how to confirm $7500 tax credit still available?

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rollindurty

New member
Joined
Feb 21, 2017
Messages
4
I've found an offer on a 2016 LEAF S way below MSRP... $18,700. It is out of state at a Nissan dealer. Dealer claims it is still eligible for federal tax credit, has sold /shipped several already, etc. Dealer said he bought it directly from Nissan at a firesale price... that's how they can offer so low.

I called Nissan corporate and got transferred 6+ times over 20 minutes. Reluctantly an agent agrees to look up the VIN and said the vehicle was "registered" to the dealer. She could not confirm more than that or send me an e-mail about it. But she also said from her experience basically every new vehicle was registered with the dealer it was sitting at, so I'm not sure that she means titled (thus using the tax credit).

I've read elsewhere that I need to get the Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin... though online I suppose he could still just show me a copy of the original since I won't be driving 600 miles to verify in person. Dealer "guarantees" that it qualifies and is willing to show me the MCO.

CarFax (below) looks clean... I think. I don't necessarily know how to interpret it in relation to the tax credit. There are several LEAFs available with nearly identical history records.

The VIN on the dealer website shows only 16 characters and thus

I ran the details through a dummy TurboTax return, and it shows that it qualifies... but I don't believe they actual check the VIN itself and ultimately it would be up to IRS not TT.

Thanks all! This will only pencil for me if I can get the credit... I just don't want to run into a surprise 12 months from now.

(this thread was helpful >> http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?137026-How-to-tell-if-Federal-Tax-Credit-has-been-used/page2&s=d923cf2f631086aefc95c81f5d7ffa60)
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I think that once the vehicle is titled and becomes ineligible for the tax credit, the dealer can only sell it as "used." Anything "new" and untitled should still be eligible. If you want to be sure, then lease it - that's safer anyway, as Nissan gives you the credit in the form of a lease down payment, and once the car is leased there is no worry about the credit going away before you can claim it next year. You can still buy it for a low residual when the lease ends, and also have the option of turning it in if the market or your circumstances change a lot.
 
I'm in the same boat with a dealer in Texas who's selling an SL, it was originally advertised at 18K and when I showed up it was now $22K, with them saying it was a mistake and below their purchase price from the auction. They're also telling me its a Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) but never titled, bought from Nissan auction so it doesn't qualify for new incentives. It also apparently doesn't qualify for and CPO incentives even though Nissan.com says $750 on used leafs. All this run around makes me question the validity of the tax credit itself.

If you find a way to verify it let me know as I'm interested.
 
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