M3 Highland who leased, what are your plans

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I plan to buy it at the end. Mine has FSD. It was $80 a month to buy it outright vs $100 subscribing. Now that it's going away and prices will likely be increasing in the next year or so I'm glad I went that route. I plan to keep the car for as long as possible. However, if they offer a FSD transfer in the future I will likely take advantage of that.

I was considering this but ultimately chose not to. The buyout price goes up by like $4k if you purchase FSD on the lease. Still a better deal than subscribing in perpetuity if you plan on keeping the car more than 6.5 years

Well when you lease you literally "eat the deprecation" since you are the one paying the depreciation costs over a set amount of time. You are left with the residual (the amount after depreciation) From there, you either give up the car (return to Tesla) or buy it out. So essentially, you are left with nothing, or you just ate your own depreciation costs plus some extra interest. Never lease a car to "eat the depreciation" if you intend to actually own it I chose to lease my Tesla (2025 Model 3 Highland), I am not sure what I will do at the end of it. But leasing then buying out the car is the most expensive way to buy any car.

With new models likely coming out and me not owning a Tesla before I wanted the flexibility of either turning it back in for a different one or pivoting to something else if I end up not liking it. I’m aware that it basically means I own nothing but that’s fine with me this go around (did a 2 year) and if I like the car so much I’ll find an optimal deal and pull the trigger on actually owning one. So far I’m loving the car. It’s a great daily driver, has all of the luxury I need, with the get and go I wanted (everyone ditching v6 leave A-LOT to be desired…). I will say the purchasing process was actually a fricken nightmare (including changing rates, after I agreed to the terms, 2 hours before I was supposed to take delivery…). Being able to go in and talk to a person to get things resolved instead of dealing with leaving voicemails and sending texts would have really helped.

I leased it mostly to get the 7500$ tax credit since my income was too high to claim it myself. I'll most likely buy it out as I'm pretty satisfied with the car, but if my financial situation improves a lot or if Chinese EVs come in things could change. I'm really liking the Xiaomi cars.

Wouldn’t it depend on what the residual value is?

Those Xiaomis look fun. But doubt they will be let loose in the US market… not for a while at least.

Leased because the economy and the possibility of better cars coming out. This far, I plan on keeping it, but if my company downsizes or the economy tanks more, the 3 year commitment was cheaper and attractive. Plus I’m still waiting for acceleration boost.

I plan to renovate for an additional two years in 12mo blocks. I will keep it. Nothing else compares. --nothing--

Depending on the market price of my Tesla I might just buy it out. I have 2 more years. If there is a big change in let’s say range due to new batteries, I will turn it in and lease another one

This is good to know but unfortunately once my lease ends in 2027 there won’t be an FSD buyout option

I got mine March ‘24, around the time they came out. I am looking forward to something new this time next year even though I love the car. I need an SUV, not so much for the storage but getting into a sedan is not easy at 42! I’m going to look at the Y, as well as the new Subarus and some others. Don’t really care, not just going back to ice that’s for sure.

Year into three year M3LR lease also, zero problems/issues/rattles/etc. But, will turn in if hardware 5 hits by end of lease for 3/Y. (cumulation of other upgrades like cameras, washers, sealing of front camera, etc. continue then will want this new stuff too, probably)

i'm into 7mo on my first tesla and first ev. now that i know what it is like and love the car / fsd, i'm going to return it at the end, and maybe finance a brand new hw5 model next.

Giving my back and either buying a Y or a Rivian R2. Been a great car but I prefer something bigger. Also I leased in 24 before the ass fell out of the used market, and pretty sure my residual is a couple thousand higher than the thing sells for used.

I leased my 3 LR in September and absolutely love it (sans the steering wheel turn signals + haptic buttons), I can’t imagine going back to gas. Nor will I ever get a car through a traditional dealership ever again- the Tesla process was just too easy and seamless. However, since EVs are still rapidly evolving I won’t keep this one. Not to mention the car developed rattles within 1,500 miles - I can’t imagine that’ll improve with time. I’m a sedan guy, so I’ll probably be limited to another 3 unless Lucid has a smaller sedan by then.

My 3 lease ends next summer and I'm already planning to replace it with either a Y or an R2 depending on how good the R2 is by then. I'm loving the 3, but I got the 3 to test the Tesla waters because the lease was cheap and it was going to be my first EV car. Learning now that Tesla is getting rid of autopilot and hearing about their new long term plans as a company, I'm not sure if I'll stick with them. Kinda sucks because their tech is so amazing and despite the lack of a luxe interior, it's such a great vehicle.

I was definitely planning on returning it at the end of the lease but I'm actually leaning towards buying it out now. I love the car and I'm not confident that there will be major hardware updates with the platform in the next year and a half (lease is up August '27) that will make me jealous. Who knows, by the time it's paid off then maybe a competitor will have their own FSD product that works as well and I can try that out.

I leased M3LR RWD for the same reason. 2 year/10,000 miles per year. $299/month. I can buy it for $30,000 at the end of the lease if I want. I really enjoy the car, put tint and ceramic coating on it. Since April I have 6,689 miles which is about 90 miles/month below average. Is $30,000 buyout good?

Sounds like your experience sucked. Mine was smooth. But I hear there is a lot of variation in the buying process. Unless the federal tax credit comes back I don’t see nearly the incentive to buy new in 2027.

If your income was too high for the 7,500 tax credit leasing allowed you to get it in the lease - and then buying it while a bit expensive wasn’t 7,500 more than the lease cost so for many the lease costs then buying was indeed cheaper than outright buying.

what do you mean you are still waiting for acceleration boost? Is it not an option on the highland?

Not in US models currently.

at 42, what?!! you must have some other issues.

Thanks for responding. I did a search after my comment and found that answer. Interesting that it is not available.

Lower back pain. Sedans sit low, especially after having SUVs and minivans for 15+ years.

Pretty much nothing you’ve written here is accurate. Nice job!

I bought my FSD outright with my first model 3 then traded that in for a novated leased model 3 and was able to transfer the FSD. If there’s no more free transfers I’ll be keeping the Highland as it’s a brilliant car. I’ll just pay out the lease in 18 months.

U should have just bought outright. Way cheaper long term.

I was in a similar situation. I bought a Herman Miller chair and my lower back pain went away. Now I'm a proud owner of a M3P. An SUV won't cure your back but until you nail down what's aggravating it, you have to do what you have to do. Good luck on your back.

I refused to consider leasing on my Model 3 as there was no buyout option at the time. We were so impressed with it, my wife leased her Model Y which does have the option. There's been so much inflation, I won't be surprised if the buyout option makes a ton of sense. Whether we buy or lease again though will ultimately depend on AI5 being released and making any serious improvement on the self driving experience.

Thats what my thinking was with it down the line that buying out might be better. I was always worred about getting into the EV market, I had a cousin who got a Y at the peak and was upside down like nearly $15k when Elon slashed prices on them

The chip shortage during the pandemic made all types of cars but especially tech cars expensive.

Excited to get the new model in 2027

Not if you got the $7500 credit that you wouldn't have gotten had you purchased.