Buying a 2016 Leaf S or lease 2017 Leaf S

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evatl4me

New member
Joined
Jun 27, 2017
Messages
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I am looking into buying or leasing a 2016 or 2017 Leaf S. I am in Atlanta, and have found a few 2016. There are a few incentives from Nissan, 10k Georgia power discount, $4k NMAC 0 % interest for the 2016. The lowest advertised price is $16,855. My questions is how much of an issue is the battery degradation for a leaf sitting on the lot for 8 plus months. Also, when speaking with the dealer on the phone, he said out the door was closer to 22k because the taxes are based on the sales price plus cash back. As for the lease of the 2017 I am getting quotes of $300 with 0 down.

Please let me know what your thoughts on pricing and if it is a bad idea to buy a 2016 which has been sitting on a lot for many months. I have gained so much information from this forum and it is very much appreciated.

As for the use of the car, it is mostly for around town so range is not a big concern.

Thanks so much for any advice,
 
evatl4me said:
taxes are based on the sales price plus cash back.,
It is generally true that rebates are taxed while discounts are not.

This question follows the form of what we have come to expect in store shopping. Say you buy a printer from Staples:
If the store has dropped the price, you pay taxes on the lower price;
but if the item price stays the same and then you receive a rebate, you pay based on the pre-rebate amount.

This is actually one of the reasons I decided to buy a used LEAF and forgo the larger tax credit on a new EV. Ymmv of course, so do your own arithmetic for your state.
 
evatl4me said:
Please let me know what your thoughts on pricing and if it is a bad idea to buy a 2016 which has been sitting on a lot for many months. I have gained so much information from this forum and it is very much appreciated.

As for the use of the car, it is mostly for around town so range is not a big concern.

Depending on the SOC level, it could be a problem sitting on the lot in a warm (Atlanta) climate for that long. Then again, you state that "range isn't a big concern".
I suggest putting a GID meter (LeafSpy, etc.) on the car and seeing what degradation (if any) has actually occurred. Only then can you make an informed decision.
 
This situation is a good example of why leasing a Leaf is often better. If the battery turns out to be degraded or degrading, you can turn it in after leasing. If not, you can buy it when the lease ends, and maybe get a residual discount as well.
 
LeftieBiker said:
This situation is a good example of why leasing a Leaf is often better. If the battery turns out to be degraded or degrading, you can turn it in after leasing. If not, you can buy it when the lease ends, and maybe get a residual discount as well.
That is indeed a nice advantage, but leasing has SO many downsides, as this thread demonstrates:

1. the person is forced into a replacement car with little time to look around, wait a little for a better alternative, or time the market
2. they eat the lion's share of new car depreciation

It is just not that hard to buy a used LEAF with a proven good battery at a highly depreciated price. California is a different story these days, where leases for the NIssan LEAF are dirt cheap.
 
Only speaking for my LEAF, in Colorado:

The savings in taxes and car insurance (since I defer comp & collision on my used LEAF) over five years from not buying a new car paid for my used LEAF.
 
1. the person is forced into a replacement car with little time to look around, wait a little for a better alternative, or time the market
2. they eat the lion's share of new car depreciation

You have plenty of time to look around - the lease ends at a known date, plus you can usually get a month to month extension. And the Federal credit does much of the depreciation eating here.
 
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