Planning to lease a LEAF- Is this a good offer? San Jose, CA

[sqnewton]

I am planning to lease a 2012 SL LEAF and want to make sure that I am not being ripped off. I am dealing with the Sunnyvale Nissan dealer offering:

- 36 months
- $3,000 down (includes doc. prep.=$80, license/title=$332, bank fee=$595, others=$48)
- Month payment $275 (total) for 36 months
- Pre-payed maintenance $395 covering for 7.5, 15, 22.5, 30k miles
- Basic SL with hatch-back cover
- already 113 miles (?? looks like too much for a new car?)

My commute is ~10,000 miles / year and my energy bill is $0.14/kWh.

Any thoughts, suggestions, recommendations? Is it a good lease?
Last question: how much is the DMV for years 2 and 3?

Thanks to all in advanced for their response and for a previous response on a similar question I posted. Hope to join the club soon.

 

[KJD]

I think that you need to shop around more.

http://www.choosenissan.com/salt-lake-city-area/leaf/?dcp=omd.79507961.&dcc=51474010.254474788&dcn=1&e48=770&lsrc=183" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[surfingslovak]

Please give Brendan Dolan at Boardwalk a call. Tell him you were coming from MNL and wanted to become a BayLEAF

. Although his dealership might be low on inventory, they will give you a very competitive quote, especially if you mention your affiliation with these groups. Good luck!

 

[kubel]

1) Go to theautoleasecalculator.com and plug in the numbers (they may vary, so find out from the dealer, compare them to what others pay). This will get you started:
Money factor: .00003 with tier 0 credit. This is set by NMAC based on your credit score. Dealers often inflate this. Don't let them.
Residual: 46% of MSRP for 15,000 miles.
MSRP: $35,200 for SV.
Negotiated price: This should be a few grand less than MSRP, whatever you negotiated. Do negotiate!
Destination charge: $820.
Accessories: Cargo cover is $295 (you want to negotiate it down to market value of $150. If they won't do this, skip it and order it from Amazon).
Acquisition fee: $395
Doc fee: Varies by dealership. Refuse to pay it or if they must, negotiate the price of the car down to compensate.
Down Payment: Do not put anything down as a down payment, you will lose it all if you wreck your car. But for the purpose of the calculator, put $7500 here for the tax credit that Nissan passes down to you.
Enter reduction and rebates: Do not enter the $7500 tax credit here because you are charged tax on it in reality, so the results will be off a little if you put it here. It's usually best to put the $7500 under down payment in this calculator even though it's not a down payment.
Trade-in: This is negotiable. Do negotiate! Or put 0 if no trade.

I think your dealer is marking up the money factor. Money factor now is next to nothing.

2) I would strongly suggest not putting anything down. If they charge any hidden fees, make sure you negotiate the price down further to adjust for those fees.

3) I would skip prepaid maintenance or tell them to cover the cost considering it has 113 miles on the odometer.

4) Shop around. In MI, I can probably easily get a SV negotiated down to $32,000 and get a 15,000 mile 36 month lease for $275/mo including tax with 0 down.

5) When negotiating, always negotiate down the base price of the car, and then ask to see price breakdown when it comes to lease figures (residual, money factor, hidden fees, etc...).

 

[Vuman]

Kubel,

You are way over paying. Should not put any money down. Dealers are giving $9000 off MRSP, some even more here in Phoenix. No need to pre pay maintance as not much maintance is required. People are walking away with under $200/month leases here. I brought mine just 3 days ago because I commute way more than 20K miles per year.

Vuman.

 

[LEAFfan]

Kubel,

You are way over paying. Should not put any money down. Dealers are giving $9000 off MRSP, some even more here in Phoenix. No need to pre pay maintance as not much maintance is required. People are walking away with under $200/month leases here. I brought mine just 3 days ago because I commute way more than 20K miles per year.
Vuman.

That $200/mo. lease here is for an SV, plus there's about $20/mo. more for taxes. But $220
is still a great deal for an SV.

 

[zony]

That's too high I would say... I'm at $315/mo inclusive, no down, about $700 initial payment for a blue SL with Nissan car cover, bumper treatment, flaps, mats, and 8 miles on the OD for a 3/15k lease. Plus we received a no hassle high blue book on our trade-in for straight cash back. The money factor came in around .7%, and the residual was 48% if I recall, which lowered the payments as well. I don't intend to buy at the end, so I'm happy.

I negotiated over carwoo.com (believe it or not) and was pleasantly surprised. I know I could have wrangled a better deal if I really wanted, but it was fair to everyone and I'm very happy with the deal and the service. The whole deal was negotiated over email, so no lengthy yadda-yaddas or angst- important as this was our first lease after all these years of purchases.

I know incentives and stock are changing, and while I didn't go with Boardwalk, I have heard good things. We ended up in Concord and were in and out in under 2 hours. I agree with the above comments - do the math and you'll find that sweet spot where everything makes sense. Also know your FICO!

My 2 watts ....
@ 6 weeks and 1500 miles, gas expenditure in November from 375 to 85 - and loving very second of it

Zony

 

[sqnewton]

Thanks to all for the excellent feedback!!! Calling Boardwalk and doing carwoo and fine-tuning my numbers. Love this community. Thx!

 

[ebill3]

I am not at all familiar with leasing, but today an acquaintance told me he is leasing in the local area for $1,500 down, $189 a month for 24 months. In WA, no sales tax on FVs.

 

[epic]

Thanks to all for the excellent feedback!!! Calling Boardwalk and doing carwoo and fine-tuning my numbers. Love this community. Thx!

0n 10-17-12 i leased---2900 total down.39 mo lease,12k miles per year=$139 per mo total---beat that 1

 

[x10guy]

Thanks to all for the excellent feedback!!! Calling Boardwalk and doing carwoo and fine-tuning my numbers. Love this community. Thx!

0n 10-17-12 i leased---2900 total down.39 mo lease,12k miles per year=$139 per mo total---beat that 1

I did.

 

[gergg]

I did

Great, can you list the deal here to help others?

Thanks

 

[x10guy]

I did

Great, can you list the deal here to help others?

Thanks

Actually I just posted as a response to what I thought was a bit of boasting. The moral of the story is that there will always be better offers. Sometimes I think the info that is posted, while perhaps helpful to those in the market, but at the same time might really discourage those who didn't get the best deal.

(if you are curious, I posted my deal in the Buying/ Leasing Dealerships.. approx . page 59)

 

[sqnewton]

Thanks to all again! Amazing help all your comments. Now it is official, I joined the club

 

[philipscoggins]

Welcome to the club.

Takes a week or two to get the hang of it, but once you do... Just assume the EV grin

Philip

 

[sqnewton]

Welcome to the club.

Takes a week or two to get the hang of it, but once you do... Just assume the EV grin

Philip

Thanks Philip. I am already getting used to it. LOVE IT. And yes, I have this evil, mean looking EV grin when I drive next to a gas guzzler or even a Prius...