Stavtom writes: New to the boards...
I am in bay area and looking into my options with leaf.
Is it financially better to get a 2 year lease or 3 year...since over 2 years the CA credit doesnt apply?
From what I have seen boardwalk nissan seems to have pretty good leases advertised, or am I reading the numbers wrong?
Although the residual seems a little overpriced considering if I buy the same car today wuld be 18800 including CA rebate and FED rebate.
If I was to get this deal, what else should I negotiate?
Also one important thing to me is setting a timer overnight to tell the leaf when the charge.. Can I do this on the S or only the SV/SL?
S Lease:
$99 a month plus taxes
MSRP: $29,870
Term: 24 Months
Annual Mileage: 12,000
Down Payment: $1,995
Residual Value: $18,519
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Stavtom,
Welcome to the board.
You will need to know if your taxes are rolled into your down or monthly payment? I know that they are not because I read Boardwalk's fine print. In fact, TTL, all extra! Not to mention " bank fees " and "dealer fees", whatever those are! You will also need to know the disposition fee (standard in Nissan contracts is $395) at lease end.
Read the cryptic fine print:
*S Lease Based on an MSRP of $29,870 (including destination charge) for a 2013 Nissan Leaf S excluding first payment, tax, title, license, bank and dealer fees. Purchase option at lease end for $18,519. At lease end lessees responsible for $0.15/mile over 24,000 miles and excessive wear and tear. Lessee responsible for insurance. Closed-end lease offered to highly qualified lessees on approved credit by NMAC. Additional charges may apply at lease end. Net price does not include tax, license, or dealer fees. One at this price.
What Boardwalk did is what they (and all dealers) always do: throw some attractive upfront low numbers at you and hope you either don't read or ignore the rest. If you call them for more details they will refer you to their "appointment secretary" whose job is to give you no more information on the phone but instead arrange an appointment for you to come into the dealership for details. And then you will be playing ball in their court where the home court advantage is more advantageous than the NBA.
To answer one of your other questions, the best dealer to buy from is the one YOU negotiate the best with on any given day. All dealers make as much money as they can on each person, so the deal depends on the buyer not the dealership.
I've monitored this site for 6 months and watched folks go round and round with all the confusing dealer numbers, taxes, rebates, etc. Only the names change. Dealers love it because it creates confusion. And when buyers are confused, dealers make alot of money. They thwart your attempts to compare deals every which way they can. That is why 80% of people who buy cars believe they got a "good deal", when in actuality, 80% did not.
When comparing deals only ONE thing matters: How much am I am paying for the lease over the lease period for the miles am I getting. Total amount paid for the lease deal involves a simple addition calculation:
1) How much am I putting down?
Plus
2) How much are my total payments?
Plus
3) How much will they charge me to turn the car in at the end?
The last 3 Leaf leases on this Forum went down as follows:
Tsowens in CA leased an S for a total cost of $5200 over 2 years, getting 15k miles. Great deal!
Leafinthepark in MN leased an SV for a total cost of $5945 over 2 years, getting 15k miles. Great deal!
Kumar's friend in TX leased an SV with added camera package (and perhaps something else he listed that may not be standard on an SV) for a total of $6800 over 2 years, getting 12k miles. Well, you be the judge.
See my full calculations in my recent post.
As you can see the Boardwalk advertised deal PLUS TTL, dealer fees, bank fees, and the disposition fee would be at least the cost of Tsowens Sunnyvale S deal and probably MORE. And Tsowens got 15k miles a year which is 6k more miles over the life of the lease!
In regards to a THREE year lease, I leased a 2012 SL w/ added leather (standard now for the 2013 SL), 12k miles a year, last October in NorCal for $2775 down and $225 month for 36 months, with a $395 disposition fee upon turn in. I was rebated $2500 by CA. My total outlay is $8770 for the 3 year lease.
Also, darwinchaug13 (p.13 of this thread) leased a 2013 S model in SoCA for THREE years, 12k miles a year for $2400 down, $200 month, plus the $395 disposition fee (then got the $2500 CA rebate) for a total outlay of $7495 for the 3 year lease.
Keep your eye on the ball. Just confirm with the dealer the 3 questions above (preferably in writing). I am familiar with the car business from the inside. I have few skills in life, but in my career I negotiate for a living and have learned a lot over the past 30 years - sometimes the hard way! I can tell you that the dealer will hate dealing with you and will try to avoid answering these questions. They want the buyer to continue to be confused by playing the numbers game. Car dealers are notorious. They know that they end up making more money by their traditional way of selling than just establishing a set price for a car as other retail establishments do for non-automobile products. They won't do that - you would then be able to compare deals easily. That is, once again, the last thing they want you to be able to do.
Good Luck!
Ron
