Expired leases

[Desertstraw]

Starting next month three year leases will be expiring. According to a mailing I got from a Nissan dealer, the fair market value of my Leaf is $12,375. This is a couple of thousand less than my residual. Does anyone know what Nissan is going to do, take back all the leased cars or offer leasees a lower price to keep them? They would have to go considerably below $12,000 for me to keep mine.

 

[EatsShootsandLeafs]

I am VERY interested in this question. Since the outset it's been glaringly obvious that my 24 month lease Leaf won't be worth anywhere close to the $21,500 residual. Definitely interested to see if Nissan is going to lower that by at least $5k, or pretend it's still in play, in which case they are going to take a bath on it (they will either way, of course).

 

[GlennD]

They have insurance to cover the loss. In general they will not bargain and all you can do is return the car.

 

[geovision]

It would be great to know if NMAC would consider negotiating the lease residuals even by a few thousand before lease term completes; I would consider keeping mine in 2yrs....

 

[EatsShootsandLeafs]

It would be great to know if NMAC would consider negotiating the lease residuals even by a few thousand before lease term completes; I would consider keeping mine in 2yrs....

I do want to keep mine, but it will be overvalued by several thousand, so even if I want another leaf and cannot "steal" another one at a stupid lease rate like I got now I'll just return it to them and buy a used one.

 

[garymelora]

I wonder if it would be possible to work a deal with the dealer where I turn in the car at the end of the lease, and then buy it from them at fair market retail price. Everybody wins.

 

[geovision]

Now that would be awesome to buy back from the dealer for FMV and well below the residual (at least $5k lower)....even if the dealer marks up $500-$800 I would take that deal.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Now that would be awesome to buy back from the dealer for FMV and well below the residual (at least $5k lower)....even if the dealer marks up $500-$800 I would take that deal.

The dealers will mark them up much more than that. They will price them well above their actual market value, then lower the prices as needed. I think that demand in a given area will determine how much and how soon they will discount them.

 

[adric22]

This is an interesting situation I've been pondering about. Having a lot of used Leafs start to hit the market will be good for those people that wanted a Leaf but were unable to afford a new one or qualify for the lease. But it could even slightly increase the sales of new Leafs if people are trading in their old one on a new one. The residual on my 2011 SL is $15,500. However, mine lacks the DC fast charge port, so I somehow doubt it will be worth that. I'd definitely pay $10,000 to keep it, but I know that isn't going to happen. Besides, I've got my heart set on replacing it with either another Volt or a BMW i3.

 

[SteveInSeattle]

It will be nearly impossible to buy back your lease return Leaf on the used market. The lease return units go to auction and end up going to other dealers, sometimes hundreds or thousands of miles away. (Hide a GPS tracker on your Leaf and maybe you'll be able to find it on a used car lot somewhere! --that would be a sneaky plan)

 

[Epi117]

Here you go

http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/cto/4133231741.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Elephanthead]

You can write down your vin number and do an inventory search (google) for it after you trade it in. Most dealers list the vin number on listings. We should have a tread that lists your turned in vin and a rating of how badly you abused the poor thing.