Poll : The official "Did you Lease or Buy?" thread

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Did you Buy or Lease ?

  • Waiting...

    Votes: 38 10.1%
  • Lease : Was going to buy but leased

    Votes: 51 13.5%
  • Lease : Was going to lease and leased

    Votes: 133 35.3%
  • Buy : Was going to lease but bought

    Votes: 26 6.9%
  • Buy : Was going to buy and bought

    Votes: 129 34.2%

  • Total voters
    377
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I was going to buy, and I did buy. 1.99% financing through San Mateo Credit Union, with $10k down (which I'll get back in federal and state credits, a year from now...)
 
I will let you all in on a fun fact of the lease and but option. As many of you know that when you purchase you pay tax on the full amount of the vehicle and then have to try and get you tax credit from the government at the end of the year. Here is the best way to do it, lease it and then when your first statement/payment comes due take it down to your dealer and perfom a lease buy ouy. It allows you to get your government tax credit off. I purchased my leaf (2011 sle with sguards, quick charge, floormats, kick plates., protection package)used the 7500 as a cap cost reduction (plus my tennessee and etec rebates) MSRP on my LEAF is 3930 and my cap cost is now $24419. Now keep in mind I am a sales manager at a Nissan dealership and have been here for over 5 years and have bought about 10 new Nissan so I buy at net cost plus employee purchase from Nissan so it is extremely cheap, but with the federal program and state programs I got $10700 in discounts on my purchase. Moral of the story lease then buy out your lease to save an immediate 7500 plus you pay tax on the cap cost price not the original msrp you would have paide tax on (no tax on the 7500 fed rebate money)

Email me with any questions I will try to help [email protected]
:D
 
JLARS336 said:
I will let you all in on a fun fact of the lease and buy option. Here is the best way to do it, lease it and then when your first statement/payment comes due take it down to your dealer and perfom a lease buy out... Moral of the story lease then buy out your lease to save an immediate 7500 plus you pay tax on the cap cost price not the original msrp you would have paid tax on (no tax on the 7500 fed rebate money)

My dealership (and others that have been reported on the thread) refuse to honor a buyout option before 90 days have passed. My guess is that, as a Nissan employee, you unknowingly bypassed the financial office directives.
 
I bought.

I plan to run it into the ground. The depreciation once better EV's come out will kill its second hand market value, so leasing does make sense if you don't intend to keep it very long. Once it is reduced to limited mileage due to aged batteries then It'll stop being the commuter car and be the run around town car. My wife works 1.5 miles from home, we will always have a use for it even if I need something more substantial in the future.
 
You do pay sales tax on it if you buy since the sales tax is levied pre-rebate, at least in CA...

JPWhite said:
Pay tax on a credit !?! :eek:

What sort of messed up govt ruling is that?

Glad I bought, I won't pay tax on my credit.
 
JPWhite said:
Pay tax on a credit !?! :eek:

What sort of messed up govt ruling is that?

Glad I bought, I won't pay tax on my credit.
You are in Tennessee, according to your profile. By doing a quick internet search, I found no evidence that there is any sales tax exemption or credit there for plug-ins or hybrid cars, as there is in states like Washington, and did find this link at carsdirect.com that says that paying Tennessee car tax is unavoidable, no matter where in Tennessee you live or where you buy your car, unless you are on active-duty in the military. Unless that active duty exemption applies to you, I am assuming that you have already paid sales tax on your Leaf on the full price of the car, including the value of the federal tax credit, just as you would in CA.

If you had leased, I am not sure how Tennessee would treat the $7500 capital reduction cost of the federal tax credit offered by Nissan--maybe someone who has leased in Tenn. can speak to that. In CA, though, you pay sales tax on any capital reduction, including your down payment and the fed credit, and then on each payment you make on the lease as you go along. If you buy the car at lease end, you pay sales tax on the residual value as well, so there is essentially no difference in buying or leasing here as far as sales tax treatment if you keep the car off-lease. If you give the car back at lease end, you do not pay sales tax on the residual, as you didn't buy that portion. The next owner will pay it when they purchase the "lease turn-in" as a used car. This has been covered here in some of the other threads on "lease vs. buy" cost comparisons.

When you actually receive the federal tax credit after filing your tax return next April, there are no additional taxes due, as you already paid the sales tax on that amount when you bought the car.

TT
 
Still waiting they had an ophan leaf but I want to wait for mine (due the fifth or sept)
 
mogur said:
You do pay sales tax on it if you buy since the sales tax is levied pre-rebate, at least in CA...

JPWhite said:
Pay tax on a credit !?! :eek:

What sort of messed up govt ruling is that?

Glad I bought, I won't pay tax on my credit.


because of TV game shows,( i think, at least i have heard that excuse several times including when i worked for the State waaay back when) CA State levies sales tax based on MSRP value, not the actual sales price. most other states (MA might be an exception) base it on the sales price. now the Fed tax credit if purchased means you are paying the sales tax on that credit since it is still part of the purchase price. now if leasing, i dont know. that might be different

if you have any questions or doubt on the CA State sales tax. talk to anyone who recently upgraded to a "free" phone and find out what they paid.
 
Haven't seen this mentioned before, but in my state the very generous refundable $6000 tax credit is is prorated on leased vehicles based on the capitalized cost. That means that I don't get to take all of the tax credit if I lease.

For that reason, I'll be buying. I also tend to keep cars 20+ years, but if a better range EV comes along I may consider trading for a new one in a few years.
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
because of TV game shows,( i think, at least i have heard that excuse several times including when i worked for the State waaay back when) CA State levies sales tax based on MSRP value, not the actual sales price. most other states (MA might be an exception) base it on the sales price.
Close, but not quite accurate. Game show winnings are considered income, so you pay state and federal income tax on your winnings, not sales tax. The bad news is that your income tax liability will be assessed on the retail value of the prize (MSRP, in the case of winning a car), whether the game show got it for less or not (they often receive discounts or free items from manufacturers for promotional value). There is no sales tax due on the transfer of an automobile to a contest winner when sales tax has been paid on the prior transfer of the automobile to the promoter of the contest. The transfer to the contest winner is not a taxable sale because the automobile is acquired by chance or skill, and there is no use tax liability because the automobile is received as a gift or premium rather than a purchase.

In a straight retail purchase of a new car from a dealer, however, the sales tax in CA on the purchase is not based on MSRP, it is based on the actual sale price. I bought my Leaf for $1,000 under MSRP and paid tax only on the purchase price, not MSRP.

now if leasing, i dont know. that might be different.
I tried to explain this in my previous post above. In the case of a lease, the tax is measured by the "rentals" payable. Generally, the applicable tax is a use tax upon the use in this state of the property by the lessee. The lessor must collect the tax from the lessee at the time rentals are paid by the lessee and give him or her a receipt. The lessor (Nissan in this case) is crediting your lease purchase agreement for $7500 up front (the tax credit they will receive on the vehicle from the Feds) as a "capital reduction" on the price, but it is still part of your rental purchase price, and the tax is still assessed on it up front, along with any other down payment you make at that time. Then you pay tax on each of your lease payments as you make them. At the end, you pay tax on the residual value, if you decide to keep the car. If you don't, then the dealer charges tax on the value of the used car when they sell it to someone else. Even if you keep the car and then sell it privately later on, the new owner has to pay use tax when they register it and transfer title. In the end, the state gets their $$$ on the full purchase price of the car (and more), either way.

if you have any questions or doubt on the CA State sales tax. talk to anyone who recently upgraded to a "free" phone and find out what they paid.
This is a whole 'nother ball of wax--there are specific sales tax laws in CA regarding telecommunications devices, especially when "bundled" with services at a deep discount. Directly from the CA tax code: "BUNDLED TRANSACTIONS. Tax applies to the gross receipts from the retail sale of a wireless telecommunication device sold in a bundled transaction, measured by the unbundled sales price of that device. Tax applies to the unbundled sales price whether the wireless telecommunication device and utility service are sold for a single price or are separately itemized in the context of a sale or on a sales invoice. The retailer of the wireless telecommunication device is required to report and pay tax measured by the unbundled sales price of the device and may collect tax or tax reimbursement from its customer measured by the unbundled sales price. Tax does not apply to the charges in excess of the unbundled sales price made for telecommunication services." In other words, they may give you the phone for free or at a discounted price as a promotion in order to get you to buy the bundled service, but they have to charge sales tax based on the unbundled value of the phone. (See http://www.boe.ca.gov/lawguides/business/current/btlg/vol1/sutr/1585.html for more than you want to know about this subject.)

Disclaimer--I am not a CPA, but I can play one on the internet as well as anybody. The above is not meant to represent tax advice. Believe me at your own risk. If you make a mistake based on this post and get in trouble, you agree to hold harmless these forums, authors of this post, or other subsequent posts, or any party, company, corporate entity, individual, or estate, living or dead, associated or otherwise connected with the above, and shall not hold them liable for any damage you do to your person, other people/living things, or property belonging to you or any other entity in the known universe. You take full responsibility and liability for any action you choose to take. Your mileage may vary. Do not fold, spindle or mutilate. No electrons were harmed in the transmission of this message.

TT
 
You don't pay sales tax on the credit. You pay sales tax on the purchase price of the car.
Later, the Federal Government feels like giving you some money (a credit). I don't understand how you think that changes the purchase price of the car.
 
I planned on leasing and ended up leasing.
Too much uncertainty on what the future will bring.
1. Uncertainty on the residual value if better and cheaper EVs are available in 3 years.
2. Uncertainty on the battery life. Losing electric range is not a big deal for a Volt but it is a big deal for the Leaf.
 
Was going to buy but ended up leasing. Cost of ownership was lower. Plan to buy after 3 or 4 months...
 
Was going to buy but decided to lease after Nissan said in a press release that after 5 years the battery should have 80% capacity. That thought was confirmed when I saw the following in the front of the 2012 owners manual.
NISSAN estimates that the battery capacity will be approximately 80% of the original capacity after five years, although this is only an estimate, and this percentage may vary (and could be significantly lower) depending on the individual vehicle and Li-ion battery usage.
 
I had intention of leasing it as the monthly cost was attractive and I did not have to worry about $7500 rebate that is absorbed in the lease. However, Maryland has $2000 rebate only on purchase so I ended up buying it.

Raza
 
Greensleafs said:
I planned on leasing and ended up leasing.
Too much uncertainty on what the future will bring.
1. Uncertainty on the residual value if better and cheaper EVs are available in 3 years.
2. Uncertainty on the battery life. Losing electric range is not a big deal for a Volt but it is a big deal for the Leaf.

I'm leasing for the same reasons. Several people I trust have told me over the years to never lease a car, but I think this is a special case.

My specific concern is how the battery capacity will be affected by our Las Vegas summers. They chew up lead acid car batteries.
 
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