Is Florida really so hostile to Leaf leases?

[curtkinder]

We are eying an "S" with charge package.

Of course, I've seen the $1999 down / $199 month lease offer at Nissan's site, and I know that excludes all the tax tag title, etc fees

I think we'll need 15k miles instead of 12k / year

All that said, I figured we'd be looking at no worse than $3k down, $250 / month...something like that

I just received an offer asking $2500 down plus $325 / month, basically $14k to have a Leaf for 3 years.

Also, can one order a car to spec, as in days of yore...Wife wants a blue one, and no one seems to stock that color...

Thanks,

Curt

 

[cgaydos]

We are eying an "S" with charge package.

Of course, I've seen the $1999 down / $199 month lease offer at Nissan's site, and I know that excludes all the tax tag title, etc fees

I think we'll need 15k miles instead of 12k / year

All that said, I figured we'd be looking at no worse than $3k down, $250 / month...something like that

I just received an offer asking $2500 down plus $325 / month, basically $14k to have a Leaf for 3 years.

Also, can one order a car to spec, as in days of yore...Wife wants a blue one, and no one seems to stock that color...

Thanks,

Curt

Lease prices vary widely depending on the dealer for the same car - this is true with all cars but especially true of EVs that have lease offers that are heavily subsidized by the manufacturer.

That $2k down/$200 month lease offer has enough profit room that a dealer could choose to make that the price after taxes - or maybe go even lower. And some dealers choose to - especially on the west coast. Or, if a dealer chose to make a straight deal they could offer you exactly what Nissan publishes plus just the local taxes/fees - I don't know the tax situation in Florida but here in Colorado the taxes/fees added less than $10/month to my payment.

However, a lot of dealers will "fatten" the payments to increase their profits. By way of example, before settling on a second LEAF I was looking at a Focus Electric that had a similar lease offer from the manufacturer - $299/month, nothing down. One dealer told me that with taxes I'd be looking at $325/month all-in. Another, who gave me the test drive, quoted me $425. The difference? Partly it was due to dealer add-ons I didn't want, but partly they were just adding profit for themselves.

Similarly, in November when I got the first LEAF the winning bid was $200/month $2000 down after all fees - three dealers bid that. But the two nearest dealers were both over $350/month and stuck to that *after* being told what I was being offered in Denver. Go figure.

So, the best I can suggest is shop around - send emails to the internet departments of all Nissan dealers within 100 miles of you with the exact specs of what you are looking for and see what they offer as the out-the-door lease price. If none of them beats the offer you were given consider shipping the car from a dealer who will deal - I noticed some good prices on LEAFs published in Alabama a couple months ago, check autotrader.com and see what is there now.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Many say you have to get dealers to compete against each other for your business. That is certainly one way but the other many overlook is to make the dealer compete against you not buying (or leasing) a car at all. Make it clear what deal you want and also make it clear you aren't going to buy anything else from them other than a leaf. Usually the dealer will call you back in a day or so. If they don't it's probably because the car is in short supply and they think they can sell it to someone else for more.

 

[apvbguy]

Many say you have to get dealers to compete against each other for your business. That is certainly one way but the other many overlook is to make the dealer compete against you not buying (or leasing) a car at all. Make it clear what deal you want and also make it clear you aren't going to buy anything else from them other than a leaf. Usually the dealer will call you back in a day or so. If they don't it's probably because the car is in short supply and they think they can sell it to someone else for more.

I had told the OP the situation here in NE FLA, that there aren't too many LEAFS here and the few dealers that have them are not giving them away. The OP needs to look at the dealer inventories in northern GA and then start working the phones for a decent deal up there, trucking it down will cost $400-$500.
back in early april the were dealerships up there with 30-40 cars on their lots, I am sure they would love to move one.

as for ordering to spec, I guess it can be done, but since you need to search dealer inventories you may as well search for the one that has precisely what you want, then again the one you want may not exist.
YMMV

 

[curtkinder]

Thanks folks,

I had hoped to avoid traveling beyond charge range, but if that's what it takes...

10 years ago, when Minis were hot, I trucked one in from Charleston, SC, to avoid being fleeced by greedy Jax dealers. I guess not much has changed in 10 years.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Thanks folks,

I had hoped to avoid traveling beyond charge range, but if that's what it takes...

10 years ago, when Minis were hot, I trucked one in from Charleston, SC, to avoid being fleeced by greedy Jax dealers. I guess not much has changed in 10 years.

I assume you are aware you don't have to go back to where you bought for service.

 

[curtkinder]

Oh yes - Mini was serviced locally

 

[sonnylax]

E-mail is your friend.

After dealing with 6-8 metro Atlanta dealerships for lease quotes, I didn't pick up the phone until I had the deal negotiated completely via e-mail.

Why anyone would want to get on their turf prematurely is beyond me. And I don't want multiple dealers calling me, trying to get me in the door.

With email, you control the negotiation 100% with zero emotion.

 

[electricD]

Well be glad you not in SoFL. Dealers do have cars but there is one here in Miami that has a $500 "High Demand" charge added to his sticker price. Can't be a huge demand because he has had the car for a couple of months. I have had better luck with Orlando dealers so you might want to try there. Email is your friend.

I have yet to see a blue 2013 leaf anywhere in the state. Have no idea why. For some dumb reason there are a lot of black ones available. Black is a great color for a solar oven here in south Florida but for a car that your going to be trying to cool the inside of most of the year...not so much.