Trying to buy a new leaf, but ran into some questions.

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Jshuntr

Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2012
Messages
7
Location
Knoxville, Tn
First, the price i've negotiated down to is 31,297 for purchasing the leaf (this does NOT include the government rebate). Does this seem like a fair price?

If I opt to lease (which is what the dealer is pushing for) the lease purchase amount is based on 28,350 (I have no clue if this is a deal).

My real question is, I try to keep my taxes zero'd out every year (withhold the proper amount etc etc.), and the dealership is telling me that if I do that, I will forfeit the 7500 incentive because I must OWE more than i've paid to the government. Now, I'm a married, home owner, no children and pay in around 16k a year in taxes, I thought that because i'm paying 16k in taxes that this would simply be dropping the amount I owe in taxes to 8500ish (thus instead of getting no refund or a few bucks, i'd get 7500). Who is correct in this scenario?


side note, which may not have any relevance:

I worked out the purchase price over the phone last night, and when I went into the dealership this morning, they were really pushing the lease. When I told them I was still considering the outright purchase the salesman informed me that they weren't interested in selling at the price they quoted me, thus I get slightly hot and talk about how this is a bait and switch and they finally come back around and honor the afore mentioned deal, but now with this "information" about the 7500 being wasted. All in all I'm just hoping some of the fleet here can help me w/ the clarification.

thanks in advance, looking forward to reading some more of the Forum.

Jshuntr
 
Welcome! As long as you have more than $7.5K tax liability, the rebate should apply. Please feel free to peruse the following thread, and ask additional questions there. Be sure to check with your tax advisor as well. One more thing, where are you located?

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=8678" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
Jshuntr said:
My real question is, I try to keep my taxes zero'd out every year (withhold the proper amount etc etc.), and the dealership is telling me that if I do that, I will forfeit the 7500 incentive because I must OWE more than i've paid to the government. Now, I'm a married, home owner, no children and pay in around 16k a year in taxes, I thought that because i'm paying 16k in taxes that this would simply be dropping the amount I owe in taxes to 8500ish (thus instead of getting no refund or a few bucks, i'd get 7500). Who is correct in this scenario?

You are correct. The incentive is based on your tax liability, not how much you've under or overpaid in withholding. Note, my understanding is that there are a few other calculations that might affect whether or not you can claim the full amount. There are detailed threads on this issue.

As far as leasing vs. buying it's personal preference but leasing is attractive since 1) it guarantees you get the immediate and full benefit of the Federal tax incentive, and 2) will tend to shield you from any unexpected developments or deficiencies in the technology.

Sounds like Nissan is strongly incentivizing the dealers to go for leases. So you may benefit from that also.
 
Nubo said:
Sounds like Nissan is strongly incentivizing the dealers to go for leases.

Thanks Nubo! I had read up on the incentive over the past few months (thus waiting until the end of December to pull the trigger), and this information the finance guy was throwing just seemed way off. Based on my interaction, I think you're correct in your statement regarding incentives for leasing.
 
Jshuntr said:
First, the price i've negotiated down to is 31,297 for purchasing the leaf (this does NOT include the government rebate). Does this seem like a fair price?

If I opt to lease (which is what the dealer is pushing for) the lease purchase amount is based on 28,350 (I have no clue if this is a deal).
The lease amount should include the $7500 credit already so should therefore be that much less than the purchase price. Since the amounts you show are only $3000 apart, no wonder the dealer is trying to push the lease! Recent leases I've seen show $9425 "NMAC Lease Cash" which includes the full $7500 + additional Nissan incentives to the dealer to lease.

Also, as others have said the dealer is completely wrong about the ramifications of withholding. If your total tax is $16k, you'll have no problem claiming the full $7500.

Also, I don't know where you're located, but in California at least you need at least a 3 year lease to qualify for the $2500 state rebate, so keep that in mind.
 
Are you looking at a 2012 SL fully loaded or another year/configuration?

I think the recent announcement that they are actually offering a capacity warranty helps resale value and makes purchase still attractive. I purchased and don't regret it, it gives me flexibility to sell whenever I want. If I were starting over, I would either lease a 2012 or wait a little bit and consider buying a 2013 once they announce the full specs.
 
So sorry, I am indeed purchasing a 2012 SL Fully loaded.

I read the other thread regarding the tax break as well, great information and I believe that I may go to another local nissan dealer and work out a deal there because there certainly seems to be some shady activities to lead people into a lease.

(which of course isn't really a bad thing (leasing that is), I can see several upsides to a lease, but as fooljoe pointed out, the numbers they gave me, just didn't add up.)
 
Make sure you shop around. Prices will vary a lot from one dealer to another. You may find some are more anxious to clear out the 2012's to make room for the the 2013's that will show up soon. Now is a good time to bargain hard.

I have never done a lease, but the EV market is changing rapidly at this point. A 2 year lease might be something to look at closer. You may want to upgrade sooner than you would a conventional car.
 
Simple fix, go ahead and lease it at the negotiated amount. Make a couple of payments and that will take care of the $7500 credit up front. Come back to dealer after 2 payments and tell them you want to turn the lease into a purchase and that will get you what you originally wanted to do.
Good luck,

Ian B
 
You dont have to wait 2 payments.. just call the leasing co, ask for the payoff amount and visit your credit union to get a loan quote pre-approval.. compare with what the dealer will offer but they might squeak about losing their lease commission.
 
Hey all,

back w/ a small update.

Ended up going to a neighboring nissan dealer, as I had convinced myself the sales people at the original place were being a bit shady. Talked to the new dealership and saw the purchase and lease numbers side by side, and I became a convert. Opted for the lease, though I was certain I wasn't going to do that.

So here are the details to my lease in Knoxville, TN

$0 Down
290 a month / 38 months (39 month lease in actuality, but they paid the first month)
15k in mileage a year
payoff option at end of lease is 16k, plus 300 for some other lease related jargon.

I'm not sure its the best lease price ever negotiated, but after owning the car for about a week, and putting around 300 miles on it, I love the car!
I really was interested in the leaf because of the technology side of it, i'm not really an eco nut but I will say I'm averaging around 4.2/kwh and I'm trying to think of ways to get it up :) (the 30 degree weather isn't helping any).

I've still kept my ICE (2006 GMC Yukon, roughly 14mpg), and I believe that I'll save around $200-$250 a month w/ the lease, and w/ that rationale I'm pretty pleased w/ the whole ordeal.

Again, I'll be around the board a lot and thanks for all the help!
 
Here in sunny Cleveland, Ohio (snow belt!) we got basically the SAME lease program you got (39 months 15k/yr same rate yada yada). So I'd say you did pretty good since I had two dealers here fighting back/forth and that was the best deal I could muster up my way. Congrats....
 
Jshuntr said:
snip...I've still kept my ICE (2006 GMC Yukon, roughly 14mpg), and I believe that I'll save around $200-$250 a month w/ the lease, and w/ that rationale I'm pretty pleased w/ the whole ordeal....snip...
Congratulations! Another convert who will be parking one huge gas hog :D
 
Retired LEAF salesman here...... I got a LEAF myself this last summer. Leasing is definitely the way to go. LEAF technology is evolving rapidly, the cars will be different in two or three years and will very likely have better range. Why be stuck with the old one, when you can return your lease and get a brand new vehicle with all the upgrades? Nissan is very generous with customers who lease a 2nd vehicle - often offering huge incentives for you to lease a new vehicle when your original lease is up.

As for the selling price of the car - ask to see the invoice. Pay invoice price only, no more! There are a lot of LEAFs available in dealerships so the price should be discounted. Never, ever pay anymore than invoice minus rebates! If you lease the $7500 tax credit is taken off the top of the lease. Therefore, your lease should be based on the invoice price of the vehicle, minus the $7500. If you purchase you have to wait and claim the tax credit on your income tax return. If the dealer won't show you the invoice, go to another Nissan dealer that will.

Julie
 
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