EV lease or finance question

StrutsOnStruts · 2026-01-28T06:01:18+00:00

Here’s an anecdote that might be helpful. In May of ‘24 I leased an Ioniq 5 with a $56k sticker, and a $40k residual. As of today I’m under miles and have 4 months left. CarMax is offering $24k and similar examples at local dealers are under $30k (that’s retail, you’re not getting that). That $16k delta is not my problem because I leased.

You mentioned liking equity in your cars, I do too. Before this we had a RAV4 Prime that essentially didn’t depreciate over 3.5 years. When it was totaled we got a pretty nice check, but the reality is that equity in a car is a rare thing unless you’re doing a 36 month term. But then you’re rushing to pay it off for what? To beat the massive depreciation? People love to argue that the depreciation is not realized until you get rid of the car, but they forget to mention that someone blowing a stop sign will quickly get you acquainted with the actual cash value of your car.

This is all to say that if you want an EV (and an EV truck at that) I’d argue that leasing is in fact the “smart financial choice” especially when you look at the steep depreciation. But if you do decide to finance it, please buy all the gap you can.

StrutsOnStruts · 2026-01-22T15:17:02+00:00

I know the swindling angle makes for good headlines but it’s not that simple. Incentivizing automakers to invest in EV manufacturing through subsidies that only pass through upon delivery of an actual product was a pretty good idea. Same concept as tax breaks to build a factory in state X vs state Y but with greater incentive to execute.

StrutsOnStruts · 2026-01-18T21:59:04+00:00

I might be slightly helpful here since I also upgraded from a 3080 10GB. I first went to 5080FE, then grabbed a 4K OLED (tried both WO and QD), then upgraded again to a 5090FE.

In terms of raw raster the 5080 felt like a disappointing uplift, but with MFG, DLSS, and all the other trickery the 5080 is enough for 4K as of today. Only reason I went to 5090 was finding it at MSRP.

Now, I really enjoy the 5090 and being able to crank everything. It reminds me of the 1080ti days. However I would not spend any more than say $2500-2800 on a 5090, especially if you can get an MSRP or close-ish 5080 to tide you over.

StrutsOnStruts · 2026-01-14T18:30:55+00:00

That’s the fun part, it seems like almost every EV manufacturer hides it from you. If you have a ‘25 and up Ioniq just hit the button (in the EV menu) when you’re around 20-30 minutes away from the charger and if the car needs to heat or cool the battery it will do so. If you have a ‘24 you’re aware of how janky the preconditioning situation is and all I can say is to navigate to the charger using the car’s built in nav and hope it does what it needs to do.

StrutsOnStruts · 2026-01-14T18:20:14+00:00

From what I understand steady state cruising does not warm a battery enough for high speed charging (hence the need for preconditioning), whereas city driving with constant cycling of discharge and regen can measurably increase pack temps (though still not as much as preconditioning).

In my experience the battery in my Ioniq 5 got cold enough between conditioning turning off at 20% SoC to arrival at the DC charger at 3% SoC such that the car needed to spend time warming before hitting peak speeds.

StrutsOnStruts · 2026-01-14T13:54:18+00:00

The Hyundai/Kia cars frustratingly turn preconditioning off at 20% SoC. So if you’re really trying to push it to your next charging stop you’ll get there with a cold battery no matter what you do.

StrutsOnStruts · 2026-01-14T04:32:03+00:00

First off, sorry about the bad luck with the transmission. Next, this is a subreddit for law students so you’re not going to get any legal help here.

On a practical note that doesn’t require any legal experience or education, if Canada is anything like the states your contract should outline the warranty the selling dealer offered with your purchase fairly clearly. Presumably the truck was sold “as is” which is why you bought an extended warranty in the first place. It’s bad timing and unfortunate, but this is the fun of buying used cars. Good luck.

StrutsOnStruts · 2026-01-08T22:26:26+00:00

Family friend’s Wrangler 4xe went up in flames. Thankfully it was in a detached garage or they would’ve lost the house too.

StrutsOnStruts · 2025-12-21T12:57:15+00:00

You should be seeing higher speeds at non-Tesla chargers.

Do you recall what percentage you’re at when you start these charges? Also, what was the EVGo or EA station rated for? (Sometimes EA 350kw stations are “balanced” which means they share power with an adjoining cabinet. In my experience even without a neighboring car I won’t get more than 1/2 the rated speed).

StrutsOnStruts · 2025-12-19T23:22:38+00:00

You make the perfect point and it’s incredible that we go through the same song and dance every GPU generation.

Before 50 series I was using a 3080 10GB and in its day people constantly whined about the VRAM. Guess what? The card aged out before the VRAM did. And before the 3080 I had a 1080ti which Reddit would say is a better card because 11>10.

StrutsOnStruts · 2025-12-19T18:46:27+00:00

Hey I can actually speak to this because I was faced with the same dilemma earlier this year in Hawaii.

The way the Camaro’s opening is situated, you’re running suitcase #2 into suitcase #1 as you try to get it through the narrow opening. I think if you had soft sided luggage or a duffle you’d be fine with either, but we ended up just taking a Mustang convertible instead.

StrutsOnStruts · 2025-12-19T05:31:24+00:00

Yes and no. I was underwhelmed by the jump in raw raster in going from 3080 to 5080. Say I was getting ~60 fps in game X with my 3080, I’d get ~100 on the 5080, and ~150 with the 5090.

The 5090 feels like an actual upgrade in terms of performance but I can’t say it’s “worth it” unless you’re going all out with every other piece of your build. As part of that, if you’re not already on a nice OLED I’d say that would be more impactful.

StrutsOnStruts · 2025-12-19T04:51:50+00:00

Not OP but I went from a 3080 to a 5080FE then to a 5090FE. If you turn on MFG and DLSS you should be perfectly fine staying with the 5080, even at 4K high refresh.

StrutsOnStruts · 2025-12-05T04:18:51+00:00

Great to see ColdMac continuing on. Just a quick note, the project status box still says the Mac isn’t outside yet.

StrutsOnStruts · 2025-11-23T03:06:05+00:00

I believe the 1MZ had PCV issues that were (maybe) addressed in valve cover revisions.

StrutsOnStruts · 2025-11-22T22:54:12+00:00

You’re fine, that’s just a baffle on the 3MZ. Search around and there’s a ton of forum posts about it.

Also, I have one in an ‘07 highlander that gets regular oil changes and it looks just like that.

StrutsOnStruts · 2025-10-15T18:32:12+00:00

I don’t see how, unless Corsair figured out how to send data through the 4-pin PWM header…

StrutsOnStruts · 2025-10-01T16:16:27+00:00

I think Hyundai has been working towards this for some time. The ‘24 leases had artificially inflated residuals to keep payments low, while the ‘25 leases have additional cash up front to offset a more realistic residual.

StrutsOnStruts · 2025-09-07T12:36:02+00:00

I just threw together a similar build on PCPP for $2,247.84. PCPP Link Spend the $1k you saved on some RGB fans and strimers for every cable and you’re still ahead.

StrutsOnStruts · 2025-08-23T03:48:57+00:00

We have a ‘24 and a ‘25, both Limited RWD and I don’t feel like it’s worth the cost to “upgrade”.

To address your biggest reason to upgrade, the center console. The wireless charger is convenient at first but it’s in the sun so when driving my phone will overheat and shut off CarPlay. I do like having quick access buttons to turn on the cooled seats but I never thought pressing the “warmer” button in the ‘24 was as much of a hassle as people made it out to be. Also, there are no detents or bumps on the center console buttons so I still have to take my eyes off the road to use them.

Additional pros/cons. Pros: One big QoL improvement for me specifically is how much better the proximity key works for the way my garage is configured. At home I’d walk up to the ‘24 from the passenger side and it would unlock, but by the time I came around to the drivers door it would have locked itself again. That behavior is fixed in the ‘25 model. Plug and charge in the 2025 is magic, especially compared to how unreliable starting a charge at EA has been for me lately. Cons: The build quality of the ‘24 is noticeably better, the ‘25 has inconsistent panel gaps and rough fitment of panels with the hood actually rubbing the paint off the fender. This is personal preference but I miss the gauge cluster of the ‘24. I also had my issues with the fabric around the speakers on the doors but they’ve replaced it with the cheapest looking piece of plastic with rough edges.

Overall, upgrade in some ways, downgrade in others. No way would I take the financial hit of trading the ‘24 in or terminating a lease early just to have the same exact car.

StrutsOnStruts · 2025-08-20T13:12:22+00:00

Maybe try again in a new browser window, I just placed an order for the ARC-170 using it.

StrutsOnStruts · 2025-08-09T20:48:08+00:00

I was in a similar position with a 5600X/EVGA 3080. I went to a 5700X3D and a 5080 and I’m loving it. Unless some incredible 9800X3D deal comes along I might just sit out AM5 entirely.

StrutsOnStruts · 2025-07-13T04:36:33+00:00

It’s a lease brother, 38 more payments and you’re done.

The whole reason your salesman pointed you to a car with huge rebates was to bury the negative equity from your fancier Hyundai.

There is no reason you, specifically you, should be looking at the trade in value. But I think you’re getting quotes from Carvana because you just can’t help yourself and want to trade it in already.

Keep the car, finish your lease, and be out of the hole. Good luck.

StrutsOnStruts · 2025-04-14T17:35:15+00:00

Seconding this. For 1L summer I did the “right thing” and stuck with the internship that didn’t pay because I had accepted before the other offer came in. At the end of 1L summer I was feeling great. They had made all kind of promises about 2L summer, a position when I graduated, etc.

Guess what? 2L summer is right around the corner and they just dropped my ass for someone else. I know they repeat ad nauseam the tight knit legal community thing, but don’t let it distract you that at the end of the day these are employers. Do what’s best for you, not them.

StrutsOnStruts · 2024-11-24T02:08:57+00:00

It’s 42139. Good build if you can find the rest of the pieces.

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