End of Lease Strategies?

[Nubo]

What bothers me, through, is how come salesmen at Nissan Sunnyvale work completely for free?

[DaveinOlyWA]

I just bought out my 2015 SL lease from Nissan Sunnyvale.

Got a great deal from Lou Suppan.
They did a crappy job washing the car post inspection, but $35 at the car wash remedied that situation.

He was one of the few in the Bay Area that was willing to negotiate on the buyout price.

lsupan@nissansunnyvale.motosnap.com
408-735-6888
415-810-6833

I got a REALLY good deal so told him I would give him some good reviews online.


Cheers,
Jon

I am also in the Bay Area, and my lease expires in a month. Based on Jon's post, I contacted Lou Supan from Nissan Sunnyvale. After spending two days on trying to sell me a new 2018 Nissan Leaf, Lou finally gave me the price for keeping the leased car. It is the residual value specified in the contract. In Lou's view, this a great deal for these simple reasons: "Other dealers normally charge $500-$1000 over residual plus fees to buy out cars, I'm just working for free here trying to get you a fair deal."

I tried to negotiate with Lou whether he would give me something better. He offered to waive the disposition fee if I purchase the new 2018 Nissan Leaf. That's right, Lou made me a very generous offer agreeing to waive fees that the dealer is already obligated to waive under the express terms of the lease contract.

I am wondering whether the disposition fee waiver is all that he did for Jon. I asked Lou this question, and still waiting for the response. It appears this is all Lou did for Jon and this waiver is what Jon characterized as a "REALLY good" deal.

What bothers me, through, is how come salesmen at Nissan Sunnyvale work completely for free?

Why are you asking a question when you already know the answer?

[michaelt]

Because it was a rhetorical question.

Rhetorical question: a question asked in order to create a dramatic effect or to make a point rather than to get an answer.

Here, a person represented he obtained an unspecified "REALLY good" deal from a particular salesman who says that he works completely for free. The rhetorical question calls into question credibility of the salesman as well as the credibility of the person who highly recommended him.

[DaveinOlyWA]

Because it was a rhetorical question.

Rhetorical question: a question asked in order to create a dramatic effect or to make a point rather than to get an answer.

Your experience illustrates the fact that YMMV. I would continue with other dealers.

[michaelt]

The point was not to illustrate that my experience was different, as if others might be able to get a better deal. The point was to discredit the salesman and the person who highly recommended him.

[Nolansdad]

Sounds like Lou is being a bit more of a typical salesperson....

I negotiated via email with him and Redwood City. Both agreed to $13k out the door but Lou was 5 mins from my office.

That put the purchase price at about $10.5k and I didn’t have to make 6 payments at $249 ea.

I considered that to be a pretty good deal since the residual was $14k-ish

[Phatcat73]

What are folks doing about damage? I dented in the bottom corner of the rear hatch and have a 1 inch crack in the bumper. Body shop quoted about $1000 and advise I use the comprehensive on my insurance to avoid ins rate increases.

Do the work prior to lease turn in inspection or take it in as is and compare penalty costs to repair?

Never leased before so don’t know what to expect upon return.

[LeftieBiker]

What are folks doing about damage? I dented in the bottom corner of the rear hatch and have a 1 inch crack in the bumper. Body shop quoted about $1000 and advise I use the comprehensive on my insurance to avoid ins rate increases.

Do the work prior to lease turn in inspection or take it in as is and compare penalty costs to repair?

Never leased before so don’t know what to expect upon return.

Get the end of lease inspection ASAP and see if the charge for the damage meets or exceeds the estimate from the shop. If not, just pay the damage charge.

[leafer007]

My lease on 2015 Nissan Leaf is ending next month and here is my frustrating story trying to do get a good deal on buyout -

I reside in Austin TX and have been having really tough time explaining to multiple dealerships what a buyout incentive is. I spoke to Nissan finance but they asked me to deal with these lame dealerships.

After talking to about 5 dealerships around here and insisting them to talk to Nissan and get me a quote. Here is their response -

Dealership1, 2 and 3 - Bring your car here, we will ground it and then find out the final buyout number from Nissan
Dealership4 - 10,800 + 395 (disposition) + TTL
Dealership5 - 10,550 + TTL

My car is 2015 Nissan Leaf
Trim: SL
Mileage: 38000
Lease Period: 36 + 4(extension) = 40 months
Buyout price online = 13,248

What do you guys think of the above price? Is that even a deal? My lease is ending end of July and I still have some time left

My preferred option was to lease a 2018 Nissan Leaf but the monthly payment scared me away.

[LeftieBiker]

That $10,550 is a good buyout price for a 2015, assuming the battery isn't cooked.