Buy vs Lease Soul EV?

Buy or lease? I'm leaning towards Leasing considering battery life over 4-5 years, low re-sale value and potential battery tech advancement after 4-5 years. What do you guys think? :roll:

Definitely lease, and negotiate the "buy" price way down. The residual is a fixed percentage of a fixed MSRP, so the "buy" price is the main lever you have. It's not that easy to sell a used EV as the newer cars can be much better - the technology/pricing may be changing fast in the next three years.

Depends on how much you intend to drive. We leased at 15,000/year, at 350 bucks, 3,500 down.
EVs presently have a built-in obsolescence (like Apple watch) and their resale value is dismally low. We were lucky to trade in our 2011 Leaf SL for 11,500 for this Kia.

Assume in 3 years 2017 Kia will have a range of at least 200 miles. You're stuck with 85 mile range car worth 12,000 you bought for about 27,000 rebated. That's 15,000 loss at 5,000 per year. About equals the lease loss and you're not stuck selling a used EV yourself. And you still have a choice to retain that car if you choose.

I'll buy an EV once it has 400-600 mile range. Btw we are also leasing 2015 Spark EV for 250 bucks (15,000 miles). With the 3 cars we are nearing 100,000 electric miles.

anyone know what the residual and MF is this month for the EV +?

I see that some Atlanta Kias have started receiving the EVs so looking at making a trip here soon if the price is right and if I can find a dealership closer that will agree to work on it if there is an issue.

jvmoore1 said:

anyone know what the residual and MF is this month for the EV +?

I see that some Atlanta Kias have started receiving the EVs so looking at making a trip here soon if the price is right and if I can find a dealership closer that will agree to work on it if there is an issue.

Click to expand...

The residual is 44% and money factor is 0.00034.

Here's the skinny on my lease from 2 weeks ago.
MSRP was $37490 including $990 in options. I used TrueCar pricing to negotiate what I thought was a decent price and I was given $1500 for my 14 year old Ford Escape with almost 200K Miles on it. Total rebates were $9000, $7500 Federal and another $1500 Kia. No additional money was put into the deal. Lease payments for 3 years and 12K Miles per annum are $300.

The residual is 44%, so 0.44*37,490 = 16,495

UkiwiS said:

jvmoore1 said:

anyone know what the residual and MF is this month for the EV +?

I see that some Atlanta Kias have started receiving the EVs so looking at making a trip here soon if the price is right and if I can find a dealership closer that will agree to work on it if there is an issue.

Click to expand...

The residual is 44% and money factor is 0.00034.

Here's the skinny on my lease from 2 weeks ago.
MSRP was $37490 including $990 in options. I used TrueCar pricing to negotiate what I thought was a decent price and I was given $1500 for my 14 year old Ford Escape with almost 200K Miles on it. Total rebates were $9000, $7500 Federal and another $1500 Kia. No additional money was put into the deal. Lease payments for 3 years and 12K Miles per annum are $300.

The residual is 44%, so 0.44*37,490 = 16,495

Click to expand...

thanks for the numbers

curious about the 7500 federal rebate. i didnt think that could be applied when leasing. i'm not seeing the 1500 rebate either.
i qualify for the A-plan pricing so i hope that will help lower the price.

trying to get some quotes from some ATL dealers, but havent heard anything yet.

I had the same 44% residual and 0.00034 MF at the end of March in northern CA on a 36mo/36k lease on a "Plus" model. The dealer started at a "selling price" of $9000 off MSRP ($7500 federal money plus $1500 Kia money). Going through Truecar netted me another $2718 off that through one local dealer. Other local dealers offered $500 or $100 off through Truecar. I paid $2k upfront, then 288.49 per month for 36 months. I probably could have negotiated a bit more off the "selling price" in person, but was OK with this result after a week or so of back-and-forth emails with the discounting dealer.

My Soul EV+ has proven to be a really nice usable car, with pretty impressive range for a non-Tesla. It's a very nice upgrade from my 2011 Leaf.

A co-worker got the EV+ in N CA for $1000 signoff, 12K miles/year, 3 years lease for $310/month (including tax).

jvmoore1 said:

anyone know what the residual and MF is this month for the EV +?

I see that some Atlanta Kias have started receiving the EVs so looking at making a trip here soon if the price is right and if I can find a dealership closer that will agree to work on it if there is an issue.

Click to expand...

RV 36% for 48mo
RV 47% for 36mo
Tier 1 MF .00054 36 mo
Tier 1 MF .00096 48 mo
Tier 2 MF 36 Mo ?
Tier 2 MF .00115 48 mo

MSRP 37080 (plus model)
Fed Rebate (7500)
Kia Rebate (1500)
Kia National Price Adj. (1250)
Competitive lease (500)
Adjusted Price 26330
1st month payment down (can roll it in)
Aqusition Fee 599
Doc fee 589
Lease Disposal Fee 400
Tag &Title 80

I purchased mine from Kia Carland in Roswell Ga. Greg my salesman was Awesome and completely transparent. They are building a new store which will be the largest Kia dealer in Metro ATL. PM me if you want more info.

Always lease as the technology changes so fast. If it holds up good you can buy really low at the end of lease.

We got zero down , 3 year lease, 12k miles a year for #330 a month.
Buy out at end of lease at $15K

This is my third EV. I agree that leasing is the best way to go with an EV at the present. The technology is changing very rapidly and I expect within three years to see significant improvements in distance capability. I paid $1200 down for a 36 month lease at $247.00 which includes tax and license fees. I received a $2500 rebate from the State of CA as well. This was about two months ago. I have seen the same dealer offer a lease for $179 per month 36 months at 12000 miles per year. These leases require excellent credit and a bit of negotiations. That is so cheap I cannot believe the price. The car is very nice in comparison to my 2011 Leaf. Our 2014 Rav4EV is very utilitarian and has a larger battery and better distance. It is also twice the lease price. So I see the Kia as an excellent vehicle for the money. Thus far great quality, excellent electronic interface with phones. Very nice screen and the best navigation to date. Leather seating is preferred over the Toyota soft tech materials. I really like the car. Nice paint jobs with contrasting colors. I really like the red/black metallic with red flakes paint job. The car did not have daytime running lights. Not sure other than juice. I usually keep the light switch on the first light (no headlights). This gives you the front LEDS and the Rear LEDS. Still retains the auto function. You must then turn on the headlights at night. That function is also auto.
Manny