Should we purchase our leased 2016 Leaf S?

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MikeMieka

New member
Joined
Oct 23, 2018
Messages
3
Hello, new to this forum and would like some opinions - our 2 year lease is about up (Jan 2019) on our 2016 S with 30kw battery. We will have $4800 into it (0 down, 200/mo) with a residual of about 12K. We live in the Seattle area which I know is good for battery life and we've had the software update on battery. The range is decent (in summer it shows 124 miles at 100% charge) and we haven't lost any bars. There is about 19K miles on it, in great condition and have really enjoyed it, pretty much serves our needs, but longer range would be nice. We were hoping the timing would be right to lease this one and then lease the new 200+ range model but it looks like it won't be out in time. Soooooo we are considering buying the 2016. What would you do?
 
Since you know the car and it's history, and I'm pretty sure you can't replace it for that amount, I'd say go for it. Can you live with it for another 4 years or so?
 
If you are already thinking more range would be better, and have a modest amount invested in the 2016, I suggest you turn it in and lease a 2018 or 2019. You may well have range issues with the 30kwh in the future, and while the 40kwh Leaf will lose range as well, it has a much bigger cushion - more than just the extra 10kwh because of better efficiency.
 
MikeMieka said:
Hello, new to this forum and would like some opinions - our 2 year lease is about up (Jan 2019) on our 2016 S with 30kw battery. We will have $4800 into it (0 down, 200/mo) with a residual of about 12K. We live in the Seattle area which I know is good for battery life and we've had the software update on battery. The range is decent (in summer it shows 124 miles at 100% charge) and we haven't lost any bars. There is about 19K miles on it, in great condition and have really enjoyed it, pretty much serves our needs, but longer range would be nice. We were hoping the timing would be right to lease this one and then lease the new 200+ range model but it looks like it won't be out in time. Soooooo we are considering buying the 2016. What would you do?


Why not get a lease extension until you can get into the 2019 60kwh Leaf e-plus? My dealer offered an extension to me since my 2016 Leaf SV lease ends February 2019. Was told the 60kwh Leaf e-plus would be available spring of 2019 here in Minnesota. The 2019 e-plus will be a tremendous upgrade in my opinion (More horsepower, faster charging, longer range, better battery, active TMS, more technology and isn't butt ugly like my 2016 Leaf!)
 
rcm4453 said:
MikeMieka said:
Hello, new to this forum and would like some opinions - our 2 year lease is about up (Jan 2019) on our 2016 S with 30kw battery. We will have $4800 into it (0 down, 200/mo) with a residual of about 12K. We live in the Seattle area which I know is good for battery life and we've had the software update on battery. The range is decent (in summer it shows 124 miles at 100% charge) and we haven't lost any bars. There is about 19K miles on it, in great condition and have really enjoyed it, pretty much serves our needs, but longer range would be nice. We were hoping the timing would be right to lease this one and then lease the new 200+ range model but it looks like it won't be out in time. Soooooo we are considering buying the 2016. What would you do?


Why not get a lease extension until you can get into the 2019 60kwh Leaf e-plus? My dealer offered an extension to me since my 2016 Leaf SV lease ends February 2019. Was told the 60kwh Leaf e-plus would be available spring of 2019 here in Minnesota. The 2019 e-plus will be a tremendous upgrade in my opinion (More horsepower, faster charging, longer range, better battery, active TMS, more technology and isn't butt ugly like my 2016 Leaf!)

60kwh Leaf will be $6000 more expensive, right?
When will the $7500 tax credit become $3750?
 
Add the Tesla Model 3 MR to your shopping list,
But decide quickly or risk losing out on half the federal tax credit
 
In your shoes, I would probably buy out the lease residual and get a few more years use out of it.

However, if you can afford a new longer range EV then it's a possibility that Washington State could get the Hyundai Kona Electric and/or Kia Niro EV in the next 6 months. Also, the 2019 Leaf e-Plus will be out soon too.

If I really wanted to purchase a new EV and the timing wasn't quite right then I would takeover someone else's lease payments for a few months.

Here's a lease for a 2016 LEAF SV in WA that ends in 8/5/2019:

http://www.swapalease.com/lease/details/2016-Nissan-LEAF.aspx?salid=1257748

That end date should be perfect timing...

Otherwise, you could takeover the lease on an ICE for a few months instead.
 
tesleaf said:
rcm4453 said:
MikeMieka said:
Hello, new to this forum and would like some opinions - our 2 year lease is about up (Jan 2019) on our 2016 S with 30kw battery. We will have $4800 into it (0 down, 200/mo) with a residual of about 12K. We live in the Seattle area which I know is good for battery life and we've had the software update on battery. The range is decent (in summer it shows 124 miles at 100% charge) and we haven't lost any bars. There is about 19K miles on it, in great condition and have really enjoyed it, pretty much serves our needs, but longer range would be nice. We were hoping the timing would be right to lease this one and then lease the new 200+ range model but it looks like it won't be out in time. Soooooo we are considering buying the 2016. What would you do?


Why not get a lease extension until you can get into the 2019 60kwh Leaf e-plus? My dealer offered an extension to me since my 2016 Leaf SV lease ends February 2019. Was told the 60kwh Leaf e-plus would be available spring of 2019 here in Minnesota. The 2019 e-plus will be a tremendous upgrade in my opinion (More horsepower, faster charging, longer range, better battery, active TMS, more technology and isn't butt ugly like my 2016 Leaf!)

60kwh Leaf will be $6000 more expensive, right?
When will the $7500 tax credit become $3750?


Nissan still has a ways to go before the tax credit reduces to $3,750, getting the full credit on a 2019 shouldn't be a problem.

The $6,000 is worth it though, will be so much better than a 2016 Leaf!
 
Thank you everyone for the feedback, we didn't realize that a lease extension is possible and/or you can assume someone else's lease. We will look into that. Very good points made. We could live with our existing car for another few years AND we could afford a new one once the E plus, Kia or Hyundai are available. One side says since we've already invested $4800 into the car and it's cheap to buy out ($12K) and it serves our purposes, that's the way to go and in 3-5 years we could get a new one and who knows by then how much better they'll be, BUT in only a few months we could have a much improved one that could last much longer and be more useful for longer trips. Choices, choices. Maybe we should just flip a coin.......
 
MikeMieka said:
Thank you everyone for the feedback, we didn't realize that a lease extension is possible and/or you can assume someone else's lease. We will look into that. Very good points made. We could live with our existing car for another few years AND we could afford a new one once the E plus, Kia or Hyundai are available. One side says since we've already invested $4800 into the car and it's cheap to buy out ($12K) and it serves our purposes, that's the way to go and in 3-5 years we could get a new one and who knows by then how much better they'll be, BUT in only a few months we could have a much improved one that could last much longer and be more useful for longer trips. Choices, choices. Maybe we should just flip a coin.......

If you'd have to sell the 2016 again, don't do that - the depreciation will be high. If you have someone in the family to give it to, then it's your call, obviously.
 
You need to look at a few things, if you buy the current car, the price is 12K if I understand. What is the car worth and what are the current rebates? The 2018 has a lot of improvements and you will get another 2 years of free charging. Leasing has a lower tax credit than buying but that is up to you.

In Colorado where I am the state kicks in 5K, Electric company is doing 3K and the federal is 7500 which comes down to 15,5K can bring the price of a new car down to 20K and if there are any offers from Nissan for a leftover 2018 drops the price even more.
 
When I looked at the federal tax credit is was about 57K for income. If you don't meet that hopefully you have a family member that can take advantage of the credit.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-dft/i1040tt--dft.pdf


Don't forget it is income on your taxes, not the tax owed. But the credit cannot be carried over either.
 
komondor5 said:
When I looked at the federal tax credit is was about 57K for income. If you don't meet that hopefully you have a family member that can take advantage of the credit.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-dft/i1040tt--dft.pdf


Don't forget it is income on your taxes, not the tax owed. But the credit cannot be carried over either.

I think you'd be surprised at how many people don't owe $7500 in taxes in a single year. EV buyers tend to be more affluent. I'm not, and many of the EV drivers I know aren't either. They also don't have affluent family members who will buy a car for them, even given the down payment.
 
I guess maybe it is semantics but I don't think and income of under 60K is affluent.

See here
https://www.fool.com/retirement/2016/10/30/heres-the-average-american-household-income-how-do.aspx

You don't need to owe 7500.00 just that the amount of taxes that needs to be paid is 7500.00 for the year.

You could have already paid 8,000.00 in normal payroll deductions

Median income that I found is

https://www.deptofnumbers.com/income/colorado/


Real Median Household Income in Colorado
2016 1 Year Change 3 Year Change
US $57,617 +2.01% +7.02%
Colorado $65,685 +1.50% +8.37%

I live in Colorado so maybe I have a skewed view

here is the 2015 rates

3 Texas $55,653
24 Wisconsin $55,638
25 Nebraska $54,996
26 Iowa $54,736
27 Oregon $54,148
28 Kansas $53,906
29 South Dakota $53,017
30 Nevada $52,431
31 Maine $51,494
32 Arizona $51,492
33 Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia $51,244
34 Michigan $51,084
35 Ohio $51,075
36 Indiana $50,532
37 Missouri $50,238
38 Montana $49,509
39 Florida $49,426
40 Oklahoma $48,568
41 Idaho $48,275
42 North Carolina $47,830
43 Tennessee $47,275
44 South Carolina $47,238
45 Louisiana $45,727
46 New Mexico $45,382
47 Kentucky $45,215
48 Alabama $44,765
49 West Virginia $42,019
50 Arkansas $41,995
51 Mississippi $40,593
 
You exclude retirees like me. You also are in a state with a fairly high median income. The median income in my county is $54k, with most adjacent counties about the same. My income is $34k, with much of it untaxed. But we really don't need to argue this, as there are many people here who leased precisely because they didn't qualify for the credit. Your lecture would be best delivered at another site, like a Tesla forum. ;-)
 
Even if he lives in a "high income" state, keep in mind that for many states in this list, that figure is skewed by whatever area has the highest incomes, and certainly doesn't reflect how most of the state lives. For Colorado, metro Denver definitely skews it high, with their tech industry (there's an area of Denver even called "Denver Tech Center"), but I wouldn't expect the people of Pueblo or Grand Junction to be making similar money. I would expect the same for New York, since NYC will naturally have higher incomes (since cost of living is so high).

I also agree that $60k isn't all that affluent even for a single filer. I would say "strictly middle class" and in some areas of the country you couldn't afford to rent or buy with that income.
 
I also agree that $60k isn't all that affluent even for a single filer. I would say "strictly middle class" and in some areas of the country you couldn't afford to rent or buy with that income.

$60k looks like "Filthy Rich" when your income is $34k. ;-)
 
LeftieBiker said:
I also agree that $60k isn't all that affluent even for a single filer. I would say "strictly middle class" and in some areas of the country you couldn't afford to rent or buy with that income.

$60k looks like "Filthy Rich" when your income is $34k. ;-)

Much of your $34k is untaxed as you said.
 
$39k doesn't seem much like $60k either. Before we stop beating this dead thread, I'd like to make one more rebuttal: someone with a $60k income may be able to buy a Leaf for someone else, but even given the money up front they are very unlikely to do it, because of the financial risk. It isn't until you get to incomes where the risk would be trivial (well over $100k) that it becomes a non-silly idea. At that point the altruist in question IS "affluent," at least by the standards of us non-affluent.
 
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