Environment & Energy

The biggest depreciation of any car is the minute you drive it off the lot. Take your down payment and park it in a high interest savings account for interest and set aside payments as needed. I.ve looked at Mach E prices after 3 years since you should have an option of buying the car at the end of the lease term to see how much I could have saved, which is the total of the lease payments plus the car price. It was about 10k on the premium version with the extended battery (not lithium).

On the minus side, the best time to buy is at the end of the year if there are old models left. But the 24s were more expensive and they didn't come with the heat pump, which is really only helpful if you're in a cold climate since the battery is less efficient in the cold.

That said, the price points on the 25s are better than the older versions. You get a heat pump, which could be a plus and blue cruz is supposed to be great for trips. Ford was offering a 2k bonus earlier in the year to go towards installing a home charger, but I'm not sure they're still doing that now. You're also not paying a premium at the moment. I've heard folks were paying 2-4k above MSP only a few years ago on the base models.

Best of luck on your new purchase. I'm in the market for the same car but will probably go with a used (23 or newer) premium at some point. They are fun from what I've heard (and test drove). Consider joining the MachE forum if you haven't already.