Struggling with End of Lease Decisions 2013 SV

[alerievay]

I leased a 2013 SV for $245 a month (with taxes and 0 down) back in May 2013. I extended my lease before it expired, so I am month-to-month until May 2016. I'm really struggling with what to do. I considered the buyout that expired on 8/31, but my residual was $15,805, and I realistically expect maybe 4 more years out of this car. My long-term plan has always been to hold out for a longer-range car before I purchase, so I decided against purchase at this time. Now I'm wondering if I made the right decision. Is it worth going into a 36-month lease on a 2015 SV at around $300/month? Or should I just drive our old car, turn in the Leaf, and resign myself to buying gas until the second generation EVs are ready?

I know no one can make this decision for me, but I would appreciate some insight. I'm struggling a lot with giving up the Leaf, even if it makes financial sense at this point.

 

[jhm614]

If the '13 still works well for you, I would drive it until April of next year and then ask for another 12 months of the month to month extension. If you get it, that puts your turn in date into the 2nd quarter of 2017 - maybe the Bolt or 2nd Gen Leaf will be available. If not, then you could with a 24 month lease on a '16. The only draw back would be possibly missing the lease deals that will happen on the '15s shortly.

 

[AndyGT02]

Wait one month and lease a 2016 SV with the 30 kwh battery. Boom, extended range.

 

[alerievay]

If the '13 still works well for you, I would drive it until April of next year and then ask for another 12 months of the month to month extension. If you get it, that puts your turn in date into the 2nd quarter of 2017 - maybe the Bolt or 2nd Gen Leaf will be available. If not, then you could with a 24 month lease on a '16. The only draw back would be possibly missing the lease deals that will happen on the '15s shortly.

My understanding is that NMAC will not extend beyond 36 months, period. Is there any evidence to the contrary? That would be ideal for me, but I just don't see it happening.

 

[alerievay]

Wait one month and lease a 2016 SV with the 30 kwh battery. Boom, extended range.

I'm really holding out for the 150-mile plus range, because that opens up a lot of weekend trip possibilities for me. We often drive 180 miles or so one way on the weekend, and there's a quick charger that would make this possible at 150 miles or more.

 

[LeftieBiker]

If the '13 still works well for you, I would drive it until April of next year and then ask for another 12 months of the month to month extension. If you get it, that puts your turn in date into the 2nd quarter of 2017 - maybe the Bolt or 2nd Gen Leaf will be available. If not, then you could with a 24 month lease on a '16. The only draw back would be possibly missing the lease deals that will happen on the '15s shortly.

My understanding is that NMAC will not extend beyond 36 months, period. Is there any evidence to the contrary? That would be ideal for me, but I just don't see it happening.

When I extended to a third year, I was told over the phone that I could extend a fourth year next year. Others have been told this as well, IIRC. I'm guessing that four years, not three, is the current limit. We'll see if that holds true in the future.

 

[cwerdna]

When you guys mention "month to month", do you have any explicit paperwork or anything in writing stating that your new lease is month-to-month or can be terminated w/o penalty before its new expiration?

 

[LeftieBiker]

The lease extension form is extremely minimalist, and there is little language about anything on it.

 

[Deleted member 9549]

I leased a 2013 SV for $245 a month (with taxes and 0 down) back in May 2013. I extended my lease before it expired, so I am month-to-month until May 2016. I'm really struggling with what to do. I considered the buyout that expired on 8/31, but my residual was $15,805, and I realistically expect maybe 4 more years out of this car. My long-term plan has always been to hold out for a longer-range car before I purchase, so I decided against purchase at this time. Now I'm wondering if I made the right decision. Is it worth going into a 36-month lease on a 2015 SV at around $300/month? Or should I just drive our old car, turn in the Leaf, and resign myself to buying gas until the second generation EVs are ready?

I know no one can make this decision for me, but I would appreciate some insight. I'm struggling a lot with giving up the Leaf, even if it makes financial sense at this point.

I'm in almost exactly the same boat. I want to hold out for a longer range vehicle. Need at least another year to hold me over.

I also thought it wasn't possible to extend beyond 3 years. Is there a way to verify?

The 2016 doesn't look compelling to me. I'd rather stay with my 2013.

My current leaning is to buy a used 2013 LEAF. I'm hoping prices will keep dropping. Gas prices are low. 2016 has better range. Why would anyone want a 2013.

I figure NMAC won't negotiate on the one I have now. If the lease is really month to month I could start calmly shopping now for a good deal on a 2013.

Biggest questions are for NMAC. is it possible to extend beyond 3 year? Will they negotiate on purchase price on the LEAF I'm leasing?

 

[LeftieBiker]

Call them. They won't negotiate on the residual, but I'll bet they will give you that fourth year. Their phone system is terrible, though. Search back in the topic called, IIRC, "End of lease options" for the best number to use.

 

[cwerdna]

The lease extension form is extremely minimalist, and there is little language about anything on it.

Which is why I question whether their lease is really month-to-month, since from another thread, people were getting inconsistent answers from NMAC. When in doubt, I'd go by what's in writing rather than what people say verbally.

 

[RonDawg]

If the '13 still works well for you, I would drive it until April of next year and then ask for another 12 months of the month to month extension. If you get it, that puts your turn in date into the 2nd quarter of 2017 - maybe the Bolt or 2nd Gen Leaf will be available. If not, then you could with a 24 month lease on a '16. The only draw back would be possibly missing the lease deals that will happen on the '15s shortly.

My understanding is that NMAC will not extend beyond 36 months, period. Is there any evidence to the contrary? That would be ideal for me, but I just don't see it happening.

When I extended to a third year, I was told over the phone that I could extend a fourth year next year. Others have been told this as well,

I'm on a three year lease and NMAC also told me I could go to a fourth year if I wanted to.

 

[alerievay]

I leased a 2013 SV for $245 a month (with taxes and 0 down) back in May 2013. I extended my lease before it expired, so I am month-to-month until May 2016. I'm really struggling with what to do. I considered the buyout that expired on 8/31, but my residual was $15,805, and I realistically expect maybe 4 more years out of this car. My long-term plan has always been to hold out for a longer-range car before I purchase, so I decided against purchase at this time. Now I'm wondering if I made the right decision. Is it worth going into a 36-month lease on a 2015 SV at around $300/month? Or should I just drive our old car, turn in the Leaf, and resign myself to buying gas until the second generation EVs are ready?

I know no one can make this decision for me, but I would appreciate some insight. I'm struggling a lot with giving up the Leaf, even if it makes financial sense at this point.

I'm in almost exactly the same boat. I want to hold out for a longer range vehicle. Need at least another year to hold me over.

I also thought it wasn't possible to extend beyond 3 years. Is there a way to verify?

The 2016 doesn't look compelling to me. I'd rather stay with my 2013.

My current leaning is to buy a used 2013 LEAF. I'm hoping prices will keep dropping. Gas prices are low. 2016 has better range. Why would anyone want a 2013.

I figure NMAC won't negotiate on the one I have now. If the lease is really month to month I could start calmly shopping now for a good deal on a 2013.

Biggest questions are for NMAC. is it possible to extend beyond 3 year? Will they negotiate on purchase price on the LEAF I'm leasing?

I'm actually considering buying a used 2013, as well. I found one locally that is well-priced, assuming that the battery capacity is good. But the additional year is intriguing, too. I'm just not sure it's worth getting locked into a 3-year lease at $300+/month.

 

[Deleted member 9549]

I'm actually considering buying a used 2013, as well. I found one locally that is well-priced, assuming that the battery capacity is good. But the additional year is intriguing, too. I'm just not sure it's worth getting locked into a 3-year lease at $300+/month.

We talked ourselves out of extending another year.

Its still Nissan's car. It will be out of warranty. Anything goes wrong and we'd be on the hook to fix someone else's car. And we'd be paying a bunch of money for a 3-4 year old car. For that we would have been better off doing another 2year lease earlier this year.

Not sure what our options are turning out to be. Seems that used LEAF prices will only continue to drop quickly at this rate.

 

[EVforRobert]

I'm actually considering buying a used 2013, as well. I found one locally that is well-priced, assuming that the battery capacity is good. But the additional year is intriguing, too. I'm just not sure it's worth getting locked into a 3-year lease at $300+/month.

You didn't say anything about your car's condition, gids at full charge, or how much you like it. You could let it go, find it by VIN when it goes back on sale and get it for a lot less than residual.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Its still Nissan's car. It will be out of warranty. Anything goes wrong and we'd be on the hook to fix someone else's car. And we'd be paying a bunch of money for a 3-4 year old car. For that we would have been better off doing another 2year lease earlier this year.

To go off-topic for a bit: I was looking at a TV ad last night for a ridiculously low lease rate ($99) on a Kia, IIRC. I figured it involved a super-high downpayment, so since it was in HD and I could actually see the fine print, I paused it and read the terms... Kia /Hyundai is staking out a new corner of Hell, folks: the down payment is normal, about $2300. They get that low lease payment by making the lessee financially responsible for all maintenance on the car, and all repairs as well. That's right, not only will those poor lessees (and most of them will be working poor, count on it) have to pay the dealerships whatever they want to charge for "maintenance," they will also have to pay for repairs. Real ground-breaking evil, that...

 

[TomT]

When I signed the paperwork to extend my lease on a month to month basis, I added the verbiage to that affect by hand to the document and initialed and signed it. Nissan had no problem with that so I do have it in writing...

Which is why I question whether their lease is really month-to-month, since from another thread, people were getting inconsistent answers from NMAC. When in doubt, I'd go by what's in writing rather than what people say verbally.

 

[RonDawg]

To go off-topic for a bit: I was looking at a TV ad last night for a ridiculously low lease rate ($99) on a Kia, IIRC. I figured it involved a super-high downpayment, so since it was in HD and I could actually see the fine print, I paused it and read the terms... Kia /Hyundai is staking out a new corner of Hell, folks: the down payment is normal, about $2300. They get that low lease payment by making the lessee financially responsible for all maintenance on the car, and all repairs as well. That's right, not only will those poor lessees (and most of them will be working poor, count on it) have to pay the dealerships whatever they want to charge for "maintenance," they will also have to pay for repairs. Real ground-breaking evil, that...

Umm...that's the way it's always been. It's only been recently that a few manufacturers (primarily high end cars) included maintenance in their leases. But except for the first two battery checks, even the Leaf leases put the onus of maintenance costs on the lessee.

Now as far as making all repairs...unless the cars are being sold with no warranty (which would probably violate some Federal law if not others), the cars are still warrantied by the manufacturer. I can tell you that selling a new car without an emissions warranty does violate Federal law, and also California law if the car is sold in that state.

 

[alerievay]

You didn't say anything about your car's condition, gids at full charge, or how much you like it. You could let it go, find it by VIN when it goes back on sale and get it for a lot less than residual.

My car is actually in good condition. 21,500 miles, no bar loss, good capacity (though I honestly have never measured gids). I like it quite well and would keep it if I could pay in the $12,000 range for it.

Any tips on how to find it by VIN after return? I haven't seen threads on that topic, but I confess I don't visit here regularly.

 

[EVforRobert]

Cars.com publishes the VIN in the listing and if the dealer offers free Carfax it is there, too. You can search for your trim level and color and it may turn up somewhere near you.

Has NMAC made an offer to reduce your residual ?