2013/2014 Nissan Leaf Lease Information

[wantonsoup]

For me, it matters more figuring dollars per year and not dollars per mile. If I buy a car, and sell it after x number of years, it cost me a specific amount per year to own it. If leasing it costs less per year, it's a good deal for me. With the Leaf, there's a good chance I'll want something different in a few years (Infiniti LE comes to mind).

 

[iluvmacs]

In my experience, it would be a poor financial decision to LEASE a a car when you only drive 5000 miles a year. You would be paying over .90 a mile. A good deal on the SL would be .25 to .30 a mile based on the calculations on page 20 and 21 of this thread. The fact that you are also locked in to a particular color that has been scarce so far (probably the blue), and should roll out in larger numbers soon, perhaps will cause you to pay even more for your dream car.

I understand that you are excited and eager to get a Leaf. If you are patient and wait a little you are likely to make a good decision. Perhaps you might consider a purchase, not a lease, to get the full value out of your transaction.

Can't really agree with you. We've put 9300 miles on our purchased Leaf in the last 15 months. We're about to trade it in on a lease for a '13, since we're losing so much money on the absurd depreciation of the car (and because the new features are nice). KBB says our car is worth $22K dealer trade-in, and both dealers in town initially said they would only do $18K. I got them up to $19K and am still hoping for $20K. Might try for private sale, but it's not going to be easy. Doesn't matter how many miles you put on these things for trade-in value, apparently. Admittedly, much of this problem might be our region (Wisconsin). Not much market for a used Leaf here, unlike CA or WA... One dealer in town has had a '12 SV with 5K miles on their lot for the last 6 months. They're still struggling to sell it for thousands less than they bought it for from that owner. :roll:

FWIW, we're getting VPP + the 1K loyalty discount on the new Leaf. SV+QC+Premium, ~$750 down and $230/month for 2 years. Way less than we're paying for the Leaf we own, even if you include the "equity" in it. You should see the ridiculous spreadsheet I made to compare all the options of when to lease a new Leaf (now, a year from now, a few years from now, etc...) :shock:

 

[edatoakrun]

I keep seeing posts about paying the $395 disposition fee. The $595 acquisition fee is a given, but my dealer told me that if you lease or buy another car, the DF is waived. It was for me.

Interesting! Was that done at your dealer's discretion or is that a NMAC policy?

I believe he told me that it's NMAC's.

When I purchased my 2011 ~10 months after first leasing it, I was not charged the $395 disposition fee either.

It was never mentioned, and never showed up on the NMAC paperwork, so I assumed it was NMAC policy.

 

[Spies]

When I purchased my 2011 ~10 months after first leasing it, I was not charged the $395 disposition fee either.

What I have always found off putting in my Leaf lease contract is listed both the $395 disposition fee if I do not purchase the vehicle as well as a $300 fee if I do purchase the vehicle. Has anyone actually been charged for either?

 

[pdad]

Pushpak,
your cost per mile analysis discounts the goodies in SV and SL models. you can easily add the depreciated value of goodies in SV and SL to get price per mile taking into account whether the car is SV or SL.
e.g.,
SV invoice is 2824 more than S, and SL is 2*2824 more than S.
Depreciation is (1-62%) = 38%.
So you are paying 38%*2824 extra over 24000 miles to drive an SV, i.e., you are paying 4.5 cents per mile more for SV
And you are paying 38%*2*2824 extra over 24000 miles to drive an SL, i.e., you are paying 9 cents per mile more for SL


Do you agree?

 

[evnow]

I'm looking at an SL with the Premium Package (MSRP $37,000) and have been offered a 24-month lease. These numbers do not include tax yet. $291/month plus $1800 down. Plus $395 disposition. Money factor is .00220. They included the $595 acquisition fee in the downpayment/payments. Total cost of lease is $9181.

Or I can purchase it for $35,700, $700 over invoice. (minus $7,500 fed tax credit = $28,200).

Why is the MF 0.0022 ? Is your credit rating not I the top tier ?

 

[wantonsoup]

Why is the MF 0.0022 ? Is your credit rating not I the top tier ?

It's what they offered - I have perfect credit. Honestly all I care about is the total cost of the lease, they can do the math however makes them happy

 

[Pushpak]

Pushpak,
your cost per mile analysis discounts the goodies in SV and SL models. you can easily add the depreciated value of goodies in SV and SL to get price per mile taking into account whether the car is SV or SL.
e.g.,
SV invoice is 2824 more than S, and SL is 2*2824 more than S.
Depreciation is (1-62%) = 38%.
So you are paying 38%*2824 extra over 24000 miles to drive an SV, i.e., you are paying 4.5 cents per mile more for SV
And you are paying 38%*2*2824 extra over 24000 miles to drive an SL, i.e., you are paying 9 cents per mile more for SL

Do you agree?

Pdad (any relation to PDiddy?)

In my original post, I pointed out that going up each trim level costs you 3-4 cents/mile. So your analysis parallels mine. In other words, I agree.

My object was to get a benchmark for each trim, not a single benchmark for all Leafs. As it is, the benchmark suffers from data sparsity. So it's a rough indicator at best.

I invite everyone who has recently leased a Leaf to PM me your details. It is tough to keep trawling for lease reports to keep the spreadsheet consistently fresh.

 

[evnow]

Why is the MF 0.0022 ? Is your credit rating not I the top tier ?

It's what they offered - I have perfect credit. Honestly all I care about is the total cost of the lease, they can do the math however makes them happy

No - you should care about the MF - just like you care about what interest rate you pay on your mortgage.

Once the selling price & money factor are determined, rest is just a calculation. Ask them to give you 0.002 that NMAC charges, your total cost will go down. Even with 0.002 we are already paying too much in interest.

 

[Corina1231]

In my experience, it would be a poor financial decision to LEASE a a car when you only drive 5000 miles a year. You would be paying over .90 a mile. A good deal on the SL would be .25 to .30 a mile based on the calculations on page 20 and 21 of this thread. The fact that you are also locked in to a particular color that has been scarce so far (probably the blue), and should roll out in larger numbers soon, perhaps will cause you to pay even more for your dream car.

I understand that you are excited and eager to get a Leaf. If you are patient and wait a little you are likely to make a good decision. Perhaps you might consider a purchase, not a lease, to get the full value out of your transaction.

Can't really agree with you. We've put 9300 miles on our purchased Leaf in the last 15 months. We're about to trade it in on a lease for a '13, since we're losing so much money on the absurd depreciation of the car (and because the new features are nice). KBB says our car is worth $22K dealer trade-in, and both dealers in town initially said they would only do $18K. I got them up to $19K and am still hoping for $20K. Might try for private sale, but it's not going to be easy. Doesn't matter how many miles you put on these things for trade-in value, apparently. Admittedly, much of this problem might be our region (Wisconsin). Not much market for a used Leaf here, unlike CA or WA... One dealer in town has had a '12 SV with 5K miles on their lot for the last 6 months. They're still struggling to sell it for thousands less than they bought it for from that owner. :roll:

FWIW, we're getting VPP + the 1K loyalty discount on the new Leaf. SV+QC+Premium, ~$750 down and $230/month for 2 years. Way less than we're paying for the Leaf we own, even if you include the "equity" in it. You should see the ridiculous spreadsheet I made to compare all the options of when to lease a new Leaf (now, a year from now, a few years from now, etc...) :shock:

I luvmacs,
While you and I may disagree on whether wontonsoup, who drives only 5k a mile a year and is dead set on getting a Leaf now, should consider purchasing over leasing I think that we can ABSOLUTELY AGREE that the lease deals out there are so good that most everyone who drives 10k to 15k should never consider PURCHASING a Leaf over leasing. at this stage of technological advancement and pricing.

 

[Corina1231]

LEAFfan wrote:
I keep seeing posts about paying the $395 disposition fee. The $595 acquisition fee is a given, but my dealer told me that if you lease or buy another car, the DF is waived. It was for me.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Wontonsoup responded:Yes, exactly. But I'm assuming I'll pay it as there's no expectation my next car will be a Nissan.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Like wontonsoup, I agree that you should always consider it part of your lease cost on THIS car. Having been a New Car Sales Manager many years ago. we always told people we would waive it if they bought another car from us but in reality we would work the new deal separately and make up for the loss somewhere. It's equivalent to a dealer saying bring this coupon in and show us it up front and we will give you $395 off your purchase of a new vehicle. I think you get the picture.

When I negotiated on my 2012 Leaf SL, I refused to pay the $395 in the finance office and they simply took $11 a month off my monthly payment to bring it down from $236 to $225 to compensate and then I agreed to it. That proved two things to me: 1) I'd left a little $ on the table, and 2) the dispo fee is just another number to negotiate.

When Kumar's friend (previously on this thread) complained of the fee the dealer took it out of the agreement. If you look at the deal, you'll see the dealer was making a fair amount on the buyer and could eat it.

That is why I, like Wontonsoup, ultimately only look at the bottom line as to what I agree to pay for the lease deal. I don't care how they spin the numbers. I calculate: Down + Total of Payments+ Dispo fee=Total Cost of lease.

 

[wantonsoup]

Let's say a 2 year lease costs me $8,000. Nice round number. Now let's say I buy it for $25,000 and keep it 2 years and sell it for $16,000. Then it cost me $9,000 in the purchase scenario. Plus I paid $1,000 more in sales tax. It's not always about the mileage. I value my vehicles by the duration of time I have them, not by the miles I put on them. For others this is certainly different. But presuming I keep the car the same amount of time as the lease, the lease is cheaper.

 

[Corina1231]

Pushpak,
your cost per mile analysis discounts the goodies in SV and SL models. you can easily add the depreciated value of goodies in SV and SL to get price per mile taking into account whether the car is SV or SL.
e.g.,
SV invoice is 2824 more than S, and SL is 2*2824 more than S.
Depreciation is (1-62%) = 38%.
So you are paying 38%*2824 extra over 24000 miles to drive an SV, i.e., you are paying 4.5 cents per mile more for SV
And you are paying 38%*2*2824 extra over 24000 miles to drive an SL, i.e., you are paying 9 cents per mile more for SL

Do you agree?

Pdad (any relation to PDiddy?)

In my original post, I pointed out that going up each trim level costs you 3-4 cents/mile. So your analysis parallels mine. In other words, I agree.

My object was to get a benchmark for each trim, not a single benchmark for all Leafs. As it is, the benchmark suffers from data sparsity. So it's a rough indicator at best.

I invite everyone who has recently leased a Leaf to PM me your details. It is tough to keep trawling for lease reports to keep the spreadsheet consistently fresh.

PushPak's analysis seems fair and helps us do a valid comparison, something dealers don't want us to be able to do. They'd rather keep spinning all the numbers at us to create confusion. All that matters is the bottom line which is how much you spend for the lease given identical terms and mileage allowance.

The only other thing to consider in PushPak's analysis is that cost of miles decrease as you go higher. So his 15k mile leases will always look like a better deal than his 12k deals. If you don't use the full 15k, however, you could pay more in the long run.

 

[Corina1231]

Let's say a 2 year lease costs me $8,000. Nice round number. Now let's say I buy it for $25,000 and keep it 2 years and sell it for $16,000. Then it cost me $9,000 in the purchase scenario. Plus I paid $1,000 more in sales tax. It's not always about the mileage. I value my vehicles by the duration of time I have them, not by the miles I put on them. For others this is certainly different. But presuming I keep the car the same amount of time as the lease, the lease is cheaper.

You are right, you should not PURCHASE a leaf. However, if you drive only 5k a year and you have negotiated a lease that allows 10k or 12k, you will be paying too much for that lease. It would not be a good financial decision EITHER, my friend. You won't be getting your money's worth. Just my opinion from my experience.

But I understand you are dead set on getting a Leaf so let's think outside the box. Maybe you can get the dealer to agree on a lease cost based on less mileage than the standard 10k-15k a year. Or, alternatively, a lower down and monthly payment, and you pay by the mile.

A recent post a couple of pages back had a blogger perplexed at a Tacoma WA dealer's offer of a 2013 S for "0 down and $149 a month", 24 month lease. Funny thing is that when I saw the ad I noticed that the dealer had left out the mileage allowance!!!! Pretty much unheard of. So maybe they had a per mile charge similar to what might work for you. Certainly, in a softer market, dealers have been known to make all kinds of deals.

It might be worth telling the Nissan dealer about your desire for a Leaf and your unique situation (drive $5k a year) and challenging them to tailor something a lease to meet your needs. Best of Luck!

 

[pgrokkos]

Just got my first response with actual terms in New Jersey and wanted to see what I can realistically expect when I try and negotiate it.

I have not yet been into the dealership yet or pressed on pricing, simply an email inquiry as to when they will have a 2013 SL in stock, any color, and lease terms for 12k and 24 months.

The response was "on a 24 month 12,000 mile/year lease your monthly payment would be $339 monthly. This is also worked up with $0 out of pocket. The selling price of the vehicle is $34,000.00."

I plan on following up in person in next couple of days, but wanted to see what I should realistically expect to pay here. Assuming that there is a $395 disposition fee included here, but otherwise, it is simply $0 down (other than first month payment which I'm including in subsequent total) and $339/m x 24 for a total out of pocket of $8,136 plus $395 disposition fee (plus taxes, title, etc.). I'm also assuming at the "$34k" selling price, that means it is an SL with no major extras beyond maybe floor matts to the sticker price.

I do not have VPP or loyalty, so using the table helpfully provided on page 20/21 of this forum, it looks like $426/m at full sticker or $280 at VPP is the range I should be targeting. So best case is if I can get to VPP rate (which I am not qualified for), $6,720 plus tax/fees and disposition fee, vs their initial offer of $8,136 plus the same or a $1,400 difference, plus whether I can get them to drop the disposition fee or not.

So my guess is that if I can out of there at $300/m for $7200 total out of pocket plus tax/fees and let them keep the disposition fee language in there, I should be happy with the deal. Am I reading this correctly? Thanks for the advice.

 

[wantonsoup]

Allllllllrighty. After a few back and forths with a 2nd dealer, we struck a deal tonight and I'm thrilled. It's darn close to VPP considering the options and accessories included. Thanks for posting that chart on page 21, it was helpful in calculating a good deal. I just added in my local sales tax, and multiplied the price of the options at 40%. My total including all payments and fees is right in line with that, within $100. I'll post the final details after we close tomorrow.

Thanks for the help.

 

[surfingslovak]

When I purchased my 2011 ~10 months after first leasing it, I was not charged the $395 disposition fee either.

What I have always found off putting in my Leaf lease contract is listed both the $395 disposition fee if I do not purchase the vehicle as well as a $300 fee if I do purchase the vehicle. Has anyone actually been charged for either?

Yes, I remember reading this in 2011 when some of the early adopters bought out their leases.

 

[Corina1231]

Allllllllrighty. After a few back and forths with a 2nd dealer, we struck a deal tonight and I'm thrilled. It's darn close to VPP considering the options and accessories included. Thanks for posting that chart on page 21, it was helpful in calculating a good deal. I just added in my local sales tax, and multiplied the price of the options at 40%. My total including all payments and fees is right in line with that, within $100. I'll post the final details after we close tomorrow.

Thanks for the help.

I'm happy for you. Did you get the color you wanted? I know you'll keep the emotion out the deal and stay focused on the bottom line. Don't let the finance manager pick your pocket. Good Luck! We look forward to hearing about your success!

 

[Corina1231]

Just got my first response with actual terms in New Jersey and wanted to see what I can realistically expect when I try and negotiate it.

I have not yet been into the dealership yet or pressed on pricing, simply an email inquiry as to when they will have a 2013 SL in stock, any color, and lease terms for 12k and 24 months.

The response was "on a 24 month 12,000 mile/year lease your monthly payment would be $339 monthly. This is also worked up with $0 out of pocket. The selling price of the vehicle is $34,000.00."

I plan on following up in person in next couple of days, but wanted to see what I should realistically expect to pay here. Assuming that there is a $395 disposition fee included here, but otherwise, it is simply $0 down (other than first month payment which I'm including in subsequent total) and $339/m x 24 for a total out of pocket of $8,136 plus $395 disposition fee (plus taxes, title, etc.). I'm also assuming at the "$34k" selling price, that means it is an SL with no major extras beyond maybe floor matts to the sticker price.

I do not have VPP or loyalty, so using the table helpfully provided on page 20/21 of this forum, it looks like $426/m at full sticker or $280 at VPP is the range I should be targeting. So best case is if I can get to VPP rate (which I am not qualified for), $6,720 plus tax/fees and disposition fee, vs their initial offer of $8,136 plus the same or a $1,400 difference, plus whether I can get them to drop the disposition fee or not.

So my guess is that if I can out of there at $300/m for $7200 total out of pocket plus tax/fees and let them keep the disposition fee language in there, I should be happy with the deal. Am I reading this correctly? Thanks for the advice.

I'm sorry, that is more numbers than my math brain wishes to gobble up. Also, I won't play the dealer's numbers game nor do I care how they juggle the numbers (Sales price, money factor, residual, dispo fee, etc.). I can only fairly compare deals with everything included, TTL as well. With all included my goals based on dealer cost, VPP comparisons and non-VPP deals others have recently gotten excuding HAWAII are:

SL - $7200 total on a 12k a year two year lease (down + total of payments + dispo fee).

SV - $6200 on a 12k, 2 year lease.

My goal on a similar S deal would be $5200.

Sure, some folks have gotten 15k a year mile deals for these prices or slightly less but unless you are in CA (like Tsowens and me, corina1107) where 2013 Leaf supply is humongous (109 at Sunnyvale Nissan alone as of tonight), and/or you qualify for VPP (like Leafintheparkpark in MN) I believe my numbers are pretty close to best you can get.

Good luck in your negotiations!

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Let's say a 2 year lease costs me $8,000. Nice round number. Now let's say I buy it for $25,000 and keep it 2 years and sell it for $16,000. Then it cost me $9,000 in the purchase scenario. Plus I paid $1,000 more in sales tax. It's not always about the mileage. I value my vehicles by the duration of time I have them, not by the miles I put on them. For others this is certainly different. But presuming I keep the car the same amount of time as the lease, the lease is cheaper.

not quite as cut and dried as that. there is a lot of difference in buying (or committing to the full purchase price) verses a lease when you are committing essentially to part of the purchase price.

if you paid cash for the car, that still is money out of your pocket could have grown significantly had you been in the right investments, etc.

either way, i agree that leasing is your best bet. the technology simply has too much room to grow and prices are still on the way down. in 2 years, revisit the purchase option. I think right now is not a good time to buy no matter how much you drive.