End of Lease Strategies?

[MaxB]

FWIW I received an email from NMAC Lease Services on March 1 offering a discount of "up to $6000" for purchase of my end-of-lease 2013 Leaf. It sounds like the discounts mentioned above may indeed be good past Feb 29.

Unless I missed something, this was the first offer of this type to come my way. I'm scheduled for service at the dealer next week, so I'll see what they say about the matter.

 

[TimLee]

Is anyone besides me, even remotely concerned about running around with their vehicles out of warranty? For being on the hook for mechanical failure on a relatively newer design and concept, seeing that these cars have only been around since 2011.
...

Yes.
That is why I bought a 7 year 70,000 mile extended warranty.

Had not needed it till 4 1/2 year mark when driver's window quit working.
Replaced actuator and switch.
I paid $50 deductible.
Might have been $800 to $1000.

LEAF reliability is very good.
But failures like charger replacement or motor replacement or fixing results of AC compressor short, things that have happened to a few people, can be extremely expensive.

I think buying extended warranty is worth it to minimize risk.

 

[composer47]

For those with a 2014 Leaf, I was told by NMAC today that they are offering $4500 off buy-out for month of March.

 

[evnow]

I just extended my '13 Leaf for one more year - so it will go till May '17 if need be. Planning to get something before that though ... may be a Bolt if that becomes available here in Seattle by the end of the year for a 2 yr lease.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Mine is extended til next June, but my plan is to get a 2016 SV with the color and features that I want, sometime between Labor Day and Valentine's Day, depending on how many are left with Premium Package.

 

[LEAFYEE]

I got an offer from nissanusa for $6,000 off for my 2013, so, in theory if you wait longer you may get a bigger discount? Havent done all the math but my lease buyout figure is around $14.5k.

Going to see the dealer in a couple of days. Im assuming nissan is expecting a glut of 2013-14 leases to hit the market soon and are trying to be preemptive. Current resale is around $12-13k for a low mileage Leaf but w/$2 gas i doubt they are moving off the lot very fast.

 

[LeftieBiker]

I got an offer from nissanusa for $6,000 off for my 2013, so, in theory if you wait longer you may get a bigger discount?

The size and availability of the buyout discount seems to be more dependent on what's happening in the new car market during a given month than on the simple passage of time. So the offer on the 2013 may go up, may go down, may go away, may go away and then return...

 

[Jmalojhu]

I got a pretty lousy offer from my local dealer on a new lease. Called NMAC yesterday and had either $7500 off the buyout price or a 1-year lease extension at current rate (2013 SL at $203/month) with option to terminate at any time. Lease extension is looking pretty good compared to current offers.

 

[LEAFYEE]

So i went ahead and did it. Bought out my lease 6 months early thanks to nissans $6k incentive.

Before taxes i cut a $5,750 check so now my 2013 S is all mine. Some financials: initially put $2k down; 30 lease payments @$260, plus the 5k+ for a total of about $16k before taxes. Not sure how they arrived at that number but it was lower than the "$8k" i came up with ($8k + 6k = 14k lease buyout figure quoted in online nmac letter).

Good deal? Will see. Looks like if 1 waits longer they might get $1,500 more off. Depending on the local market etc. $5,750 is like 2 more years worth of lease payments so if you choose to extend the lease im sure any buyout payment will go down accordingly not to mention an increased incentive but $6k hit my target figure and i didnt want to guess the bottom. (Like i try to do the stock market for instance.)

 

[cwerdna]

I got an offer from nissanusa for $6,000 off for my 2013, so, in theory if you wait longer you may get a bigger discount? Havent done all the math but my lease buyout figure is around $14.5k.

Going to see the dealer in a couple of days. Im assuming nissan is expecting a glut of 2013-14 leases to hit the market soon and are trying to be preemptive. Current resale is around $12-13k for a low mileage Leaf but w/$2 gas i doubt they are moving off the lot very fast.

So i went ahead and did it. Bought out my lease 6 months early thanks to nissans $6k incentive.

Before taxes i cut a $5,750 check so now my 2013 S is all mine. Some financials: initially put $2k down; 30 lease payments @$260, plus the 5k+ for a total of about $16k before taxes. Not sure how they arrived at that number but it was lower than the "$8k" i came up with ($8k + 6k = 14k lease buyout figure quoted in online nmac letter).

Good deal? Will see. Looks like if 1 waits longer they might get $1,500 more off. Depending on the local market etc. $5,750 is like 2 more years worth of lease payments so if you choose to extend the lease im sure any buyout payment will go down accordingly not to mention an increased incentive but $6k hit my target figure and i didnt want to guess the bottom. (Like i try to do the stock market for instance.)

I'm confused, you paid $14K to buy out your '13 S?

If so, that's a lousy deal, if you ask me. See http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=21593&p=454874&hilit=%249%2C325#p454874. Sorry to deliver bad news. I didn't want to pay $14,401 + tax to buy out my former '13 SV with both packages (premium and QC + LED) at the end of 2 year/24K mile lease as it was $3K to $3.5K above used prices, at the time.

If your current resale value # is what Nissan dealers want, that's your problem. Over here, they were putting a big markup on used Leafs vs. what they bought them for at auction.

If you paid only $5,750, then that sounds very good!

 

[viethoc]

Hi all,
FYI, today, March 16th, I reached out to NMAC to potentially purchase my 2013 S model. I still have 6 months left on the lease (due in September 2016). They quoted a $7500 off from the purchase price of $12600. My monthly payment is $227 before tax. So if I want to purchase my 2013 S with 20k miles and 11 bars it will cost me approximately $6461 before tax including 6 more payments plus $350 fee. Do you think I should take the bite? Thank you.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Don't think they've offered more than $7500. Do you like the car still? Will it still suit you with even more degradation? At least you know the car's history.

 

[DuncanCunningham]

Hi all,
FYI, today, March 16th, I reached out to NMAC to potentially purchase my 2013 S model. I still have 6 months left on the lease (due in September 2016). They quoted a $7500 off from the purchase price of $12600. My monthly payment is $227 before tax. So if I want to purchase my 2013 S with 20k miles and 11 bars it will cost me approximately $6461 before tax including 6 more payments plus $350 fee. Do you think I should take the bite? Thank you.

Even if you don't want it, you could buy it and sell it for $10,000

I'd bite. If I was offered the same deal on our 2015 S, I'd go for it. I'll have to wait and see what happens in 2018.

I called them this morning, first time caller to NMAC (what a rigmarole!), and they have "no deals" for 2015 cars. ha ha, good luck getting me to buy it in 2018 when all of those 200Mile+ cars are out then.

 

[djkjmuoh]

Hi all,
FYI, today, March 16th, I reached out to NMAC to potentially purchase my 2013 S model. I still have 6 months left on the lease (due in September 2016). They quoted a $7500 off from the purchase price of $12600. My monthly payment is $227 before tax. So if I want to purchase my 2013 S with 20k miles and 11 bars it will cost me approximately $6461 before tax including 6 more payments plus $350 fee. Do you think I should take the bite? Thank you.

I wonder why you got $7500 of the residual? Perhaps that is the March Offer? I, and others as it seems, got $6000 off residual for February's offer. I might have to call tomorrow. My LEAF is also a 2013 but an SL model and due in June. Hmmmm?

 

[EVforRobert]

Hi all,
FYI, today, March 16th, I reached out to NMAC to potentially purchase my 2013 S model. I still have 6 months left on the lease (due in September 2016). They quoted a $7500 off from the purchase price of $12600. My monthly payment is $227 before tax. So if I want to purchase my 2013 S with 20k miles and 11 bars it will cost me approximately $6461 before tax including 6 more payments plus $350 fee. Do you think I should take the bite? Thank you.

Looks like an excellent deal. If it is contingent on NMAC financing will they finance the car at a favorable interest rate?

 

[djkjmuoh]

Hi all,
FYI, today, March 16th, I reached out to NMAC to potentially purchase my 2013 S model. I still have 6 months left on the lease (due in September 2016). They quoted a $7500 off from the purchase price of $12600. My monthly payment is $227 before tax. So if I want to purchase my 2013 S with 20k miles and 11 bars it will cost me approximately $6461 before tax including 6 more payments plus $350 fee. Do you think I should take the bite? Thank you.

Looks like an excellent deal. If it is contingent on NMAC financing will they finance the car at a favorable interest rate?

I called NMAC today and indeed my offer went up from $6000 to $7500 and I have until the end of the month to decide. Of course, it could be the same next month or it could go up or down. From what I hear, this is the highest offer that has ever been available so I am even more tempted to do it. I was informed that the $7500 is off the current payoff amount and not the residual value which was new to me so the bottom price may not be as low as I originally thought since I still have 2 or 3 payments of $450+ left (high payments due to high-mileage lease.)

At any rate, I am strongly considering it because I have all 12 capacity bars at almost 54k miles. I have some light scratches/markings on the paint and I'm certain the tires are running low on tread after 54k miles. I'm pretty sure they will ding me on penalty costs so I might as well buy and buff/detail the car and replace the tires and then keep until my Tesla Model 3 arrives assuming I do put the $1k down in a couple days!!!

I was told that I just have to go to a dealership to take advantage of this offer. I have an end-of-lease inspection scheduled for Wednesday so we'll see how bad they claim the car to be and take it to from there. I'll update after!

 

[AlanSqB]

I called them this morning, first time caller to NMAC (what a rigmarole!), and they have "no deals" for 2015 cars. ha ha, good luck getting me to buy it in 2018 when all of those 200Mile+ cars are out then.

I'm hoping that after Bolts roll out, M3 news gets hot, and LEAF 2 is announced that NMAC will just be near giving them away. I'm planning on trying a buyout right around January 2017 which will be 6 months left on my 3 year MY '15 lease. Hoping to fund the whole buyout with less than the $6000 CO tax credit from my late '16 Model S (probably CPO) purchase. So with a residual of $12k I actually think it's feasible and may even leave enough for new tires.

I probably wouldn't even bother, but one of my kids is begging me daily for this car.

 

[bigkoi]

I've a 2014 SL that is coming to end of term. Average wholesale is about $14K for a 2014 SL and a similar year SL is going for $14K at a Dodge dealership a couple of miles away. So I should expect to get $4.5K off and purchase the car for somewhere between $9 to $10k. Overall I like the car, I work from home so I don't put much miles on it and it's great for the errands. I'm also trying to avoid a big car purchase as I feel the automotive industry will change a lot over the next 5 years.

Carwings is EOL on the 2G network. I should have this upgraded as part of the negotiation.

Any thing else I should specify in the negotiation?

 

[LeftieBiker]

NMAC won't negotiate. Your buyout price is the residual minus any discount being offered, and that's Take It Or leave It. I just wrote about this in another topic.

 

[TimLee]

... Carwings is EOL on the 2G network. I should have this upgraded as part of the negotiation.
...

It will not be available till later in the year.

You will be like all the other 2011 to 2014 LEAF owners paying whatever "discounted" price Nissan offers for the upgrade.