Timing of getting my next EV

[w6vms]

Leafpals:

Put on your Swami hats and help me read the tea leaves of the future...

I have a 2013 SV I love. 14,000 miles, 12 bars. Meets my needs. My 2 year lease is up 5/15. I am anxiously awaiting the longer range EV's such as what Nissan may do, or Tesla 3. Looks like those cars will not be available until at least 2017. So, if I extend my current lease for one more year...

I was told by the financial person at the dealer that the most you can extend a lease with NMAC is six months. I did not call NMAC to verify this, though.

 

[dndrich]

Leafpals:

Put on your Swami hats and help me read the tea leaves of the future...

I have a 2013 SV I love. 14,000 miles, 12 bars. Meets my needs. My 2 year lease is up 5/15. I am anxiously awaiting the longer range EV's such as what Nissan may do, or Tesla 3. Looks like those cars will not be available until at least 2017. So, if I extend my current lease for one more year...

I was told by the financial person at the dealer that the most you can extend a lease with NMAC is six months. I did not call NMAC to verify this, though.

I believe many have extended for a year.

 

[Anonymous]

The only reason Tesla can demand the price is they have no real competition in the same market...

Hence the car is worth it. No other car company is producing anything comparable, because the Tesla Model S is that good.
You fail to admit that the Model S is worth the price. Fine.

I get that you are very happy with your Nissan Leaf and look forward to it's future replacement. I'm glad you feel so strongly for Nissan's ability to execute on their future car.

But would it hurt you to admit Tesla is getting it right?

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Leafpals:

Put on your Swami hats and help me read the tea leaves of the future...

I have a 2013 SV I love. 14,000 miles, 12 bars. Meets my needs. My 2 year lease is up 5/15. I am anxiously awaiting the longer range EV's such as what Nissan may do, or Tesla 3. Looks like those cars will not be available until at least 2017. So, if I extend my current lease for one more year, that would put me into May of 2016. Might be too early for the higher range cars. I could turn it in and just lease a 2015 for 2 years. That would make the window. My current lease is quite favorable, so the thought of continuing it is good, and I do like the car too. Thoughts?

extend it. some say longer range LEAF will be MY 2017 released late Spring 2016 so your timing would be near perfect

 

[LeftieBiker]

I was told by the financial person at the dealer that the most you can extend a lease with NMAC is six months. I did not call NMAC to verify this, though.

Lying seems to be first nature for dealer staff.

 

[Flashman]

The only reason Tesla can demand the price is they have no real competition in the same market...

Hence the car is worth it. No other car company is producing anything comparable, because the Tesla Model S is that good.
You fail to admit that the Model S is worth the price. Fine.

I get that you are very happy with your Nissan Leaf and look forward to it's future replacement. I'm glad you feel so strongly for Nissan's ability to execute on their future car.

But would it hurt you to admit Tesla is getting it right?

Not at all, Tesla is doing it very right... it's an awesome car for sure.
Elon Musk is my favorite entrepreneur extraordinaire.
The history books will remember him fondly and Tesla makes an awesome car that has done very much to further the EV platform than most.
If you have not seen 'revenge of the Electric car yet' you should definitely have a watch... it focuses on both Carlos Ghosn and Elon Musk as these two pioneers are blazing the trail. I actually wanted a Model S before the leaf... I just could not justify the cash for value and resale. but it is way cooler. I want to challenge Tesla to make and market the every-mans car for the masses to both compete with Nissan and to further the platform in the U.S. over a much larger scale.
P.S. check this recent interview with Ghosn by Daniel Roth from Linkedin on how Carlos runs 3 companies... very good.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/arti...companies-140b-in-sales-and-still-stays-human

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I was told by the financial person at the dealer that the most you can extend a lease with NMAC is six months. I did not call NMAC to verify this, though.

Lying seems to be first nature for dealer staff.

hmmm, don't know if this matters but I know two people who only had 2 year leases who extended a year and also 2 people who had 3 year leases who extended for less time (both went month to month and one is still leasing after 2-3 months while the other went 3-4 months before getting a 2015)

I seem think I remember people here getting 4 year leases so I would think 12 months is probably ok or more if you started with a 2 year

 

[tkdbrusco]

I bought instead of leased, seems like the cost of the car was a wash either way (for the S and the price we got). So I guess I have a bit more flexibility on timing. We drive about 16-17K/year, so I'm thinking in 2.5-3 years I sell it and move on to a newer model. At that point I should still have a good deal of resale value and hopefully 10 bars or more on the car still. Need to get $12,000 for the car to break even on the deal, so it should be doable at that point. Of course this also depends on whether the replacement batteries for the Leaf stay at $5500? if they drop in price, I'll probably keep it and suck it down to 8 bars before buying a new battery. We got the 100K extended warranty so why not.

Would really like to have 110 miles+ in range on next EV. Hopefully the newer leaf (2017?) will have that range, but if not there's bound to be something out there at a reasonable cost that does. New cheap Tesla? Who knows.

Also a few other things to consider is the $7500 tax credit, which goes until 2019, and carpool stickers in CA, which go till 2019 as well.

The other big question is whether to buy or lease the next one. In CA the $2500 state rebate will be gone in a few months, so that means if you lease past that point, you are out of pocket $2500 (due at signing) and your monthly payments. Which makes it impossibly to drive the car for free, but if you purchase, the $7500 tax credit will still be around. So I may have to buy the next EV as well? In which case replacement battery cost is a major concern. So many variables!

 

[Deleted member 14724]

Leafpals:

Put on your Swami hats and help me read the tea leaves of the future...

I have a 2013 SV I love. 14,000 miles, 12 bars. Meets my needs. My 2 year lease is up 5/15. I am anxiously awaiting the longer range EV's such as what Nissan may do, or Tesla 3. Looks like those cars will not be available until at least 2017. So, if I extend my current lease for one more year, that would put me into May of 2016. Might be too early for the higher range cars. I could turn it in and just lease a 2015 for 2 years. That would make the window. My current lease is quite favorable, so the thought of continuing it is good, and I do like the car too. Thoughts?

I'd just compare the cost of leasing a 2015 at lease end and keep it until 2017. There's nothing special about buying a car at the start of the model year compared to the middle. Indeed, the nature of these cars would suggest treating them a bit more like other new technology: wait for some of the bugs to be addressed. If there are significant changes in 2017, it would be better to get a car with a few months' real-world testing by the first wave of users to save yourself some hassle.

 

[dndrich]

Leafpals:

Put on your Swami hats and help me read the tea leaves of the future...

I have a 2013 SV I love. 14,000 miles, 12 bars. Meets my needs. My 2 year lease is up 5/15. I am anxiously awaiting the longer range EV's such as what Nissan may do, or Tesla 3. Looks like those cars will not be available until at least 2017. So, if I extend my current lease for one more year, that would put me into May of 2016. Might be too early for the higher range cars. I could turn it in and just lease a 2015 for 2 years. That would make the window. My current lease is quite favorable, so the thought of continuing it is good, and I do like the car too. Thoughts?

I'd just compare the cost of leasing a 2015 at lease end and keep it until 2017. There's nothing special about buying a car at the start of the model year compared to the middle. Indeed, the nature of these cars would suggest treating them a bit more like other new technology: wait for some of the bugs to be addressed. If there are significant changes in 2017, it would be better to get a car with a few months' real-world testing by the first wave of users to save yourself some hassle.

This is probably what I will do. Furthermore, there are a few more cars out there now. I am in California, so we have more EV choices here. I love my Leaf, but I will look at the Kia Soul too. That car looks very nice. Just a bit more range than the Leaf. Not a big issue for me. Now, 150 miles would be nice, and would change just a few things for me if that comes to pass. If Nissan offers to sell me my car for a reasonable price (much less than the inflated residual) I might do that and then sell it in 2017. I can easily weather some battery degradation with my usual commuting. (My car easily goes 80 plus miles now.) Decisions, decisions! All good things though. I am lucky also that my financial situation is strong, so the money aspects are not a huge concern.

 

[tkdbrusco]

Not to throw another wrench in there, but the $2500 CA rebate is going to expire (run out of money) come April/May of 2015, so up until then, if you lease for 3 years or buy, you can get that credit, which even though it's taxable, will still nearly pay for your due at lease deposit amount. If you buy before that runs out, you can claim that $2500 as well as the $7500 tax credit, that's a full $10K off the price of a new car. Once that $2500 rebate is gone, the lease/buy decision becomes a lot tougher. I'd be inclined to say that CA will not extend the $2500 credit since they are already starting to bitch about how the amount of EVs are eating away at gas tax revenue.

 

[dndrich]

Not to throw another wrench in there, but the $2500 CA rebate is going to expire (run out of money) come April/May of 2015, so up until then, if you lease for 3 years or buy, you can get that credit, which even though it's taxable, will still nearly pay for your due at lease deposit amount. If you buy before that runs out, you can claim that $2500 as well as the $7500 tax credit, that's a full $10K off the price of a new car. Once that $2500 rebate is gone, the lease/buy decision becomes a lot tougher. I'd be inclined to say that CA will not extend the $2500 credit since they are already starting to bitch about how the amount of EVs are eating away at gas tax revenue.

I will definitely lease, and not buy. Normally I purchase my cars and run them until they are reclaimed by the earth. But these are new technology, and with the battery uncertainty combined with rapidly evolving competition, leasing is for me. Now, the 3 year lease gets you the CA tax rebate. But when I leased my 2013 it was still cheaper per month total cost of ownership to go 2 years. Weird, huh? But that is how it penciled out back when I leased. And, if I extend my current lease at $189 per month, it is even a better deal. But I still might turn it in for the timing on 2017. We'll see!

 

[MasiGuy]

This is my first post here, full disclosure is I am the LEAF specialist at a dealership in eastern Massachusetts.

FYI, I spoke with our Finance Manager who contacted NMAC's dealer services and was told that there is no set limit on how far one can extend a current lease agreement, although 6 months is typical. Extensions are approved case by case anyway depending on payment history, etc.

FYI2, Massachusetts has no restriction on the number of MOR-EV rebates that an individual can qualify for, its 52% allocated right now. It will be interesting to see if the incoming Republican executive will want to refund the program after the current one is depleted...

________________
Guy

3 x Level 2 Nissan / Aerovironment EVSEs
1 x DCQC Nissan / Aerovironment available free 24/7/365

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

That was Guy Bedeau, of Milford Nissan, a nice guy and well respected for figuring out how to clean all 5 filters on their QC in 15 minutes and keep it running 24/7. Way to go Guy, you leave those folks in Marlboro in the dust. They seem to have trouble with their QC. Maybe Jeff will let you help them?

A bill to keep the rebate going for 5 years is in the works. It remains to be seen how Mr. Baker will respond, but I hope he's sensible about it.

 

[dndrich]

This is my first post here, full disclosure is I am the LEAF specialist at a dealership in eastern Massachusetts.

FYI, I spoke with our Finance Manager who contacted NMAC's dealer services and was told that there is no set limit on how far one can extend a current lease agreement, although 6 months is typical. Extensions are approved case by case anyway depending on payment history, etc.

FYI2, Massachusetts has no restriction on the number of MOR-EV rebates that an individual can qualify for, its 52% allocated right now. It will be interesting to see if the incoming Republican executive will want to refund the program after the current one is depleted...

________________
Guy

3 x Level 2 Nissan / Aerovironment EVSEs
1 x DCQC Nissan / Aerovironment available free 24/7/365

Interesting! I wonder if I could extend for 2 years! That would be ideal frankly.

 

[Grant]

...Now, let's get back to the topic at hand, how long we have to wait for the Tesla 3, as that is the next car for a lot of us...

Yes, the Model 3 is the one I am waiting for. A 150 mile LEAF still won't be able to do long distance trips so it has only marginally improved utility over my current LEAF.

Given the question posed by the OP, I guess I am glad that I purchased my LEAF (and got a generous $5400 Colorado tax credit in addition to the federal one). Whether it takes three years (or four, or five) for the Model 3 to come out makes little difference to me. And if the Model 3 turns out to be too expensive or doesn't meet specifications or doesn't come out at all, I can just keep my LEAF going until something significantly better does hit the market.

Ditto for me. I bought my Leaf 3 years ago and will wait another 3+ years until the Model 3 (I want a minimum 200 mile range) is available for a reasonable price (probably not too much more than I paid for my 2012 Leaf SL). I almost leased the Leaf but when I found out that I had to pay sales tax ($1k+) either way, that pushed me over to buy instead of lease. I'm reasonably happy with the car overall but the range is disappointing and am looking forward to something nicer like the Tesla Model S (all wheel drive with auto-pilot) but cheaper, which is what I hope the Model 3 is going to be.

 

[CJBROWN]

Not to throw another wrench in there, but the $2500 CA rebate is going to expire (run out of money) come April/May of 2015, so up until then, if you lease for 3 years or buy, you can get that credit, which even though it's taxable, will still nearly pay for your due at lease deposit amount. If you buy before that runs out, you can claim that $2500 as well as the $7500 tax credit, that's a full $10K off the price of a new car. Once that $2500 rebate is gone, the lease/buy decision becomes a lot tougher. I'd be inclined to say that CA will not extend the $2500 credit since they are already starting to bitch about how the amount of EVs are eating away at gas tax revenue.

Are you sure? The program has been going since 2010. From what I can see they are not even close to using the funds allotted for the rebate program...

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Wow! That's some serious money.

 

[tkdbrusco]

Not to throw another wrench in there, but the $2500 CA rebate is going to expire (run out of money) come April/May of 2015, so up until then, if you lease for 3 years or buy, you can get that credit, which even though it's taxable, will still nearly pay for your due at lease deposit amount. If you buy before that runs out, you can claim that $2500 as well as the $7500 tax credit, that's a full $10K off the price of a new car. Once that $2500 rebate is gone, the lease/buy decision becomes a lot tougher. I'd be inclined to say that CA will not extend the $2500 credit since they are already starting to bitch about how the amount of EVs are eating away at gas tax revenue.

Are you sure? The program has been going since 2010. From what I can see they are not even close to using the funds allotted for the rebate program...

On their website it says that they are estimated to run out of money in April 2015. Not sure if anything has changed since I last read that.

 

[CJBROWN]

I thought registrations for BEV's was down for the past year. I see all kinds of charts, maybe just didn't pay attention.

Where does it say that on their site?