Novated Lease Used Tesla Benefits?

Hey everyone, I really tried searching, reading and using all these online Novated Lease calculators but I still can't get my head around it.

I have recently purchased 2021 Tesla Model 3 for $33K Cash and got me thinking if I should've just gone with Novated Lease? Do you know how much benefit or not it will have for me on $107K Per Year income before tax?

I still haven't transferred the car into my name and can probably work something out with seller still, but just seeing if it's worth the hassle?

Thank you.

Comments

  • +17

    I have recently purchased 2021 Tesla Model 3 for $33K Cash and got me thinking if I should've just gone with Novated Lease

    Just enjoy the car; you have already bought it so make peace with the cash payment

    • +2

      Thanks man, that's a fair point, I honestly didn't even think about this till one of my friends saw the car and told me it wasn't a good move to buy it off cash.

    • +1

      Op could do a lease back, it's basically "selling" the car to the lease company, and then lease it from them. You receive your cash back and just pay the lease fee etc…

    • +1

      Agreed

      Its a done deal so stop thinking about it.

      Im not even sure it would be an option for a used 2021 vehicle if purchased privately.
      Even used car dealers might not entertain it.
      They usually want you to use thier finance so they can make a huge commission on that too.

      You can still claim all motor vehicle costs for work use including depreciation!

  • Read some one of the previous comments, search the topic "EV CAR NOVATED LEASE". Bottom-line, really depends on your circumstances.

    I am planning to get a new EV SUV soon, tempted to sell my Forester 2020 but after phone conversation with the NL rep, seems like it's cheaper for me to go straight NL rather than paying cash considering the savings from Insurance, tyres, petrol, and etc, and just keep the Cash and spend at Kings Cross. Good luck

    I am at 38% tax bracket.

    • +8

      Please don't put petrol into your EV car.

    • +1

      I'm sure the NL rep is giving you completely unbiased advice. The cheapest option is always to keep the car you have, especially if it's only 4 years old.

      • It really depends on how much your current car was still worth and its related running cost.

        In my case, selling my 25,000 dollar car was kind of cost-neutral with changing over to 5-year lease of 81,000 dollar Tesla when all financial impacts are considered

        Details here.
        https://www.reddit.com/r/AusFinance/s/VHJ25VpNKu

  • +10

    Don't sweat over it - you wouldn't have been eligible for the EV exemption anyway:

    Eligibility

    You do not pay FBT if you provide private use of an electric car that meets all the following conditions:

    • the car is a zero or low emissions vehicle
    • the first time the car is both held and used is on or after 1 July 2022
    • the car is used by a current employee or their associates (such as family members)
    • luxury car tax (LCT) has never been payable on the importation or sale of the car.
      Benefits provided under a salary packaging arrangement are included in the exemption.

    https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/hiring-a…

    • +1

      spot on. also you lose the GST exemption on second hand vehicles

    • Thank you

  • Firstly, does your employer provide novated leasing?

    • -2

      They might be self employed.

    • yeah, pretty sure only option is Maxxia

      • There's your first port of call, forget about the seller for now. It comes down to what service Maxxia is prepared to offer.

      • +3

        Maxxia are thieves, their interest rates are through the roof! Would suggest finding out if you can use a different NL company.

        • Remserv are not much better. Guy just stopped answering my emails when I started questioning finance figures. Plus they bloat the contract with rubbish you will never need. I had insurance in there, then there was write off insurance. They also included a third party extra warranty on a brand new car….
          Scum

        • I second that, they are thieves, their estimate given to me for pretax amount was not accurate so i end up loosing 100$ fortnight in savings. Also they put me on car loan with quite high interest rate.
          Luckily I went for one year only option only

          • @Dave1988: Was the inaccuracy due to the recent tax bracket changes?

            They may have conveniently calculated prior to July 2024 and “forgot” to tell you that after the tax bracket shifts from 1/7/24 the post tax impact may become bigger.

          • @Dave1988: That's why I checked the saving numbers myself through paycalculator. NL companies are always going to use a rough calculation method that looks as favorable as possible

  • +1

    Do you know how much benefit or not it will have for me on $107K Per Year income before tax?

    Length of lease? Say 3 years.
    Residual value? Who knows say $30k
    Cost of car? $60k
    Running costs? $0 the mythical unicorn
    Novated lease company interest margin? 10%pa
    Insurance plus rego for 3 years? $3k x 3 = $9k

    Basically $60k + $18k margin + $9k = $87k / 3 = $29k pa and say 30% tax rate $8.7k per year saved in income tax. So basically you are tipping money into novated leasing pockets.

    Government could just make it FBT free as company cars but you know they need to wash the money through the profit engine of their mates.

    • They are FBT free as company cars, that's how the whole thing works. But for most people the company isn't just willing to buy them a car, so a novated lease helps them structure the loan, costs and repayments without having someone internally having to manage all that.

      • +1

        If you have the capital why would you be paying someone else 10%+ interest on funding.

        I wasn't that long ago BHP / RIO was borrowing at like 2%.

        You can mess with the number to dress up the profit numbers (like sale of properties and lease backs which usually ends up sending the company bust).

        You wonder why councils and public companies are not buying fleets of BEVs because they don't actually make sense at these prices. Only employees who think they will save tax.

        • +1

          Your post doesn't make any sense, do you understand what fringe benefits tax is?

          When a company buys a car, they buy it and deduct the GST and amortisation regardless of what kind of car it is. FBT applies when they give it to an employee for personal use. There is nothing stopping a company buying cars and handing them out to employees to use but why would they? It costs money and brings them back nothing. I know a few people who run companies who have just bought their EV through the company to save money though, because they don't need to pay any FBT if it's an EV.

          They could go and arrange an agreement with the employee that they take an $x cut in salary equal to the reduction in value of the car each year plus the company will process any of the expenses incurred by the employee, along with wearing the risk of being left holding a car if the employee leaves. Or they could just pay someone else to do it - namely a novated lease company.

          Employees actually do save tax though. I don't know why you think they don't. Paying pre-tax usually means 30% savings, plus they don't pay GST, which is normally more than the interest.

          • +1

            @freefall101: Nobody ever got rich novated leasing or dodging FBT. I'm surprised nobody is selling get rich quick courses.

            The problem is you are still putting money into a depreciating asset.

            If you take extreme example you salary sacrifice $30k instead of paying $14.1k in tax. So instead of getting $15.9k cash you have car that you don't own, can't sell, can't buy food or pay mortgage with. The joke I have is you don't pay the tax on the $30k, the ATO just chases the people you paid it to.

            You are going to now argue about how good the Tesla is… but that is a whole different intangible unable to assign a value argument.

            • +5

              @netjock: Again, you don't understand how novated leases or FBT works. With a novated lease, the car is in your name. There is an attached loan that, when repaid, means you own the car. It's not a rental, it's a lease with a balloon payment for ownership. My 5 years of lease including balloon payment costs me $51k. That includes 5 years of rego, insurance, tyres, maintenance, interest, novated lease fees, any costs associated with the car. If I paid it out of pocket it would cost me $70k. It was a no brainer and I could leave my $50k invested for the 5 years.

              If you want to ride a bike to work and put $30k in crypto because a car is a "depreciating asset" then go for your life. FBT free electric cars are the biggest middle class tax dodge there is and, this being ozbargain, I'm going to take advantage of it.

              Also Tesla's are a pile of shit. I bought a BYD.

              • +1

                @freefall101: I think you think paying $1 to save 47c is a good financial decision. I also don't think you understand the legal term "leasing"

                You don't own it according to consumer affairs Victoria https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/consumers-and-businesses/car….

                Novated leasing
                Your employer may offer you the option of leasing a vehicle by effectively sacrificing a portion of your salary. This is known as a novated lease, which typically lasts three years. At the end of the three years, the lease is terminated and the car sold.

                When you lease a vehicle, you do not own it. However, you will be responsible for the operating costs incurred during the lease period. As a vehicle operator, you will be responsible for any fines or infringements associated with the vehicle.

                Before you sign, it is important that you understand the terms and conditions of the leasing package.

                • +1

                  @netjock:

                  I think you think paying $1 to save 47c is a good financial decision.

                  Again, if you don't want to own a car because it's a depreciating asset, go you. For me I need a car - not as an investment but as a quality of life improvement to transport myself around. I then ran the numbers and it was cheaper to buy a $50k EV with a novated lease than a $20k used camry.

                  I also don't think you understand the legal term "leasing"

                  I do, I also understand the terms and conditions of my leasing package, which doesn't say "google the legal term for lease". There's a 53 page agreement that I signed that includes that I have the option to purchase the vehicle at the end of the lease for the amount of the balloon payment. I am fully responsible for the decision on what I do, I could sell the car and pay off that amount, I could resign a new lease for the remaining value, I am responsible for it.

                  I quit my job and started a new one recently, want to know what happened? My company stopped paying the salary sacrifice amounts, that's it. They didn't repossess my car, they have no interest in owning my car. The leasing company didn't repossess it either, they don't want it. The payments and liabilities automatically reverted back to me to start paying them. My name is on the loan, the insurance, the car title, everything.

              • @freefall101: Tesla has more sales in Australia. It looks like a lot of people aren't smart lol

              • @freefall101: Give up on him mate haha

              • @freefall101:

                I bought a BYD

                Seal looks nice, the rest look like a dogs (profanity). BYDs always have public charging issues too.

                They typically have the least knowledgeable drivers and are also the most likely to be spotted trickle charging above 90% on fast chargers with queues.

    • +1

      Yeah, makes sense, All the online calculators I've used, none of them give you proper breakdown of costs etc, only think they put in BOLD is how much tax you could be saving.

      • I read somewhere that buying a car outright is cheaper than novated lease.

        Also, afaik, comprehensive insurance is not included in the novated lease.

        • Comprehensive can absolutely be included in the lease, and you can either source it from the leasing company or get your own and have it budgeted under the operating cost and pay it out of your pre-tax income.

          • +1

            @uncompressed: Yes, sorry I wrote a bit hastily, I meant that in their weekly estimates that you pay for the car it wasn't included. I recently got a quote from Maxxia. Everything is like from $59 or so per week, just to suck you in. You have to really check your numbers if novated lease is cheaper for you.

        • Wrong insurance is included and as for the other piece "it depends". Certainly if you change cars roughly every 5 years and earn over $100k it's worth looking into and understanding.

    • Novated lease works alright, though I agree that at 30+2% income tax bracket the saving is significantly lower compared to top brackets.

      On top bracket it gave me a relatively cost-neutral upgrade from a used 25,000 dollar Mazda 6 to a 81,000 dollar Tesla. For lower bracket it won't be such a good deal but they may still get a nice 45,000 dollar BYD and be neutral or better off if their current car is a 25,000 dollar car.

      My spreadsheet calculator crunches these numbers in significant details.
      https://www.reddit.com/r/AusFinance/s/VHJ25VpNKu

  • Pretty straight forward, you lose by paying interest and whatever lease fees, but you gain by paying it and car running costs pre-tax. The primary risk is if you change employer so you have to go back to paying the loan out of pocket (likely at an inflated interest rate, novated lease companies usually don't let you pick your loan) or hope your new employer supports changing.

    If your employer has a novated lease company they use it's simple to reach out and get a quote from them. Then run the numbers to make sure it adds up (don't trust their "savings" amount, it assumes you'd take out a loan at their rate, actually look at the out of pocket cash of lease vs no lease)

    I recently changed employer, and despite both employers using the same novated lease company I've been paying all my costs out of pocket for the past 5 weeks because none of their internal teams talk to each other at the lease company to close the old lease and open a new one. It sucks.

  • +1

    I really tried searching, reading and using all these online Novated Lease calculators but I still can't get my head around it

    As someone who's gone through it recently, I know it can be a lot. But you really have to spend more time and effort getting your head around the calculators, because you'll only get a good idea of potential savings once you plug in estimated running costs, lease term, residual payment amount and actual repayment amounts (based on quotes from actual Novated Lease Providers). Also, consider any positive impact to offset or interest-earning accounts you may have, in terms of payments being taken out in a drip feed as opposed to all at once.

    I found it easier to create my own excel analysis based on my very specific circumstances and I determined that buying a new $72k Tesla would put me in ~$17k better position compared to paying cash upfront on a 2-year loan term (that includes offset impact). My savings would have been greater if I went a longer loan term, but I wanted to hedge my bets as far as being stuck with the same employer and not having to deal with the headache of moving (or risk of not being able to move) the lease across to a new employer.

    • +1

      Complicated but it is the smart answer.

      Need to determine if the novated lease horse fit the course.

      Some people see tax savings as a main driver, it is like having the tail wag the dog.

      How many people driving $80k dual cab utes to drive kids to school and do the shopping. Would be cheaper to buy a $40k Corolla / Camry hybrid after paying tax on the $80k (lower deprecation, cheaper running costs)

  • +3

    You're not earning enough to make novated leasing worth your while, really need to be well into the $150k+ before it makes sense. The interest rates are extortionate and the depreciation on a Tesla is quite significant.

    At your salary it would make sense to novate lease a BYD Atto 3 or MG4 for the GST and FBT benefits, however a full price tesla, polestar etc is not smart.

    • do you mean cost of car in general? because the NL benefits would be the same for either car

      • +1

        The benefits as a proportion of the car's value, i.e. the FBT rebate and various state rebates make up a larger proportion of the car's value the lower the cost of the car.

        • I'm in NSW so the rebates don't apply to us any more but you can't access the rebates with NL I thought - as you technically don't own the vehicle

    • You're not earning enough to make novated leasing worth your while

      That's quite an old school fallacy. I'm really not sure where the over 50s get this idea from. With incentives for FBT exceptions on an EV NL it roughly boils down to 30c for every dollar paid as part of your NL. Sure you get 37c from every dollar above 135k, but that's not enough of a difference to say earning under that makes it unviable.

      • It's not really,

        Yes novated leasing is great to reduce tax, however, as previously reported the excessive interest rates (10-12%) + fees + depreciation on a $75k car is not a sound financial decision as the grants/rebates make up a smaller amount of the total car value.

        Sure if you're in the top tax bracket and effectively getting 50c in the dollar back it'll be worth your while, $107k doesn't really justify it.

        • my NL was set at 9%. The matter of depreciation is negligent, if someone didn't want a brand new car they could just not buy a brand new car. The offset taxable income more than covers the interest paid and fees, making it a better value proposition than paying in cash. This isn't including the fact maintenance costs are GST exempt. NL companies are snake oil merchants, but if you customise your product and do the math yourself it works out in your favor when you want to buy new.

  • -6

    You did the right thing. Enjoy your Tesla. The benefits of novated leases disappeared years ago when Julia Gilliard was PM and changed all the rules.

    • +1

      Factually incorrect

      • Factually prove it then.

        Why did my NL FBT rate go from 7% to 20% under the Gillard administration?

        • They’re still beneficial or else all the package providers would be broke and out of business for starters.

          Yes they aren’t as good as they used to be. But to say they disappeared is, as I said, incorrect.

          Also the EV exemption is a game changer for some as it’s a free kick at the system

          • -1

            @bemybubble: They are no where near as good as they used to be. The minor modern day NL benefits do not outweigh the risks or time associated with a NL. I've done the maths.

            I had a new NL every 3 years from 1999 to 2015 and enjoyed the benefits significantly especially when it was managed in house by my employer. As drakesy says below it's just a cash cow for the SS companies today.

            I'm not convinced the EV benefits are real. Let's revisit this thread in 2 years when all the EV leases are expiring, the massive depreciation of EVs continues and all of the payday benefits over the lease are absorbed by residuals far greater than the EVs value.

            • @Muzeeb: The depreciation in EVs has nothing to do with salary packaging. If someone borrowed to buy an EV without novating they would have the same concern

              • @bemybubble: Factually incorrect.

                • @Muzeeb: How so?

                  If I’m in the market for an EV and I needed to borrow. If I had the choice between novating and doing it off my own bat, the novating will come out on top hands down.

                  • -1

                    @bemybubble: And will you be thinking it's still a great idea when you have to pay the residual+GST and that figure varies greatly with the market value of your EV? Only time will tell. Watch this space.

                    • @Muzeeb: Yea but hang on. That’s just one side of the equation. Add up the ebs and flows. You’ve neglected tax advantage, and, GST on purchase.

                      • @bemybubble: But will it outweigh the difference? As I said only time will tell.

                        Some of my work colleagues novated $70k Tesla's 12 months ago. The same car new is now $56k. In 2 years time when their NL is expiring I'm predicting there is going to be a lot of pain.

                        • -1

                          @Muzeeb: @Muzeeb

                          Residual is generally calculated at a prescribed % by the ATO from original cost. In some circumstances the residual can be lower.

                          So if the concern is that the residual will be lower as the market value would be lower, isn’t that a positive thing insofar as salary packaging is concerned?

                          • -2

                            @bemybubble: I must not be explaining my prediction well enough or maybe I'm just talking out of my arse.

                            The residual value is calculated at the start of the lease and is based on ATO guidelines so SS companies don't shaft customers. It is a fixed known cost due at the end of the lease term.

                            An totally fictional example of what I'm trying to convey is…

                            Johnny has just finished his 3 year novated lease of his Tesla. The residual value to pay out the lease is $40k. Johnny is struggling to sell his car (because of massive depreciation) for $40k. A guy called @pegaxs offered Johnny $30k, the local car dealership is offering $27k and the online wholesaler is offering $24k. Johnny doesn't want the car as he has just committed to a new Camry for his next lease. Johnny decides to sell the car to pegaxs. Johnny now needs to pay an extra $10k using post tax dollars to finalise the lease. Johnny saved $9k over 3 years with the lease arrangement but is now realising it was false economy. Don't be like Johnny. Be like pegaxs.

                            • -1

                              @Muzeeb: I get you. Let’s use the same example of Senòr John. However he borrows to buy the car without novating and has a balloon too. He has saved no money and, has actually lost out as his market value has tanked below his residual payout for the borrowing.

                              I think the moral here is don’t buy an EV at all as opposed to not salary sacrificing to buy an ev, agreed?

                              • +1

                                @bemybubble: Definitely don't be like Senòr John. Who the f#@k takes out a personal car loan with a residual?

                                • @Muzeeb: Lots do for cashflow. But to be honest anyone buying a car hoping to resell it at the end for the residual is delusional anyway

                            • @Muzeeb:

                              Johnny is struggling to sell his car… he has just committed to a new Camry for his next lease

                              sounds like Johnny can't do math very well and makes poorly informed decisions. Perhaps inherited by the creator of his fictional character?

                              You're pretending like the valuation is any different to most cars bought brand new. The used car market has stabilised now and you're slashing large portions of the out of pocket expense of a brand new car the moment the ink is dry on your purchase paperwork (maybe with the exception of a few cult car make/models).

        • +1

          EVs are FBT free. So the FBT rate will be 0% under the current rate.

          All your problems are with buying an EV, you even say yourself the dropping value with EVs are the real problem, not the novated leases.

    • You're not wrong, Novated Leases are now a cash cow for the salary sacrificing companies under the guise of 'tax savings'. Gone are the days where you'd be far better off, 12% interest rates are common and undermine any benefits otherwise.

      • +1

        When I first saw the policy from the government I thought it is just to enrich their corporate mates. If you follow the money trail any GST savings would be eaten up by finance costs. Then running costs and insurance rolled up would have a margin / commissions.

        If government really wanted increase take up on BEVs just make it GST free. It is like a grant for everyone that can afford it. People can arrange their own finance.

        • Get outta here with your sensible policies.

          It wouldn't be a subsidy without lobbyists getting hold of the money.

          • +1

            @Drakesy: Some guy above thinks it is a tax dodge.

            The joke is the government just chases the guy you paid for the taxes. Paying $1 to save 47c. I am surprised there is no course they are selling for thousands.

            The name of the game is to retain as much cash as possible and invest it out of the clutches of the government.

        • They're GST free in QLD

          • @Juice-Wa: GST is a federal tax. State might be just rebating exactly the same amount but it should be same everywhere if they want to make it equitable not just those who can access NL.

            • @netjock: Sorry, you're right. I guess someone pays for it, but the main thing is that it isn't me :D

  • +3

    I recommend that you do the numbers yourself to see if it's worth it. If you are in the top tax bracket then it's basically free money.

    Here is a great calculator and you can get more information in the thread too:
    https://www.reddit.com/r/AusFinance/comments/1c5b9xx/ev_and_…

    • Get a quote then use this calculator to calculate real saving (i.e. compared to cash / car loan) instead of the supposed "tax saving" (while ignoring additional interest and charges.

      (I wrote that spreadsheet - it is free and unbiased, and has other comparisons that the generic NL company calculators don't tell you e.g. "compare this with keeping my old car", "what about my reduced government subsidy" etc)

  • +1

    33k is good isn't it? Even if it falls apart in a few years, you'll still be ahead compared to the lease yeah? And besides you'll probably be spoiled for choice for EVs by the time your Tesla craps out.

    • Depreciation is superb.

      I'm looking forward to getting a cheap facelifted (2023/24) Model 3 update or a BYD Seal in a couple of years time.

      Will make a cheap run about as a 2nd car.

      I don't like the looks of the original Model 3 but at least it had indicator stalks :o

  • -4

    cash is king

    • when u receive it

    • Righteo discount Ned Kelly

  • from memory you couldnt buy private sale for a lease. Might have changed, as I have purchased a used car for lease years ago and had be dealer

    • You can do so. It's called a sale and lease back.

  • I heard of people who work for uni’s are also gst exempt, apparently they get teslas on 1 year terms, pay balloon and then sell and rinse and repeat every year and they are basically cost neutral. I wonder what other industries are also gst exempt.

    • All EVs on novated leases are gst free

      • Do you mean FBT free?

        • No. GST is not payable up to around 7k, so for vehicles up to aroun 70k you wont pay GST.

          • +1

            @Hellfire: But there's GST on the residual?

            • @Muzeeb: Yeah, should have said purchase price (and running costs) only.

              • @Hellfire: So just like every other novated lease under the LCT value since 2000.

      • Oh wow, you learn something new everyday, so if I was to do a calculator online, if it says 60k on the tesla website, I would only put in 54k into the purchase price on the calculator?

        • Pretty sure online novated lease calculators factor this in automatically. You put in the purchase price including GST but minus on road costs.

        • you still have to pay for it when you take over the vehicle at the end of the lease and pay residual, unless you sell it or roll it over to a new lease

  • +1

    33k is good price for a 3-year-old Tesla.

    Despite the FUD out there, this 3-year-old Tesla will last you a long, long time, and you will only end up paying a low running cost plus a much lower upfront cost for the car compared to people who paid the full price (even with novated lease-related tax saving).

    You are not losing out much, if any.

    Also, if you are considering FBT-exempt novated lease, you can't do it for this particular car as FBT exemption is only given to EVs first held and used after July 2022. So if your alternative is novated lease, you have to find another used EV that actually qualifies, or a new EV.

  • +1

    2021 Tesla Model 3 for $33,000 is a good price! Sucks for me as an owner wanting to flog theirs off soon. 50% depreciation in 3 years, ouch :(

  • +1

    Its a huge benefit for EV's but the benefit is even bigger if you then put the money you were going to spend on your EV in your offset.

    My novated lease interest rate is 8%, my offset saving is 6%. Therefore my actual interest rate is only 2%.

    • +3

      that's the main benefit of NL - you park the money in offset which gives you 6% or so AFTER tax which is equivalent to 8-12% pre-tax income depending on your marginal rate, whereas the NL lease interest cost is whatever they charge taken from pre-tax income as there's FBT exemption - in this case you are actually ahead rather than paying 2%

  • +1

    Do you know how much benefit or not it will have for me on $107K Per Year income before tax?

    Close to zero. NL provider gets 90-95% of the benefit these days

    • Don't know where you are pulling the 90-95% figure.

      While I agree that NL companies are gouging as much as they can get away with, for a lot of people there is still saving to be had, especially if you are able to get a leasing company with decent "interest rate".

    • That would only be true for ICE vehicles.

  • $33K is a great price. How many Kms'on the Odometer? Standard Plus Range 490km or 556km?

    I'm looking for a similar deal too. Any tips on how to get the car checked for any battery damage or other issues.

  • Sharing my scenario for reference:

    Location: SA
    Salary: 150k (38% bracket)
    Model: Tesla Y RWD (69.7k driveaway purchased 10/2023)
    Length of lease: 60 month
    Monthly repayment: says 58 instalments of $1294 pre-tax or 789 after-tax (not sure why only 58 instalments but since it plays in my favour I never asked)
    Inclusions: lease, maintenance, rego, contingency
    Residual cost: $19714

    So total cost: 58*789+19714 = 65476 which is better than 69.7, plus it includes about 9k worth of maintenance, rego, contingency for 5 years.

    To me it works out pretty well. I did add insurance back to it after I started the contract because I realised everything you add to the package is charged as pre-tax.

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