[US Only] Optimizing EV Ownership: My Macan 4S Lease-to-Buy Story

[TeslaHater]

This isn’t my first EV, but it’s the first time I’ve had to get creative to unlock the full tax benefit. I recently leased and then bought a Porsche Macan EV—not because I enjoy paperwork, but because that’s the only way to take advantage of the $7,500 federal EV credit on this car. The process isn’t obvious, and there’s a lot of confusion online. So I’m writing this to lay it all out clearly: how the lease-to-buy strategy works, exactly how much I saved, and what steps you need to follow if you’re considering the same approach.


Finding the Right Car (and the Right Dealer)

After a lot of research and test drives, I decided I wanted a relatively lean-configured Macan 4S in Black with a Papaya interior. I fired up Porsche Finder and quickly learned a harsh truth—there were only three Papaya 4S models available in the entire country, and all were heavily optioned and far above my budget. So I pivoted to my next choice: all Black.


There were plenty of matches, and I began reaching out to dealers across the country—Porsche of Fremont, LA Downtown Porsche, Kansas City, Barrington (IL), and finally Porsche of Jackson in Mississippi. I kept it simple with each: 10% off MSRP or I walk. Some laughed. A couple got close with offers in the 7–8% range. But Porsche of Jackson was refreshingly straightforward—they agreed to the 10% discount immediately and sent over the paperwork without any games.


I did notice that their money factor was higher than other dealers—0.0040 (~10% APR) versus the more standard 0.0035 (~8% APR). But I didn’t push back too hard since I wasn’t planning to carry the lease for long anyway—I knew I’d be buying it out almost immediately.


The Numbers

Here’s how the final deal broke down:

• MSRP: $94,685
• Discount (10%): -$9,468
• EV Lease Credit (passed on via Porsche Financial): -$7,500
• Capitalized Cost (including lease acquisition fee): $78,822
• Lease Terms: 39 months / 10,000 miles annually
• Monthly Payment: $1,436 ($1,289 base + $147.30 WA tax)
• Upfront Cost: First month payment + $1,500 for transport

Once the car arrived, I waited nearly a month for Washington state registration to complete. As soon as it did—and right before my second lease payment was due—I pulled up the lease payoff amount from Porsche Financial Services (PFS). The payoff quote was $86,598, which includes Washington’s 10.8% sales tax.
So in the payoff quote, the actual vehicle cost before tax was $78,157, and I had already paid $1289 as part of first payment, putting the effective total to $79,446.

What I Actually Saved

Here’s the net benefit from this lease-then-buy approach:

• MSRP: $94,685
• Final Cost: $79,445
• Total Discount: $15,240
  • Of that, $9,468 was direct dealer discount
  • $5,772 came from the EV lease credit passed through the cap cost
  • I haven't factored in the $1500 transportation cost, which will vary based on what you do and where you are.

And Porsche of Jackson? They were great—no junk fees, no forced add-ons, no documentation charges. I paid exactly what we agreed on, plus the necessary taxes and title. Hope this helps.

Sponsored

 

[ColdCase]

Nice job. Most here are also interested in a simple comparison between cash and the several lease options once they establish a selling price. It gets complicated from that POV.

If your goal is to squeeze the last penny and are going to pay it off within months anyway, from the numbers that I've seen posted here, a one pay lease of 12 or 24 months is best. Mostly because of better money factors. There are other business reasons to chose one type of lease over another.

Anyway, a simple one pay example: $102,230 vehicle (cap) has a 12 month single pay at PMF of $39038. I pay $31538, the US pays $7500.

Monthly rent accrues to $5959 over the twelve month period (about $500 a month) adding up to a $69150 buyout at term. You either walk away having spent $31538 , or add another $69150 and keep the car.

I intend to keep the car till the wheels fall off and want to avoid paying rent. I'm willing to pay a couple months to drive it enough to have some assurance it is a keeper. I buy out around month 4 at $65118.

So my cost is $31538 + $65118 or $96656 on a $102,230 vehicle.

I left out sales taxes because, well there is none here and am not aware of how it plays into this example. But it looks like I saved 10% (about $10,000) just by by not living in Washington

 

[TeslaHater]

Nice job. Most here are also interested in a simple comparison between cash and the several lease options once they establish a selling price. It gets complicated from that POV.

If your goal is to squeeze the last penny and are going to pay it off within months anyway, from the numbers that I've seen posted here, a one pay lease of 12 or 24 months is best. Mostly because of better money factors. There are other business reasons to chose one type of lease over another.

Anyway, a simple one pay example: $102,230 vehicle (cap) has a 12 month single pay at PMF of $39038. I pay $31538, the US pays $7500.

Monthly rent accrues to $5959 over the twelve month period (about $500 a month) adding up to a $69150 buyout at term. You either walk away having spent $31538 , or add another $69150 and keep the car.

I intend to keep the car till the wheels fall off and want to avoid paying rent. I'm willing to pay a couple months to drive it enough to have some assurance it is a keeper. I buy out around month 4 at $65118.

So my cost is $31538 + $65118 or $96656 on a $102,230 vehicle.

I left out sales taxes because, well there is none here and am not aware of how it plays into this example. But it looks like I saved 10% (about $10,000) just by by not living in Washington

Yeah,we pay no income tax but sales tax is pretty high and almost everything is taxed (Gas is one of the most expensive in the nation despite being closest to Alaska). Atleast, unlike some other states, when leasing - you only pay tax on the lease amount.

 

[SteveInKirkland]

This isn’t my first EV, but it’s the first time I’ve had to get creative to unlock the full tax benefit. I recently leased and then bought a Porsche Macan EV—not because I enjoy paperwork, but because that’s the only way to take advantage of the $7,500 federal EV credit on this car. The process isn’t obvious, and there’s a lot of confusion online. So I’m writing this to lay it all out clearly: how the lease-to-buy strategy works, exactly how much I saved, and what steps you need to follow if you’re considering the same approach.


Finding the Right Car (and the Right Dealer)

After a lot of research and test drives, I decided I wanted a relatively lean-configured Macan 4S in Black with a Papaya interior. I fired up Porsche Finder and quickly learned a harsh truth—there were only three Papaya 4S models available in the entire country, and all were heavily optioned and far above my budget. So I pivoted to my next choice: all Black.


There were plenty of matches, and I began reaching out to dealers across the country—Porsche of Fremont, LA Downtown Porsche, Kansas City, Barrington (IL), and finally Porsche of Jackson in Mississippi. I kept it simple with each: 10% off MSRP or I walk. Some laughed. A couple got close with offers in the 7–8% range. But Porsche of Jackson was refreshingly straightforward—they agreed to the 10% discount immediately and sent over the paperwork without any games.


I did notice that their money factor was higher than other dealers—0.0040 (~10% APR) versus the more standard 0.0035 (~8% APR). But I didn’t push back too hard since I wasn’t planning to carry the lease for long anyway—I knew I’d be buying it out almost immediately.


The Numbers

Here’s how the final deal broke down:

• MSRP: $94,685
• Discount (10%): -$9,468
• EV Lease Credit (passed on via Porsche Financial): -$7,500
• Capitalized Cost (including lease acquisition fee): $78,822
• Lease Terms: 39 months / 10,000 miles annually
• Monthly Payment: $1,436 ($1,289 base + $147.30 WA tax)
• Upfront Cost: First month payment + $1,500 for transport

Once the car arrived, I waited nearly a month for Washington state registration to complete. As soon as it did—and right before my second lease payment was due—I pulled up the lease payoff amount from Porsche Financial Services (PFS). The payoff quote was $86,598, which includes Washington’s 10.8% sales tax.
So in the payoff quote, the actual vehicle cost before tax was $78,157, and I had already paid $1289 as part of first payment, putting the effective total to $79,446.

What I Actually Saved

Here’s the net benefit from this lease-then-buy approach:

• MSRP: $94,685
• Final Cost: $79,445
• Total Discount: $15,240
  • Of that, $9,468 was direct dealer discount
  • $5,772 came from the EV lease credit passed through the cap cost
  • I haven't factored in the $1500 transportation cost, which will vary based on what you do and where you are.

And Porsche of Jackson? They were great—no junk fees, no forced add-ons, no documentation charges. I paid exactly what we agreed on, plus the necessary taxes and title. Hope this helps.

I tried to do this but I couldn't get a decent offer on the lease money factor. In the end, I just paid cash. So, congratulations on pulling it off!

 

[nadkoolio]

I tried to do this but I couldn't get a decent offer on the lease money factor. In the end, I just paid cash. So, congratulations on pulling it off!

What were you being offered for the money factor? Unless they were giving you a discount on MSRP I wouldn't think it would be hard to get them to agree to PFS buy rate for the money factor.

 

[SteveInKirkland]

What were you being offered for the money factor? Unless they were giving you a discount on MSRP I wouldn't think it would be hard to get them to agree to PFS buy rate for the money factor.

I don't have ready access to the documents with the MF, but I did get a massive MSRP discount on a heavily optioned car. There were also nonsense dealer fees added to the car, but the net discount was almost $12k. The lease was substantially more expensive than the best deals seen in this group at the time, and I told them that as feedback. Had they made it easy to work with me, they would have made a few thousand dollars more on the transaction and I would have paid less because the govt would have given us both benefits.

 

[ferik]

Although slightly tangential, I am perplexed by how Macan EV owners can qualify for the $7500 credit from an income perspective. It is difficult to reconcile the ability to afford a $100k car while earning less than $300k as a couple, $225k as head of household, or $150k filing separately. i feel that being in a position to truly afford a Macan EV necessitates an income that exceeds these threshold amounts.

Not trying to be a d**k, genuinely curious.

 

[nadkoolio]

Although slightly tangential, I am perplexed by how Macan EV owners can qualify for the $7500 credit from an income perspective. It is difficult to reconcile the ability to afford a $100k car while earning less than $300k as a couple, $225k as head of household, or $150k filing separately. i feel that being in a position to truly afford a Macan EV necessitates an income that exceeds these threshold amounts.

Not trying to be a d**k, genuinely curious.

When you lease an electric vehicle, the finance company leasing the vehicle gets a $7500 credit. Similar to most other companies, Porsche will pass that $7500 along to the consumer. Thus you can get $7500 for leasing even if you wouldn't qualify for the $7500 rebate for purchasing an EV due to income limits.

 

[TeslaHater]

Although slightly tangential, I am perplexed by how Macan EV owners can qualify for the $7500 credit from an income perspective. It is difficult to reconcile the ability to afford a $100k car while earning less than $300k as a couple, $225k as head of household, or $150k filing separately. i feel that being in a position to truly afford a Macan EV necessitates an income that exceeds these threshold amounts.

Not trying to be a d**k, genuinely curious.

You are mistaking the new car EV tax credit with the EV lease credit. Unlike the tax credit, which is given to an individual and has certain income qualification criteria, the EV lease credit is given to the manufacturer. Most manufactuers decided to pass on this benefit to the consumer, and Porsche has done so. Note that this credit is only available in case of leasing, not buying - hence the maneuver to first lease, then buy to get that extra rebate while still buying the car.

I can't imagine owning a $100k vehicle with less than $300k household income.

 

[pdealessandrini1930]

Great exchange between all herein. Yes. I too am among those whove had more than one EV. While awaiting my factory ordered optioned Macan 4 EV i got a Ford Mach-E all wheel drive Premium model. At the time the $7,500 Govt benefit came as a deduction to my IRS filing. In 2024 that wasn't available. Instead the Govt $7,500 EV credit went to the OEM Lease Co. it’s crazy! To be honest, as a consumer if we wanted to get consumer financing from our friendly bank, the bank loan doesn‘t qualify for the US Govt $7,500. Neither does the OEM Captive Finance Co for a car Loan. Only Leases qualify! To add To our limitations, banks got burned on residual values of EVs across all brands. That resulted in banks pulling back from consumer leasing EV programs. Hence only captive OEM Finance Cos offering leases get the $7,500! Thank you US Govt in 2024…!?! I went through the math with the dealership. Cheapest: one pay lease 12-months from Porsche Financial Services. $7,500 credit toward my lease. Awesome outcome. No one is capped by single or joint filer income just gated by being forced to lease vs buy with cash or car loan…. One Pay 12 month lease is the way to go. Happy motoring!

 

[Station]

This isn’t my first EV, but it’s the first time I’ve had to get creative to unlock the full tax benefit. I recently leased and then bought a Porsche Macan EV—not because I enjoy paperwork, but because that’s the only way to take advantage of the $7,500 federal EV credit on this car. The process isn’t obvious, and there’s a lot of confusion online. So I’m writing this to lay it all out clearly: how the lease-to-buy strategy works, exactly how much I saved, and what steps you need to follow if you’re considering the same approach.


Finding the Right Car (and the Right Dealer)

After a lot of research and test drives, I decided I wanted a relatively lean-configured Macan 4S in Black with a Papaya interior. I fired up Porsche Finder and quickly learned a harsh truth—there were only three Papaya 4S models available in the entire country, and all were heavily optioned and far above my budget. So I pivoted to my next choice: all Black.


There were plenty of matches, and I began reaching out to dealers across the country—Porsche of Fremont, LA Downtown Porsche, Kansas City, Barrington (IL), and finally Porsche of Jackson in Mississippi. I kept it simple with each: 10% off MSRP or I walk. Some laughed. A couple got close with offers in the 7–8% range. But Porsche of Jackson was refreshingly straightforward—they agreed to the 10% discount immediately and sent over the paperwork without any games.


I did notice that their money factor was higher than other dealers—0.0040 (~10% APR) versus the more standard 0.0035 (~8% APR). But I didn’t push back too hard since I wasn’t planning to carry the lease for long anyway—I knew I’d be buying it out almost immediately.


The Numbers

Here’s how the final deal broke down:

• MSRP: $94,685
• Discount (10%): -$9,468
• EV Lease Credit (passed on via Porsche Financial): -$7,500
• Capitalized Cost (including lease acquisition fee): $78,822
• Lease Terms: 39 months / 10,000 miles annually
• Monthly Payment: $1,436 ($1,289 base + $147.30 WA tax)
• Upfront Cost: First month payment + $1,500 for transport

Once the car arrived, I waited nearly a month for Washington state registration to complete. As soon as it did—and right before my second lease payment was due—I pulled up the lease payoff amount from Porsche Financial Services (PFS). The payoff quote was $86,598, which includes Washington’s 10.8% sales tax.
So in the payoff quote, the actual vehicle cost before tax was $78,157, and I had already paid $1289 as part of first payment, putting the effective total to $79,446.

What I Actually Saved

Here’s the net benefit from this lease-then-buy approach:

• MSRP: $94,685
• Final Cost: $79,445
• Total Discount: $15,240
  • Of that, $9,468 was direct dealer discount
  • $5,772 came from the EV lease credit passed through the cap cost
  • I haven't factored in the $1500 transportation cost, which will vary based on what you do and where you are.

And Porsche of Jackson? They were great—no junk fees, no forced add-ons, no documentation charges. I paid exactly what we agreed on, plus the necessary taxes and title. Hope this helps.

While leasing, and then buying shortly thereafter is an interesting strategy and one that that I also considered, albeit briefly, the notion of owning a luxury EV is not something I'd care to do:

I'll be leasing when my car arrives mid August (no tariffs, confirmed yesterday- I got lucky based on my order date). Dealer knocked off about $4,000 in good faith. I'll also get the $7,500.

But I realized that EV's, and especially luxury EV's are not something you want ownership of - even luxury EV's are nothing more than appliances. In 5 years the technology in the chips, AI looming (Tesla is getting AI/Grok in their cars next week), battery technology in the form of range (the Chinese have almost finalized a battery that charges 60% in 5 minutes) will quadruple. Five years ago range was 205 miles in Volvos, VW, Audi, etc. Now Rivian has over 400m. Nvidia chips, etc...

Not to mention we would be buying a first model year of a product that isn't sorted, completely. As much as Porsche road tests for years, they will have niggles. (learn from the Taycan).

Additionally, Porsche VW Group wanted to have to Macan running on Cariad 2.0 before release. It's been in development for years. But in the end stayed with v1.2. Future Macan's will be running 2.0 and that's not something you'll get as an update - you'll need new hardware.

I cannot be fully invested in a year-1 Macan EV. I'll lease the car for 24-36 months. I'll need that exit strategy with all the future unknowns.

If this were an Ioniq 5 or similar, that would be different. The residual would be $19k and you could sell it to a neighbors kid who just go their license. A used Macan EV with a used $55,000 residual is unmarketable. Nobody buys $55k used EV's. We're stuck with that elephant.

 

[SteveInKirkland]

While leasing, and then buying shortly thereafter is an interesting strategy and one that that I also considered, albeit briefly, the notion of owning a luxury EV is not something I'd care to do:

I'll be leasing when my car arrives mid August (no tariffs, confirmed yesterday- I got lucky based on my order date). Dealer knocked off about $4,000 in good faith. I'll also get the $7,500.

But I realized that EV's, and especially luxury EV's are not something you want ownership of - even luxury EV's are nothing more than appliances. In 5 years the technology in the chips, AI looming (Tesla is getting AI/Grok in their cars next week), Battering technology in the form of range (the Chinese have almost finalized a battery that charges 60% in 5 minutes) with quadruple. Five years ago range was 205 miles in Volvos, VW, Audi, etc. Now Rivian has over 400m. Nvidia chips, etc...

Not to mention we would be buying a first model year of a product that isn't sorted, completely. As much as Porsche road tests for years, they will have niggles. (learn from the Taycan).

Additionally, Porsche VW Group wanted to have to Macan running on Cariad 2.0 before release. It's been in development for years. But in the end stayed with v1.2. Future Macan's will be running 2.0 and that's not something you'll get as an update - you'll need new hardware.

I cannot be fully invested in a year-1 Macan EV. I'll lease the car for 24-36 months. I'll need that exit strategy with all the future unknowns.

If this were an Ioniq 5 or similar, that would be different. The residual would be $19k and you could sell it to a neighbors kid who just go their license. A used Macan EV with a used $55,000 residual is unmarketable. Nobody buys $55k used EV's. You're stuck with that elephant.

I bought my Macan for cash and I can't disagree with your logic. My logic was slightly different.

I'm away from the car for long periods and milage will be mixed. I think the Macan EV can easily last me 5 to 10 years as a run-around-town sport utility vehicle before the tech is so outdated that the next generation is really worth upgrading (to me). So, I just bought it.

I tried to do the lease to buy solution, but the dealer's finance people just were wasting my time with bad offers, so I just wrote a check.

I'm completely gambling that this thing might last 10+ years with mixed use. We'll see how it goes.

 

[Station]

I bought my Macan for cash and I can't disagree with your logic. My logic was slightly different.

I'm away from the car for long periods and milage will be mixed. I think the Macan EV can easily last me 5 to 10 years as a run-around-town sport utility vehicle before the tech is so outdated that the next generation is really worth upgrading (to me). So, I just bought it.

I tried to do the lease to buy solution, but the dealer's finance people just were wasting my time with bad offers, so I just wrote a check.

Yeah I get it. If you can charge at home and just buzz around low miles, your logic works.

That being said, screw those finance guys - I'd throw all the figures into AI Chat-GPT including the car after any cap cost reduction and money factor of .0035-.0038, include the $7,500 credit and your local tax, and show them what the payment is. And then walk.

But I get your check writing logic. Sometimes you just wanna escape the drama.

 

[pdealessandrini1930]

While leasing, and then buying shortly thereafter is an interesting strategy and one that that I also considered, albeit briefly, the notion of owning a luxury EV is not something I'd care to do:

I'll be leasing when my car arrives mid August (no tariffs, confirmed yesterday- I got lucky based on my order date). Dealer knocked off about $4,000 in good faith. I'll also get the $7,500.

But I realized that EV's, and especially luxury EV's are not something you want ownership of - even luxury EV's are nothing more than appliances. In 5 years the technology in the chips, AI looming (Tesla is getting AI/Grok in their cars next week), Battering technology in the form of range (the Chinese have almost finalized a battery that charges 60% in 5 minutes) with quadruple. Five years ago range was 205 miles in Volvos, VW, Audi, etc. Now Rivian has over 400m. Nvidia chips, etc...

Not to mention we would be buying a first model year of a product that isn't sorted, completely. As much as Porsche road tests for years, they will have niggles. (learn from the Taycan).

Additionally, Porsche VW Group wanted to have to Macan running on Cariad 2.0 before release. It's been in development for years. But in the end stayed with v1.2. Future Macan's will be running 2.0 and that's not something you'll get as an update - you'll need new hardware.

I cannot be fully invested in a year-1 Macan EV. I'll lease the car for 24-36 months. I'll need that exit strategy with all the future unknowns.

If this were an Ioniq 5 or similar, that would be different. The residual would be $19k and you could sell it to a neighbors kid who just go their license. A used Macan EV with a used $55,000 residual is unmarketable. Nobody buys $55k used EV's. You're stuck with that elephant.

Thanks for your post. Comprehensive and well explained.

Aside from my rare and mistaken idea to experience 1st gen - yes, I’m one of those unwittingly proven to be a Live Beta Tester - the technology platform and components (semiconductors and software) are evolving rapidly.

Based on the platform Porsche opted to use, as you’ve rightly pointed out, new underlying hardware (hence vehicle itself) will be needed as OTA upgrades won’t help.

Whilst I was foolish to be a 1st edition order/delivery Porsche fan, I discussed with my Dealer Principle the risk I was taking at time of submitting my order. Hence he and I agreed to sign a 1-yr lease to gain the $7.5k tax credit via PFS lease but then walk away after seeing how things develop vs taking a traditional 3 yr lease and possibly “wearing 2 more years of lease payments” for a car I didn’t want.

Not withstanding the gremlins have been thankfully resolved, the $70k buyout of my loaded car after 12months is already under water. The value will plummet faster as better EV technologies arrive across LUX OEMs and Porsche too.

I think am going back to an ICE Porsche in October. Unless something compelling hits the road by then I’m not planning to buy my car, as much as I love driving it works as it was designed to drive!

Happy Motoring to All!

 

[Station]

Not withstanding the gremlins have been thankfully resolved, the $70k buyout of my loaded car after 12months is already under water. The value will plummet faster as better EV technologies arrive across LUX OEMs and Porsche too.

I'm curious how the future is going to value our Macan EV's. We have 2 advantages - we received the $7,500 green credit in our lease, and didn't get hit with tariffs. ($3-4k), we might be in a neutral or slightly rightside-up position compared to a person who wants to buy a Macan EV this fall who receives neither.

That's ~$11,000 we received that they will not.

Sponsored