Interlopers

[hill]

With 10's of thousands on the $99 wait list, many consider how far down the list they'll be. It might be longer than one realizes. I say that because of "charging infrastructure". Even the entire roll out communities won't necessarily be within the smaller circle ... the areas closest to the charging stations. I've spoken to several slot holders that are in fact proxies ... maybe an in-law ... or a parent or child. What ever the relationship, many have insured their "spot" in line by having a disinterested (in a Leaf) party make the transaction more certain. Thus Pat Luster who lives out in Podunk Idaho gets his/her car 1st ... because his/her contact out there in San Diego, or in the Bay Area (where charges will be FIRST installed), signed up for the Leaf, at Pat's request.

Heck, for that matter, there may be Leafs going off to other countries ... not just other states. A collateral phenomena may be that the list won't be nearly as long as the numbers look. That's because some may simply not have the money, once it comes time to cough up the $30K +. In any event, I'm sure glad various family members of ours live where they do.

[garygid]

Did you get an email from China offering to buy your "new" LEAF for $55,000 US dollars?

[Jimmydreams]

It's quite possible that for the initial roll-out and until Leafs are available nationwide the purchaser may be asked to sign something that basically says "I understand that if I take or sell this vehicle out of the 'roll-out' areas, that service will NOT be available."

In other words, Mr. Smith from Podunk, Iowa may indeed use a proxy to get an early car, but EVERY Nissan dealer in Iowa will say "sorry, no service" should something go wrong. Once they're nationwide, the training and resources will be in place for service. Until then, proxy buyers will be taking a rather large chance.

Just my $.02.

[evnow]

So, is the idea just to use someone else's address while buying - but you would buy in your name (not in the uninterested party's name and then transfer ownership) ? Transfering ownership would be a mess in terms of tax obligations.

IIRC, Nissan will allow people to buy from the nearest initial rollout area. I think that is a much cleaner way to do it - may be with a disclaimer about service availability.

[mitch672]

Where I am, the Leaf is rumored to not be here until Mid-2011,I am going to try and buy it from SB Nissan, if possible.

It's $1500 to ship it from Santa Barbara, CA to Boston, MA.
I'm not going to do this if the price is over MSRP or the car will be on the east coast sooner.

[hill]

Did you get an email from China offering to buy your "new" LEAF for $55,000 US dollars?

Gary it's funny you should ask. In fact, your off the cuff comment wasn't irrelevant. I DID have another party ask me to give them my "spot". A Colorado acquaintance wanted to see what it'd be worth for me to buy it for him. No ... it wasn't China - but it was a state not designated to be 1st on the list. As for the "Taxes would be a nightmare" issue - that all depends. For example, we have a home in MT. NO sales tax . . . a buyer there would merely pay the sales tax originally paid by the original purchaser.

That opens the other can of worms. Folks worry about being gouged. As long as there are people willing to pay a premium - can anyone reasonably expect Nissan dealers to NOT get what ever then can for the Leaf? I lost count on the Aptera list - of all the folks planning to use geographically convenient buyers to get their car. I'm thinking with a bunch of interlopers trying to mussel their way to the front . . . it'll be 'interesting' at a minimum.

[evnow]

As long as there are people willing to pay a premium - can anyone reasonably expect Nissan dealers to NOT get what ever then can for the Leaf?

Yes I expect the MSRP figures and priorities to be honored - thats what all the pre-ordering is about.

[hill]

As long as there are people willing to pay a premium - can anyone reasonably expect Nissan dealers to NOT get what ever then can for the Leaf?

Yes I expect the MSRP figures and priorities to be honored - thats what all the pre-ordering is about.

The "S" ... in MSRP stands for SUGGESTED. Honored? You mean like, "character" and "integrity"? Um, these are car dealers. I know there are exceptions to the general rule, but ...
anyway - good luck.

[evnow]

The "S" ... in MSRP stands for SUGGESTED. Honored? You mean like, "character" and "integrity"? Um, these are car dealers. I know there are exceptions to the general rule, but ...
anyway - good luck.

See this post ...

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.p ... 4327#p4327

[daniel]

... As long as there are people willing to pay a premium - can anyone reasonably expect Nissan dealers to NOT get what ever then can for the Leaf?...

In the early days of the Prius, some dealers were charging way over MSRP and some were including dealer add-ons to increase their profit, whether buyers wanted them or not. You could walk, but they wouldn't sell you the car without. However, most dealers were charging MSRP and not trying to force buyers into the add-ons. My dealer charged MSRP, offered me the usual dealer add-ons, and when I declined them, didn't press.

A few Nissan dealers will charge more and use other profit-increasing tactics. Most will not. Competition works in our favor since the buyer will get an authorization to buy the car, but can go to any dealer. In the case of the Prius in the early days, dealers had an allocation and could do whatever they liked with the cars allocated to them.