This system is overall so nice for everyone involved.
Middle earners drive new cars. Those cars are regularly i spected and repaired. Then sold. Obviously your milage might vary (some sales representatives drive a lot every day), but often those cars are nice.
Cars coming back from lwasing, if bought with a new warranty, are great value. Especially after Covid, those 2020/2021 model years tend to have incredible low millage.
>Lease cars as part of your work comp are relatively common in the tech sector here.
It's not treated as income by the tax authorities? If so, I'd rather have them hand me cash instead so I can get the car I want, and won't be out of a car when I'm laid off/quit.
In Belgium and Luxembourg, it's considered as taxable benefit and the amount is based on the type of car.
You usually end up paying 200-300 €/month as tax directly deduced from your salary but for that amount you have a new car with all the servicing included, even tires.
A few years ago, it was part of the standard salary package for many companies in IT so you weren't really without a car when leaving.
Some places where strict on the kind of car you can have (small cars for junior, Mercedes for management) but other places just provided you with a monthly budget so you could get whatever you want. You could also pay the difference to have a better car.
> why are you buying an electric car in the first place
When you compare the current Model 3 feature-wise to most other brands, it's a no brainer. You need to fork out a lot more than 50k to get the assist and safety features, leather seats, seat heating, power seats, cameras, sound system, heated steering wheel, matrix headlights, backseat control screen, 4wd, performance and so on. Not having to deal with sales people and regular maintenance are bonuses.
And if you're in Europe, you charge it a home or on street parking with no hassle of going to a charging/gas station.
In what country you need to spend a lot more than 50k to get those features ? They are pretty standard for that price range.
It's also a bit ironic that you mention 'not dealing with regular maintenance', under the article stating that Model 3 is literally the worst car on the market when it comes to significant faults.
All that being said, I'm still interested why the OP is at his 4th Tesla.
Thinking of euros here, also in the Netherlands. Adjust that down to 35k or what the Model 3 costs in the US.
For example: speccing out a BMW X1 which is a smaller car than the Model Y, to match all the Tesla standard equipment, takes the final price to over €70k (and that’s without choosing the best engine option). While the Y already offers the same features at €45–54k, more space, huge panorama roof and ridiculously better performance. Unfortunately some companies are continuing this tradition in their EV product lines as well.
“No maintenance” refers to the lack of engine, no oil changes, less moving parts, longer brake pad life due to regen, which is one of the answers to why buy an EV.
If you are leasing, it’s normal to replace the car every 2-3 years as it gets old, especially an EV. 10-20% of all cars, and >50% of EVs on the road are on a company lease here.
I'm really curious, why are you buying an electric car in the first place ?
Cause it's sure as hell not for the sake of saving the planet.