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Buying and using a car has become significantly more expensive in recent times. Private e-car leasing is currently a cheap alternative.
The significantly increased prices for New cars and skyrocketing fuel costs are currently causing financial problems for many drivers in Germany. You could relieve your wallet in the short term with a private leasing of an electric car without major investments. The Stromer are significantly cheaper in terms of energy costs and maintenance, and electric cars are also thanks Environmental bonus currently available at low cost. The government money windfall also makes private leasing offers attractive. In some cases, monthly installments of less than 100 euros are being requested for new electric vehicles. Using instead of owning has rarely been as cheap as in this case.
How to find a cheap lease car
If you want to get an overview of current leasing offers for electric cars, you can browse the websites of leasing brokers, for example, which offer a cross-brand overview. Anyone who discovers their dream car here also has the opportunity to conclude a contract directly via such a portal.
Ideally, however, you should take your time searching and comparing costs. The focus should be on three factors: 1. The dealer collection costs, which are usually in the three-digit range. 2. The monthly rate, the amount of which depends primarily on the price of the new car. 3. The leasing factor, which provides information about how cheap the offer is compared to others. If the factor is less than 0,6, you are dealing with a bargain.
With many offers it is possible to influence the leasing factor: the longer the term and the smaller the selected annual mileage, the lower the monthly rate and leasing factor. Perhaps not everyone likes being tied to a vehicle for four years, because a leasing contract cannot be terminated prematurely. But if you opt for four years instead of just two years, you not only save money, you also have four years of peace and quiet.
The leasing agents usually work nationwide. Commissions are paid by the dealers for a successful brokerage. However, the intermediary does not care how far the dealer is from the leasing customer. So it may be that the car you want is in Berlin and you live in Hamburg yourself. Here intermediaries often offer a comfortable vehicle transfer, which, however, costs. You can save if you pick it up yourself, which can take up a whole day.
An alternative would be to ask local dealers about leasing offers. These often offer similarly good conditions. The cumbersome pick-up from a distant city or a costly transfer service are then no longer necessary.
Advance environmental bonus
Even if the leasing offer itself does not provide for a down payment, the lessee for a new electric car usually has to transfer 6.000 euros to the dealer for the environmental bonus. As with the purchase of a new car, e-cars are also subsidized for leasing with a premium of up to 9.570 euros, which is included in the overall calculation of the leasing offer and ensures low prices. As with the purchase of a new car, the manufacturer's share of 3.570 euros is deducted from the outset when leasing, while the state subsidy of 6.000 euros must be applied for personally from Bafa by the new car buyer or lessee.
Lessees therefore advance this sum to the dealer. Only when the vehicle is registered in his name can he get the 6.000 euros back from Bafa. The corresponding application is submitted online, and it usually takes a few weeks for the authorities to transfer the money. Basically, you should be able to do without 6.000 euros for a few months.
Save with the TGH quota
Since this year, owners have been able to sell the greenhouse gas emissions they have saved from their e-cars and thus earn several hundred euros. This also applies to users of leased vehicles. The basis for the additional income is the greenhouse gas reduction quota – GHG quota for short. As an e-car user, you turn to one of the numerous intermediaries. There you have to submit your name, address and account details as well as a photo of the vehicle registration document. The platform operator takes care of everything else, such as the confirmation of the GHG quota by the Federal Environment Agency and the sale to a mineral oil company. The money, usually a smaller three-digit sum, then automatically ends up in the lessee's account after about a month.
Service/Inspections
Leased new cars, like purchased ones, have to be inspected regularly, the cost of which must be borne by the lessee. A small inspection is usually due after a year, followed by a major inspection after two years. They usually have to be carried out by an authorized dealer. Every year, the lessee incurs a few hundred euros in additional costs, similar to a new car buyer. The user is also responsible for TÜV inspections and changing from winter to summer tires. Ideally, the dealer will equip the e-car with all-season tires.
Charging an e-car – a wall box is not a must
E-cars are currently financially attractive because they can be fueled with cheap electricity. If you fill up economical models with domestic electricity, you can expect energy costs of four to five euros per 100 kilometers. Even with less efficient models, energy costs can be halved compared to classic combustion engines. Ideally, you have a garage or a parking space where the vehicle can be charged using a wall box. If a wallbox has to be installed first, this costs between 500 and over 2.000 euros.
If it is an e-car with a small battery, it may alternatively be sufficient to charge the vehicle using an ICCB charging cable via a secured household socket or, even better, via a CEE socket. The charging process takes longer here than with a wall box, but if the battery capacity of the vehicle is less than 30 kWh, full charging overnight using a single line is usually not a problem.
If you don't have a private power connection for your e-car, you can alternatively switch to public charging stations, which should be in the immediate vicinity of your place of residence. A charging cable that costs around 11 euros is required for the slow charging stations, which usually have a charging capacity of 22 to 200 kW. If it is an e-car with a large battery and powerful quick-charging technology, it can also be sufficient to drive to a quick-charging station once a week, which has its own cable. Anyone who manages with the weekly quick charge drives to a corresponding charging station for an hour at the weekend and goes shopping in the meantime.
Return and possible vehicle purchase after private leasing
At the end of the lease term, the vehicle will be returned to the dealer. He will assess the condition and look for damage. A neglected vehicle with scratches, dents or other damaged areas can result in additional payments in the four-digit range, which the lessee has to pay to the dealer. If the vehicle is well cared for and has driven fewer kilometers than contractually agreed, the lessee can even get money back from the dealer.
If the leasing contract includes a purchase option at the end of the contract, the lessee has the alternative of taking over the vehicle from the lessor for a residual value calculated in advance. Thanks to the environmental bonus, this can be an interesting option, especially for e-cars.
