Reflections on Whether to Lease or Not to Lease Your New Car

To Lease or Not to Lease

I am two months away from turning in my leased Polestar 2 and I have been reflecting on leasing. Hopefully the return process won’t mar this post.

Note that this was my first experience with a lease. And note that it turned out that I was both right and wrong to have leased.

What I Got Right

I was right in that I got three years behind the wheel of a new EV at a far better monthly price than if it had been purchased.

Second, I had had a sneaky suspicion that, in a relatively new market, resale values might be an issue a few years down the road. I got this right as well. The residual value of the Polestar is well above current asking prices for equivalent used models. This is currently true across the used EV market, and as I had suspected, there is a reasonably strong supply of good used EVs available for purchase at reasonable prices.

What I Got Wrong

I missed on two counts. First of all, I seriously overestimated how many miles I would put on the car, which means I paid more than I needed to for the lease. There will be no refund…

The second wrong, if you will, has to do with psychology. I have come to understand that I am poorly suited to leasing. This is to say that I never felt fully comfortable with driving what is essentially someone else’s car! I initially thought that my discomfort surrounded the idea of it being new car — also a first for me. But the discomfort never completely went away. I eventually concluded it was about it not truly being mine.

So if you’re considering a lease, its always been true that a lease is more affordable on a monthly basis. Of course, when you’re done, you’ll need new wheels.

But ask yourself whether you are truly suited to being a lessor. I’m unlikely to do it again. If you decide a lease is right for you, do some math on mileage expectations as well.

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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the  use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.

These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.

Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.