The official "I got my Leaf" thread

[LeftieBiker]

You can also bargain for options rather than price. I got them to give me a 4 year lease for the price of the more incentivized 3 year lease (I really hate the emotional wrench of having to turn in a leased car), plus the Protection package. The deal was worth about $1500 to me.

 

[Triggerhappy007]

I initially got a sale offer from CarMax for $26,000. The Nissan dealer wouldn't quite match that, but with the deal being a trade-in for purchase instead of a straight sale to CarMax, I ended up saving more money by avoiding the bulk of taxes on the new purchase.

How much was the trade in price and how much tax savings did you get?

My BIL has the same model as you and I've been telling him for the last 2 months to trade it in and get a 2022 but he still hasn't.

 

[wombat94]

You can also bargain for options rather than price. I got them to give me a 4 year lease for the price of the more incentivized 3 year lease (I really hate the emotional wrench of having to turn in a leased car), plus the Protection package. The deal was worth about $1500 to me.

Literally the only thing I was interested in that wasn't standard on the car was the cargo cover accessory. I did ask for that and the dealer included it at no charge.

 

[wombat94]

How much was the trade in price and how much tax savings did you get?

My BIL has the same model as you and I've been telling him for the last 2 months to trade it in and get a 2022 but he still hasn't.

The dealer's offer on the trade was $25,000. I brought out the CarMax offer of $26,000 but they wouldn't move - the (rightly) pointed out that the net value to me of trading was $26,500 (6% sales tax in PA on $25,000 = $1,500)

I knew this before asking them to match CarMax, but I had to give it a try.

Still... I'm very happy with the deal. The strange used car market combined with the 0% financing from NMAC and the fact that they had exactly the car I wanted on the lot made for a quick and easy deal.

I could have probably bargained for a bit off the MSRP or pushed for more on the trade, but I was happy and I'm always willing to leave more profit on the table for a dealer that is up front with their numbers and doesn't play games with financing rates or pack on warranties. They offered, I politely declined and they accepted that.

If your BIL is looking to move, this is the time to at least investigate the trade-in value of his car.

My only wish is that I had thought to check a few days earlier - I could have wrapped this up before the end of the year and would be looking forward to the Federal tax rebate in just a couple of months. Now, at least, I can lower our withholding for the year.

 

[watchdoc]

My Deep Blue Pearl 22 SV+ arrived this afternoon. The delivered it 400 miles (2 fast charges). She is kinda dirty from the trip but tucked away in the garage and trickle charging.

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

Enjoy. I still want a Blue Plus.

 

[Dobalina]

My only wish is that I had thought to check a few days earlier - I could have wrapped this up before the end of the year and would be looking forward to the Federal tax rebate in just a couple of months. Now, at least, I can lower our withholding for the year.

I just got a new Leaf and a friend who got an EV Feb last year said to recoup the $7500 earlier he had his employer reduce their federal withholding. I assume that would work just fine as your tax liability wouldn’t change, you just would have a check to cut to the IRS unless the 7500 covered your entire tax liability.

 

[Ital74]

Hi All, I am about to get a Leaf, I am actually shopping around to see who give me the better deal.
The dealers where I am located do not have any in stock. Everyone selling pretty much at msrp.
I do have a trade in that I am seeing who is willing to give me more money for.
With the lease, do you still get the $7,500 tax credit? the sales man keeps on saying yes, but I read online that you do not.
I am just going to buy it just because of that. What do you guys think?

Thank you

 

[cwerdna]

With the lease, do you still get the $7,500 tax credit? the sales man keeps on saying yes, but I read online that you do not.

No, because you are not the owner. The automaker/its leasing arm is the owner and they get to claim it. They can choose to pass along between $0 to the entire Federal tax credit to the lessee in the form of a cheaper lease.

For my former '13 Leaf, NMAC back then passed it all along. It made it look like I had made a down payment of over $7500 at signing even though I paid $0 due at signing. I hear they only do a small amount now.

For my Niro EV lease, it was the same thing, except it was over $11K paid on my behalf. I also did $0 due at signing.

 

[LeftieBiker]

It varies. I got $7500 back on my first Leaf, $4000 on my second, and $6k
+ on my current one.

 

[Ital74]

just to be sure, financing the car trough Nissan I would still get the $7,500 federal income tax credit?
I am asking, because technically I do not own the car until the loan is paid off.
Should I expect the dealer to give me a tax form all filled in for me that I can use to file?

Thank you

 

[cwerdna]

"Should I expect the dealer to give me a tax form all filled in for me that I can use to file?" - No.

 

[LeftieBiker]

If you buy the car, you get the whole Federal credit, but you have to have a tax obligation of at least $7500 (if it's less, then you get the lesser amount) and you have to file for it yourself. If you lease, you likely get less than $7500, but you also get to rent the car before you buy it.

 

[Oils4AsphaultOnly]

just to be sure, financing the car trough Nissan I would still get the $7,500 federal income tax credit?
I am asking, because technically I do not own the car until the loan is paid off.
Should I expect the dealer to give me a tax form all filled in for me that I can use to file?

Thank you

Edit: man, can't even read right. Ital74 was asking about financing and I respond with crap about leasing. ignore this.

 

[tomas47]

just to be sure, financing the car trough Nissan I would still get the $7,500 federal income tax credit?
I am asking, because technically I do not own the car until the loan is paid off.
Should I expect the dealer to give me a tax form all filled in for me that I can use to file?

Thank you

There is no "tax form" from the dealer. I am now doing my 2021 taxes and the IRS just asks for basic info like VIN #, but nothing about financing or a seller verification form.

 

[Flyct]

just to be sure, financing the car trough Nissan I would still get the $7,500 federal income tax credit?
I am asking, because technically I do not own the car until the loan is paid off.
Should I expect the dealer to give me a tax form all filled in for me that I can use to file?

Thank you

You own the car. The title will be in your name with lender listed as a lien holder.

You fill out a form when filing your taxes. IRS form to claim the tax credit is form 8936. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8936.pdf

I’ve claimed this tax credit 4 times so far.


I

 

[Ital74]

Wow, thanks for the info guys. Much appreciated. I really wanted a black leaf but can't find one. I should have the gun metal sv plus hopefully before the end of the month. Thanks!

 

[goldbrick]

Not really 'I got my Leaf' more like 'Almost cut my hair'.

I looked at a 2016 Leaf today since it was down 3 bars and I thought I might be able to get a replacement battery. Unfortunately, my phone was still setup for my Dad's OBDII adapter that I used when I visited him last month. I didn't realize this until too late since the mileage and SOH were about the same. So......I didn't find out the essential piece of information: whether or not the BMS firmware update has been done. I knew something wasn't right with LeafSpy but I'm sort of a luddite in some ways and didn't realize the Bluetooth wasn't connecting correctly.

It was an SV and was in decent shape, 66k miles and was down to 9 bars. The 8 year warranty expires in 12/2023 since it was a very early 2016 model. Price was $9800 but without knowing the firmware revision I couldn't pull the trigger.

The GOM showed 88 miles on a full charge but that wasn't good enough evidence. If I knew the firmware update had been done I feel confident I could get the 4th bar to drop in 2 summers but without knowing that I'm not so sure.

Oh well. Maybe someone will get themselves a good deal. I'm sure it will sell fast at that price.

I also noticed a very strong clicking noise when accelerating or decelerating. Almost so bad that I wonder if it was just the axle nut issue or something worse. Much more pronounced than my car but the sellers didn't seem concerned and said it had done that forever.

 

[johnlocke]

Not really 'I got my Leaf' more like 'Almost cut my hair'.

I looked at a 2016 Leaf today since it was down 3 bars and I thought I might be able to get a replacement battery. Unfortunately, my phone was still setup for my Dad's OBDII adapter that I used when I visited him last month. I didn't realize this until too late since the mileage and SOH were about the same. So......I didn't find out the essential piece of information: whether or not the BMS firmware update has been done. I knew something wasn't right with LeafSpy but I'm sort of a luddite in some ways and didn't realize the Bluetooth wasn't connecting correctly.

It was an SV and was in decent shape, 66k miles and was down to 9 bars. The 8 year warranty expires in 12/2023 since it was a very early 2016 model. Price was $9800 but without knowing the firmware revision I couldn't pull the trigger.

The GOM showed 88 miles on a full charge but that wasn't good enough evidence. If I knew the firmware update had been done I feel confident I could get the 4th bar to drop in 2 summers but without knowing that I'm not so sure.

Oh well. Maybe someone will get themselves a good deal. I'm sure it will sell fast at that price.

I also noticed a very strong clicking noise when accelerating or decelerating. Almost so bad that I wonder if it was just the axle nut issue or something worse. Much more pronounced than my car but the sellers didn't seem concerned and said it had done that forever.

Check the CV joints. Look for tears in the boots. If the boots are torn, there's good chance water got into the joints.

 

[SageBrush]

I also noticed a very strong clicking noise when accelerating or decelerating. Almost so bad that I wonder if it was just the axle nut issue or something worse. Much more pronounced than my car but the sellers didn't seem concerned and said it had done that forever.

Oh, goody.

A seller too cheap/ignorant to maintain their car.