Considering Leasing Prius Plug-In... Deal to good to be true?

I've never lease a car before. I assume that you will not own any part of the car at the end of the lease and your $1999 down payment is lost? Also, are you limited to 12k miles per year? I don't know anyone that drive that low miles.

 

$26k for the PiP sounds about right. No one ever pay the sticker price and people also get tax credit. The last time I checked, the PiP was $5000 more than a standard Prius with similar options. With tax credit, the premium comes down to $2500. I think you could buy one for less than $25k after tax credit.

 

welcome to priuschat tim! what they have done is moved the incentives and tax rebates into a lease, so you get a great price and low monthly payments, instead of cash up front or higher purchase financing. then you can decide whether you want to buy or walk away after 3 years. seems like a terrific deal to me, no matter how you slice it. all the best!

 

Go for it. It is a no brainer. Loving my PiP.

 

Hey Tim,
Nothing against any Forum Colleagues, but I got kind of beat up when I brought up this PIP Lease question. There are some very happy members of this forum who lease, but some folks really prefer conventional financing. My son-in-law is an economics guru and he can come up with a ton of reasons not to lease a car. However, more and more people I know are leasing cars--especially in the Boston, Denver, and Louisville areas.
An accountant friend of mine works with high-net worth clients and told me that leasing is becoming more of the standard in this income group due to the depreciation concerns. His clients don't want to deal with a trade-in or trying to sell their car after 2.3, 4 or 5 years of a conventional ownership deal. So, leasing with good upfront terms (like the Toyota PIP) are actually a major draw.
Since Toyota is basically giving you the tax incentive, you don't have to worry about qualifying for it on your taxes. The total incentives on the PIP put the customer in an instant discount situation, with free 24-months oil changes. Do a Google search and you will find some folks who used traditional financing to buy a PIP, but were denied the tax credits once they filed their taxes.
One dealer told me that the PIP might have some weaknesses in its EV range, but the car is a major improvement over the earlier models. He said he couldn't lease out anything in the dealership, with no money down, like he can the Prius Plug-In. He has customers that don't even charge the car at home and still are happy since they can charge for free at many places.
I have to make up my mind one way or another. Some of the critics have encouraged me to look at other vehicles, but I still haven't pulled the trigger yet. I love my Prius III, but compared to other options, it would cost me more to buy my car end of lease.
Good luck! Keep us posted.
Fred

 

Tim if you can lease a PIP for under 300 a month I would jump on it. Maybe in 3 years the EV will be much better and you can lease or buy or not, another. I would not put any money down, monthly payments will be higher, but from what you said still under 300 a month with 12000 miles per.

 

The bottom line is that no Toyota dealer is your friend. Some people even call them Toyota stealers. They are there for one reason and one reason only, it's to make money from you. From everything that I read, they don't make a whole lot from selling cars, they make most of their money from selling parts and services. Providing lease contracts is part of their services. I'm not saying they are ripping you off. I'm just saying if you want services, you'll have to be prepare to pay.

PS: In case you're wondering why a Fob or headlight cost so much, someone has to keep them in business. They can't survive on just selling cars.

 

As a general rule I'm very against leasing. That being said, I know there are some unprecedented deals going on right now that make it very attractive. It sounds like leases notoriously have some fine print that might not be favorable to the consumer to read it carefully. Maybe even ask for a copy of the lease agreement in advance so you can go over it with a fine tooth comb. Also, financially, I would make sure you could afford to pay well above the price of the monthly lease. If not, I would recommend a used Prius. There is no other reason for this other than being financially wise and making sure you are saving some.

 

This is a great point. The dealer I leased my first Prius from told me essentially what g4_power says. He was making money off of the maintenance coupons Toyota gave me for 24-months, not really the car. I asked him if that was a lower rate than a walk-in service customer and he said it didn't matter because he kept his shop busy.
But, I think that a dealer makes more money off of a conventional finance contract, especially if you allow them to secure your financing. A friend of mine told me how the dealer can add to the percentage rate on a financing deal. He said it was easy for sleazy dealers to add points to buyers with lower credit scores. He worked for a Ford dealership, by the way.

 

Two word, four letter answer. Do it. Sounds like a sweet deal, particualy since you can live within the allotted mileage. This would be a great stepping stone for three years down the road. New PIP now, and easy move to the generation four Prius or whatever is available in three years. That would be my plan.

 

I say go for it. Notwithstanding the financial reasons for not leasing, I think a strong argument can be made for it on the basis of rapidly changing technology that will probably make any EV or plug-in, or even any car with advanced telematics, obsolete (or rapidly depreciated) within a few years. The PIP can probably go either way (lease or purchase), since it is basically the same as any other Prius, just with li-on batteries and a bit of EV range. Anyone getting it at the steeply discounted or rebated prices or lease rates is doing well no matter how you slice it.

 

Technology was one of the reasons I leased my Prius III. Was it a good lease? Not sure, yet. Will evaluate at the end of lease. But, when I did lease the Prius there was a lot of speculation that Toyota would be blowing the Volt out of the water by the time my lease ended. So, I lived within the mileage and really enjoyed the car. I will say that Toyota is pretty easy to deal with on leases. More later when I finish up the lease!

 

Yeah, I agree with the others here. My wife takes the Prius for granted because we don't use as much gas in the Prius and we didn't pay for oil changes/tire rotation/ scheduled maintenance for 24 months of our lease. Another car would be on her radar, for sure!
Go for it!

 

and in 3 years, the gIV maybe out, and you can walk away from the car if you want to and start over. i paid 30K cash for mine after tax credit, your deal looks pretty sweet. i'm not sure what all this 'fine print' and 'dealer money maker' talk is, the numbers are the numbers, and you can compare them to any other purchase/finance deal you can find.

 

Tim, that is a good idea. One of the salesmen that I do trust told me that the secret to a good lease is to negotiate as little down as possible. He flat told me that he would advise me to buy a regular Prius instead of leasing now because of the incentives. But, on the PIP, he said it was very logical to lease.
The fine print should talk about GAP insurance, at least my Toyota lease had that coverage so I didn't have to look at additional insurance from my auto insurance provider. Also, look at the conditions for excessive wear and tear, the end of the lease buy out and whether it is indeed a Toyota lease. I've had good luck with them and they even helped me with a move/registration change over the phone. They don't pester you on the phone or email, either.
Good luck!
Fred

 

Uh, then so is Apple, so is Google, so your local grocery store, movie theater, etc. And so is Prius Chat.
What is your point?

In reality, the companies that stay around the longest are the ones who make money and make customers happy.

Mike