Newbie: lease vs buy

[calman]

Hi everyone,
Please help me decide on what to take here. Sunrun offer me these two option for solar panels, lease vs buy. The thing is, leasing option is way to good compare to buy, or is it?

Package: 6kW or 10,000kWh, 18 inverters.
Buy: $29,000, tax incentive currently at 26% or $7,540. Thus out of pocket would be $21,460 at the end. 25 years warrantee.
Lease: $18,000, pay as a lump sum. 25 years maintenance included. At the end of 25 years, they'll take it away or I pay couple hundreds and keep the system. If sell my house during the lease term and new owner agree, then nothing change, the system stays with the house and new owner inherits it. I think for any other reasons I want the system uninstalled, then they would take it and refund a prorated whatever left.

As you can see, $3000 saved and 25 years of maintenance included if I go with lease option. What would be a catch here?

Thank you for any inputs.

 

[Forbisher]

Did you Google Sunrun lease?
158 1 star reviews

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Sunrun Inc. reviews and complaints, reviews of the brands of solar panels they sell, their locations and the cost of installations reported to us for 2024. Get the best deal.

www.solarreviews.com

 

[gnubie]

$29000 seems insanely high for a system capable of 6kWh.

 

[calman]

$29000 seems insanely high for a system capable of 6kWh.

Sorry, I might've put it wrong. Just edited my post to 6kW or 10,000kWh system.

 

[williamyjk]

Here are some a good article on the disadvantages of leasing:

The Real Cost of Leasing vs. Buying Solar Panels

Buying solar panels requires an investment and more decision-making than leasing, but over the long term the benefits of owning your system are hard to beat.

www.consumerreports.org

The pros and cons of signing a solar lease | Choose Energy

Residential solar power is a popular choice for homeowners looking to go green, but is a solar lease really the way to get there?

www.chooseenergy.com

).

 

[RickP]

Buy. Leasing is a bad move. And if you shop around, telling them it is a cash purchase, you will get pricing much better than if you are asking for both prices.

 

[Forbisher]

Sorry, I might've put it wrong. Just edited my post to 6kW or 10,000kWh system.

Hope you are going to get more estimates before you lay out that much.
Sunrun sounds like a horrible company.

 

[vincei]

Lease, no flippin way. The moment they get that stuff on your property then they get to dictate to you what you can and cannot do with your roof if it's rooftop installation. No thanks.