Whats this dealer smoking or am I off my mark

I have heavily researched the leaf and today I test drove one and loved it.

When we sat to talk numbers things took a turn.

The Car:
2015 Leaf Model S with QC port

My Expectations:
36 Month Lease, 15k mileage, 0 out of pocket (with exception of first months payment) and and expected to be between $250 and $299 per month.

What I was offered:
36 month lease with, 15k mileage, 0 out of pocket $380 per month

or

36 Month lease, 15k mileage, $2500 , $330


I told him thanks to this site I know what my numbers should be and told him I felt I should run from the numbers he is showing me and got up and left.

Now my question to you all is it me am I missing something?

Oh and this is in Connecticut

Thanks

I think your stated expectations were on the mark and you were right to walk out. For comparison, point him to this thread by a local (SF Bay Area) online LEAF salesman/specialist:

• March Madness Leaf Deals!!! Net zero driveoff!!!!!
  ( http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=19314" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; )

The problem was only that you tried to negotiate inside the dealer showroom. Click the link for a better approach:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=18615#p401867

rob6894 said:

Now my question to you all is it me am I missing something?

Oh and this is in Connecticut

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Yes, you are missing something. Never, ever, walk into a dealership and expect fair treatment. They are paid to mislead, confuse, bamboozle, shmooze, hornswoggle and generally mess with you. Don't accept any of that.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Shmooze" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

cgaydos has the idea. I do basically the same. It works.

I don't bother with a purchase/lease contract in advance. But I got my walking shoes on, and only once needed to go the to the second dealer on the list. Price was $25 more.

I've made it to my car twice. I've only bought 6 cars.

Any attempt to raise the price or otherwise change the terms, even by a few dollars, walk away. If one attempt works, they will try another one for more.

cgaydos said:

The problem was only that you tried to negotiate inside the dealer showroom. Click the link for a better approach:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=18615#p401867

Click to expand...

Wow, that's a reply to me and this is the first I've seen it. haha

But I bookmarked it. Thanks!

I spoke with several of the dealers in CA (I'm in FL) since they had much better pricing, I was willing to have one shipped to FL. All of the dealers said it was no problem doing so with a purchase, but they are not allowed to write leases out of their home state.

mbender said:

I think your stated expectations were on the mark and you were right to walk out. For comparison, point him to this thread by a local (SF Bay Area) online LEAF salesman/specialist:

• March Madness Leaf Deals!!! Net zero driveoff!!!!!
  ( http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=19314" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; )

Click to expand...

I will tell you this... I leased my Volt in Florida, and my Leaf in Virginia.. Neither states have the tax credits that you get in CA, and that is how you get these cheaper leases as the credits are stacked. My Leaf lease on my 2012 was $487 a month for 39 months to give you a base line. Granted they probably could have knocked $1000 or $2000 off the MSRP, but it would not have bumped my lease down but to maybe $460ish... So in Florida all you are getting is the federal tax credit, and nothing more. So you are looking at $31,000ish for the car according to Nissans website. So minus the tax credit would be $23,500 + $850 + est $500 licensing fee + $595 acquisition fee +est $200 licensing fee = $25645. So with a current residual of about $12500 it seems that leaves $13145 in payments totaling $365ish a month. FL charged sales taxes on just the payments on my Volt (may have changed) of 6% so that would be $21 for a total estimated payment of $386 or so... Now that does not include the money factor (interest rate) so you will have to add that on as well, but will be another $10 or so a month. So they are trying to sell you the car around MSRP with maybe a slight discount. To get those rock bottom leases that you see others with you have to be in one of the CARB states that offer a state incentive unfortunately..

I did see you are in CT, and I did a quick Google search and it appears they don't have an EV tax credit for the state. Also a sales tax rate of 4.5%. So can adjust the numbers accordingly.. I don't think they are smoking per say, but they are not offering you any of the Nissan incentives either. I would *think* that you could maybe get them to come down $1000-$1500 on the car if you take one off the lot. Not saying not to try as it never hurts to try, but the non CARB state leases are not as attractive... I will say that they a lot of times high ball your interest rate, and my dealer was over on their quote by about $15 dollars or so on the money factor cause they used a lower FICO in their offer. So if you FICO is good you could come in about $360-$370 maybe give or take. You never know till you have them pull your credit for the lease how it will shake out. My dealer wasn't to serious about my lease till I let them run my credit app and then the game changed drastically to them custom ordering my a car and all. Do let us know how it pans out, and I wish you the best of luck. At least you are looking to get the QC port. That is one thing I am glad I have on mine as they just after 3 years of having my car started installed DCQC around here, and I would have been mad if I would have gotten an SV without it.

Only two things I see that are wrong:

1) Never negotiate monthly payments. Negotiate the purchase price (including dealer fees), then take that value and bounce it off other dealers in the area to see if they can beat it. By doing it this way, it can better help you determine where the dealership is trying to screw you when you compare your lease calculations to his.

2) Never negotiate in the dealership. Use email until you have an acceptable offer, and then use email to have other dealers compete with each other. The only time you should step foot in the dealership is to take it for a test drive and to sign the paperwork.


It's good that you are working towards a $0 down lease. Any down payment you make on a lease is an uninsured liability. If you wreck the car, you are out that money. So stick with $0 down.

Thanks all for the helpful reply's. With the 2015 s here in ct on the lease there is an $8700 credit factored in that has to do with federal tax credit. Am I out of line to think that I should be able to get into an S for about $275 for a 0 out of pocket lease? I refuse to pay more then $300 per month on an S model (at least that is my feeling)

Thanks,
Rob

1) Never negotiate monthly payments.

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I think it's better to advise "Never negotiate only the monthly payment unless the other costs are fixed." IOW, if you are going to lease the car, not buy it after the lease ends, and have a fixed downpayment (including $0) in mind, then it's ok to negotiate the payment - provided you limit the dealer to only the fixed costs advertised by Nissan. No extra exorbitant "document fees" or other add-ons. People tend to fixate over things like the "money factor" (essentially the interest on the lease) but all that really matters is downpayment + (payment X months) + fees. That figure, the total cost of the lease, is what a lessee wants to shop around.

It also seems that $0 down leases tend to cost more, total. If you are ok with that in return for having little risk if the car is totaled, that's fine. But if you don't have any reason to believe you will destroy the car or have it destroyed, a modest downpayment can lower the total cost, because dealers like to get some money up front.

LeftieBiker said:

...But if you don't have any reason to believe you will destroy the car or have it destroyed...

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You have no way to know that :!:

Last major vehicle damage I had was fourteen years ago when a drunk driver slammed into the back of it while it was parked on the street.

I may go another fourteen years without damage, or some idiot talking on a cell phone may destroy my car tomorrow just like the idiot that destroyed my 1988 Merkur Scorpio in 1996.

It is just a question of whether you can afford to and want to gamble with the down payment.

TimLee said:

It is just a question of whether you can afford to and want to gamble with the down payment.

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Agreed. I was taught "only pay to insure what you cannot afford to lose". A modest down-payment is a risk I'm willing and able to take in exchange for a lower overall vehicle cost. I don't do extended warranties, etc... People easily remember the times when these minor insurance items paid off. But they don't really keep tabs on all the money they've paid that never had a benefit.

Tim, we don't know that all kinds of terrible things won't happen to us tomorrow. We have to assess risks. Nubo has it right: if you can risk a modest downpayment, and you don't have a history of car crashes of any sort (that's the risk assessment), then that will usually get you a lower total cost. If you can't afford the risk, go with zero down.

Roadburner440 said:

I will tell you this... I leased my Volt in Florida, and my Leaf in Virginia.. Neither states have the tax credits that you get in CA, and that is how you get these cheaper leases as the credits are stacked.....To get those rock bottom leases that you see others with you have to be in one of the CARB states that offer a state incentive unfortunately... Not saying not to try as it never hurts to try, but the non CARB state leases are not as attractive...

Click to expand...

This is the whole answer in a nutshell. VA, like most others, is not California or Washington state. Most of the hype "we" hear about EVs and green energy pricing in general is generated from the left coast where there is state subsidy, so a certain degree of discovery is always in order. The rest of us either put down $2000 or $3000 and have lower monthly payments, or do $0 down and spread that money across the payment term. In Texas we have (up to) an additional $2500 depending on how long you lease. Here 4yrs lease gets you the full $2500.00 for a total of $10,000.00 overall reduction.