Estimated Bolt depreciation value?

i think leasing might be the only way to go.

 

You may want to keep a close eye on GM's rebate allowance.
The peak depreciation will occur while the rebate is still in effect.
I believe GM is around 110k of their 200k allowance.
That should give you another year and a half to two years before they hit 200,000 and the rebate starts to go away.
Also, watch for good lease deals. That may be a better deal for you.

 

does depreciation matter if you keep the car 12+ years?

 

It's a long-range EV, and the only data is that long-range EVs don't depreciate anywhere near as horribly as short-range EVs... but that data's based on Teslas, not something mass-market. And, Tesla's sales model is such that, if you want one today, you basically have to buy used, which will greatly prop up resale. The Bolt won't be that way, I suspect.

Also consider that leasing may well get you the full tax credit even if your income isn't high enough to justify it, because the tax credit goes to the bank, instead of you, and is then passed on in two ways - either it's added to the cap cost reduction (down payment), it's added to the residual value, or a combination.

If you do plan on buying, and you're playing the long game, and have a 401(k) and/or IRA... one thing that might be worth doing is a Roth conversion of enough of those funds to increase your tax liability to $7500. Upshot is, you pay the same thing for the car and your tax bill that year as you would have otherwise, and you pay less in taxes when you retire.

 

so you're wondering what they will be selling for in a year or two? sorry, i didn't get that in your first post. sounds like a good plan. if past ev depreciation is any help, you should be able to get a great deal.

 

Leasing a car is very nearly NEVER a good idea.

As far as depreciation goes I think that the other EVs teach us that there is a VERY STEEP depreciation curve.
I would expect the Bolt to have about the same plummeting resale value as other BEVs, but you don't have to be the sucker if you get one off-lease in three years and if gas stays relatively cheap.

Let somebody else pay the steep depreciation costs.
If you need a compliance vehicle while you wait, do some price checking on an off-lease PHEV or BEV.
Off-lease Volts and Pips are attractively priced, but remember.....
Those first generation PHEVs and BEVs cost a lot MORE than their successors, and if past is prologue then pretty soon the prices will drop enough to sniff that new car smell on an eco-chic vehicle.

It will still be smarter to get a used car then, but you'll only be overpaying as much as you would for any other new car, instead of helping to crowd fund the BEV revolution.

Your call.

 

sometimes there are good deals on bev leases, if the manufacturer needs to swallow some cost for carb credits.

 

I used to say the same thing.
However, some of the deals that have existed are a good deal for some people.
First, there is less worry about the new technology busting. If it does, you simply return the car at the end of 2 or 3 years and walk away.
Battery technology, again, if the company screws up and you get hit hard by degradation, as long as it isn't so much the car is unusable, you have no worries.
Most leases allow the leases to take advantage of the rebates even if their tax debt doesn't qualify for it.

I know of people that got great deals on leases So much so that they were spending less on the lease than they had previously spent on gasoline.

While leasing is not always a good idea with plugins, it has been more frequently than you may think.

 

Unlike those over engineered German money pit machines, alot of people are now leasing those as BMWs and Mercedes Benz as notorious for depreciating like falling rocks and electrical problems as they have the poorest resale value. After 5 years they are endless money pits. If I buy a Toyota or Lexus it would be something I would keep for a very long time. That's what I like about Toyota/Lexus, they hold thier vaule and known for their benchmark reliability which I buy them instead of leasing them. Subaru is another one as some of thier cars don't seem to depreciate at all . You can buy a 2015 WRX STI for the same price as the 2017 model.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

The value of a BEV is directly related to gas prices, prior to 2014 buying used was sometimes more than new if you could take the tax break.

Low fuel prices will depreciate any BEV, there are teslas for as little as $35k used these days so it will continue the sucking action as long as gas stays relatively cheap.

Another factor is trumps possible removal of tax breaks, so your crystal ball is as good as mine,
personally I don't expect low fuel prices to span much more than a year or two but it's anyone's guess on either factor

 

The value of a BEV is influenced by the price of gas, but not nearly as directly as hybrids.
Tesla resale values are still on par with other luxury cars in its class.
Yes, that class has resale values little more than 50%, but for its class it is doing just fine.

No, the big factors in depreciation is not low gas prices (although they don't help). The biggest factor is simply the $7500-$12,500 rebates in some states.

 

is that true for leaf as well?

 

Pretty much.
Potential plug in buyers will compare the used car price to the price they can get for new.
Nissan's incentives aren't helping the Leaf resale, but all plug ins effectively have $7500+ off their new price when people are shopping.

 

i mean, is the depreciation on par with other cars of its class? i don't consider depreciation the difference between msrp and resale. if there's a tax credit, the the net is the starting number.

 

I think that Pips are a good example of where PHEV and BEV depreciation curves were in 2012...a mere 5 years ago, and while it's true that that curve is flattening out SOME, it's also true that there's still some daylight between the offset value provided by the dot.gov kickbacks and depreciation rates for other small to medium cars.

"in it's class" can be the usual OEM fandance with relatively high cost options that won't be as relatively high cost when they're standard equipment on a Chevy Cruze or a Toyota Corolla 5 years down the road.
Leases have especially crushing residuals when they're based on overly optimistic estimations on what the car will be worth in 3 years of perfect driving (no mileage dings, door dings, carpet stains, etc....)

As always....THE BEST way to roll green....BOTH kinds of green, is to get the eco-car equivalent of an iPhone 6...off lease.
Yeah.
It's the last generation model, but one helluva lot less expensive than putting a deposit down on this year's "gotta have" model.

Also....in keeping with the cellphone metaphor, you have a zero-percent chance of being locked into a contract with a Samsung Note 7.
It's fun to snicker at droids if you're an iPhone weenie (or vice versa) but a car that you purchased is easier to get out of than breaking a lease.
You have all of the disadvantages of maturing technologies AND all of the disadvantages of leasing over buying, which is why virtually NO financial advisor will actually recommend a lease for personal use except for a VERY narrow slice of the US population that fits into the OEM's teaser lease rates.
If you drive less than 15,000 miles per year you may be OK with a lease, but then you're not using the car for much of a commute.

Good Luck!

 

pip may have the worst depreciation of any car in history. (ugo?) $32,500. for the base, $2,500. tax credit. 30k net, selling for 14k after a few years and miles?
mostly due to flat sales and incentives up to another $7,500. fine if you got them, but if you paid 30? ouch.