How is everyone getting these $10,000 off MSRP deals?

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hackdroot

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 15, 2017
Messages
93
Location
East Bay Area, CA
So I've been shopping for a used 2013/14 leaf for the past week. Financing one would cancel out my current fuel costs, so it would be a wash financially each month.

I've noticed a number of people doing purchases where they are claiming $10k off MSRP AND the $7500 fed credit and $2500 CA Rebate.

If I could pull off a 27k out-the-door 2017 leaf, plus 0% APR for 5-6 yrs, I would certainly opt for that over a used 2013 since I can take advantage of the Fed credit and the extra range of the newer model.

I haven't new car shopped in over 15 years. How are people getting these deals?
 
It's regional. Nissan partners with energy company X or cooperative Y, and all Leaf customers in state Z are eligible for the 10k off just by showing their latest electric bill.

At least that's how it worked for me, I assume it's the same elsewhere.
 
Here's a link targeting Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida.

https://electrek.co/2017/04/14/nissan-leaf-discounting/

Out of curiosity I sent and email to the Ohio email listed on the page and received this back from a person at nissan-usa.com.

"We are offering a $10,000 incentive for Duke Energy, IPL, AEP, NIPSCO and some other utility customers and employees. The incentive is for a purchase, not a lease. You would take a copy of the flyer and your utility bill to your LEAF certified dealer to obtain the discount."
 
Thanks for the link. Best deal I've seen locally is a $4000 incentive. Still not enough to push me over the fence and I'm not interested in leasing, which seems to be where all the deals are right now.
 
hackdroot said:
Thanks for the link. Best deal I've seen locally is a $4000 incentive. Still not enough to push me over the fence and I'm not interested in leasing, which seems to be where all the deals are right now.

Leasing a Leaf is a very different scenario from leasing other cars. It's actually the best way for most people to buy a Leaf. In many cases it's also the cheapest way to buy a Leaf. I've written a ton of stuff on this, but if you have specific questions, we can answer them.
 
LeftieBiker said:
hackdroot said:
Thanks for the link. Best deal I've seen locally is a $4000 incentive. Still not enough to push me over the fence and I'm not interested in leasing, which seems to be where all the deals are right now.

Leasing a Leaf is a very different scenario from leasing other cars. It's actually the best way for most people to buy a Leaf. In many cases it's also the cheapest way to buy a Leaf. I've written a ton of stuff on this, but if you have specific questions, we can answer them.

I agree that the leaf lease is unique, but for those of us that can take advantage of the tax credit and get 0% APR over 72 months, I don't see it as a better deal.

Purchasing at those terms, I can take that $7500 credit and $2500 rebate and invest the $10,000 (no sense in paying off an interest free loan early if you aren't under any financial constraints to do so). With an average return of 7% over that 72 months, I can earn close to $5000 in interest on that $10k.

Leave it in there for another 11 years at that same rate of return, and you basically got the car for free. :)
 
LeftieBiker said:
If Nissan offers a residual discount on the 2016 and 2017 Leaf it could still end up at worst a wash.

Absolutely. But everything I've read is that it is still at their discretion. I would hope that by the time any 17 leases are up, the M3 and other models will make that an attractive alternative to reselling or auctioning all those lease returns.
 
Local dealers here in Southern California are selling at huge discounts. They are offering it at about 5k below MSRP + another 4k in Nissan Cash AND 0% financing on up to 72 months. The best quote I've received so far is for $25,000 Out the Door for a 2017 Leaf S with QC package. Then I'd get the $7500 from the feds (based on last years tax return I'd get the full 7500) and then I'd get $2500 from California. This leaves the total cost to me at $15,000 when all is said and done. I'm debating between this and a used one but this is seeming like a good deal. Especially since even the S model on the 2017 has the 30kWh battery.
 
hackdroot said:
I haven't new car shopped in over 15 years. How are people getting these deals?

I had very good results with a technique I heard about on this forum called Fighting Chance:
https://fightingchance.com

Following the recommended strategy took about three days at the end of the month with phone calls and follow-up emails to area dealers. With about 8 dealers, I received bids from 7. It turned out my closest dealer had the final winning bid, and the only thing we had to do at the dealer was pick out a LEAF from the massive stock available and sign the paperwork. It was a much better way to buy a car than the norm.

We purchased, rather than leased. Either way has pros/cons. Obviously plenty of people highly recommend leasing the LEAF vs. buying, and I can see value in that. There are probably more people who did buy and wished they leased, than the other way around, so that's something.

I looked at both options, and they were roughly the same expense in the end, so it came down to more freedoms owning the car vs. what is essentially a long-term rental contract. For example, I don't have to make a turn-in/buy-out/extend decision in 36 months. I can do a Home Depot run and not worry so much about gashing the interior and causing excess wear and tear. I can make modifications. I can sell it anytime if my needs change. I can drive it as much as I want, or not.

In May of 2016, a LEAF SV purchase would work out to about $20K all said and done for my location in Washington State. That seems to have held true for the LEAF over many years. A lease of the same vehicle would have worked out to about $10K over 36 months, and another $10K for residual. At the end of 36 months, my purchased LEAF will probably be worth less than the residual had I leased, but I'm OK with that in exchange for more flexility to do what I want, when I want.

While WA State doesn't have an EV rebate like CA, it does exempt EVs (up to $35K selling price) from our nearly 10% sales tax. That's pretty big, and just as good as a cash rebate.
 
Current owner of a used 2013 SL. Thought about waiting a few more months for the 2018 version but my guess I won't be able to beat this deal here in NC especially if in 2019 the range / newer version is even better:

New 2016 SV (30 kWh)

Listed Locally for $29,000

Duke Energy $10,000 Incentive

Federal Tax Credit $7,500

Trade-in / Sell my 2013 SL with 30,000 miles (11 bars) for about $7,000.

3% sales tax for vehicles

Estimating +$750 for dealer fees / title / etc.

(29,000 - 10,000)*1.03 + 750 - 7500 - 7000 = $5,820

$5,820 for a brand new vehicle that has a mixed use range of about 100 - 110 miles is not bad at all!
 
jdcbomb said:
Current owner of a used 2013 SL. Thought about waiting a few more months for the 2018 version but my guess I won't be able to beat this deal here in NC especially if in 2019 the range / newer version is even better:

New 2016 SV (30 kWh)

Listed Locally for $29,000

Duke Energy $10,000 Incentive

Federal Tax Credit $7,500

Trade-in / Sell my 2013 SL with 30,000 miles (11 bars) for about $7,000.

3% sales tax for vehicles

Estimating +$750 for dealer fees / title / etc.

(29,000 - 10,000)*1.03 + 750 - 7500 - 7000 = $5,820

$5,820 for a brand new vehicle that has a mixed use range of about 100 - 110 miles is not bad at all!
Too bad you aren't closer. I'd buy your car!
 
jdcbomb said:
Current owner of a used 2013 SL. Thought about waiting a few more months for the 2018 version but my guess I won't be able to beat this deal here in NC especially if in 2019 the range / newer version is even better:

New 2016 SV (30 kWh)

Listed Locally for $29,000

Duke Energy $10,000 Incentive

Federal Tax Credit $7,500

Trade-in / Sell my 2013 SL with 30,000 miles (11 bars) for about $7,000.

3% sales tax for vehicles

Estimating +$750 for dealer fees / title / etc.

(29,000 - 10,000)*1.03 + 750 - 7500 - 7000 = $5,820

$5,820 for a brand new vehicle that has a mixed use range of about 100 - 110 miles is not bad at all!

Were you able to get Duke Energy deal?

I need some help with this offer. Can you please help me.
 
For the Duke Energy deal you just bring in / refer to the flyer incentive (the dealer should be aware of it) and then bring in a copy of your energy bill from Duke. What's the issue you are experiencing?
 
Well, I decided against a new purchase and decided on a used 2013 today. I found a local car lot that is capitalizing on the surge of leaf auctions and had over 20 in stock to choose from. To be honest, this will be my first EV and I wanted to limit my investment. I'm sure I overpaid for my SL, but it has all the options I wanted (premium package) and I didn't have to go to to 10 different places to plug in my OBD scanner (they didn't mind and were very aware of LeafSpy). I got a good rate on a used auto loan and will revisit the EV scene in 3 years when I'm ready for an upgrade and the technology is a bit further ahead. :D

EDIT: Picked up my leaf today. Had a 62 mile drive home so I decided to stop at one of the EVgo stations midway and play it safe. To be honest, I am confident it would have made it since I was in ECO mode most of the time. Now to dive into threads and learn how to use and take care of my investment. :D
 
Update: It appears the pricing of $29,000 is a bit deceiving. At least this dealer is not including the $10K incentive directly into the price as I have observed other dealers. This dealer has included the $4,000 NMAC captive cash so it means they are listing this 2016 Nissan Leaf SV with Premium package at $33,000. Therefore, the new math would result, in a total out the door cost of $9,940. Tempting, but not as good as $5,820. ;)

RonSwanson said:
jdcbomb said:
Current owner of a used 2013 SL. Thought about waiting a few more months for the 2018 version but my guess I won't be able to beat this deal here in NC especially if in 2019 the range / newer version is even better:

New 2016 SV (30 kWh)

Listed Locally for $29,000

Duke Energy $10,000 Incentive

Federal Tax Credit $7,500

Trade-in / Sell my 2013 SL with 30,000 miles (11 bars) for about $7,000.

3% sales tax for vehicles

Estimating +$750 for dealer fees / title / etc.

(29,000 - 10,000)*1.03 + 750 - 7500 - 7000 = $5,820

$5,820 for a brand new vehicle that has a mixed use range of about 100 - 110 miles is not bad at all!
Too bad you aren't closer. I'd buy your car!
 
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