kubel
Well-known member
You can do it by mail (write a check to NMAC) or you can do it via the dealership (who can provide you with financing if needed).
End of Lease Strategies?
- Thread starter sonnylax
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morlglums said:
Honestly, I don't know why the dealer should be involved, except to fill out DMV paperwork, but I've seen comments here and elsewhere online where people talk about having to work with their (clueless about the buyout offer) dealer.
I plan to drop by my dealer Monday morning (since phone calls and e-mails don't work) and see what I can squeeze out of the finance guy in the way of hard information. When we dealt with him when we leased the car, he was such an abrasive clown that he was a bad parody of dealership finance guys. So I expect I will have to inform them, for the second time, that there is indeed a buyout offer and insist that they call NMAC when they claim there isn't.
So far, the way they've handled my queries about fees has done nothing to make me side with car dealers and not Tesla in the ongoing "selling direct to the public" debate.
I will report back here with the results of my efforts.
TimLee
Well-known member
Apparently the residual reduction varies.
Is it based on location where the leasee lives?
Is there a list of what is offered where?
Is it based on location where the leasee lives?
Is there a list of what is offered where?
TimLee said:
I've seen references to it varying, but I've never seen a summary of who gets what offer. And the offer also varies with the year of your lease.
In general, I think NMAC has done a poor job of handling this situation, even beyond the variable offer amount. Assuming I can get the details worked out today, I plan to buy my 2013 S, and I've still never received any notification that there is an offer. I found out about it on the Intertubes. If you're trying hard to avoid a problem (too many Leafs coming off lease at once) and you're willing to give people a big discount to buy the cars, then wouldn't it make sense to, you know, actually TELL THEM about the offer...?
Roadburner440
Well-known member
My dealer had a hard time getting the information in January, but it was on NMAC's side. As they really wanted to help me buy out the car, but whenever the finance guy called NMAC to figure out how to do the residual reduction so I could buy my car (as the dealers system still showed my higher payoff) they kept giving them the run around. All he told me was after a week of trying he had to call a special number to get the authorization to do the residual reduction. Once they got that thought it was a cake walk. Signed the papers, did the DMV forms, and I walked out within the span of about 30ish minutes.. So if they are having difficulty with it try calling NMAC on your end too, and getting an email/confirmation number or something of that nature. It sucks but is worth it in the end.
For the documentation fee the ONLY fee that you are obligated to pay is the one on your lease contract. Ironically my dealer was the one that points it out to me. I guess now it is $400-$500 now, but when my contract was written in 2012 it was for $300. So they had to honor that amount as that is what was agreed upon when the lease was written whether I bought the car or turned it in. So if you look on the front of your contract you can see what the fee is. If they try pulling some hokey stuff refuse, and kindly point to them that they are obligated to honor the leasing contract when it comes to the buyout fee. I will say though that the contracts may have changed since 2012 too, so they might be able to stack on their own fee's which would be cruddy.
For the documentation fee the ONLY fee that you are obligated to pay is the one on your lease contract. Ironically my dealer was the one that points it out to me. I guess now it is $400-$500 now, but when my contract was written in 2012 it was for $300. So they had to honor that amount as that is what was agreed upon when the lease was written whether I bought the car or turned it in. So if you look on the front of your contract you can see what the fee is. If they try pulling some hokey stuff refuse, and kindly point to them that they are obligated to honor the leasing contract when it comes to the buyout fee. I will say though that the contracts may have changed since 2012 too, so they might be able to stack on their own fee's which would be cruddy.
Roadburner440 said:
I'm currently waiting to hear from the finance guy at my dealer. My wife and I stopped in this morning, and he said he would have to get a confirmation from his "Nissan rep" (which I confirmed meant his contact at NMAC, not the Nissan Mothership) of the post-$6,500-discount residual, since the dealer actually buys the car from NMAC and then sells it to me at the same price(!?). I'm keeping detailed notes on this whole adventure and will post about it once it's done, hopefully tomorrow, Wednesday at the latest.
He also was surprised that NMAC told me I had to do the purchase through a dealer. He said that other lease buyouts he's handled fro Nissan and Toyota were done directly through the company.
Overall, I have to say that I'm dumbfounded by how confused NMAC and their own dealers seem to be about almost every step of this process. (Again, I'll provide more details when I post my summary.) This Leaf is my first Nissan vehicle, and I'm not exactly overwhelmed by their competence, even if the individual people I've spoken with at NMAC have been very helpful. For fans of the old MASH TV series, it reminds me of the infamous "machine gun/pizza oven" scene.
gsleaf
Well-known member
Bazooka, thanks for sharing. I'm considering buying out my lease as well. I didn't think it would be all that difficult. 
gsleaf said:Bazooka, thanks for sharing. I'm considering buying out my lease as well. I didn't think it would be all that difficult.
Yeah, I didn't think it would be either. After all, these guys are in the business of selling cars, so why should it be such a hassle to, you know, buy a car from them???
One other detail: In chatting with the finance guy, he confirmed that the "doc fee" would be $75, which happens to be the max. allowed in my state (NY).
Frankly, I still expect there to be at least one moderately nasty problem or surprise between now and this little adventure being over, but it's looking more and more like there won't be any showstoppers.
Just got the new contract from Nissan for the extended lease...and NOTHING in the contract about month-to-month. Verbiage about giving you 2 free months--but leery about signing this with nothing in writing saying I can turn it in any month after the initial term of lease ends.
Did anybody else do the extended lease? And if so, any more info on this month-to-month?
Thanks.
Did anybody else do the extended lease? And if so, any more info on this month-to-month?
Thanks.
Bazooka said:gsleaf said:Bazooka, thanks for sharing. I'm considering buying out my lease as well. I didn't think it would be all that difficult.
Yeah, I didn't think it would be either. After all, these guys are in the business of selling cars, so why should it be such a hassle to, you know, buy a car from them???
One other detail: In chatting with the finance guy, he confirmed that the "doc fee" would be $75, which happens to be the max. allowed in my state (NY).
Frankly, I still expect there to be at least one moderately nasty problem or surprise between now and this little adventure being over, but it's looking more and more like there won't be any showstoppers.
Latest bizarro world detail: The local finance guy now tells me, via e-mail sent last night, that his NMAC contact had never heard of the $6,500 promotion and she was pursuing it "from her people in Dallas".
This has gone from being a relatively simple transaction to a parody of bureaucratic ineptitude. How the heck does Nissan/NMAC run a promotion like this and then [1] not tell all customers (I never heard from them about it), [2] not tell dealership finance people, [3] not even tell all of their own (NMAC) employees?
Since it now seems clear that NMAC told me I had to do the purchase through a dealer because they assumed I was getting a loan (I'm not), I will try calling them yet again this morning to see if I can do the transaction through them directly, as the local finance guy told me should happen.
I will provide updates as things happen, but I shudder to think what that might mean...
If anyone is having difficulty, as I am, getting their dealer to find out the NMAC promotion exists, tell them to look up bulletin 15-1-2064v3. This is a number I got from a woman at NMAC within the last half hour.
FWIW, when I told her that both the dealer and their NMAC representative were unaware of the promotion, she apologized. IMO, she handled this the right way, but that doesn't excuse the fact that there are major communication gaps within NMAC and between NMAC and dealers.
One last thing: When I pressed her on the detail about whether I could buy the car directly from NMAC, she said that they couldn't do that because they're "an indirect lender" and they can't deal directly with the customer. I don't know enough about the car or banking business to interpret that statement, but I would have assumed that taking my monthly payments constituted dealing with a customer.
FWIW, when I told her that both the dealer and their NMAC representative were unaware of the promotion, she apologized. IMO, she handled this the right way, but that doesn't excuse the fact that there are major communication gaps within NMAC and between NMAC and dealers.
One last thing: When I pressed her on the detail about whether I could buy the car directly from NMAC, she said that they couldn't do that because they're "an indirect lender" and they can't deal directly with the customer. I don't know enough about the car or banking business to interpret that statement, but I would have assumed that taking my monthly payments constituted dealing with a customer.
martyv
Well-known member
Yep, I signed the same extension, was surprised to be given the two months free right after signing the lease. I was leary about the month to month, so I got it in writing from NMAC that the vehicle could be returned at any time... they're don't seem to be any gotcha's!
woodyas said:
JeremyW
Well-known member
martyv said:
You can turn it in at any time and not have to pay any remaining payments from the extension?
martyv
Well-known member
JeremyW said:
Yes! The only stipulation was that you had to be current on your payments...
JeremyW
Well-known member
Well that sounds awesome, and that they really really don't want the cars back. One more question, what about milage? Do you get any more miles or is it just what is allocated in the lease contract?
martyv
Well-known member
JeremyW said:
Mileage continues at the same rate per year, for me that was 12,000 annually... I've kept my 2013 SV on this month to month, and will keep driving it till the right replacement comes along, maybe the 2017 Leaf?
One last question on this: if something mechanical went wrong with the car, and the 3 year warranty would now be over, I assume I could just turn the car in(as month-to-month)and not have to worry about getting it fixed. Or the stress of being out of warranty.
That is my BIGGEST for for going past the 3 year mark. The payment is perfect--still keep my $185 for another year. And hell...I only have 14,000 miles in almost 3 years. That said...down to 9 bars from being in the damn HEAT of Palm Springs. Still works easy for my commute. But if I keep for another year and it drops to 8 bars then I will get the battery replacement deal. I WOULD NEVER buy this car with living out here in the desert.
That is my BIGGEST for for going past the 3 year mark. The payment is perfect--still keep my $185 for another year. And hell...I only have 14,000 miles in almost 3 years. That said...down to 9 bars from being in the damn HEAT of Palm Springs. Still works easy for my commute. But if I keep for another year and it drops to 8 bars then I will get the battery replacement deal. I WOULD NEVER buy this car with living out here in the desert.
I just got a call from NMAC. They offer $5k off residual ($17.5k) for purchase, or another 12 month lease with 2 month waiver (paying $212 including tax).
My LEAF is a 2012 SV, current mileage $22k, SOH=87%. In northern california.
What do you guys think?
My LEAF is a 2012 SV, current mileage $22k, SOH=87%. In northern california.
What do you guys think?
gsleaf
Well-known member
17.5k seems a little on the high side IMHO. Used Leafs (2011/2012) are selling for around 10k in Portland, OR.
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