Lease Exit Plan

[jelloslug]

Which makes the "mandatory" $395 fee even more ridiculous.

every car the I've leased has had a termination fee, it is a dirty little secret that they spring on the unsuspecting leasee

My Honda did not.

 

[apvbguy]

Which makes the "mandatory" $395 fee even more ridiculous.

every car the I've leased has had a termination fee, it is a dirty little secret that they spring on the unsuspecting leasee

My Honda did not.

you sir are the first one whom did not, good for you

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Everyone be honest here regarding the lease termination fee. It was disclosed to you that day you were at the dealer signing the papers for your Leaf (if not sooner), but your car was sitting just outside the showroom window and it was sooooo pretty. $395 didn't seem like that much money and 36 months seemed like a long ways off. Now as lease end is nearing, the bloom is off the rose, drinks have been spilled and bars have been lost, and that $395 looks a lot bigger and it all seems so unfair.

 

[sonnylax]

Everyone be honest here regarding the lease termination fee. It was disclosed to you that day you were at the dealer signing the papers for your Leaf (if not sooner), but your car was sitting just outside the showroom window and it was sooooo pretty. $395 didn't seem like that much money and 36 months seemed like a long ways off. Now as lease end is nearing, the bloom is off the rose, drinks have been spilled and bars have been lost, and that $395 looks a lot bigger and it all seems so unfair.

true, but if you know about it up front - You can negotiate your best deal and then "grind" the deal down further when the Finance Manager springs the mandatory Lease Termination fee on you when you are executing the final paperwork. You just need the ability and power to get up and walk out the door.

I agreed upon a price via email with no other fees involved. When they tried to add this additional Lease Termination fee, I balked and walked out the door. The dealership came back 2 days later with the same deal minus $395.

If you account for this fee in your total lease cost, all is good.

 

[TomT]

Neither did our Acrua...

Which makes the "mandatory" $395 fee even more ridiculous.

every car the I've leased has had a termination fee, it is a dirty little secret that they spring on the unsuspecting leasee

My Honda did not.

 

[apvbguy]

Neither did our Acrua...

maybe honda/acura (same company) does not have this type of fee. I have leased from Lincoln, VW, Lexus, Infiniti, Ford, Mitsubishi, and now Nissan, I have always had to deal with the termination fee.
YMMV

 

[kikbuti]

Lessors often insure residuals and some manufacturers artificially enhance those insured residuals in order to offer special lease deals. To file a claim when the vehicle does not bring the residual value, the actual cash value must be established in a commercially acceptable manner (public or dealer auction.) So if they give the lessee a deal on the vehicle, they are unable to file a residual insurance claim.

That's one of the more interesting tidbits that's been posted on this topic. So NMAC isn't the one who will absorb the loss if the cars don't sell for the residual? It sounds a little like the whole mortgage securitizatation problem, where you can't identify a single entity who is empowered to modify a contract to achieve a better outcome for "the man", just a bunch of different entities who must strictly follow a set of procedures, the chips fall where they may, and nobody really cares.

They care. It's just complicated. In this case, the insurance company cares and so does the lessor. The lessor would rather that lease returns are sold for the residual amount or even more. Often, that is not the reality. So rather than put your lease program at risk, you pay a premium to an insurance company and insure the residuals. If your residual claim rates soar, your residual insurance premiums will also soar and injure the ability to offer great lease deals in the future.

 

[Cbciv]

It has only been 19 days since I leased my Leaf and it is easily the best car I have ever owned. What a joy to drive. And, it fits my lifestyle perfectly.

I got a 2yr lease and plan on getting the 2015 when it is up. I feel fairly confident there will be big incentives to do so. Nissan seems genuinely comitted to an electric future and want to keep these things moving.

I refuse to buy any of the compliance cars after what GM did with the EV1. So, Nissan will keep my business (unless I win the lottery and can afford a Tesla S). I just hope the tax credit is still going by then, or Nissan keeps dropping the price. Either way, I am never buying a car with a gas cap or a tailpipe again.

 

[jelloslug]

you sir are the first one whom did not, good for you

Honda Financial does not have any termination fees and in fact you get a $1500 allowance on damage that falls into the excessive wear category.

 

[jelloslug]

Everyone be honest here regarding the lease termination fee. It was disclosed to you that day you were at the dealer signing the papers for your Leaf (if not sooner), but your car was sitting just outside the showroom window and it was sooooo pretty. $395 didn't seem like that much money and 36 months seemed like a long ways off. Now as lease end is nearing, the bloom is off the rose, drinks have been spilled and bars have been lost, and that $395 looks a lot bigger and it all seems so unfair.

I knew about it before I set foot into the dealership.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I am falling into the "will lease again" crowd simply because NO ONE will have the EV I want to keep (or can afford) long term. So I will lease again hoping for the right EV to be available in 2016 or 2017, so will skip the obvious conversation and go OT a bit...

is anyone here nervous that by next year these glorious lease rates will be gone simply due to popularity and demand? right now, people are getting great deals because Nissan is not where they want to be production wise. but what if Nissan hits 2500-3000 a month and it stays there?

will they be so generous with their 2014 leases??? I am thinking not

 

[Cbciv]

I am falling into the "will lease again" crowd simply because NO ONE will have the EV I want to keep (or can afford) long term. So I will lease again hoping for the right EV to be available in 2016 or 2017, so will skip the obvious conversation and go OT a bit...

is anyone here nervous that by next year these glorious lease rates will be gone simply due to popularity and demand? right now, people are getting great deals because Nissan is not where they want to be production wise. but what if Nissan hits 2500-3000 a month and it stays there?

will they be so generous with their 2014 leases??? I am thinking not

Actually, I think they will. First, I think the uptick in sales right now is people who already considered buying a Leaf before, but it either wasn't readily available (my case) or not in their price range. So, the new lease deal effectively pulled that crowd in. I Imagine after a few months of this, it will taper off.

The next hurdle is new blood. They are making these deals to pull in more Leaf enthusiasts so they can get more exposure to the skeptical. The more of us driving these and touting them to friends, co-workers, strangers who ask, the more new buyers they make.

Finally, Nissan sees the Leaf as a starting point to an electric future. This is not a gimick or hobby for them. I don't think they will be satisfied until the numbers are at least half of their comparable ICE units. I see this car getting more, not less, affordable in the future.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

is anyone here nervous that by next year these glorious lease rates will be gone simply due to popularity and demand? right now, people are getting great deals because Nissan is not where they want to be production wise. but what if Nissan hits 2500-3000 a month and it stays there?

will they be so generous with their 2014 leases??? I am thinking not

You mean "sales wise", not "production wise" ?? They supposedly have or will have capacity for 150k a year, that's over 12k a month. If demand was outstripping supply they wouldn't need to offer such great deals. Looks to me like somebody figured out if you can get the car in people's hands they will like it and tell others, so they will take a gamble and offer high residuals to move cars. That's a lot better than having their new plant sit idle, not to mention they may be more than making back the loss on CARB credits.

The killer lease deals will come to an end, but it could be a while, so people are silly not to ride that pony as long as they can. Remember all cars are just here for a visit. Forget the EV1 fears they will take your precious Leaf and crush it, unlike the EV1 you can buy this one out if it comes to that. Ask yourself too if you really want to be holding this turkey a few years from now if Nissan were to pull the plug. Those 2000 or so EV1 romantics would be in a tough spot keeping those cars going without support from GM. More likely they will come up with a solution sometime in the next few years to the capacity loss problems and increase the range, and it won't be a retrofit, it will be another $1000 loyalty offer to upgrade to a new car. That's what these guys are in business to do, sell cars, that means coming out with new things to entice you, not patches and upgrades to keep you happy with what you have. With the possible exception of those living in areas where the temperature ranges between 60-75 degrees year round, owners of these older cars will be facing a battery replacement cost that will chew up most if not all of what they saved in gas. Until more is known, I intend to think of the Leaf more like a service than an ownership experience, like cable TV or cloud computing... "cloud car" if you will.

 

[kubel]

Since the residual is overinflated on my lease, and Nissan doesn't negotiate buyouts, I'll absolutely be turning mine in. I love the car and would love to own one, but it doesn't make economic sense with 2011/2012 pricing.

My next car will likely be a used 2-year old 2013 Nissan LEAF SL w/ QC in 2015, or a used Chevy Volt, same year. Depends on my commuting situation.

 

[jelloslug]

I am falling into the "will lease again" crowd simply because NO ONE will have the EV I want to keep (or can afford) long term. So I will lease again hoping for the right EV to be available in 2016 or 2017, so will skip the obvious conversation and go OT a bit...

is anyone here nervous that by next year these glorious lease rates will be gone simply due to popularity and demand? right now, people are getting great deals because Nissan is not where they want to be production wise. but what if Nissan hits 2500-3000 a month and it stays there?

will they be so generous with their 2014 leases??? I am thinking not

If the $7500 federal tax credit is still around Nissan will still offer the $7500 rebate on the lease. The rest of the savings is up to your dealer.

 

[johnqh]

Keep in mind the $7500 is federal tax credit, it is after tax money. To us, it is same as paying 7500 less for the car. To Nissan, since the leasing company (NMAC) buys the car as business expense, it is like getting 9000 to 10000 before tax! In addition, the APR is way higher on leases than purchases, and they get your deposition fee.

In all, they get about 3000 more by leasing to you, then selling at residual, than to sell to you outright.

In another words, they can overinflate the residual by 3000, and still make as much as selling it outright.

So as long as the federal tax credit is available, the leasing deal will be on, unless Nissan is losing money.

Same applies to all EV makers.

 

[cgaydos]

Since the residual is overinflated on my lease, and Nissan doesn't negotiate buyouts, I'll absolutely be turning mine in. I love the car and would love to own one, but it doesn't make economic sense with 2011/2012 pricing.

My next car will likely be a used 2-year old 2013 Nissan LEAF SL w/ QC in 2015, or a used Chevy Volt, same year. Depends on my commuting situation.

I'm in the exact same boat. Even though I got a sweatheart lease deal on my 2012 part of what made that so good was a residual over $21k. I kinda fanticize about, after turning the Red Leaf in at lease end, searching for its VIN on used auto web sites and buying it up again, since I know the battery will be in good condition. But, being in Colorado, what makes more sense is to get a good used deal from another state and transporting the car here. That's because the state tax credit for new EVs is still valid on a used car if not previously registered in Colorado.

 

[TomT]

Nissan originally wanted 200K a year!

is anyone here nervous that by next year these glorious lease rates will be gone simply due to popularity and demand? right now, people are getting great deals because Nissan is not where they want to be production wise. but what if Nissan hits 2500-3000 a month and it stays there?

 

[adric22]

I'm not sure anymore. I've had my Leaf 2 years and have 1 more year to go. Up until this point I had planned to buy out the lease at the end. But I've driving my wife's Volt for the last 6 weeks and I think I'm in love. My commute is short enough that a Volt still works for me as pure electric and it really is a lot more sporty and fun to drive than the Leaf. If the the Volt does indeed become cheaper like I keep hearing, that might be what I get next. Then again, if I keep the Leaf the pyament on the refinanced residual would be much cheaper than I'm paying now.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I have to say that I am surprised there are that many people who are considering a buyout of a lease on an EV version 1.X

Nissan will have MUCH better options being released all the time and I have to say in 12-24 months when you guys come up to your "buy or fly" decision, you will be flying into another lease or buying something different because I honestly don't think that LEAF version 1 is worth keeping.

keep in mind, the battery chemistry is being tweaked constantly for greater heat tolerance and longevity (that is a near direct quote from the CEO of the company building the LEAF packs) so the 2014 will be better than the 2013 which is better than the 2012 and so on and its my opinion that the 2014 wont be the car to buy either for "most" of us. obviously that is a huge assumption on my part but I think that leasing a car that has a known degradation curve for most of the country is really all we can do at this point since many of us "want" to use most if not more than a single charge will deliver.

the other MUCH more obvious thing is that a lease would be $2000 down and about $250 a month more or less. A purchase would be $5,000 down and $500 a month. now, the purchase options is not outrageous and doable for the right car but once again, an 85 mile EV aint it for me