2011, 2012 Nissan Leaf Leasing Information

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evnow

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 22, 2010
Messages
11,480
Location
Seattle, WA
Update for MY2012 :

WA 2012 : https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B1CIl2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... k&hl=en_US

This is for WA. Change the License fee, state tax % etc for your state. Note that the Net Capitalized Cost I get is some $300 more than what Nissan says. We have to wait for more lease details to correct that.

Following information is for MY2011 :

Spread Sheets for Calculation

CA specific sheet (no iteration needed) : https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... y=CImg7-0B

WA specific excel sheet (no iteration needed) : https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0AlCIl2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... ist&num=50

CA specific excel sheet (iteration needed) : https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B-DGAX" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... y=CJGC1McG

WA specific excel sheet (iteration needed) : https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B1CIl2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... ist&num=50

note : Need to download and use excel for the iterative sheets, google docs doesn't work. Enable iterative calculation in Excel. (In Office 2010 file->options->formula).

If you don't have access to MS Office - you can use SkyDrive (http://explore.live.com/windows-live-skydrive" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) to edit the spreadsheet in the browser. Use the following simple steps.

Code:
Download the spreadsheet of interest to local storage
Login to SkyDrive or create a free account if you don't have one
Once in SkyDrive select add files and then select a folder to use
Select choose file and navigate to the spreadsheet from local storage and select it
Select Upload and once the file is uploaded select Edit in browser by mousing over the file name
You should see converting document briefly and then have the spreadsheet open and available for editing

Lease Facts

Money Factor :

Tier 0 — 0.00204 (credit score Above 740) i.e. 4.9%
Tier 1 — 0.00224 (credit score 700-739)
Tier 2 — 0.00264 (credit score 660-699)
Tier 3 — 0.00369 (credit score 620-659)
Tier 4 — 0.00454 (credit score 600-619)

SL :

MSRP - 33,720
Dest Charge - 820
Tax Rebate - 7,500
Net Capitalized Cost - 25,521
Down Payment - 1,999 (includes 1st month's lease payment)
Acquisition Cost - 595
Disposition Fee - 395
Mileage - 15,000 per year
Residue
49% (24 months)
44% (36 months)
43% (39 months)
39% (48 months)

SV :

MSRP - 32,780
Dest Charge - 820
Tax Rebate - 7,500
Net Capitalized Cost - 24,441
Down Payment - 1,999 (includes 1st month's lease payment)
Acquisition Cost - 595
Disposition Fee - 395
Mileage - 15,000 per year
Residue
51% (24 months)
45% (36 months)
44% (39 months)
41% (48 months)

Check this thread for different mileages etc. : viewtopic.php?f=23&t=1056

15k mi yr. 12k available with a 1% residual increase. 595 aquisition. 10 cents mile if you buy up front, 395 disp fee.

Lease vs Buy

Here is the thread comparing lease vs buy financially : viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1640&start=0
 
mwalsh said:
Do we know what the lease payments are on the 48 month lease?

See the other thread. I think 48 months payments are there. Or you can use an online payment calculator. I'll post the lease payments for various combinations later ...
 
Thanks!

Do you have information concerning the details of a "one payment" lease arrangement?

No matter how I crunch the numbers, it seems if you take out a lease, pay off all 24 or 36 monthly payments at once (including tax), then pay the residual plus tax and the acquisition fee, the car still costs you net about $28K. Even if I have to repay Nissan for their initial use tax payment and license fees, it's still under $31K.

What am I missing here? Other than the $7500 in federal tax credit, of course.
 
Clippy said:
What am I missing here? Other than the $7500 in federal tax credit, of course.

Exactly. If you paid cash it would cost you 32K+tax-7,500 = 25k+tax. With all this lease manuever you would pay more than 25K+tax. But if you can't get the 7.5K tax for some reason, this might be a good idea.
 
I went thought leasing vs. purchase. On a SL model I got 36 month lease....$31,876, 48 month lease....$34,274. That's including down, payments, residual, destination, and acquisition. But not including taxes, registration, doc fee, and options. Of course, it assumes buying out at the end.

For the same with purchase thru my CU @2.9% I got $28,600 over 36 months and $29,600 over 60 months. That's MSRP and destination, minus FTC. Again plus sales tax, registration, doc fee, and options.
 
Easiest way to compare is to use the money factor equivalent interest rate. Sine the best rate is 4.9% - if you can get financing for less than that, you would be better off buying. Infact, since lease has some additional costs like acquisition fee, even if the finance rate is slighlty higher, it would still be the better option.

Lease is better if
- You can't get 7,500 tax credit for some reason
- You want to buy a new car in 3 or 4 years, but don't want the hassle of selling used Leaf or the risk of a low used value for Leaf

The various calculations comparing the buy vs lease tells us how much is the "convinience" of leasing is costing us in terms of dollars.

ps : The average rates in bankrate and other places seems to be much higher than what people can get in their credit unions. My CU gives 3.4% - bankrate average is 6.22%.

http://www.bankrate.com/funnel/graph/Default.aspx?cat=8&ids=234,-1&state=zz&d=180&t=MSLine&eco=-1
 
evnow said:
My CU gives 3.4% - bankrate average is 6.22%.

I say my CU. My CU is actually Penfed, and their new car financing is a pretty good deal. Anyone can become a member, even if non-government or non-military, by joining the National Military Family Association ($20 fee).

https://www.penfed.org/howToJoin/overview.asp
 
@Tango: If you lease, you get the $7500 credit rolled into the lease price - Nissan earns the tax credit and passes it on to you. This makes the lease particularly attractive if you don't owe enough taxes to be able to take full advantage of the tax credit.
 
Tango said:
Why do you say that?
Because that is what happened when I bought my RAV4-EV with a Federal Tax Credit in 2002. Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) kicked in and limited my available tax credits.

As johnr says, leasing gets around both the AMT and/or too low tax liability issues.
 
Dav said:
Tango said:
Why do you say that?
Because that is what happened when I bought my RAV4-EV with a Federal Tax Credit in 2002. Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) kicked in and limited my available tax credits.

As johnr says, leasing gets around both the AMT and/or too low tax liability issues.

I though I heard that the tax credit was not subject to AMT. Anyone have any details on this?
 
Ready2plugin said:
I though I heard that the tax credit was not subject to AMT. Anyone have any details on this?
I'm not a tax attorney, but it looks like you are right. Looking at 2009 forms and instructions, the $7500 credit is requested using Form 8936 and reported on line 53 of Form 1040. I see nothing in Form 8936 or its instructions referring to AMT, and nothing in the AMT instructions saying to exclude line 53 or Form 8936.

One thing 8936 does clearly state is that no part of the credit can be carried over to another year. I think that question has come up before on this board, and that was the agreed on conclusion.
 
Anybody heard what Nissan will do about the CA state tax credit of $5000? Will they treat it the same way as the Fed, i.e. apply it towards cap cost reduction, or do we have to claim it ourselves?
 
Visual said:
Anybody heard what Nissan will do about the CA state tax credit of $5000? Will they treat it the same way as the Fed, i.e. apply it towards cap cost reduction, or do we have to claim it ourselves?

Claim it yourself.
 
I'm thinking of a last minute switch to lease. The cost of a 3 year lease after the buyout is only $2200 over buying @ 2.9% for 60 months, and a payment of $644 a month with $2k down ($680 a month with $0k down) vs. the $412 (tax included) lease payment.
 
That's my current thinking, mwalsh. Then when I get the CA rebate, stick it in the bank and use $140 a month (5,000 / 36) to "lower" my monthly lease payment so it has less impact on my usual budget.
 
Visual said:
Anybody heard what Nissan will do about the CA state tax credit of $5000? Will they treat it the same way as the Fed, i.e. apply it towards cap cost reduction, or do we have to claim it ourselves?
That $5000 is a rebate, not a tax credit. If you buy or lease an electric car, you're eligible for it. You just submit the required paperwork and then you get a check in the mail :)
 
It's a rebate, even for lessees? That's great news!

I was already planning on leasing instead of buying for the following reasons, but that just sweetens the deal.

1. First release of new product with new technology. History tells us that first run cars often have flaws, and we will be may be beta testing the car for Nissan. I don't want to own a beta product, and no one else does. So when I go to resell it in 3 years, I expect it to depreciate a lot.

2. I didn't lease my last car because I didn't want to be tied down by mileage limits, so we can take road trips as we please. Not an issue with a car with 100 mile range. I'll be driving this less than 6000 miles a year.

3. I only want the Leaf because it is the first EV to market that looks solid and affordable. I fully expect to upgrade to a better EV in 3 years when there are more options. Maybe a Tesla Model S if I can afford it. If not, maybe a Ford Focus, Coda or something else American.

4. Even if I did plan on keeping the car longer than 3 years, the batteries are going to degrade over time, so I'd rather not shoulder that depreciation.

5. Owning a car means thinking about resale all the time. That means the kids, dogs, etc need to be careful with their ice cream, paws, etc, and I better not have an accident that damages the title.
 
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