Gen 2 LEAF in CO Springs

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Br4hm4

Active member
Joined
Feb 5, 2018
Messages
38
Location
Colorado Springs
Just wanted to say hi and see if I could liven up the Mountain USA portion of this forum with an introduction. Guess you could say I was just trying to "spark up" conversation...a little electricity joke...bad I know. So...here is my intro and also my story on how I got to the LEAF vs the BOLT.

I just picked up a 2018 Leaf yesterday. Would have preferred the range of the Bolt more, would have preferred the performance of the Bolt more. But ultimately, this is my commuter car and the LEAF does what I need it to. And it does it remarkably well. There is absolutely nothing about the vehicle that stands out. And I mean that in every sense of the word:


1. Styling is improved over the last generation, but I think the Bolt looks better.
2. Range...double the last generation, but still less than the Bolt
3. Comfort, for me, is better than the Bolt
4. Cargo area, goes to the Bolt but barely
5. Technology...this hands down goes to the LEAF. Pro-pilot puts this in to Tesla category for semi-autonomous driving. Power seats, Heated seats and Steering wheel are all a nice bonus.
6. E-pedal...One foot driving to the extreme...especially when combined with Pro-Pilot.
7. EVSE...comes with a standard 120/240 with the technology package, no need to purchase a home EVSE unless you want one.
And finally what made me go with the LEAF over the Bolt...
8. Sales experience. The $5k incentive to buy Electric was a huge plus and Nissan was set up to do that at point of sale. Most of the Chevy dealerships didn't even seem to know about it or how to go about getting the tax incentive. Nissan was friendly, wanted my business and negotiated to get to the price where I wanted to be. Chevy was a friggin disaster. Bait and switch for Bolts that they didn't have. Lies on pricing till I got to do paperwork. Almost no communication or negotiating.


I walked away with what I felt was a great deal and it didn't take me a month before a dealership wanted to make a sale.
 
Interesting story, thanks.
Did you restrict yourself to Colorado Springs dealerships ?

If you don't mind saying,
What was your 'want to reach' price for each car, and which trim ?
Was the Bolt a 2017 model ?
 
SageBrush said:
Interesting story, thanks.
Did you restrict yourself to Colorado Springs dealerships ?

If you don't mind saying,
What was your 'want to reach' price for each car, and which trim ?
Was the Bolt a 2017 model ?

I attempted to work with 4 Chevy dealerships. Mike Maroone (CS), John Elway (Denver), Ed Bozarth (Denver), and Stevinson (Denver). Daniels Chevy here in the Springs didn't even call me back when I left 2 voice messages and 2 online requests. I really wanted to get a Bolt and I didn't think I was asking for much. LT with DCFC and comfort and convenience package. I saw it was available in multiple states for around $31-32K. I asked the ones I could actually talk to or see in person to get it to $33k and I would take it. The closest anyone got was $34,600. Ed Bozarth had one that was completely stripped on their website for $30,400 and I was going to jump on it...when I contacted them about it the day I was supposed to go and buy it, the guy said, "well it's not here, but I can sell you this other one we have listed at $39K. All of the ones I was working deals on were 2017's.
 
Br4hm4 said:
SageBrush said:
Interesting story, thanks.
Did you restrict yourself to Colorado Springs dealerships ?

If you don't mind saying,
What was your 'want to reach' price for each car, and which trim ?
Was the Bolt a 2017 model ?

I attempted to work with 4 Chevy dealerships. Mike Maroone (CS), John Elway (Denver), Ed Bozarth (Denver), and Stevinson (Denver). Daniels Chevy here in the Springs didn't even call me back when I left 2 voice messages and 2 online requests. I really wanted to get a Bolt and I didn't think I was asking for much. LT with DCFC and comfort and convenience package. I saw it was available in multiple states for around $31-32K. I asked the ones I could actually talk to or see in person to get it to $33k and I would take it. The closest anyone got was $34,600. Ed Bozarth had one that was completely stripped on their website for $30,400 and I was going to jump on it...when I contacted them about it the day I was supposed to go and buy it, the guy said, "well it's not here, but I can sell you this other one we have listed at $39K. All of the ones I was working deals on were 2017's.
Good info, thanks.

What deal did you get on the LEAF ?
Did you consider buying out of state and shipping to yourself ? That was my choice with my last car I bought, and I was satisfied with the results. Not only did I save money, I handled it all from home. No visits to dealerships is a big plus in my book.
 
SageBrush said:
Good info, thanks.

What deal did you get on the LEAF ?
Did you consider buying out of state and shipping to yourself ? That was my choice with my last car I bought, and I was satisfied with the results. Not only did I save money, I handled it all from home. No visits to dealerships is a big plus in my book.

The out of state stuff was actually how I found out that Colorado dealerships are keeping the prices high for no reason. I was working with a dealership out of Florida to get a 2017 Bolt and it was so hit or miss, communication is definitely not high on the list of attributes for a great car salesperson. I went to a dealership in Indiana, same results. Lots of good talk then boom nothing when it came to delivery.

I didn't shop around much for the LEAF to be honest. But from what I am being told by others I got the best deal anyone has heard of. After state tax incentive it was just over $28K + tax + D&H. Not too bad in my opinion.
 
Br4hm4 said:
But from what I am being told by others I got the best deal anyone has heard of.
Perhaps, I really do not know. Sounds like you paid ~ $34k before TTL or tax credits.

All the best with your car !
 
SageBrush said:
Br4hm4 said:
But from what I am being told by others I got the best deal anyone has heard of.
Perhaps, I really do not know. Sounds like you paid ~ $34k before TTL or tax credits.

All the best with your car !

The loan at 0% was for just over $34K.

Thanks. Happen to know of any EV events in the area?
 
Br4hm4 said:
The loan at 0% was for just over $34K.
Now that surprises me. Was TTL $5k ? I paid quite a bit less than $5k for my $27.5k car, albeit in a relatively inexpensive county in Colorado.
I ask because the dealership presumably (?) reduced your purchase price the $5k they will collect from Colorado.

Or perhaps you have to file at tax time for the colorado tax credit ?
 
They took the $5k credit off the top of the sale. Taxes in C Springs are 8.25% so it hit me pretty hard. All other fee ended up being close to $900 so it was about $3200 for all that.
 
I'm not able to reconcile your numbers easily, but if the car was ~ $35.8k before TTL and Colorado rebate, the $34k loan makes sense.

I looked up my TTL for Montezuma county in case it is any help:
2.9% state tax on sales price of car
0.4% District tax on sales price of car
2.1% Ownership tax on 80% of car MSRP
 
SageBrush said:
I'm not able to reconcile your numbers easily, but if the car was ~ $35.8k before TTL and Colorado rebate, the $34k loan makes sense.

I looked up my TTL for Montezuma county in case it is any help:
2.9% state tax on sales price of car
0.4% District tax on sales price of car
2.1% Ownership tax on 80% of car MSRP

That is substantially lower than El Paso County...more so Colorado Springs in general.
 
Br4hm4 said:
SageBrush said:
I'm not able to reconcile your numbers easily, but if the car was ~ $35.8k before TTL and Colorado rebate, the $34k loan makes sense.

I looked up my TTL for Montezuma county in case it is any help:
2.9% state tax on sales price of car
0.4% District tax on sales price of car
2.1% Ownership tax on 80% of car MSRP

That is substantially lower than El Paso County...more so Colorado Springs in general.
Indeed. Google says
The state of Colorado gets 2.9 percent. El Paso County adds a 1.23 percent tax. If you live in Colorado Springs, you pay another 3.12 percent. If you live within the boundaries of the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority, that entity collects a 1 percent sales tax.
May 14, 2016
That adds up to 8.25% if you are within the PP authority

... And ownership tax, another 1.785% of MSRP

For a grand total of 10.035% taxes

The $3200 in taxes you mention would then work out to a $31,888.39 MSRP
But then the $34k loan does not compute. I would expect $31,889.39 + $3,200 - $5,000 = $30,089.39

So either some numbers are wrong, are missing, or the dealership owes you some money.
Is an extended warranty hiding in there somewhere ?
 
Only other thing I added was Gap insurance, but that wouldn't make the difference. I am going to take a look at things again with the paper work. At this point I am also surprised I didn't have a cargo cover and floor mats in the SV. Apparently options but surprised none the less.
 
Let us know how things turn out. I'd love to hear that the dealership wrote you a check :mrgreen:

If you want some help parsing the invoice, let me know by PM. I'll send you an email to send a photo of the invoice to me. It will remain confidential.
 
SageBrush said:
Let us know how things turn out. I'd love to hear that the dealership wrote you a check :mrgreen:

If you want some help parsing the invoice, let me know by PM. I'll send you an email to send a photo of the invoice to me. It will remain confidential.


Appreciate it!
 
Br4hm4 said:
I just picked up a 2018 Leaf yesterday.

I walked away with what I felt was a great deal and it didn't take me a month before a dealership wanted to make a sale.

Congrats! We have a 2017, and love it.
 
Back
Top