Tempted to buy instead of lease because of current promotion

[heathATL]

I paid $1500 below invoice for a 15 S w/QC. Then added a $700 dealer fee onto that. A bunch of dealers in ATL were around that price (3 within $100, 7 within a few hundred).

Well, darn it. Now I feel stupid for paying invoice (I thought it was good compared to MSRP), not including the $3500 from NMAC of course.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

From what I have heard the term "invoice" is nothing more than a sales buzzword frequently thrown around to misinform buyers. The assertion is that invoice number is what the dealer pays for the car. With so many dealers advertising prices below invoice you know that can't be the case, otherwise they would all be gone by now.

 

[alreadyBenBrott]

Here is what I ended up purchasing:

2015 Nissan Leaf SV in Cayenne Red
+Premium Package
+Cargo Cover
+Splash Guards

I paid:
$31,900
less -$3500 NMAC rebate
= $28,400 plus tax (Ohio is 6.75%), title & license (just south of $300 including a $250 doc fee for dealers in Ohio).

I'm looking at a $421.xx/mo payment @ 72mo 0% with $500 down. I'll qualify for the entire $7,500 federal tax credit, so if I were to peanut butter that credit over the entire loan my effective payment is $317.xx.

This is pretty close to a lease payment, and I'll have positive equity after 36 months or less. I think.

The math I did on equity is this: MSRP = $35,010 times .45 (which is the factor they use to calculate residual value for the 36mo leases) = $15,754.50 so if I make the $421 payment for 36mo and additionally contribute the entire $7500 tax rebate to the car I'll owe just $7,697.25 on a car that is presumably worth $15,754.50 giving me just over $8000 in positive equity.

This higher monthly loan payment (compared to a lease payment) is worth it to me so I'm not worrying about the mileage terms of the lease as well as possible fees for damage, etc.

 

[heathATL]

Sounds good! Enjoy it! I think the resale value might be slightly lower than that, but I still think we (including myself as a buyer) will come out ahead.

 

[TimLee]

From what I have heard the term "invoice" is nothing more than a sales buzzword frequently thrown around to misinform buyers. The assertion is that invoice number is what the dealer pays for the car. With so many dealers advertising prices below invoice you know that can't be the case, otherwise they would all be gone by now.

No they really do sell some vehicles for less than they paid the OEM :shock:
They manage to break even with payments from the OEM for hitting OEM vehicle sales targets.
Current This American Life provides lots of fascinating details.
See:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=17133&start=100#p399872" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[LeftieBiker]

Looks like you did well. The 2015 is the first year I'd consider buying new, but if I could afford it I just might.

 

[tkdbrusco]

We bought ours rather than leased, but there were a not of incentives. $2500 state rebate, $7500 Fed credit, $3500 dealer rebate, and an additional $2600 off for some deal my wife's company had. Made the purchase super cheap. We stuck with an S model with QC and out the door price was $18000 after we get all those credits back. We are however banking on dumping it in 3 years after we rack up about 45,000 miles. Hoping that we can get what we need out of it to break even, which is about 11K. I think that will be doable. In most cases a lease makes more sense.

 

[mbender]

^^^ Good points by cgaydos.

+2
They're trying to charge me almost $1,000 for some slightly chipped (cheap) paint.

... because... (a) I'm going to drive less than 12k/yr resulting in slightly higher resale

Ha! That's something a lot of new LEAFers think. ;-)

 

[GlennD]

I paid $1500 below invoice for a 15 S w/QC. Then added a $700 dealer fee onto that. A bunch of dealers in ATL were around that price (3 within $100, 7 within a few hundred).

Well, darn it. Now I feel stupid for paying invoice (I thought it was good compared to MSRP), not including the $3500 from NMAC of course.

Currently you are getting good deals. I purchased my first one in Dec 2012. It was the only one on the lot and it was a preorder customer refusal. I paid full list price. Some dealers were adding ADM. How things have changed.