I was playing with lease numbers a couple of weeks ago when the Leaf 2 info was leaked, and even with the very good prices it appears we will be paying for the Leaf 2, The reduced cost leases that GM is finally offering will easily beat what Nissan can offer - IF they keep Leaf residuals at about 33%. With a money factor of .003, and a down payment of $2k (many states now offer this as a rebate) and the $7500 Federal tax credit subtracted, this is about what you get for a fairly loaded $36,000 SV:
Monthly Lease Payment: $487.50
Monthly Depreciation $375.00
Monthly Interest $112.50
Monthly Tax $0.00
Money Factor Equivalent APR 7.20%
Upfront Payment $2,000.00
Total 36 Lease Payments $17,550.00
Total Cost to Own After Lease Ends $31,550.00
(I'm not including tax because many states require it be paid on the lease only up front, and others have no tax at all)
With Bolt Premiere leases now routinely at or under $300, this is a problem for Nissan - and for those of us who want to lease a Leaf 2. If Nissan were to raise the residual to, say, 45%, leaving the rest the same, we get...
Monthly Lease Payment: $414.21
Monthly Depreciation $286.11
Monthly Interest $128.10
Monthly Tax $0.00
Money Factor Equivalent APR 7.20%
Upfront Payment $2,000.00
Total 36 Lease Payments $14,911.60
Total Cost to Own After Lease Ends $33,111.60
Still not great, but I might at least consider it...
With the residual at 50%, or $18k (the most that I or most people would want to pay to buy a car off lease), I get:
Monthly Lease Payment: $369.61
Monthly Depreciation $236.11
Monthly Interest $133.50
Monthly Tax $0.00
Money Factor Equivalent APR 7.20%
Upfront Payment $2,000.00
Total 36 Lease Payments $13,306.00
Total Cost to Own After Lease Ends $33,306.00
What this all boils down to is that even with Nissan undercutting the Bolt's MSRP by a substantial margin, the leases are going to be where the action is. What will Nissan do? Put per-car profit ahead of volume sold, as GM did with the Bolt for 6 months, or will they go for sales figures, and offer very attractive leases as they did in 2013? I doubt we'll see $149 SV leases again, but it could get interesting...
There may be errors in the above figures, so feel free to check them.
Monthly Lease Payment: $487.50
Monthly Depreciation $375.00
Monthly Interest $112.50
Monthly Tax $0.00
Money Factor Equivalent APR 7.20%
Upfront Payment $2,000.00
Total 36 Lease Payments $17,550.00
Total Cost to Own After Lease Ends $31,550.00
(I'm not including tax because many states require it be paid on the lease only up front, and others have no tax at all)
With Bolt Premiere leases now routinely at or under $300, this is a problem for Nissan - and for those of us who want to lease a Leaf 2. If Nissan were to raise the residual to, say, 45%, leaving the rest the same, we get...
Monthly Lease Payment: $414.21
Monthly Depreciation $286.11
Monthly Interest $128.10
Monthly Tax $0.00
Money Factor Equivalent APR 7.20%
Upfront Payment $2,000.00
Total 36 Lease Payments $14,911.60
Total Cost to Own After Lease Ends $33,111.60
Still not great, but I might at least consider it...
With the residual at 50%, or $18k (the most that I or most people would want to pay to buy a car off lease), I get:
Monthly Lease Payment: $369.61
Monthly Depreciation $236.11
Monthly Interest $133.50
Monthly Tax $0.00
Money Factor Equivalent APR 7.20%
Upfront Payment $2,000.00
Total 36 Lease Payments $13,306.00
Total Cost to Own After Lease Ends $33,306.00
What this all boils down to is that even with Nissan undercutting the Bolt's MSRP by a substantial margin, the leases are going to be where the action is. What will Nissan do? Put per-car profit ahead of volume sold, as GM did with the Bolt for 6 months, or will they go for sales figures, and offer very attractive leases as they did in 2013? I doubt we'll see $149 SV leases again, but it could get interesting...
There may be errors in the above figures, so feel free to check them.