Part of the reason Leaf sales are low.......

I have been in contact with several dealers here and cant get as much as an answer to my emails! My local Nissan dealer does not keep leafs in stock (I think they have had 1 in the past 5 years!) and all stocking dealers are over an hour away. So far all I can get is an initial email asking for my phone # and then just invited to the dealership for a test drive. I guess they are just too busy to answer an email.....

The Dealer system does not work for Leaf's because buyers are usually educated about what they want and most sales people are not very knowledgeable about the cars they sell or, at least, they are typically more knowledgeable about the cars than the buyers. Dealers also do not make money on them for service after the purchase either.

I was lucky. I found one dealer in UTAH with a sales person who knows about leafs. He loves them and no other sales person can get farther than "it has a plug at the front for charging". All the dealers where offering the same price so I went with him at his dealership. I also told him that I was coming down to buy the car that day and asked him to make sure that we didn't play the 4 square dealer game back and forth, just draw up the paperwork that beats the others and I'd sign it. I didn't have the "meet the sales manager", we got a deal at the time that was the same as or better than the others for May 2015, in Utah. I'm sure there might be better offers out there in other states or now that the 2016 is getting close to being available but timing is everything.

Maybe call them and ask for the LEAF expert to talk to you and ask them questions you know the answer to so find out if they do know what they are talking about.

My questions are not questions about leafs in general but rather the specific car and costs. I was a car salesman for a very short time 20 years ago (didn't take long for me to figure out it wasn't for me - I don't like trying to **** people!)

I'm sure I could get all my questions answered if I spent half my day or more driving to one of the dealerships... problem is I am very busy and make way too much $ working

Actually here is my question I had for Modern Nissan:

You have a White 2015 Leaf S Stock #: 6N35052 listed for MSRP $32,000 + 1,011 Modern Care Package - 8,000 savings = Modern Price $25,011. Does this price include the $5,000 NMAC cash?

How hard is it to answer that question???

I can only assume it does which means their price sucks after you figure in the $1,011 charge for "Modern Care Package".... Im sure I will use those 2 "free" oil changes....

I asked that question and it is the reason I opted for a lease. If you earn lots of money, the tax credits are real. For most people , they are not real and can not be used. I don't pay enough in fed taxes to make use of the credits. on a lease the price of the car was $21,xxx ish and I was paying pretty much half of the value of the car in the lease (3 yrs) with option to buy the car at the end. we will see how the value of the car holds up when that is ready in May 2018. If it is at about $12,000, we will buy, if not we will buy someone else's lease at a lower price.

gemrough said:

You have a White 2015 Leaf S Stock #: 6N35052 listed for MSRP $32,000 + 1,011 Modern Care Package - 8,000 savings = Modern Price $25,011. Does this price include the $5,000 NMAC cash?

How hard is it to answer that question???

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I could claim the federal tax credit (un/fortunately depending on how you look at it...)

I agree the lease seems to be the best option right now anyways. (Plus I could probably take it as a business expense and save even more)

That is if I can find someone in NC that will actually help. So far I have only gotten a response from Derek Bell of Wallace Nissan in Kingsport TN.

gemrough said:

I could claim the federal tax credit (un/fortunately depending on how you look at it...)

I agree the lease seems to be the best option right now anyways. (Plus I could probably take it as a business expense and save even more)

That is if I can find someone in NC that will actually help. So far I have only gotten a response from Derek Bell of Wallace Nissan in Kingsport TN.

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Cars.com lists 2639 new LEAFs for sale in the US.
The $8000 off quote could be the dealer putting in the federal tax or the NMAC rebate. Every dealer fudges these numbers and it means nothing. Just let everybody know that you wish to know how much to make the check out for to drive away, the monthly payment after tax, miles, term and the residual.

Say no to whatever phony packages, including three years of maintenance they offer you. When the F&I guy told me about the $600 free maintenance package, I asked him, "Do you mean all oil changes are covered?" He didn't get the joke.

gemrough said:

I have been in contact with several dealers here in western NC and cant get as much as an answer to my emails! My local Nissan dealer does not keep leafs in stock (I think they have had 1 in the past 5 years!) and all stocking dealers are over an hour away. So far all I can get is an initial email asking for my phone # and then just invited to the dealership for a test drive. I guess they are just too busy to answer an email.....

Richard Ash @ Scott Clark
Mike White @ Modern Nissan of Lake Norman (and Brian Barner)
Nick Tasios @ Fred Anderson Nissan

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Just like with other (relatively) low volume Nissan models (i.e., like their GT-R super car) not all Nissan dealers have the same level of expertise; plus a dealer who decides to sell the LEAF needs to send their techs and sales people for training, add equipment to do the annual battery checks and software updates, etc. and add at least 1 or 2 L2 and possibly a L3 QC charging station for customers and charging any vehicles being serviced; its a big financial commitment that not all dealers want to take on. I'm sure its improved but the Nissan dealer(s) that were the closest to where I lived at the time I bought my '12 (Dec '11) were quite slow to ramp up so I ended up buying it further out from a very enthusiastic sales person; my guy (initially) kept me updated on its progress in the build process and shipping, etc. and then left the dealership (for another dealer of a different mfg., was really due to family issues) but at least his groundwork was good enough that the car arrived when expected, etc.

As this doesn't cost you anything more than your time; I would simply check to see what other Nissan dealers are 50 miles or less (so at least feasible for the limited service you'll need for it) and see if they're any more interested than the ones you've already contacted -- probably not a fair comparison, but there are 27 now close by me; there were 18 at the time I bought mine a few years back; if you've already done this exercise, sorry but each dealer pretty much knows what they want their guys to sell, etc. and they each need to make a profit; its one reason that the big dealer PAC should simply leave the Tesla guys alone as its their only product that doesn't compete with higher volume ICE sales.

http://www.cars.com/dealers/search/...0&count=50&sortBy=distance&order=ASC&rpcShop=

gemrough said:

I have been in contact with several dealers here in western NC...

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Not sure where you are in Western NC, but I know the Salisbury dealer has LEAF specialists in both the sales and service departments. Last Thursday, this dealer supplied a new LEAF S for our NDEW event downtown and the car and the event were both well-received. This is the dealership that services my LEAF and I've been pleased with their support. Also, they have at least two L2 stations and one L3 station.

If this is at all close to you, check out Ben MyNatt Nissan in Salisbury, NC. Please share any feedback you care to.

My local Nissan dealer has 1 L2 installed. I actually put a deposit (reservation) on a leaf back in April 2009. After waiting 1 1/2 years I ended up getting a Prius instead. Now I remember part of the reason why... LOL

Unfortunately Salisbury is 2 1/2 hours away. I am located right between Charlotte and Asheville ... in the middle of nowhere it seems sometimes.

I contacted Nissan and they forwarded my contact information to a very helpful sales person... unfortunately they were at the WRONG dealership... thanks Nissan

gemrough said:

My local Nissan dealer has 1 L2 installed. I actually put a deposit (reservation) on a leaf back in April 2009. After waiting 1 1/2 years I ended up getting a Prius instead. Now I remember part of the reason why... LOL

Unfortunately Salisbury is 2 1/2 hours away. I am located right between Charlotte and Asheville ... in the middle of nowhere it seems sometimes.

I contacted Nissan and they forwarded my contact information to a very helpful sales person... unfortunately they were at the WRONG dealership... thanks Nissan

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It could be worse ... a Rav4EV that someone from IL bought from Carmax was trucked in from CA; not sure what anyone would do if it required a dealer unique service, most EV's (unless they have some kind of supplemental fuel 'reserve' of significance like an i3 ReX) don't really lend themselves to long stretches of open road but others have seemed to make it work (Tesla being one) as long as you can cool your jets at charging stations. I remember on a trip north, back from visiting relatives in northern FL that a hotel we stayed at just outside of Knoxville, TN had a Blink L2 charger out back --- was the oddest thing as this hotel was outside of the city; we drove around 800+ miles that day in 10 1/2 hours ... not even feasible with a Tesla but then again EV's aren't designed for trips like these an/or would require batteries the size of tanks.

I keep getting fake "letters" (machine-generated longhand) from a local Nissan dealer, trying to get me to buy or lease from them. The first was styled as a "memo" from the sales manager, saying they "needed" lots of 2013 leafs, because they (heh) are such a big seller. Then I got two more, offering me a whopping $8100 "black book trade-in value" for my car, which has a residual in the vicinity of $19k. Scummy tactics like this are why people keep hoping for BEVs from other manufacturers...

Pretty sure that is a generic car dealer tactic, not limited to Leafs or Nissan. Acura and Honda have done the same to me, first time I can think of was over a decade ago.

Any dealer who uses that tactic loses my business.

Sorry but no 2013 leaf has a market value of $19k (resale might return once gas hits $4+)

Yep Toyota does the same thing. Almost all do regardless of the brand except Tesla (that I have ever heard of).

gemrough said:

Sorry but no 2013 leaf has a market value of $19k (resale might return once gas hits $4+)

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I wrote that the residual value is $19k, not the resale value. If you don't know what that means, ask.

No need to be snippy...

And yes this is done by dealers of other car makes as well. I have a 2006 Audi which was my daily driver before I got the Leaf. I chuckled the one time I got one of these offers from another Audi dealer (not the same one where I bought mine), saying there was a "waiting list" of people who wanted a similar car. Sorry but I find it hard to believe there is a waiting list of people wanting to buy an 8 y/o Audi with over 100k miles on it.

I am well aware of what residual value refers to in accounting terms.

So Is the $19k your loan balance or the amount given as the residual on your lease?

My point being the dealership's offer is based on market value and your "residual" has no consideration in that number.

I'm sorry if you ASSumed I thought you thought your car was worth $19k.... LOL

gemrough said:

I am well aware of what residual value refers to in accounting terms.

So Is the $19k your loan balance or the amount given as the residual on your lease?

My point being the dealership's offer is based on market value and your "residual" has no consideration in that number.

I'm sorry if you ASSumed I thought you thought your car was worth $19k.... LOL

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Offering someone a bogus "check" for $8100 for a car on which $19k is owed is sleazy. I understand that these scams are run by numerous dealers, just as numerous dealers are actual crooks because they violate the law. My point is...look at the topic title. Now I'm off to waste time in a more useful fashion, with more useful people.

LeftieBiker said:

... Offering someone a bogus "check" for $8100 for a car on which $19k is owed is sleazy. I understand that these scams are run by numerous dealers, ...

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LeftieBiker said:

... I finally think I got a good deal. $3000 down plus a $60 unexpected DMV fee (no VPP), $149 a month for 24 months with the first month paid in the down payment, and I *think* a $395 dispo fee that I'm sure I can get waived if I lease another one, or hit the lottery and buy this car off lease.

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You keep confusing your lease residual with what you owe on the car.

You leased.
All you owe is the monthly payments.

At the end of the lease, residual is what NMAC in advance determined they would want for you to keep the car at the end of the lease.

But on 2013 leases NMAC has been offering residual reductions up to $6,500 to try to get people to keep them and to reduce what they are losing selling them at auction. But even with the residual reduction they are still wanting way more than market value.

I dislike the automated mailings too.
Sending them out to people that leased is stupid because you don't own the leased vehicle.
But the $8,100 market value they use for the check does indicate that keeping the leased vehicle even with a $6,500 residual reduction will not be a financially good choice.

Back to the OPs problem.

It is unfortunate that dealers in your rural area between Asheville and Charlotte are unwilling to respond to email.

Some dealers have done that.
Choosing to only spend time and effort on customers that come into the dealer.

I would recommend trying dealers further from home for purchasing or leasing the LEAF.

I bought my 2011 from dealer in Gallatin, TN 158 miles away.
They are in the much larger and more competitive Nashville market and are much more willing to offer a good deal to lure cutomers way east of Nashville to Gallatin.
They delivered it to my driveway.
Best car buying experience yet.
Only shortcomings they could have washed it and I failed to get holographic kickplates option I paid for due to options installer mistake.
Nissan refused to do anthing about as I "might be lieing" couldn't prove I didn't get them.

Love the LEAF except for defective battery capacity degradation.
Definitely dislike Nissan a lot.

Good luck finding an effective dealer.