tax credits

How is the tax rebates applied?

Does the $7500 fed come off the sales price?

If I price a B-class on usaa.com I get 34k local dealer (san diego area), assuming that includes a tax incentive in that quote.

From reading the forum it seems the CA rebate comes later?

Thanks for any help,

Also, everyone is excited about the $299 lease but I did the math on the quote the dealer gave me and it's still going to cost more to have the lease if I end up buying out the car. Is this just for those that don't want it in 3 years?

If you buy the car outright, and you pay more than $7500 in federal income taxes, then the credit will reduce your 2015 tax bill due on April 15 2016 by $7500. The dealer has nothing to do with it.

The CA rebate comes to you as a check in the mail. It has nothing to do with your taxes or with the dealer.

If you lease your car, typically the car mfgr gets the federal credit and it is used to reduce your lease cost.

BSJ, i am no math whiz but did calculate the components of the lease calculation a few months ago. Other than interest, it seems to be that for your calculation to be right, the residual value assumption must be too high. It would favor leasing for sure vs. buying and would make leasing to own more expensive than an outright purchase. Is that what you saw?

Yes, I leased because it was inexpensive and figured the technology would get better in 3 years. Mainly looking for longer range vs. larger car.

DeaneG's comments are accurate.
You can read more for yourself on: http://driveclean.ca.gov

This is the first vehicle I have ever leased (and my first EV). And I chose the lease b/c:
1) I don't know about the life expectancy and durability (reduced capacity) of the battery, which is the most expensive component in the car.
2) Battery technology is going to dramatically improve in the near future (longer range, quicker charging).
3) Related to the above 2 reasons, the secondary (resale) market for EVs is uncertain and not favorable. So, I did not want to own and deal with all of those uncertainties (battery performance and resale value).