End of Lease Strategies?

[kubel]

What they should *really* do, if they want to avoid auctioning off-lease cars at huge losses, is offer to finance them at the current payment for as long as it takes, with 5% annual interest. You'd get to actually own the car with no extra money out of pocket, and in 4-8 years Nissan would have their money back, plus a little more.

You can already arrange this from the dealer, but you would be paying more for the car than it's worth.

The residual is such that it would be better for me to turn in my car, then google the VIN to find who won the auction, and buy it from them rather than buy it from NMAC.

NMAC is taking a loss on these cars. It's up to them to decide how much of a loss they will take. If they can sell me my car for $5,000 under residual, I might pull the trigger, since it's closer to market value.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

...not when the residual (or payment) is crazy high. No way.

You're right. Take $4k off the residual and then finance it as I suggested. That's what I was thinking, even though I didn't write it.

My dealer said it would be no problem to finance the (reduced) payoff. It still wasn't worth it to me, for the reasons I mentioned in previous posts. Maybe if they had gone for six grand off it would have been worth considering. Think about it though, if they would be on the hook for a battery replacement it starts to become a marginal case for NMAC/Nissan. Would they really want to sell off lease Leafs for $10k if they are going to have to spend $6k replacing the pack, when by some accounts they may even be losing money on those replacements?
We may see some LEAFs headed to the crusher in the next few years.

 

[LeftieBiker]

I still have twelve bars, so even if I have eleven next May that's not a high risk for NMAC. If I could finance buying it for no more than $200 a month (I pay $149 now) I'd consider it. My range needs are now such that 11 bars will suffice.

 

[JeremyW]

We may see some LEAFs headed to the crusher in the next few years.

Or exported from the US to Europe.

Ether way, I imagine in about 10 years the US destined 2011-2012's may be a pretty rare sight in the US.

 

[Redjr]

Third party inspector just finished checking out the '12, which is going back in 3 weeks. Thought he would ding me for the tires at least, which are a little bald on the edges, and maybe a couple scratches I couldn't buff out totaly, but I had the $500 waiver offer from leasing the '15, so wasn't too worried. Turns out he thought the tires, the originals at almost 22k, had plenty of tread, and he never noticed the scratchs, so was worried for nothing. Total damage estimate was $0! Way easier than I thought it was going to be.

Similar experience here. I had removed all the badges and then I had re-affixed the "LEAF" letters in a much wider spread across the hatch. But I ignorantly chose to use a liquid emblem adhesive. Very aggressive stuff and I was afraid to try to remove it so I figured I'd just find out what the inspector came up with before trying anything. I was afraid of some massive "strip and repaint" charge, but he only noted something like $15 for "relocate LEAF emblem". Frankly I think it looked better my way and nobody buying a 3-yo LEAF is going to care one way or the other. Luckily the interior was pristine thanks to Wet Okole seat covers and also the wheels thanks to having colorized them with Plasti-Dip. That peeled off very easily leaving perfectly new wheels.

I had mine done today, and it was equally painless.

I had some minor damage, and the estimate to fix it was far less than what would cost at a body shop. They got me for one tire, still all total, less than the $500 'excess charge waiver' if you lease a new one.

Now I just have to get the new price ironed out on the new one....

 

[LeftieBiker]

I imagine that most of the hassles occur when you aren't buying or leasing another Nissan.

 

[Redjr]

I imagine that most of the hassles occur when you aren't buying or leasing another Nissan.

Well that certainly couldn't hurt, however I'm not sure how he could have known what my intentions were. The subject never came up.

Regardless, for those that haven't had their final 'inspection', they are pretty generous with what they overlook. And the things that they can't, are VERY reasonable with labor rates to repair.

 

[Spies]

Just had the pre-return inspection done on our 2011 Leaf this morning and the inspector just left. This process was new to us so we did not know exactly what to expect. Our Leaf has a few small dings and scratches so we were prepared to pay for some damage.

But to our surprise the total damages only came to $140 which $0 we are responsible for! Yay! The only question the inspector asked was how many keys did we have and the correct answer was of course two.

The process was super easy too. The inspector came to the front door and I handed him the key to the Leaf that was parked just outside. He poked around the Leaf for 25 minutes or so making notes on his computer. When he was finished he came back to the front door and gave me the good news. Then he had me sign on his computer after which he gave me a printout of the report and then left.

So now all we need to do is decide what to do next. I don't think its worthwhile for us to keep this Leaf even if we are offered the $5,000 cash incentive so its most likely going back to Nissan. Right now its even hard to justify having two cars so we may hold off a bit before getting a vehicle to replace the Leaf after we turn it in next month.

 

[kmp647]

same experience here , inspector was friendly, I have both keys, books , tires are good as I replaced them 12,000 miles ago.
$10 chip noted 0 chargeable repairs!
I will be over my mileage limit slightly , .15c per mile isn't bad, might cost me $100 plus the disposition fee of $350
its been a great car but I am looking forward to something different.

 

[brg2290]

My end of lease strategy is shaping up like this:

Inspection was yesterday on a 2012 SL with 12 bars and about 14,000 miles. Got dinged for a scratch on the lower right bumper fascia - $195.

I have $500 down on a 2013 S built Dec. 2013. VPP pricing is invoice minus $1000 (29,377 - 1000 = 28,377). Minus the Leaf Loyalty incentive of $1000 gets it to 27,377. Minus the $7500 dealer cash on remaining 2013's gets it to 19,976. At tax time, - 7500 for fed. tax incentive puts it at 12,476.

That's probably about what my 2012 SL would be with the $4000 off. I'll miss the backup camera, led lights, cruise control and steering wheel controls, and the 2013 is my least favorite color (black), but the opportunity for a new car and (hopefully) a good as new battery pack is pretty darn attractive. I hope to visit the dealer this weekend to do a Leaf Spy evaluation on the battery. Assuming all is good there, the new 2013 is the direction I'm leaning. If my understanding is correct, buying the 2013 eliminate having to pay the disposition fee on the 2012 lease. I think the $195 vehicle damage fee will be waived as well, and I've already got a set of snows to put on the 2013.

My 2012 lease cost me ~ 5900 for two years. Am I crazy for buying a 2013 for 12,500?

Gary

 

[mn4az]

$12.5k... what's to lose? Say you keep the car for 6 years. That's just over $2k/year.

I am sure our situations may be different (I have kid drivers in 4 years)... but as an owner of a 2013 ($5900 total over 2 years) if I had been offered a 2013 for $12.5k/year I would scoop it up w/o questions. I drive it for the first 4 years and by the time the kiddos are 16 if the battery capacity drops I don't care because they'll be primarily going to places within 10 miles of the house.

Good luck in your decision.

 

[TimLee]

... That's probably about what my 2012 SL would be with the $4000 off. I'll miss the backup camera, led lights, cruise control and steering wheel controls, and the 2013 is my least favorite color (black), but the opportunity for a new car and (hopefully) a good as new battery pack is pretty darn attractive. I hope to visit the dealer this weekend to do a Leaf Spy evaluation on the battery. Assuming all is good there, the new 2013 is the direction I'm leaning. If my understanding is correct, buying the 2013 eliminate having to pay the disposition fee on the 2012 lease. I think the $195 vehicle damage fee will be waived as well, and I've already got a set of snows to put on the 2013.

My 2012 lease cost me ~ 5900 for two years. Am I crazy for buying a 2013 for 12,500?

Gary

I think it is a better choice than extending your current lease or purchase of your current lease even if NMAC took $5,000 off that they have done on some 2012 lease returns.

Is this the vehicle in Montana?

What I find a bit surprising is going with car that doesn't have things you want.
The vehicles I have owned that I loved were the ones that had what I wanted.
I would not buy a 2013 or 2014 LEAF S because I don't want to not have cruise control. You may find that OK.
But where you live in Spokane with frequent trips to Elk I would think you would really want the heat pump heater of the SV or SL :?:
Even though it only helps down to 14F, a lot of the time it would help a lot with winter range reduction.
Not having the heat pump heater was one of your reservations on leasing the 2012 :?:

Other question is can't you get a really great $ per month lease on the vehicle?
I own my 2011 and have never leased.
Until Nissan began selling new batteries I thought buying had been a big mistake.
I did consider trading in for 2013 lease, but just not enough things the way I wanted such as no light color leather interior, which they still do not have.

With battery replacements purchase is less of a concern and you are getting a great price.
But all the rumors say next generation LEAF will offer much longer range option.
If you leased again instead of purchasing it would be simpler moving into longer range LEAF in two or three years.

Only other issue with a pre-2015 LEAF is battery life.
Several have reported the 2013 battery chemistry tweak made significant improvements.
How much capacity did you lose on 2012 with <24,000 miles?
You just got LEAF Spy, but my guess is no capacity bar losses, less than 15%.
2013 battery is probably good for four to six years or more where you live.

 

[brg2290]

Thanks for the input mn4az and TimLee.

...Is this the vehicle in Montana?

Yes, it is.

What I find a bit surprising is going with car that doesn't have things you want.
The vehicles I have owned that I loved were the ones that had what I wanted.
I would not buy a 2013 or 2014 LEAF S because I don't want to not have cruise control. You may find that OK.
But where you live in Spokane with frequent trips to Elk I would think you would really want the heat pump heater of the SV or SL :?:
Even though it only helps down to 14F, a lot of the time it would help a lot with winter range reduction.
Not having the heat pump heater was one of your reservations on leasing the 2012 :?:

All good quesitons Tim...you really did your homework! The relative I was regularly driving north to see is now in Spokane - no more driving to Elk on a regular basis. I've lived without the heat pump on the 2012, so I guess I can live without it on the '13 as well. At least the AC will be good and cold in the summer.

Other question is can't you get a really great $ per month lease on the vehicle?
I own my 2011 and have never leased.
Until Nissan began selling new batteries I thought buying had been a big mistake.
I did consider trading in for 2013 lease, but just not enough things the way I wanted such as no light color leather interior, which they still do not have.

Apparently leasing with the remaining 2013's is on a dealer by dealer basis. The Montana dealer told me NMAC is no longer writing leases on the 2013. I phoned NMAC and told them I am an existing customer and asked about leasing a 2013 - they asked me if I'd contacted the dealer, that the dealer is in the driver's seat and has to initiate the transaction.

With battery replacements purchase is less of a concern and you are getting a great price.
But all the rumors say next generation LEAF will offer much longer range option.
If you leased again instead of purchasing it would be simpler moving into longer range LEAF in two or three years.

Only other issue with a pre-2015 LEAF is battery life.
Several have reported the 2013 battery chemistry tweak made significant improvements.
How much capacity did you lose on 2012 with <24,000 miles?
You just got LEAF Spy, but my guess is no capacity bar losses, less than 15%.
2013 battery is probably good for four to six years or more where you live.

I may be wrong, but I'm hoping that if I buy @ $12,500, I will lose less in depreciation over two to three years than the $6000 or $9000 it would cost me to lease for two or three years. I do want to move into a new generation EV when greater range and reasonable price are on the table, so I'm willing to drive an "S" for a few years as a way of (hopefully) conserving funds for the time when these two parameters converge.

As to my 2012 and the Leaf Spy, I just received the correct OBDII yesterday, and tested my current car after a full charge last night. The results are pretty much exactly as you suspected:

2012 Leaf SL, 13,824 miles, 1000 L1 charges (2 years = and the QC port on this car has never been used - no QC on this side of the state )
SOC - 93.9%
GIDs - 237 (84.3%)
AHr - 56.44

Gary

 

[LeftieBiker]

Apparently leasing with the remaining 2013's is on a dealer by dealer basis. The Montana dealer told me NMAC is no longer writing leases on the 2013. I phoned NMAC and told them I am an existing customer and asked about leasing a 2013 - they asked me if I'd contacted the dealer, that the dealer is in the driver's seat and has to initiate the transaction.

You could tell the dealer that NMAC has signed off on it, so if they want they can lease you the car.

 

[DaveK]

Just received a call from my dealer. They offered me $5000 ( or rather Nissan Finance) off of the current residual value of my car if I want to keep it (That would have put it about $20000). I still have 10 months left on my existing lease. I've lost one bar in the last couple of months. Think I'm going to wait and see were the new models are going.

Edit: I made an error in my post on the cost. my current residual is ~$20000, the $5000 credit would put me at 15,000.

 

[LeftieBiker]

I think it would be easier to choose to keep a 2013 or later Leaf under those circumstances, precisely because of the battery issue.

 

[Roadburner440]

Well I was dead set on turning my Leaf in here in 6 months when the lease ended in June. Since I have been back from deployment in November my Leaf is finally down 1 capacity bar so I was just going to let it go. However NMAC just made me the offer of taking $5000 off my residual if I decide to buy the car before January 30th.. Thinking about taking it as that mean I just need to pay $11,800 to keep the car plus the usual tax, tag, and title transfer I assume.. As much as everyone doesn't like the 11's and 12's I really can't say I can complain. Sure I am aggravated I am losing capacity but the car still greatly exceeds my needs. So really going to think this one over. Now time to research and see what a new battery costs if it has ever been figured out yet. I am not sure I will lose 4 bars before the 5 years/60,000 mile range to qualify under the warranty.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

I thought about it at $4000 off but passed. $5000 would have been a difficult decision. At $6000 off I'm pretty sure I would have been a buyer.

 

[Spies]

At $5,000 off I would think about it. At $6,000 off I would probably keep it. At $7,000 off or higher I would keep it without question. However Nissan has made the decision of turning it in next month easy for me since they have not made me an offer.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

At $5,000 off I would think about it. At $6,000 off I would probably keep it. At $7,000 off or higher I would keep it without question. However Nissan has made the decision of turning it in next month easy for me since they have not made me an offer.

Call 1-800-335-1428 and talk to the NMAC loyalty group. For whatever reason it's difficult to find someone who knows about this offer (forget about the dealer being any help) but if you ask around enough eventually you will find someone who can get you the deal. Sounds like they didn't get enough takers at $4k and have upped the offer to $5k.