wferrell said:
Anyone have any recommendations on who to lease from in the RTP area?
I don't have any first-hand information on this dealer in particular, but most of the people I know that have/leased LEAFs got them through Leith Nissan. I think they probably do the largest volume of any dealer in the Triangle (they supplied most of the original 40 Advanced Energy program LEAFs).
I got mine through Crossroads Nissan in Wake Forest. I can't really enthusiastically recommend them as I got mine the first month they sold them and they didn't really know what they were doing, but at the same time I don't have any problems with them either.
I think in general, when it comes to the LEAF, here's what you're up against: most salesman just don't get the car. To them it's just another model and they have no incentive to put you in one. Worse still, since dealerships have a LEAF specialist or two that have been specifically trained to sell the LEAF, the non-LEAF specialists probably see the LEAF more as a threat because if you go to the dealer and say to one of them you want a LEAF, they have to hand you off to the guy that does LEAFs and they don't get the sale. And the dealership themselves don't like it much because there is practically no maintenance on the thing so you won't be into the shop every 3000 miles for an oil change.
So that's the bad news. But that doesn't mean your stuck.
What you need to do is call up the dealer you want to work with. Ask the receptionist to tell you what day(s) the LEAF specialist is in and then physically go to the dealer when they are in. Unfortunately if there is only one specialist, there are probably going to be 2 days out of each week that they are not there. So you need to avoid those days. Once you make direct contact with the LEAF specialist and get their card, you should have a great experience. Keep trying, it is WELL worth the effort!