$99 refundability, etc

Hello all, I have been lingering on this forum for a few months and was hoping to get a few questions answered. My order date is in October and I am in the SF Bay area. Forgive me if this info is already posted, I couldn't find it.

If I accept a quote from a dealer, does the $99 deposit immediately become non-refundable?

Any opinions on whether I stand a chance of getting the $5k rebate from California if I order in October. That could make the difference for me on whether or not I will be driving this car anytime soon. I reserved in the early evening on 4/20.

Has anyone requested a quote from a dealer for a low mileage lease? If so, please provide details if possible. I drive ~5000 miles/year so I could very comfortably stay under 10K per year if such a lease were available.

Thanks everyone for the info!

leafenvy said:

Hello all, I have been lingering on this forum for a few months and was hoping to get a few questions answered. My order date is in October and I am in the SF Bay area. Forgive me if this info is already posted, I couldn't find it.

If I accept a quote from a dealer, does the $99 deposit immediately become non-refundable?

Any opinions on whether I stand a chance of getting the $5k rebate from California if I order in October. That could make the difference for me on whether or not I will be driving this car anytime soon. I reserved in the early evening on 4/20.

Has anyone requested a quote from a dealer for a low mileage lease? If so, please provide details if possible. I drive ~5000 miles/year so I could very comfortably stay under 10K per year if such a lease were available.

Thanks everyone for the info!

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Welcome to the forum leafenvy! I know that you can get your $99 back even on the day you pick up the car. You can walk away anytime, even when you go in to pick it up. And no more money is needed until you decide to buy or lease the car. I've heard that you can negotiate lower mileage leases with your chosen dealer. Once you have chosen a dealer, you could call them and ask about it. I know I was told to click on 'cash' and then if I decide to lease later, that can be figured from the negoitiated buy price.

We do not know for sure if the $99 applies to the purchase price.

leaffan said:

I've heard that you can negotiate lower mileage leases with your chosen dealer. Once you have chosen a dealer, you could call them and ask about it. I know I was told to click on 'cash' and then if I decide to lease later, that can be figured from the negotiated buy price.

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Hmm, possibly I messed up then, because I selected Lease. My dealer said he didn't have anything available for less than 12,000 miles/yr. It sounds, though, as if I can change those details when the order is firmed up.

garygid said:

We do not know for sure if the $99 applies to the purchase price.

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They asked if the deposit was nonrefundable, and I told them that even if they declined to take the car on delivery day, they could still get it back without any problem.

True.
But what happens to the $99 if you DO buy the car?

Good question, Gary. I thought I remembered reading that it would be applied to the purchase price or be refunded if a person did not order a LEAF.

Has anyone who has ordered already had the dealer mention the $99 being applied to the purchase price?

garygid said:

True.
But what happens to the $99 if you DO buy the car?

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LOL...good question. I'll ask my dealer if/when I order Tues. I'm going to guess that they will deduct it from the total price when we buy/lease the car.

I emailed my question about the $99 reservation fee to Nissan the other day and just got a reply today.

Dear Richard,

Thank you for taking the time to personally contact us about your interest in the Nissan LEAF.

Question: When i purchase my LEAF, is the $99 reservation fee applied to the purchase price?

Dealerships are the only entities in the USA that can determine price for and sell vehicles to customers, therefore the $99 reservation fee is just that a fee and not a down payment. The reservation fee is to ensure consumers have a sincere interest in buying a Nissan LEAF and want us to hold one for them. It is fully refundable if you change your mind or after you get your Nissan LEAF. This ensures your “place in line” to order a vehicle when they become available in your area. We are striving for a new level of customer experience. The reservation fee is to help us determine who is serious about purchasing a Nissan LEAF so we can ensure the smoothest possible purchase process for our customers. It also helps us more accurately forecast production.

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Can someone translate this for me? It seems to we don't get the $99 and we do get it after we get our Nissan LEAF. What do you think?

Azrich said:

I emailed my question about the $99 reservation fee to Nissan the other day and just got a reply today.

Dear Richard,

Thank you for taking the time to personally contact us about your interest in the Nissan LEAF.

Question: When i purchase my LEAF, is the $99 reservation fee applied to the purchase price?

Dealerships are the only entities in the USA that can determine price for and sell vehicles to customers, therefore the $99 reservation fee is just that a fee and not a down payment. The reservation fee is to ensure consumers have a sincere interest in buying a Nissan LEAF and want us to hold one for them. It is fully refundable if you change your mind or after you get your Nissan LEAF. This ensures your “place in line” to order a vehicle when they become available in your area. We are striving for a new level of customer experience. The reservation fee is to help us determine who is serious about purchasing a Nissan LEAF so we can ensure the smoothest possible purchase process for our customers. It also helps us more accurately forecast production.

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Can someone translate this for me? It seems to we don't get the $99 and we do get it after we get our Nissan LEAF. What do you think?

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The way I read it was that we will never see the $99 again unless we change our minds before the car is delivered, OR change our minds when the car is delivered. So if we accept and buy/lease the car, the deposit is gone. I never remember Nissan calling it a fee, but I thought they referred to it as a 'deposit', so we should get it back no matter what.

The way I read it is that the $99 went straight to Nissan. We are buying the car from the dealer, so the dealer dows not count the $99 as part of the payment. Nissan will refund the $99 to us if we cancel our reservation or after we obtain the car. That is, they will refund it no matter what.

SO ... they could refund it once we've placed the order, right ?

It is fully refundable if you change your mind or after you get your Nissan LEAF.

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That seems very clear to me, exactly what thimel said:
You will get your $99 back if you drop out at any time.
You will get your $99 back from Nissan headquarters after you get your car from the dealer.

No one has commented on leafenvy's other question:

leafenvy said:

Any opinions on whether I stand a chance of getting the $5k rebate from California if I order in October. That could make the difference for me on whether or not I will be driving this car anytime soon. I reserved in the early evening on 4/20.

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I don't have many facts, but you asked for opinions, so here are my guesses:
* The fund will have $7M available on the first of January.
* 95% of that will be used for LEAFs.
* That means the first 1330 or so LEAFs sold in California in 2011 will get the rebate.
* No more than 12,000 LEAFs will be produced by the end of March 2011.
* No more than 1500 of those will end up in California.
* With an October order you will get your LEAF in late January or February.

No problem.

thimel said:

The way I read it is that the $99 went straight to Nissan. We are buying the car from the dealer, so the dealer dows not count the $99 as part of the payment. Nissan will refund the $99 to us if we cancel our reservation or after we obtain the car. That is, they will refund it no matter what.

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"after you get your Nissan LEAF" does not say, after you buy/lease your Nissan LEAF, so what CS is actually saying is that you can get your deposit back after your LEAF comes in (gets) and you walk away from the deal. Therefore, according to the way it is worded, if you buy/lease the car, Nissan keeps the $99 deposit.

Azrich said:

Can someone translate this for me? It seems to we don't get the $99 and we do get it after we get our Nissan LEAF. What do you think?

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Why not reply back to Nissan support and ask for clarification.

I don't know if they changed this from back in April, but the reservation site now says:

"the Nissan LEAF is unlike any car on the road. and buying one is unique too. it starts with a $99 reservation fee. it's not a down payment - it’s a placeholder that saves your spot in line to get a LEAF. availability is limited* and not everyone is guaranteed to get one, but don't worry - the fee is fully refundable. when you’re ready to begin, let's get started"

So by calling it a 'reservation fee', it's not refundable UNLESS you walk away/fail to qualify for whatever reason. If you buy/lease, the $99 bought you a spot in line as an early adopter.

I was always under the impression it was a deposit, but maybe I was reading into it what I wanted to see. (shrug)

Jimmydreams said:

I don't know if they changed this from back in April, but the reservation site now says:

"the Nissan LEAF is unlike any car on the road. and buying one is unique too. it starts with a $99 reservation fee. it's not a down payment - it’s a placeholder that saves your spot in line to get a LEAF. availability is limited* and not everyone is guaranteed to get one, but don't worry - the fee is fully refundable. when you’re ready to begin, let's get started"

So by calling it a 'reservation fee', it's not refundable UNLESS you walk away/fail to qualify for whatever reason. If you buy/lease, the $99 bought you a spot in line as an early adopter.

I was always under the impression it was a deposit, but maybe I was reading into it what I wanted to see. (shrug)

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This means the price of Leaf went up by $99 if I understand correctly?

greenleaf said:

This means the price of Leaf went up by $99 if I understand correctly?

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If you want to be an 'early adopter',then yes. If you wait until the initial roll-out is complete, then you shouldn't need any 'reservation fee'...just walk in to a dealer and order one.

It's this early roll-out process that they're trying to control with the $99. But it's about .3% of the price for the car, so I won't argue such a small amount if I can get mine early.

My dealer (who has been given incorrect information by Nissan before, so take this with a few pounds of salt) told me that once I place my order, the $99 becomes non-refundable. But he also said that if I walk away and do not buy, he would give me the $99 himself, as he would then be able to sell the car.

Okay. I just got off live chat. If the following is correct, then my dealer was mistaken. Here's the transcript:

Thursday, September 09, 2010 7:00:02 PM (9/10/2010 12:00:02 AM - GMT)

Welcome to EV Customer Support, James will be right with you.

James:
Thank you for contacting Nissan Electric Vehicle Customer Support, my name is James. How may I help you today ?

Daniel:
Hi James. I have a question about the $99 deposit that I paid when I made my reservation. Is that amount deducted from the dealer quote when I pay for the car?

James:
We appreciate your interest in the Nissan LEAF . I would be happy to help you with that Daniel. In order to accurately log the demographics of your inquiries would you mind sharing your last name, zip code, and a phone number?

Daniel:
[personal information deleted by me]

James:
Thank you for that information Daniel.

James:
To answer your question, no that reservation fee will be refunded to the card you used to make the reservation with.

Daniel:
Okay, so I'll get the $99 back separately? Is that correct?

James:
Yes Daniel. That was just a way of keeping people from placing false reservations.

Daniel:
And if for some reason I am unable to go ahead with the purchase after placing an order, will I still get the $99 back?

James:
Yes Daniel.

Daniel:
Thank you James. That's all I wanted to ask.

James:
Ok Daniel before we end our conversation, I want to ensure your needs have been met. Do you have any additional questions about what we discussed today?

Daniel:
Nope. Thanks!

James:
Have a good day. Please feel free to visit our website often for updates about the Nissan LEAF, and encourage your friends to contact us with their questions.To help us improve our service, would you mind taking a brief survey? If you would like to do so, please click on the Exit Chat button below. Thank you for contacting Nissan Electric Vehicle Customer Support.

Daniel:
Thanks and goodbye.

Visitor Daniel has ended the chat.

I am OK with the $99 Nissan Leaf placeholder fee. It is the $100 AV assessment fee that grinds on me.