Leasing, rather than buying a new vehicle outright, has become increasingly popular in recent years as a way to help consumers soften the blow of rising interest rates and sky-high transaction prices. It’s especially prevalent in the electric-vehicle market, where reports suggest that close to 80 percent of all new EVs are leased. In addition to helping keep down payments and monthly expenditures low, leasing enables EV enthusiasts to keep up with the latest technology and avoid being stuck with what could be a hard-to-sell outdated ride down the road.
That means there’s a flood of gently driven three-year-old used EVs coming off lease this year, like any of the models from across the country listed for sale here on MYEV.com. But which are the best deals? The key lies in their resale values.
Age, condition and mileage largely determine what a used vehicle is worth. However, all else being equal, some models will command higher or lower prices because of various market forces.
With the exception of Tesla models, used electric cars generally suffer sub-par resale values. They take a bigger hit in depreciation thanks to the one-time federal tax credit granted to new-EV buyers, which essentially cuts their worth by an immediate $7,500. Plus, older EVs are limited in terms of their operating range on a charge, compared to the latest models that run for 200 miles or more at a time.
That translates into bargain prices for most battery-powered vehicles in the used-car market. What’s more, they can be considered solid choices, given that the terms of a lease limit how many miles a vehicle can be driven and mandates they be returned in excellent condition.
The experts at the auto information website iSeeCars.com recently conducted an extensive analysis of used vehicle transactions to determine which models suffer the greatest loss in value after three years, including EVs. These, in turn, would be considered the best deals among off-lease models.
As it stands, electric cars could be the best bargains among recent-vintage used vehicles of any kind, as they drop an average 56.6% of their original worth after 36 months. The Fiat 500e loses a whopping 69.7% of its sticker price after three years. The average among all vehicles is a 38.2% loss. A 2016 Tesla Model S, by the way, depreciates by only 17.1%, according to iSeeCars.com data.
We’re featuring the five best used-EV deals from the 2016 model year in the above slideshow. You can view the full iSeeCars.com report on the best values in off-lease cars in other vehicle categories here.