - lease or buying it. One big advantage of leasing in states with high sales tax rates is that you only end up paying for the portion of the car or the depreciation on the car vs. entire purchase price. On a $150K vehicle that could be pretty significant - you may pay tax on $50K vs. on $150K which would save nearly $10K where I live for example. From there it just depends on where the residual is set and the MF rates on the lease programs - sometimes the mfg incentives make the money essentially free if the residual seems right a lease can be a great deal. And don't always count on the depreciation on taxes - this can be wiped out or the tax laws changed etc. Volatile environment there currently.