[Simon Mac]

I was tempted...

TBH the battery lease puts me off. It's a personal choice, but I am really adverse to "financing", and try to avoid wherever possible. Just a bit left to go on my mortgage, and I'll aim to never finance anything again.

 

[Simon Mac]

I'm with you on this in principle. The finance company will always set its rates to make a profit from any deal. However, for EVs, where issues like battery degradation and long term reliability are unknowns, leasing may be the least risk option – especially for extended ownership or when buying used.

Completely agree. Ultimately it's like an insurance safety net. Part of the finance premium is towards this, the other part just for lending.

Morally I'd prefer to pay just the insurance premium portion.

I think it was @Paul who suggested a GAP insurance style policy against battery issues, but AFAIK this isn't available standalone on any EV.

TBH I think this would be a good thing as in general the actuaries would do a good job in determining the likelihood of a failure. This would add visibility to the likelyhood of a failure between EV makers. Effectively the premium difference between a Leaf's battery and a Tesla's battery would show how confident the insurance companies are it will hold up.

We are too early yet for full lifetime analysis, but in a couple of years time when sufficient statistical data can be collected we will find out.