2013/2014 Nissan Leaf Lease Information

[RonDawg]

The drive off seems particularly high. See if. You can negotiate a lower drive off (which will mean a higher monthly payment).

 

[aat167]

Sunnyvale Nissan is pushing me to close the deal by tomorrow due to Sales tax increase going into effect from April 1. Its just another tactic to close the deal.

 

[RonDawg]

What new sales tax increase? Prop 30 went into effect Jan 1. Or is this specific to Santa Clara County?

EDIT: I guess several counties and municipalities have imposed their own increases effective April 1.

 

[Corina1231]

It seems the email strategy is not working well for me. I sent request to Boardwalk Nissan and Nissan Sunnyvale. I just received lukewarm reply, and they are not willing to give quote. The latest reply from Boardwalk is getting even funny. He said they sold 11 leafs today and:

"Lastly, we have meet our sales goals for the month and this weekend is just helping people like yourself who want the best deal at the best time..."

The Nissan Sunnyvale finally gave me a quote:

Nissan Leaf S with charger package
MSRP: $31,420
Sunnyvale Internet Price: $29,929
Rebate: $7500
Driveoff: $3800
Payment: $135 a month plus tax
Term: 24 months with 15,000 miles a year

Looks like not a good deal, right? Total will be 3800 + 135 x 23 = $6905.

Tomorrow is the last day of Nissan's lease promotion. I wonder if the leaf is really that hot at the moment.

Pretty silly. That is too much for an SV let alone a loaded S. Tsowens set the standard with his $5200 deal on the basic S model at Sunnyvale, and that was on the exact same 24 month, 15k deal. It was $4805 before adding the $395 disposition fee into the equation. I don't think the charger package is worth $2000 more to a 2 year lessee! Sunnyvale and Boardwalk have over 200 Leafs in stock. My advice is to walk away and live to fight another day. Another option is to do what I did when I got the Boardwalk runaround on the Internet last year - go over to the sleepy Premier Nissan in San Jose and work a deal on one of their 27 in stock. Tell them you a sweet deal going with their competitor (they hate Sunnyvale - the two won't even trade cars) and you're ready to lease NOW. They have far less foot traffic and I found them motivated to move cars, hence the deal I got on mine. Or just wait. Local supply on Leafs is huge. A few slow days or weeks and they all will be dealing again like madmen.

If you land a great deal like I did at Premier, you will then also have the pleasure of telling that to Boardwalk (as I did) when they slow down in a few days and start emailing you every day!

 

[tallgirl]

Sunnyvale Nissan is pushing me to close the deal by tomorrow due to Sales tax increase going into effect from April 1. Its just another tactic to close the deal.

Sales people are slime, for the most part. You really have to understand finance and how dealerships price deals to get them to where you want to be. Most dealers fear people who own two cars and have creative ways of financing a new one. They can't do the "well, your current car is 5 / 7 / 10 years old and MIGHT BREAK ANY DAY!!!" scare tactics, and finance deals go out the window. When I was trying to close the deal last night I held up two pens and said "this is the cost of what I have now for three years, and this is the cost of what you're offering me. Which do you choose?". No matter how many times I asked I couldn't get anyone there to say "the cheaper pen".

Another thing is that leases are generally not a good idea. Sure, they sound good because you have a low monthly cost, but that's only true while you're leasing. Once you're done with that low monthly lease price, you have no car. I paid $25K 11 years ago for my Pontiac and once it was paid off, I owned the car and I drove it for another 7 years. It's only major required repair right now is power steering and it should be good for at least a 2 or 3 year least term (just saying) worth of driving.

That said, a lease can be a great way to get into a car, make sure you like it (and the technology), then re-finance the residual in 2 or 3 years. But from a straight-up economics standpoint? Horrible, horrible deal. Price in a replacement battery in 6 years and compute total cost of ownership over 12 years and there's no way 6 consecutive leases costs less than a purchase. Even with that replacement battery thrown in.

 

[KJD]

That said, a lease can be a great way to get into a car, make sure you like it (and the technology), then re-finance the residual in 2 or 3 years. But from a straight-up economics standpoint? Horrible, horrible deal. Price in a replacement battery in 6 years and compute total cost of ownership over 12 years and there's no way 6 consecutive leases costs less than a purchase. Even with that replacement battery thrown in.

You make some good points, but how do you calculate cost of battery replacement when Nissan refuses to publish the price ?

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

would be shocked to see a decent price via first contact email. you should be able to go in, show them you are a serious buyer (keep in mind, less than 10% of emails generate sales and THEY know it) then give them YOUR terms.

i would tell them you will give them $2500 cash plus the $135 a month and free tire rotations every 5,000 miles. Tell them you have provided the exact same terms via email to 3 other dealers and you came here first because you heard they were more customer service oriented.

 

[wantonsoup]

Check out an Autonation dealer - they're doing great deals right on their website (below invoice) and got me a great deal on a lease. I did the whole deal over email and went in yesterday, took 15 minutes to sign the papers and go.

 

[Corina1231]

Check out an Autonation dealer - they're doing great deals right on their website (below invoice) and got me a great deal on a lease. I did the whole deal over email and went in yesterday, took 15 minutes to sign the papers and go.

Wontonsoup, congratulations! You had said you would post your deal numbers when you got your lease and I was waiting to see them. Glad to to see you got your car. Did you get the color you wanted?

 

[Corina1231]

would be shocked to see a decent price via first contact email. you should be able to go in, show them you are a serious buyer (keep in mind, less than 10% of emails generate sales and THEY know it) then give them YOUR terms.

i would tell them you will give them $2500 cash plus the $135 a month and free tire rotations every 5,000 miles. Tell them you have provided the exact same terms via email to 3 other dealers and you came here first because you heard they were more customer service oriented.

You're right about the first Internet contact. You normally get highballed and told to come in. Or occasionally lowballed and told to come in. I got lucky last year - after being abused by an experienced Internet sales manager at Boardwalk, I caught one who had only been in the car business about a month at Premier and worked a great deal within a a week by email and picked up the car. There are so many variables in playing this game. I have nothing against Boardwalk. I know from experience that thy could just as easily be the white knight next time around. Never let emotion enter into your decisions or close any doors. Kind of like life.

 

[pcx999]

I picked up a Leaf S with charge package in the bay area.

VPP
24 month
$205/month
0 down
15k miles

thanks to this board!

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I picked up a Leaf S with charge package in the bay area.

VPP
24 month
$205/month
0 down
15k miles

thanks to this board!

WOW! great deal!

 

[Pushpak]

I picked up a Leaf S with charge package in the bay area.

VPP
24 month
$205/month
0 down
15k miles

thanks to this board!

WOW! great deal!

Even adding in the $1000 for the VPP, it's only 19 cpm. Pretty damn good!

 

[Corina1231]

I picked up a Leaf S with charge package in the bay area.

VPP
24 month
$205/month
0 down
15k miles

thanks to this board!

Ok, this is great news. It would confirm that Tsowens recent S deal is matchable. Can you confirm that this is without any other taxes or other charges, what dealership and when you picked up the car? A lot of people here in NorCal want to know.

 

[evnow]

I picked up a Leaf S with charge package in the bay area.

VPP
24 month
$205/month
0 down
15k miles

thanks to this board!

Yes - this is the kind of price to expect in a VPP deal (guessing this includes tax, registration, title etc).

 

[tallgirl]

That said, a lease can be a great way to get into a car, make sure you like it (and the technology), then re-finance the residual in 2 or 3 years. But from a straight-up economics standpoint? Horrible, horrible deal. Price in a replacement battery in 6 years and compute total cost of ownership over 12 years and there's no way 6 consecutive leases costs less than a purchase. Even with that replacement battery thrown in.

You make some good points, but how do you calculate cost of battery replacement when Nissan refuses to publish the price ?

Pick a number, just about any number will do.

The residual value on a 2 year lease is about 60%. That's 20% per year (straight line equivalent) depreciation, or an entire car in 5 years, or 2.4 cars in 12 years. Pick "the price of a new car" as the battery replacement price and you still come out ahead by 2/5ths of a Leaf. Anything less than "the price of a new car" for that hypothetical battery replacement cost just makes you come out more Leafs ahead on a purchase versus a lease.

Let's say the battery price is $18K, present value, and you pay $36K for the vehicle. Twelve year TCO, excluding common expenses (electricity, tires, maintenance) for a purchase is 1.5 Leafs and for six consecutive 2 years leases it's 2.4 Leafs. You can go haggle of a few grand here or there, but you're going to put out 9/10ths of an entire Leaf in the process. Some here think the battery will be less than $18K and no one has proposed a larger value. At some point, six consecutive 2 year leases is more than one entire Leaf. Not a good deal.

A lease is appropriate for a business because the entire cost is depreciation or interest. People can't deduct vehicle depreciation from their taxes and interest on non-mortgage expenses isn't deductible.

Learning how to calculate "total cost of ownership" is very handy. The numbers don't lie, they don't have feelings, they don't have sales quotas to meet, and if you're honest with yourself and have valid information, you are less likely to have buyer's remorse.

 

[SteveInSeattle]

I just traded by 2011 for a 2013 SL/premium package on 24 month lease. Shopped around and got the best deal, by far, from Ray Ishak at Magic Nissan in Everett. Purchased my first one from him, as well, when he was at his former dealership. Worth the extra drive, he gave me significantly better prices than I got elsewhere with no back and forth haggling. PM for for specific details.

 

[Corina1231]

Another thing is that leases are generally not a good idea. Sure, they sound good because you have a low monthly cost, but that's only true while you're leasing. Once you're done with that low monthly lease price, you have no car. I paid $25K 11 years ago for my Pontiac and once it was paid off, I owned the car and I drove it for another 7 years. It's only major required repair right now is power steering and it should be good for at least a 2 or 3 year least term (just saying) worth of driving.

That said, a lease can be a great way to get into a car, make sure you like it (and the technology), then re-finance the residual in 2 or 3 years. But from a straight-up economics standpoint? Horrible, horrible deal. Price in a replacement battery in 6 years and compute total cost of ownership over 12 years and there's no way 6 consecutive leases costs less than a purchase. Even with that replacement battery thrown in.

I appreciate and agree with your general disdain for leases from a pure economic standpoint, and I will go a step further to say that most people are very poor at negotiating them. That said, whether to lease or buy always depends on the lease deal you can negotiate and an individuals needs and wants, and in the case of EVs whether it is ever wise to purchase a car in its evolutionary stages. That is why I value this forum so much. It helped me get a great deal on my 2012 Leaf lease and will help on the second one I will be leasing in June when I'll need another car. I found out through this this forum that I will qualify for VPP and customer loyalty discounts, and that is huge. In the meantime, I'm here to try to help others and at the same time keep tabs on the lease market for myself.

 

[Corina1231]

I picked up a Leaf S with charge package in the bay area.

VPP
24 month
$205/month
0 down
15k miles

thanks to this board!

Yes - this is the kind of price to expect in a VPP deal (guessing this includes tax, registration, title etc).

Ok, this is great news. It would confirm that Tsowens recent S deal is matchable. Can you confirm that this is without any other taxes or other charges, what dealership and when you picked up the car? A lot of people here in NorCal, including aat167 who is negotiating with Sunnyvale right now on the same car, need to know. Even if one doesn't qualify for VPP, the info has value.

 

[stavtom]

Its hard to compare leasing vs buying on such a new technology. If you buy a leaf now and in 5 years they have a battery that goes 300 + miles in new leafs for 18k...who is going to buy your 100 mile range leaf?

Seems like it comes down to how often you want to buy a new car...if you like getting a new car every five years or so...lease it...if you dont mind owning the same car for 10+ years ..buy it.