2013/2014 Nissan Leaf Lease Information

[LeftieBiker]

Your residual is too low,unless you plan to buy the car after lease. Also, go for a larger monthly payment with no down payment, in case the car is wrecked. That way you aren't losing a down payment when you start over with a new lease. Try to lower the payment with a residual up around $17k.

 

[gmikol]

State : WA
Sales tax % :8.70%

Make sure your dealer isn't actually charging you sales tax. Purchases of new EV's in WA state are sales tax exempt. (As is the purchase of, and supplies and labor for installing an EVSE). I had to educate a couple of electricians about that the other day.

--G

 

[Skunkwise]

Your residual is too low,unless you plan to buy the car after lease. Also, go for a larger monthly payment with no down payment, in case the car is wrecked. That way you aren't losing a down payment when you start over with a new lease. Try to lower the payment with a residual up around $17k.

Isn't the residual a fixed non-negotiable number?

Also, I see a lot of people saying to keep the down payment as low as possible, but in the event of a total loss, doesn't the insurance company payout the fair market value of the car? Would you not be responsible for whatever was short of the lease agreement amount anyway?

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

State : WA
Sales tax % :8.70%
Leaf Trim, options : S w/charger package,"protection package", floor mats,camera
MSRP :31355.00
Invoice : (if you know)
Negotiated Price :29573.00
Taxes, Title, Registration $132 licensing
Any other fees (doc, administrative, marketing etc) :Acquisition fee of $595
Money Factor :
Downpayment :2000
Monthly payment :219.11
Residual : 12,542.00

Want to get the car tomorrow but would like a sanity check from the experts. Is this good?

Thanks

no sales tax in WA

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Your residual is too low,unless you plan to buy the car after lease. Also, go for a larger monthly payment with no down payment, in case the car is wrecked. That way you aren't losing a down payment when you start over with a new lease. Try to lower the payment with a residual up around $17k.

residual on S is set per promo to 42% for 3 year lease 12,000 miles or 39% on 15,000 miles.

as far as putting down payment? check with your insurance company. i did and we ran a scenario now this is all a guesstimate and subject to change but my insurance company would pay only what is due.

for example, It would pay remaining amortised amount so if wrecked say in first week that would be 8,811.05 plus residual 12,179.70 plus lease fee $300 or $21,290.75 to NMAC but replacement value which my insurance pays is higher than that, so i would get a check as well. They came up with a figure of $3800

so check with your insurance company. the way they handle payouts is not always the same.

the numbers above are my situation but they dont vary much from his other than the monthly and down payment. my monthly is $245.75

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Your residual is too low,unless you plan to buy the car after lease. Also, go for a larger monthly payment with no down payment, in case the car is wrecked. That way you aren't losing a down payment when you start over with a new lease. Try to lower the payment with a residual up around $17k.

Isn't the residual a fixed non-negotiable number?

Also, I see a lot of people saying to keep the down payment as low as possible, but in the event of a total loss, doesn't the insurance company payout the fair market value of the car? Would you not be responsible for whatever was short of the lease agreement amount anyway?

yes, there is at least one person here who received "cash back" after their pay out. and you cannot be short because gap coverage is included as part of the lease

 

[LeftieBiker]

yes, there is at least one person here who received "cash back" after their pay out. and you cannot be short because gap coverage is included as part of the lease

As far as we know this is the only person so far to get everything back after a wreck. I'd caution not to base my decision on what may well be an exceptional case or handful of cases. It makes sense to put the extra cash in the bank and use it for the higher payments. That way if you have to end the lease for *any* reason you don't risk losing the down payment. I wish I'd done it, but I wasn't expecting to be leasing a car and had no experience when I did.

 

[gmikol]

Hey all, sorry to change topics a bit, but does anybody have a good "form letter" for soliciting lease offers from dealers via web or email? Something that doesn't give the dealer a lot of room to play tricks. I thought I had seen one in this thread, but I can't seem to find it now. I'm gonna start contacting dealers next week, and if somebody has something already written, that will save me the trouble.

I'd appreciate any help...

--G

 

[tinaCA]

yes, there is at least one person here who received "cash back" after their pay out. and you cannot be short because gap coverage is included as part of the lease

Can you tell me where I can find this info about gap coverage included in the lease? I was told no such thing and pay for gap coverage through my regular auto insurance. It is cheap, but still no need to pay twice!

 

[Tomasz]

Also, I see a lot of people saying to keep the down payment as low as possible, but in the event of a total loss, doesn't the insurance company payout the fair market value of the car? Would you not be responsible for whatever was short of the lease agreement amount anyway?

There is one problem with bigger down payment during lease. I have no idea why (and the finance person at the dealership didn't know it either) but the total amount out of the pocket was _bigger_ with down payment in my case.

Example:
0 down, $XXX monthly payment -> total out of pocket - 36 * $XXX = $xxxxx
1000 down, $YYY monthly payment -> total out of pocket = $1000 + 36 * $YYY = $yyyyy
and so on.
I was presented with four scenarios (0, 1000, 2000, 3000 down) and the 0 down was _the_cheapest_, the differences were in the range of few hundred $.

So that was the one I've chosen and the money I had for down payment went back to the savings account.

 

[RonDawg]

yes, there is at least one person here who received "cash back" after their pay out. and you cannot be short because gap coverage is included as part of the lease

Can you tell me where I can find this info about gap coverage included in the lease? I was told no such thing and pay for gap coverage through my regular auto insurance. It is cheap, but still no need to pay twice!

On my lease form (rev NILT/N 3001-CA 7/12) it says the following, under the fine print portion of my lease contract titled "Damage, Loss, or Potential Loss of This Vehicle":

If this Vehicle is stolen (and not recovered) or destroyed, we will accept insurance loss proceedings in full satisfaction of your early termination liability if you are in compliance with the following:

1.) your insurance obligations under this Lease are satisifed;
2.) your policy covers the casualty and you have paid the deductible required by the policy; and
3. ) your lease is not in default.

This is the part where the contract says that I will not get any sort of reimbursement for my down payment should the car be a write-off:

If the insurance loss proceeds exceed your early termination obligations, than the excess will not be refunded to you. Any Capitalized Cost Reduction made by you will not be refunded in the event of a total loss. If the Vehicle is a total loss, there is no Purchase Option, and you have no right to retain the Vehicle for salvage.

As mentioned earlier, a few lessees were able to get some money back from the insurance proceeds, but I would not count on it especially if your contract says otherwise (these lessees' contracts may not stipulate that). One person I believe was able to preserve his equity in the car by having his insurance company substitute a "similar, or better" used Leaf to replace the one that got totaled.

 

[tinaCA]

RonDawg, thanks - I would not have interpreted that as being essentially gap protection but I guess it does add up to the same thing. Good to know!

 

[MikeGraff]

Hi folks,

Pulled the trigger on a lease on Sunday afternoon. Went with Sunnyvale Nissan instead of Boardwalk. i had spent most of my time shopping there and the salesperson took care of me. The final deal:

Nissan Leaf SV with QC+LED package, floor mats. Brilliant silver.
36 months - 15,000 miles per year
My price: $30,050
rebates/credits: $7675
total drive off: $3000
monthly payment: $237.32 + tax
residual: $13832

Extremely happy and I'm like a kid on Christmas morning with my new toy. Looking forward to visiting the gas station a lot less.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

yes, there is at least one person here who received "cash back" after their pay out. and you cannot be short because gap coverage is included as part of the lease

Can you tell me where I can find this info about gap coverage included in the lease? I was told no such thing and pay for gap coverage through my regular auto insurance. It is cheap, but still no need to pay twice!

its on the back of your lease paperwork and included in the section where it details what insurance coverage is required. I should have read it YEARS ago because I have $500 deductible and Nissan only requires $1000... so I am overpaying as well

**edit** ok, just looked at it and the clause only mentions what it DOES NOT cover. anything not mentioned here IS COVERED(towing and GAP) ya, clear as mud...

 

[cracovian]

SV + LED for $254 x 24 in GA (zero down)

All the Ses were pretty much cleaned out.

Total payments: $6,095.76 (I will hopefully get my $5K back in the next 2 years.)
Residual at the end: $17,493.00

I couldn't really say no...

 

[gregdole7]

Great deal for GA.

We are working with state legislature to fix the screwy new tax law on leases.

Anyway, I'm helping my brother look for a leaf--what dealer and rep, if you don't mind.

 

[jac812i]

Cracovian, can you please let me know which dealer in GA and any referral? Also is it vpp or non vpp price? Thank you in advance.

 

[cracovian]

It was the VPP price utilizing my loyalty rebate. Town Center Nissan had the best price though the one in Lithonia should be just as good.

 

[ccohen322]

Hey guys, first time posting. I'm in Atlanta, and thought I'd share how we made out. Re-posting what I recounted on Slickdeals -

Just got back from Stone Mountain Nissan. Took the last base Leaf on the lot (S, no QC) non-VPP at $269. They said they would have matched Aziz at $259 if he had stock, but seeing as Town Center is completely out of the S and they're quite scarce, we figured we'd pay the extra $120 a year to lock it in. $269 is still a killer rate, and while I would've loved the extra $10 a month savings, we're happy to get in on the deal in time for the rebate.

Looking forward to being part of the community here!

 

[csreeram]

State : CA
Sales tax % :8.70%
Leaf Trim, options : S w/QC charger package,camera
Red color which seems to be in very high demand
MSRP :31455.00
Negotiated VPP Price :28599.00
Any other fees (doc, administrative, marketing etc) :Acquisition fee of $595
Downpayment :0
Taxes, Title, Registration $1050 (licensing, doc fees, taxes on cash back of $8K)

Monthly payment :$252 + tax of $22 == $272

Residual : 12,542.00 at 40% of the MSRP -- non negotiable

Want to get the car tomorrow but would like a sanity check from the experts. Is this good?

Thanks