How to Get the Best Deal on an Electric Car
Beat the pump, and don’t break the bank while doing it
I’m buying a horse.
I can’t afford gas so this is the next logical next step. Grass is everywhere and water is still cheap so feeding and watering it won’t be an issue. Sure, I’ll probably have to buy hay in the winter but that will be a few hundred dollars a year compared to the tens of thousands spent on gasoline.
This is where we’re at in America.
With gas prices soaring to $10.00 after the Russia Ukraine crisis buying a horse barely sounds like a parody anymore. Moreover, things won’t be getting better any time soon.
“It’s a dire situation and won’t improve any time soon. The high prices are likely to stick around for not days or weeks, like they did in 2008, but months. GasBuddy now expects the yearly national average to rise to its highest ever recorded,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy told USA Today.
Thankfully, there is a way to beat the pump: Electric cars.
Of course, unlike the mainstream media, we don’t expect you to drop everything and buy one for $40,000+; instead, you should consider leasing an electric vehicle instead.
Here’s why.
Getting the Best Breaks on Taxes
With better choices than ever, leasing an EV may be a great idea especially if you’re smart about receiving tax credits. This is because some tax incentives for EVs only apply if you’re leasing, the vehicle, not buying it.
(These tax credits are no laughing matter either!)
Some tax credits climb into the 5-figure range while most at a minimum allow you to save thousands.
For example, the Kia Niro EV is eligible for up to a $10,300 discount when leasing. If you take a closer look at the fine print Kia is offering an additional $2,800 in savings on top of a $7,500 federal EV tax credit.
Or, there’s the Volkswagen ID.4, VW Credit which pads your pocket with $7,500 in lease cash.
You can also look at Tesla, a company that gets no federal tax credits from the government, but does offer great incentives for leasing their vehicles in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, and Tennessee.
However, it’s important to keep track of these incentives as they can change monthly. In addition, you should know that state and local plug-in rebates may not be reflected in the prices advertised for your vehicle — this could mean cheaper overall costs!
There’s No Going Back From This
Renewable energy is the future.
Right now we are learning the hard way that dependence on foreign oil is stupid.
And here’s the controversial truth: Gas was rising before the Ukraine Russia conflict, too. Prices have been rising since late 2019.
Biden ‘I did that’ stickers were all over gas and diesel pumps last summer. But it’s not entirely his fault. Most of the economy is pretty agnostic from politics. The main issue is as long as foreign oil is in the hands of a few oligarchical players, the Saudis, the Russians, the UAE, we lose our leverage over gas prices. We’re slaves to the pump.
The only way out of this mess is by slowly leaving this corrupt oil system in ways we can individually manage. And for most Americans, that’s making better, and more economically savvy, decisions with our cars.
We here at Leasly can help with that second part :)
Full Carbon Offsetting (For non-electric cars)
Not everyone is going to be able to afford an electric car — and that’s alright.
Electric cars are still not the end-all-be-all to this gas crisis.
After all, most Americans have to be a ‘home-owner’ to own an electric car. Where else would you put your charger, on the side of your apartment building?
That’s why if you’re still committed to hanging on to a gas-based car our leases at Leasly come with full carbon offsetting for each customer. This means you can feel good about driving your car while also helping the environment!
What is carbon offsetting you might ask?
Good question!
For each wasteful, carbon-producing activity that happened in producing your car, we’ll measure that carbon footprint and offset it by supporting green projects around the world. This, of course, isn’t the solution to solving the climate crisis but every little bit helps!
“Stop Being Poor and Buy a Tesla”
The elite class is going on and on about electric cars due to the gas shortage, and, on the other side, the opposition is against electric cars entirely.
Both sides are wrong.
There’s a place for nuance in this country. I know, it’s madness!
We won’t all make the switch to EVs but we should do our best to try!
And for those of us that can’t make the change, we shouldn’t be shamed, but given other alternatives on how to make an impact on the climate as well as pragmatic measures on how to save money on our next car purchase.
Let’s grow up, act like adults, and save some money while doing it.
