Special Limited-Time-Only Offer

[Weatherman]

One of the Nissan dealers in my area has the following advertized "special" on the four LEAFs they have in stock:

Manufacturer Offer
$7,500 NMAC cash back on select Nissan LEAF models
$7,500 cash back Offer only valid 4-03-2012 through 4-30-2012
Bonus Cash is available towards leasing to customers who finance through Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation.


Isn't it amazing that the $7,500 cash back offer is only provided to lessees on "select" Nissan LEAF models and is only valid from April 3rd through April 30th this year. I better take advantage of this special offer while it lasts.

 

[ebill3]

Boy, that is creative advertising. For those who know of the tax credit, it sounds sort of scammy, but I guess it really is not.

 

[Weatherman]

Unless Nissan plans to discontinue allowing the tax credit to be applied to new leases after April 30th, I’d say scammy is a pretty good word.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Isn't it amazing that the $7,500 cash back offer is only provided to lessees on "select" Nissan LEAF models and is only valid from April 3rd through April 30th this year. I better take advantage of this special offer while it lasts.

no it is not. MANY MNL members leased for the sole purpose of getting the full $7500 tax credit immediately and it would only be for selected vehicles because CPO's would not qualify as it the credit is for new car purchases or to the original lessee

as far as the April 30th deadline, it sounds like a dealers way of financing someone who is underwater on a current car loan.

 

[Rokeby]

Although the specifics of the mechanism is fuzzy to me, it is possible that the
dealer to buyer "incentive' is based on a Nissan to dealer incentive. This wouldn't
suggest that the dealer was in some financial difficulty.

The dealer may get price reductions from Nissan if they sell a given number of
cars in an specific time period. In the future, if they sell additional cars at the same
price, their profit margin goes up and cost of credit goes down.

(Remember that the dealer and Nisssan are separate entities and the dealer buys
cars from Nissan with attendant costs of credit while cars sit unsold on his lot.)

 

[Weatherman]

Sorry, but I don't buy it.

How can a dealer state that the $7,500 cash back (really the $7,500 tax credit) was only valid from April 3, 2012 through April 30, 2012?

Anyone who was qualified to lease a LEAF from December 2010 through today obtained the $7,500 tax credit as part of their cap cost reduction, and unless there's some news I don't know about, I don't think the tax credit offer is going to end one week from tomorrow. Unless they plan to keep the $7,500 for themselves after April 30th (which would be really unethical), I should be able to walk into the dealer on May 1st, sign a lease, and still get the $7,500 cap cost reduction.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

are we ignoring "cash back?"

i can assure you, the dealer will not write you a check for $7500. but what he probably might do is if you have a car loan for example for 10,000 and want to trade it, but the dealer will only give you $5,000 for it. that means to buy the car, you must put a $5,000 down payment on it.

from what i gather from the ad (you might want to contact the dealer if you are really interested, but if you are not and having nothing better to do but nit pick the words in an ad as if car dealers were the only ones who practiced this OR if you want some info, read on)

the dealer is willing to pay the note on the car loan and take the remaining $2500 and put it towards the lease. yes, this will increase your payments but prevent you from having to come up with thousands in cash.

being underwater in a car loan and trying to get something more economical is the #1 reason (by a 5 to 1 margin) that people are not buying cars.

 

[Weatherman]

Fair enough.

I guess the question becomes, does a dealer have an option to do anything with the tax credit they wish? That's the only justification I can think of for stating it's a "limited time only offer", which ends on April 30th.

I thought it was pretty cut and dry. The $7,500 tax credit was applied as a cap cost reduction on the lease, and that's it. This was to ensure it was subject to state sales taxes (where applicable).

There's nothing in the advertisement which talks about car loans. It's very clear that it's referring to leases.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Fair enough.

I guess the question becomes, does a dealer have an option to do anything with the tax credit they wish? That's the only justification I can think of for stating it's a "limited time only offer", which ends on April 30th.

I thought it was pretty cut and dry. The $7,500 tax credit was applied as a cap cost reduction on the lease, and that's it. This was to ensure it was subject to state sales taxes (where applicable).

There's nothing in the advertisement which talks about car loans. It's very clear that it's referring to leases.

if you were paying $10 a line, how much detail would you put in the ad?

 

[Weatherman]

It appears the argument is moot.

The dealer has removed the "limited time only cash back" text from their web site ad and has replaced it with a $7,500 "rebate" with no time limitation.

Appears someone called them on it (or they managed to police themselves before it got too far). Definitely a classic, though, and not the least bit surprising given what I know about this particular dealer.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

It appears the argument is moot.

The dealer has removed the "limited time only cash back" text from their web site ad and has replaced it with a $7,500 "rebate" with no time limitation.

Appears someone called them on it (or they managed to police themselves before it got too far). Definitely a classic, though, and not the least bit surprising given what I know about this particular dealer.

well that would be a bummer because allowing loan payoffs from the $7500 tax credit on a lease would probably qualify a lot more buyers. but then again, NMAC might not allow it. since they do have to carry the paper until the end of the year

 

[kubel]

Just an FYI, my dealer in Ohio (Yark Nissan) is also posting this same deal.

Manufacturer Offer
$7,500 NMAC cash back on select Nissan LEAF models
$7,500 cash back
Customer Bonus Cash
Offer only valid 4-03-2012 through 4-30-2012

2011 Nissan LEAF Hatchback SV Front-wheel Drive
2012 Nissan LEAF Hatchback SV Front-wheel Drive
2012 Nissan LEAF Hatchback SL Front-wheel Drive
2011 Nissan LEAF Hatchback SL Front-wheel Drive

*Bonus Cash is available towards leasing to customers who finance through Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation. See participating dealer for details.

I googled the terms in the offer and it appears on a multitude of Nissan dealer sites, suggesting this came from Nissan and wasn't just some random dealer trying to lure people in.

My concern: If this is just another way to word "we are passing on the $7500 credit into the lease as a down payment", the 4-30-2012 expiration date has me really worried, since my delivery date went from 4-25-2012 to 5-7-2012.