Californians: Lease A Ford Focus Electric For Free* (Expired)

*Provided you're single and earn $35,600 or less, or live within a household of four earning $72,900 or less.

Beginning today, California's Clean Vehicle Rebate Program (CVRP) will have new eligibility requirements. Individuals earning over $250,000 annually, or joint-filers with incomes exceeding $500,000, are no longer eligible for the $1,500 and $2,500 rebates for plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles, respectively.

On the flip side, singles earning $35,650 or less annually, or households of four earning $72,900 or less, are eligible for enhanced rebates: $3,000 for plug-in hybrids or $4,000 for battery electric vehicles.

Thanks to huge incentives on leftover 2015 Focus Electric models, this means eligible consumers can now lease this battery-electric vehicle for close to nothing at all. Here's how.

Lease Program - Valid Through April 4, 2016

The cost of leasing a particular car is determined by its lease program, which is set by the manufacturer, and the selling price, which is set by the dealer. Here is Ford Credit's current lease program for 2015 Focus Electric:

  
    Residual Values (36 months)
  
    10,500 Miles/Year
    12,000 Miles/Year
    15,000 Miles/Year
  
    Residual
    40%
    39%
    37%
  
    Money Factor
    .00010
    .00010
    .00010

As for incentives, there's $9,750 in Red Carpet Lease (RCL) Customer Cash and $3,000 Bonus Customer Cash, available to all California lessees.

The following targeted incentives are also available: $500 Recent Grad/Military/First Responders Incentive, $250 Competitive Lease Conquest Cash, $250 RCL Renewal, or $750 First Time Buyer. Targeted incentives cannot be stacked.

Selling Price

A 2015 Focus Electric has an MSRP of $29,995. According to a third-party car shopping website, the average selling price of that model is $28,285 before incentives (Southern California zip code). The lowest selling price currently offered by a dealer on said car shopping site is $27,200 before incentives.

Putting It Together

Use the lease calculator below to customize your own inputs, such as selling price and annual mileage. Here's a sample deal of a 2015 Focus Electric assuming a selling price of $27,200, excellent credit, 10,500 miles per year, and the $500 Recent Grad incentive.

(11/13/17: Have issues with the calculator loading? Refresh the page. We are working on a fix.)

MSRP:

Sales Price:

% off MSRP

Taxed Incentives:

e.g., cash-back offers, loyalty cash, bonus cash.

Untaxed Incentives:

e.g., manufacturer-to-dealer cash rebate or if you live in a state where customer cash rebates are not taxed.

Down Payment:

Acquisition Fee:

I want to pay my acquisition fee upfront.

Net Capitalized Cost:

Residual: %

( miles/yr)

Months:

Miles/yr:

Adjusting the miles changes the residual(%).

Money Factor:

APR: %

Monthly Payment (Excl. Tax):

Document Fee:

License/Registrat. Fee:

Sales Tax: %

Tax your state, county, and city levy.

Tax is levied on the monthly lease payment (most states).

Tax is levied on the sales price upfront (e.g. VA, TX, GA).

Tax is levied on the total lease payment upfront (e.g. NY, MN, OH).

Monthly Payment (incl. tax):

Drive Off:

First month's Payment incl. tax:
Down payment:
Registration and doc fee:
Total MSD Payment:
Tax on cap cost reduction and fees:

First Month's Payment:
Down payment:
Registration and doc fee:
Total MSD Payment:
Tax on the Sales Price:

First Month's Payment:
Down payment:
Registration and doc fee:
Total MSD Payment:
Tax on the total lease payment:
Tax on cap cost reduction and fees:

Leasehackr Score:

The number of years it would take for the accumulated monthly payments to exceed the MSRP. Higher is better.

Disposition Fee:

Total Lease Cost:

The total cost of leasing over the lease term, including applicable taxes and disposition fee but excluding registration/license fee and the refundable MSD payment.

As you can see, nearly the entire cost of the lease is covered by the $4,000 CVRP rebate, which you apply for after taking delivery of the car. Even with the standard $2,500 CVRP rebate (for individuals earning between $35,600 and $250,000 a year), a leftover 2015 Focus Electric can be a super-cheap lease.

Inventories of 2015s are drying up quickly; check Ford.com for inventory in your region.

Thanks to Leasehackr reader JD for alerting us of his deal. He managed a selling price of $26,465 before incentives, which resulted in an effective payment of $35/month after the $2,500 mail-in rebate.