Please help on leasing, Norcal USA. Bay Area San Franciso

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queuetee

Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2020
Messages
22
Hi, I don't know if the lease is a good deal or not, can someone help. From the surface, it looks good. I am very new to Nissan Leaf, I really don't know the market
Is about 2020 Leaf SV, no major additional packages

List price: $36,170
Price after discount:$33,870
Net price after $4k rebate= $29,870 plus tax and license fees= $33,589 out the door.

What I want is the lease option that the dealer gives me since I want to test our the Leaf, make sense to lease. I have no idea why 36 months cost more than 24 months, it does not sound right :)

24 months,12k miles per year
$3500 down payment ( out the door, no hidden fees)
$199 per month TAX INCLUDED

Or
36 months,10k miles per year
$3500 down payment ( out the door)
$288 per month TAX INCLUDED

With 3 year lease option, you can apply for CA $2k rebate upon qualification, the 24-month term does not qualify for CA rebate.
 
@LeftiBiker, thank you so much for the reply. I am very new, don't know much about lease either. I know there is $7500 tax credit if I buy. If I lease, dealer would take that. It makes sense too. But for 24 months lease, which is the one I like, $199/month with $3500 does not seem bad.
Anyway, I don't really know. What should a better number I ask the dealer for 24months lease? No down, down comes down to $1000 instead of 3500?

Thanks so much for the help. And forgive me for my ignorant, I rarely buy car, NEVER lease, so I am a complete idiot on this :)
 
LeftieBiker said:
It sounds like they are trying to take the rebate from you, in the form of higher payments for the qualifying lease. look for another dealership.
Keep in mind the CA CVRP (https://cleanvehiclerebate.org/eng/eligible-vehicles) has a minimum 30 month lease length requirement:
https://cleanvehiclerebate.org/eng/eligibility-guidelines
Retain ownership of the vehicle in California for a minimum of 30 consecutive months immediately after the vehicle purchase or lease date. Original lease terms of at least 30 months are required for program eligibility.

Register the new vehicle with the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) for a minimum of 30 consecutive months* for use in California
Years ago, it was 36 months.

The residual is set by NMAC. It's possible that NMAC values a 3 year old Leaf at the end of its lease to be a lot less than that of a 2 year-old one, esp. since the 3 year/36K basic warranty will be expired on the former.

Recommend putting $0 down on a lease. In most cases, if you total the car, you get none of your payments back.
 
Recommend putting $0 down on a lease. In most cases, if you total the car, you get none of your payments back.

Since most dealerships like to see cash, and will give a better deal if some is included, I suggest that people put down no more than they are willing to risk losing if the car is totaled. If that figure is $1,000, then that's a good down payment. Just keep in mind what Cwerdna wrote.

As for the lease periods, shop around by emailing or calling several dealerships. Explain that you are looking for at least a 30 month lease to qualify for the state incentive, and ask for numbers. Mention that you are contacting several dealers.
 
Although the OP isn't comparing apples to apples (allowed mileage per year is different), with the $2K CVRP (assuming they qualify https://cleanvehiclerebate.org/eng/eligibility-guidelines as there are other limitations like an income cap), the 36 month lease will effectively be less per month, once you subtract out $2K from the total cost of the life of the lease.

OP needs to look at total cost of lease (total off all payments and fees minus any rebates). For 24 month leases, for example, there should be the down payment (if any) + 23 payments.

(Not including disposition fee) The 36 month lease ends up being about $321.67/month, assuming you subtract out the $2K CVRP. The 24 month lease ends up being about $336.54/mo.

I've never qualified for CVRP: first lease was 24 months (I knew I wouldn't qualify for CVRP going in), current Leaf is used (CVRP n/a for used EVs) and bought Bolt after they put on the current income cap. I make too much $ to qualify.

Also, keep in mind NMAC leases have a $395 disposition fee that's due once you return your car assuming you don't buy it out or buy/lease a new Nissan or Infiniti. It's mentioned at https://www.nissanfinance.com/nmac/articles/en_US/knowledge/Steps-to-Complete-your-Lease-Return-Nissan/?ln=en_US (and all over that site) and should be in your lease paperwork that you sign.
 
queuetee said:
I have no idea why 36 months cost more than 24 months, it does not sound right :)

24 months,12k miles per year
$3500 down payment ( out the door, no hidden fees)
$199 per month TAX INCLUDED

Or
36 months,10k miles per year
$3500 down payment ( out the door)
$288 per month TAX INCLUDED

With 3 year lease option, you can apply for CA $2k rebate upon qualification, the 24-month term does not qualify for CA rebate.
You answered your own question. Nissan is taking the CA rebate

$199 a month sounds way too much like a dealership advert price. Be VERY sure that tax is included. I'll give odds that the sales person is either lying or misinformed, although that is a distinction without a difference.

You asked for thoughts about taking a lease. Here are mine:
1. Do not do ANYTHING money related that you do not understand well. It is just inviting someone to screw you. Describing a lease without knowing the residual is a good example of not knowing enough.

2. You can buy for $33.6k, and then perhaps receive up to $7,500 + $2,000 in fed and state tax credits. That would be a $24,100 car.
The 2 year lease is $3,500+24*199 + tax ? = $8.276. Consider whether you want to pay 8276/24100 = 1/3 of the car's price for 2 years of use (or more if there is tax.) A somewhat reasonable answer actually depends a lot on the residual ...

Good Luck !
 
Good point about the residual, although if they don't plan to buy the car the residual is effectively meaningless. If they do want at least the option to buy, then the residual matters a lot. IIRC, though, NMAC fixed residuals at 33% of MSRP a few years ago, and that hasn't changed.
 
SageBrush said:
queuetee said:
I have no idea why 36 months cost more than 24 months, it does not sound right :)

24 months,12k miles per year
$3500 down payment ( out the door, no hidden fees)
$199 per month TAX INCLUDED

Or
36 months,10k miles per year
$3500 down payment ( out the door)
$288 per month TAX INCLUDED

With 3 year lease option, you can apply for CA $2k rebate upon qualification, the 24-month term does not qualify for CA rebate.
You answered your own question. Nissan is taking the CA rebate

$199 a month sounds way too much like a dealership advert price. Be VERY sure that tax is included. I'll give odds that the sales person is either lying or misinformed, although that is a distinction without a difference.

You asked for thoughts about taking a lease. Here are mine:
1. Do not do ANYTHING money related that you do not understand well. It is just inviting someone to screw you. Describing a lease without knowing the residual is a good example of not knowing enough.
Re: the part I bolded, WOAH! I didn't interpret it that way at all.

Unfortunately, we're lacking enough info from the post. I do agree with point 1.

OP should read thru the CVRP application process at https://cleanvehiclerebate.org/eng/pre-post-purchase/925.

OP needs to be clear on all the payments due (e.g. down payment, all monthly payments, taxes, fees, etc.) for the life of whatever leases are being offered AND what happens w/the CVRP. I've not heard of Nissan and/or a dealer taking CVRP when leasing or purchasing a new Leaf. They might advertise a lower price with assumptions that you qualify for regional rebates and/or Federal tax credit...

Again, for CA CVRP, the lease needs to be at least 30 months long (https://cleanvehiclerebate.org/eng/eligibility-guidelines). With a purchase of a new qualifying vehicle, you need to keep it for at least 30 months.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Good point about the residual, although if they don't plan to buy the car the residual is effectively meaningless. If they do want at least the option to buy, then the residual matters a lot. IIRC, though, NMAC fixed residuals at 33% of MSRP a few years ago, and that hasn't changed.
Even if you don't plan to purchase, residual matters. The cost of the lease is basically purchase price minus residual but with the addition of fees, taxes and interest (since you're actually getting a loan).

If you had a hypothetical car where the price was $30K and the residual was $20K vs. a $30K car and residual is $10K, the latter would have a total cost of lease over 2x that of first one.
 
cwerdna said:
I didn't interpret it that way at all.
<<shrug>>

I don't mean that Nissan is applying for the CA credit and keeping it; I mean that Nissan increased the price because the credit is available to the person taking that lease.
 
SageBrush said:
cwerdna said:
I didn't interpret it that way at all.
<<shrug>>

I don't mean that Nissan is applying for the CA credit and keeping it; I mean that Nissan increased the price because the credit is available to the person taking that lease.
Got it.

That said.... when I originally was in the market to lease a '13 Leaf, back then the pricing was wonky.

Total cost of 3 year lease back then was so much higher than a 2 year, it was cheaper per month to go with a 2 year and not be eligible for $2500 CVRP (back then it was $2500) than to go with a 3 year and take the $2500 CVRP. There were posts here on MNL along these lines, as well. That's part of why I went for a 2 year.

(Not including disposition fee) The 36 month lease ends up being about $321.67/month, assuming you subtract out the $2K CVRP. The 24 month lease ends up being about $336.54/mo.
For the OP, I arrived at the above numbers via:
3500 down + (35 payments * 288 each) - 2000 CVRP = $11,580 11,580 total / 36 months = $321.67 per month, effectively

3500 + (23 * 199) = $8,077 8,077 / 24 = $336.54

Hope my math is right.
 
cwerdna said:
LeftieBiker said:
Good point about the residual, although if they don't plan to buy the car the residual is effectively meaningless. If they do want at least the option to buy, then the residual matters a lot. IIRC, though, NMAC fixed residuals at 33% of MSRP a few years ago, and that hasn't changed.
Even if you don't plan to purchase, residual matters. The cost of the lease is basically purchase price minus residual but with the addition of fees, taxes and interest (since you're actually getting a loan).

If you had a hypothetical car where the price was $30K and the residual was $20K vs. a $30K car and residual is $10K, the latter would have a total cost of lease over 2x that of first one.

What I mean is that NMAC has fixed the residuals - no more astronomical residuals with low payments - so the residual for a given car is more like a fixed cost than a variable. TCOL is, as you noted, what matters, unless they want to buy the car. The way the residuals work now, though, they tend to fix the cost of buying the car after lease at high retail. With a car like mine (or rather like mine before it got hit) that means you can buy a great car at a premium price. Others won't want to pay a premium for a car they are getting bored with and may have abused a bit.
 
Thank you so much, guys. It helps me a lot since I have no clue about leasing.
Anyway, I don't plan to keep the car long. So, leasing makes more sense to me. Also, I don't mind paying an extra $ for 24 months lease since that is what I intend to keep the car only. Basically, I just temporary use the Leaf to wait out for the Nissan Ariya :)
Now, I know exactly what I want, it's just a matter of negotiating:
The dealer said tax included in the $199 and $3500 due at signing (include everything, no hidden fee).

Should I negotiate $3500 down, or negotiate monthly $199 down. Or do both :)

Again, thanks a lot folks, you guys are great.....
 
It looks like there are some pretty good deals in NorCal this month.

http://ev-vin.blogspot.com/2016/07/current-lease-offers-for-selected-evs.html
 
Thanks for your help, folks. Now I know the dealer was definitely making fun of me. Nissan Leaf will be my first car ever, so I’m nervous because I think I can be easily deceived by dealers like those I met.
 
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