2011, 2012 Nissan Leaf Leasing Information

[Visual]

Thanks for the clarification! Then leasing does seem like a good option - especially to have the peace of mind of being able to turn the keys over at the end of it as opposed to worrying about resale values (especially if battery tech improves significantly in the meantime).

Michael, don't forget that though you're paying only 2.9% vs 4.9 for the lease, the 2.9% is on the ENTIRE purchase cost, so you're paying extra interest over the lease - which is fine if the numbers work out in the end (total cost of ownership for the number of years you keep the car), but its cash out of pocket.

Amit

 

[gudy]

5. Owning a car means thinking about resale all the time. That means the kids, dogs, etc need to be careful with their ice cream, paws, etc, and I better not have an accident that damages the title.

You still need to worry about this on a lease. Anything above what nissan considers normal "wear and tear" will be charged to you when you return the car.
On my honda, paint scratches longer than 1 inch were not normal "wear and tear" (even if it's 1.1 inch long, with no dent, made by someone else in a parking lot), bumpers dent (even 1/8th of a inch big ... seriously must have been a gravel on the highway that did it), were not normal "wear and tear" )
You actually have to be MORE careful with a lease (if you plan to return it, which you should), than when you own.
In my case, Honda Finance had an "extra" allowance for something like up to $1000 above normal "wear and tear", so I didn't end up paying anything.
And you can't trade something for something else (as in if you drive half the miles you can, but have a dent, all they'll see is your dent, while your "real" market value could be exactly the same as a 2x milage, no dent model).

 

[cdub]

Well if you're definitely planning on getting a new Leaf in 3-5 years for sure Lease it.

But if you're like me - I fully intend this to be the last car that I buy for a long time. (knock on wood)

With low maintenance costs all it'll need in 7-10 years is a new battery - which is a lot cheaper than a new car.

 

[JustinC]

You still need to worry about this on a lease. Anything above what nissan considers normal "wear and tear" will be charged to you when you return the car.
On my honda, paint scratches longer than 1 inch were not normal "wear and tear" (even if it's 1.1 inch long, with no dent, made by someone else in a parking lot), bumpers dent (even 1/8th of a inch big ... seriously must have been a gravel on the highway that did it), were not normal "wear and tear" )
You actually have to be MORE careful with a lease (if you plan to return it, which you should), than when you own.
In my case, Honda Finance had an "extra" allowance for something like up to $1000 above normal "wear and tear", so I didn't end up paying anything.
And you can't trade something for something else (as in if you drive half the miles you can, but have a dent, all they'll see is your dent, while your "real" market value could be exactly the same as a 2x milage, no dent model).

Thanks for this input. I hadn't thought about it that way. I guess I will have to be just as careful or more careful with the lease. Oh well. That's one reason down. Even if I did have to pay something for wear and tear, it still would be much cheaper for 3 years of leasing than 3 years of ownership.

Anyone who thinks this is going to be their last car purchase for a long while should answer this question - if it wasn't an EV, would you be considering the first edition of a new model for a long term purchase? You don't have any Consumer Reports evaluations, magazine reviews, or real world driver experiences to base this purchase on. It's practically sight unseen until a year or so have passed with thousands of these on the road. I'm not saying you definitely should not buy, but I think there are too many questions left unanswered to be sure you will be happy with this vehicle for more than 3 years. We are all excited about EV driving, and I think that can cloud our judgement. In any case, you can always sell it to someone else who wants an EV.

 

[cdub]

Good points.... but also... part of me wants to always own the "first mass produced electric car". If I lease I get another.. .then it wouldn't be the first now would it?

But you are right... it is something to think about.

 

[LEAFguy]

Anyone who thinks this is going to be their last car purchase for a long while should answer this question - if it wasn't an EV, would you be considering the first edition of a new model for a long term purchase?

I bought a 2004 Nissan Quest. This was a brand new model at the time, built in a brand new Nissan plant (Canton, Mississippi), and built by people that had never built cars before. It now has almost 90,000 miles on it, and I have made no out-of-pocket repairs (other than normal maintenance). I plan on using the Quest as our second vehicle and continue to drive it for several more years with the LEAF becoming our primary vehicle. So, to answer your question, yes I have no problem with Nissan's quality. It has proven itself to me in over 35 years of experience as a Datsun/Nissan owner having owned/driven six different Nissan products over that time. The Oppama plant has over 40 years of car building under its belt. I think that we'll be fine.

 

[LEAFfan]

Good points.... but also... part of me wants to always own the "first mass produced electric car". If I lease I get another.. .then it wouldn't be the first now would it?

But you are right... it is something to think about.

Not necessarily...if you lease, you could STILL own the first mass produced BEV just by purchasing it at the end of the lease.

 

[smkettner]

I read the Rav4 EV has held value quite well. (Not verified) And I think the LEAF with sell just fine in 10-12 years
Besides most cars are not worth much in 10+ years anyway.
I will be going "all in" with a purchase.

 

[BrendanDolan]

I'm going to lease mine for a few reasons. While I know it's smarter to buy something and own it till it's next to dead, I am going to lease because:
1. Don't have to worry about the tax credit. Nissan passes that right along.
2. First model year car jitters (not for the electric part, it's just that I've been around new cars for years, and first model year ones teethe sometimes)
3. What other EV will be out in 4 years that I can get? :mrgreen:

 

[LEAFfan]

I'm going to lease mine for a few reasons. While I know it's smarter to buy something and own it till it's next to dead, I am going to lease because:
1. Don't have to worry about the tax credit. Nissan passes that right along.
2. First model year car jitters (not for the electric part, it's just that I've been around new cars for years, and first model year ones teethe sometimes)
3. What other EV will be out in 4 years that I can get? :mrgreen:

Brendan, I was thinking about taking the fed credit this year for solar (plus what's left rolled over to next year, etc.), then leasing the LEAF in Jan. I was told the tax was in the lease payment, but I thought you had to pay it in the city where you live. On a lease, do you have to pay city and state taxes on each payment? If so that would be 9.3% and if not, 7.6%. I know about the $2000 down (first payment included) + $545 acquistition fee. So if the person had a base lease price of say $26,000 (minus the $7500), what would the approx. monthly payments be (tier 0) for a 36 and 48 mos. lease before taxes? Thanks!

 

[BrendanDolan]

I'm going to lease mine for a few reasons. While I know it's smarter to buy something and own it till it's next to dead, I am going to lease because:
1. Don't have to worry about the tax credit. Nissan passes that right along.
2. First model year car jitters (not for the electric part, it's just that I've been around new cars for years, and first model year ones teethe sometimes)
3. What other EV will be out in 4 years that I can get? :mrgreen:

Brendan, I was thinking about taking the fed credit this year for solar (plus what's left rolled over to next year, etc.), then leasing the LEAF in Jan. I was told the tax was in the lease payment, but I thought you had to pay it in the city where you live. On a lease, do you have to pay city and state taxes on each payment? If so that would be 9.3% and if not, 7.6%. I know about the $2000 down (first payment included) + $545 acquistition fee. So if the person had a base lease price of say $26,000 (minus the $7500), what would the approx. monthly payments be (tier 0) for a 36 and 48 mos. lease before taxes? Thanks!

Yikes, I'm not in sales so I have no clue about the monthly, but I'll pass this along and see what the answer is. What I do know is that in Cali you pay sales tax on each payment based on what county tax rate exists at the address the car is registered to. I'd try here to see if the answer is there (I'm heading home, and I'll be out of town till Friday, so I probably won't get an answer for you till then) http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=1056&hilit=lease+residual+rate

 

[xtremeflyer]

Does Nissan allow you to put down additional security deposits to lower the money factor? I know this is common with BMWs but I didn't know if it was common for other leases.

 

[wwhitney]

A few questions on the original post:

SL :

MSRP - 33,720
Dest Charge - 820
Tax Rebate - 7,500
Net Capitalized Cost - 25,521

This doesn't add up, MSRP + Destination - Tax Rebate = $27,040. Is the difference, $1,519, attributable to the down payment?

Down Payment - 1,999 (includes 1st month's lease payment)
Acquisition Cost - 595

What is the acquisition fee, when is it paid, and if it paid up front, is it included in the down payment?

Disposition Fee - 395

Is this fee paid at lease end only if you return the car, not if you buy it at the residual?

Mileage - 15,000 per year
Residue
49% (24 months)
44% (36 months)
43% (39 months)
39% (48 months)

What number are these percentages applied to? MSRP, or MSRP + destination, or Net Capitalized Cost?

Thanks,
Wayne

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

what is interest rates at the different credit tiers?

 

[wwhitney]

what is interest rates at the different credit tiers?

That is in the first post, just multiply the Money Factor by 24 (I think). Wayne

 

[evnow]

A few questions on the original post:

This doesn't add up, MSRP + Destination - Tax Rebate = $27,040. Is the difference, $1,519, attributable to the down payment?

Right.

What is the acquisition fee, when is it paid, and if it paid up front, is it included in the down payment?

Extra payment in the beginning.

Is this fee paid at lease end only if you return the car, not if you buy it at the residual?

Right.

What number are these percentages applied to? MSRP, or MSRP + destination, or Net Capitalized Cost?

MSRP.

 

[smkettner]

Does Nissan allow you to put down additional security deposits to lower the money factor? I know this is common with BMWs but I didn't know if it was common for other leases.

I thought the point of leasing was to tie up the least amount of money possible.
(along with capping the depreciation risk on short term ownership)

I would keep the money invested or in the bank.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

what is interest rates at the different credit tiers?

That is in the first post, just multiply the Money Factor by 24 (I think). Wayne

ok...so no explanation as to how the "24" came about and why cant we just not post the the actual percentages instead?

strange. i applied for a cap one auto finance loan online and received email stating i was approved. that came just before my Disney trip. so let it go. i called this morning and automated system told me i had 45 days to complete process (which i wont make) and that my loan application was declined based on a further review. so i am back to square one.

if i cannot get a decent interest rate, i may look at the lease option and maybe do a pay off in a year or so

 

[Boomer23]

Does Nissan allow you to put down additional security deposits to lower the money factor? I know this is common with BMWs but I didn't know if it was common for other leases.

I thought the point of leasing was to tie up the least amount of money possible.
(along with capping the depreciation risk on short term ownership)

I would keep the money invested or in the bank.

Having leased a BMW and read far too much about it, the strategy is this: If you simply pay a larger down payment on a lease and then the car is totaled, you've lost that money. If you pay additional security deposit dollars, that reduces the money factor (interest rate), so your monthly payment is lower, but if the car is totaled, you get the security deposit back.

 

[xtremeflyer]

Having leased a BMW and read far too much about it, the strategy is this: If you simply pay a larger down payment on a lease and then the car is totaled, you've lost that money. If you pay additional security deposit dollars, that reduces the money factor (interest rate), so your monthly payment is lower, but if the car is totaled, you get the security deposit back.

Exactly and I did the math in another thread, but if you put $4000 down to save .0007 money factor, you'd save $1080 over the life of a 3 year lease, but if you put that $4000 into a 3-yr CD, you'd only make $250 and have to pay income taxes on it. So it's almost a 25% return on your money.