Deal or No Deal? 2013 SV

Been negotiating with a dealer on a 2013 SV (no options besides floor mats and splash guards) and their best and final offer is $22,900. They are saying they can't go any lower and would sooner not sell me the car. After the tax credit that's effectively $15,400 for a brand new car. I'm coming off a lease on a 2012 so they faster J1772 will the be nice but I've heard very mixed things in this forum about the quality of craftsmanship on the Smyrna TN built LEAFs compared to the Japanese builds.

Is this really an aggressive deal? I like the car and figure I can drive the new one a few years and eventfully trade it in for a different EV in a couple years.

Wow, there are still '13s available? The price sounds OK. You'd have to risk the increased chance defects, but not all the '13s are necessarily bad. It must have been on the lot a long time. Can you check it out with Leafspy? Are you in a hot climate zone? If the dealership left it at 100% for long stretches, that would be bad, but maybe not so much if you're not keeping it for too many years.

Somebody is going to buy it pretty soon at that price, if it checks out well, I'd say deal.

This is at Lou Fusz Nissan in Creve Couer/St. Louis, MO. Their website shows three black SVs however one was sold to a local radio station Y98 to be used for promotional purposes at community events. I went in a couple weeks ago and negotiated down to this amount, they said that was their best and final offer. Received two calls in the past week expressed that I am in the market and remain interested in the vehicle but they insist this is the lowest they can go. Maybe it's worth another trip out? Or maybe I'll go to my bank and get a cashiers check for my best offer and place it on the table and see how they respond.

Any suggestions?

I'd focus more on the battery pack's condition than on the price. Accept their offer, on the condition that the pack has X number of amp-hours' capacity or better. The X will have to be filled in by someone else here. Also keep in mind that an SV with no options (the rare stripper model) isn't worth as much if you resell it. The Premium Package especially is very well-liked and desired.

You should look on the sticker on the driver's door to see the date of manufacture to get a guess on how long it was on the lot. My 2013SL was built Dec 2013, and I leased it just 4 months later.

Thanks everyone. I too am concerned about the batteries but the salesman say they have been maintained to Nissans specs...the people at this dealership don't seem particularly LEAF savvy at least compared to my experience at another area dealership.

The vehicle in question is an 05/2013 build so its been sitting for nearly 18 months and only has 240 miles on it from occasional test drives and dealership staff using their "company car" perk.

The 2012 SV I am leasing now is an 08/2012 build and I didn't take delivery until 1/11/2013.

You need to "read" the pack with an app designed for the purpose. otherwise you are gambling with your future range.

leafdriver90 said:

Thanks everyone. I too am concerned about the batteries but the salesman say .

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please say that you don't really believe ANYTHING a car salesman tells you

Offer them 17.5 and if they counter with 18.5 take it. Otherwise, it's not the car for you so walk away, politely, and be done with it.

There's more to life than wring ones hands about the price of a car..and the first time you see someone that needs a helping hand, put a few bucks into it to let your heart know you are still a compassionate human being.

apvbguy said:

leafdriver90 said:

Thanks everyone. I too am concerned about the batteries but the salesman say .

Click to expand...

please say that you don't really believe ANYTHING a car salesman tells you

Click to expand...

Of course I don't believe them, just saying that they insist it has been "maintained" to Nissan's specifications whatever that is supposed to mean.

greengate said:

Offer them 17.5 and if they counter with 18.5 take it. Otherwise, it's not the car for you so walk away, politely, and be done with it.

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Seriously, you think $18,500 at this point is reasonable? So less the $7500 the net cost would be $11,000? I'd like to negotiate down to that but they thought my offer of $21k was outrageously low. The odd thing is the salesman has called me back numerous times but keeps saying his manager can't come down on price. As of now I'm planning to extend my 2012 SV lease.

leafdriver90 said:

greengate said:

Offer them 17.5 and if they counter with 18.5 take it. Otherwise, it's not the car for you so walk away, politely, and be done with it.

Click to expand...

Seriously, you think $18,500 at this point is reasonable? So less the $7500 the net cost would be $11,000? I'd like to negotiate down to that but they thought my offer of $21k was outrageously low. The odd thing is the salesman has called me back numerous times but keeps saying his manager can't come down on price. As of now I'm planning to extend my 2012 SV lease.

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I guess it all depends on how hungry they are. Keeping a new '13 around has to be a problem for them..indicating they can't sell cars so who would want to buy from them..(negative advertising,)..and the fact that the salesman keeps calling you indicates there is an interest on their part in moving the car. It may be in their best interests to get it off the lot and out of their inventory..so no, I don't think 18.5 is unreasonable at this point in time.

With gas prices at around 2 a gallon, I don't see people lined up at the door fighting for an opportunity to buy an all electric car...which is REALLY too bad. I actually have empathy for the car manufactures.

leafdriver90 said:

apvbguy said:

leafdriver90 said:

Thanks everyone. I too am concerned about the batteries but the salesman say .

Click to expand...

please say that you don't really believe ANYTHING a car salesman tells you

Click to expand...

Of course I don't believe them, just saying that they insist it has been "maintained" to Nissan's specifications whatever that is supposed to mean.

Click to expand...

That means nothing. Keeping it out in the sun, in the Southern US, for 2 years at 100% is within Nissan's "specifications", and would also make that car worse at this point than just about any used car with 10s of thousands of miles on it. And it's in a dealers' best interest to keep it at 100% so the range gauge shows the highest number at all times for anyone who drives it. I would never buy a used car, or a new one that wasn't this year, without checking the battery first.

You're at 21, and they're at 22.9, really hoping you'll go for it, cause hey, that's like 10 off MSRP, right?

So, where would you settle? 21.5? 21.9? Going in with a bank check, and an OBD II, showing them how it's already degraded (because after two years, it'll have some loss anyway) might work.

I'm going to try. Like I said I have my ~$150/month '12 SV lease ($0 down) that I can extend up to another year so I may do that and wait for more aggressive deals on the i3 or B-class (obviously it will be more than the LEAF, not looking to replicate my deal on this car).

I am also interested in buying a leaf, but used. Can someone elaborate to a newbie on what OBDII reader and how to read the data to determine battery health. I take it GIDs is just a state or charge so are we looking at only the SOH?
Which leaf OBD2 reader to chose and where to buy it, or smartphone dongle or what is recommended. I haven't been able to locate this information for a newbie on this forum.

Thanks,

David

vwDavid said:

I am also interested in buying a leaf, but used. Can someone elaborate to a newbie on what OBDII reader and how to read the data to determine battery health. I take it GIDs is just a state or charge so are we looking at only the SOH?
Which leaf OBD2 reader to chose and where to buy it, or smartphone dongle or what is recommended. I haven't been able to locate this information for a newbie on this forum.

Thanks,

David

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+1

If anyone can elaborate I would also appreciate it.

DNAinaGoodWay said:

Going in with a bank check, and an OBD II, showing them how it's already degraded (because after two years, it'll have some loss anyway) might work.

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This. Degradation can be a good negotiating tool.

leafdriver90 said:

If anyone can elaborate I would also appreciate it.

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Get an ELM327 based OBDII to Bluetooth adapter. You can find them on eBay and Amazon. This is the one I purchased:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009F4JHHO/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Plug it into the cars OBDII port under the dashboard.

Pair it to your Android device.

Download the LEAFSpy app from Play Store and launch the program. You can find more info here:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=14284" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;