End of Lease Strategies?

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jjgilham said:
I was curious about the strategy you mention. If I overpaid, would they just credit it to my account and lower the payoff value? I asked two different people on the Leaf-line (800 854 3310) and they both said that NMC would not accept over payment which is a shame.

Why they don't have it setup so you can just send them the balance owed to execute a buyout? It does appear that banks can do that and the best "buyout" option may be buying the car out through a bank or credit union. My credit union sets up a loan for the balance, there are no fees, they become the lien holder and it does not appear there are dealer fees involved. The credit union charges no fee for early payoff so I could just settle with them at my leisure. Has anyone tried this?

When I was investigating buyout my local dealer (Eastside Nissan, Redmond WA) wants to cut themselves in for $1500 for handling the buyout. I told them no-thank you. When I later told them that another dealer (Younker Nissan, Renton WA) would do it for $300 they said they would as well. This is Just disgusting in my opinion. I've got no problem with them making a little bit on the transaction as it is some paperwork etc. but I think a few hundred is more than plenty.

SHOP AROUND!!

You can purchase your lease from any Nissan dealership in the country. I would pay no more than the stated $300 (or whatever it is) Realize its costing the dealership a fraction of that cost to process your paperwork AND they still get a cut from NMAC for handling the transaction.

Check with Ray at Everett Nissan. He may not be able to give you the best deal but he will be honest about what your options are.
 
Nope. Its a contract that means payment balance is run to zero. Residual value is the terms of a new contract; used car purchase. He would simply be refunded the difference.

Our mortgage was also a legal contract. We made modest over-payments for about 10 years and were able to pay off the house about 3 years early, saving thousands of dollars. It all depends on the wording.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Nope. Its a contract that means payment balance is run to zero. Residual value is the terms of a new contract; used car purchase. He would simply be refunded the difference.

Our mortgage was also a legal contract. We made modest over-payments for about 10 years and were able to pay off the house about 3 years early, saving thousands of dollars. It all depends on the wording.

As different as you can get. A lease has specific payment, length, etc. You can pay lease off earlier and save a few dimes on rent charge but that won't change the residual unless you change the term of the contract. Get an extension. That would do it.
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
jjgilham said:
I was curious about the strategy you mention. If I overpaid, would they just credit it to my account and lower the payoff value? I asked two different people on the Leaf-line (800 854 3310) and they both said that NMC would not accept over payment which is a shame.

Why they don't have it setup so you can just send them the balance owed to execute a buyout? It does appear that banks can do that and the best "buyout" option may be buying the car out through a bank or credit union. My credit union sets up a loan for the balance, there are no fees, they become the lien holder and it does not appear there are dealer fees involved. The credit union charges no fee for early payoff so I could just settle with them at my leisure. Has anyone tried this?

When I was investigating buyout my local dealer (Eastside Nissan, Redmond WA) wants to cut themselves in for $1500 for handling the buyout. I told them no-thank you. When I later told them that another dealer (Younker Nissan, Renton WA) would do it for $300 they said they would as well. This is Just disgusting in my opinion. I've got no problem with them making a little bit on the transaction as it is some paperwork etc. but I think a few hundred is more than plenty.

SHOP AROUND!!

You can purchase your lease from any Nissan dealership in the country. I would pay no more than the stated $300 (or whatever it is) Realize its costing the dealership a fraction of that cost to process your paperwork AND they still get a cut from NMAC for handling the transaction.

Check with Ray at Everett Nissan. He may not be able to give you the best deal but he will be honest about what your options are.

My local dealer wanted the $300 transfer fee, $340 doc fee, $20 license fee, and sales tax. I kept trying to find a more reasonable offer (and I had several without the $340 fee), but they all wanted me to bring the car in. I’m in Hawaii, which I didn’t keep a secret. They all said they couldn’t do the sale (even the people recommended on this thread). Finally, a salesman in Washington said any financial institution could take care of this for me. So I called USAA, my payoff amount was the actual number provided by Nissan Finance. No fees at all (even the $300 specified in the lease contract). I’ll have to pay $10 when I take the title to the DMV and I assume sales tax. I’ll update as soon as I get the title.
 
72andsunny said:
DaveinOlyWA said:
jjgilham said:
I was curious about the strategy you mention. If I overpaid, would they just credit it to my account and lower the payoff value? I asked two different people on the Leaf-line (800 854 3310) and they both said that NMC would not accept over payment which is a shame.

Why they don't have it setup so you can just send them the balance owed to execute a buyout? It does appear that banks can do that and the best "buyout" option may be buying the car out through a bank or credit union. My credit union sets up a loan for the balance, there are no fees, they become the lien holder and it does not appear there are dealer fees involved. The credit union charges no fee for early payoff so I could just settle with them at my leisure. Has anyone tried this?

When I was investigating buyout my local dealer (Eastside Nissan, Redmond WA) wants to cut themselves in for $1500 for handling the buyout. I told them no-thank you. When I later told them that another dealer (Younker Nissan, Renton WA) would do it for $300 they said they would as well. This is Just disgusting in my opinion. I've got no problem with them making a little bit on the transaction as it is some paperwork etc. but I think a few hundred is more than plenty.

SHOP AROUND!!

You can purchase your lease from any Nissan dealership in the country. I would pay no more than the stated $300 (or whatever it is) Realize its costing the dealership a fraction of that cost to process your paperwork AND they still get a cut from NMAC for handling the transaction.

Check with Ray at Everett Nissan. He may not be able to give you the best deal but he will be honest about what your options are.

My local dealer wanted the $300 transfer fee, $340 doc fee, $20 license fee, and sales tax. I kept trying to find a more reasonable offer (and I had several without the $340 fee), but they all wanted me to bring the car in. I’m in Hawaii, which I didn’t keep a secret. They all said they couldn’t do the sale (even the people recommended on this thread). Finally, a salesman in Washington said any financial institution could take care of this for me. So I called USAA, my payoff amount was the actual number provided by Nissan Finance. No fees at all (even the $300 specified in the lease contract). I’ll have to pay $10 when I take the title to the DMV and I assume sales tax. I’ll update as soon as I get the title.


GREAT NEWS!!

You wouldn't by chance have the name and location of that salesman?
 
It was your guy in Everett.

In other news: Nissan Finance has screwed me. They cashed the check from my bank and after I called twice asking where my title is, have told me that only a dealership in Hawaii can handle the transaction. Thanks for telling me before I took out an auto loan that I only took out because you told me to. Anyway, they’re checking to see if they can keep my check and I can just show up at a dealership to sign paperwork.
 
72andsunny said:
It was your guy in Everett.

In other news: Nissan Finance has screwed me. They cashed the check from my bank and after I called twice asking where my title is, have told me that only a dealership in Hawaii can handle the transaction. Thanks for telling me before I took out an auto loan that I only took out because you told me to. Anyway, they’re checking to see if they can keep my check and I can just show up at a dealership to sign paperwork.

Ray is DA MAN!!

As far as NMAC; why does it seem like there is never an easy answer when they are involved?
 
Well, here I am - like so many before me- four months from the end of a 3 year lease on a 2016 SV (30KwH 8500 miles).
Our stated pay out will be about $11,000 in Nov 2019. Which always tracks Nada /KBB pretty closely.
I had hoped we could negotiate to buy some where closer to wholesale..but as it is we will be paying about $19 K for the car ( we got a LOT of governmental/utility rebates which won't exist for a newer EV).
Obviously because we have driven the car so little, it has cost us $1 a mile to lease the car, Plus $436 a year License and $7=900 a year for insurance .
A lease was the only way for us to realize the $10K federal subsidy ( except buying a lease return !)
The posts from late 2018 on make it pretty clear there is no promotional money hence no lower price to be had.
If Nissan had made their 2020 goal of a fully autonomus leaf.. we would have tried to buy one..just be cause we are OLD..and live out in the sticks.
I figured that when/if our battery degrades 30% if our efficiency remains at 1% = 1 mile we will still have 25-30% more range than we need for the typical needs of old pharts..shopping and doctors on a typical 40 mile round trip.
if our battery is good for 10 years we are golden...3 years we are escrewed.
So there is the real meat of our decision to buy. it's been too expensive this far..and only longevity will make it be what we'd hoped for. er
I read senor lefties theory about pack density and heat..but when the same discharge is drawn from a larger pack, the RATE is lower and the heat generated is less (works this way in ALL battery types). At very high rates more problems, but if operated sensibly the pack will literally be exhausted before it overheats. But clearly there is a limit to the size and allowable discharge rate, before lack of forced cooling limits what can be safely done.
which is why teslas BURN baby..high rate and high density (and idiiot company).
"come to terms with your ass for it bears you" eh. ?
 
I don't think any longer that the problem with the 30kwh pack is the density. If that were it then they would have the same issues more or less uniformly, adjusted for average load and climate. As it is we see some packs behaving pretty much as a 30kwh Lizard pack would do, and others degrading more like Canary packs. It seems to be more a combination of build quality, a few badly programmed BMS units, and another factor that may be a chemistry with a very well-defined idea of what amount of heat is acceptable and what isn't. At any rate, if your pack is holding up well, and hasn't degraded much yet, I don't think it's likely to suddenly take a nosedive in capacity. Keep it.
 
Welps. Can't believe 3 years is almost up already! Anyone have any new info about end-of-lease strategies (my 2016 S has a 9900 residual)? Or maybe a recommended dealership to try to negotiate a better buyout price?
 
Oils4AsphaultOnly said:
Welps. Can't believe 3 years is almost up already! Anyone have any new info about end-of-lease strategies (my 2016 S has a 9900 residual)? Or maybe a recommended dealership to try to negotiate a better buyout price?

If the pack is holding up well, then $9900 is a good residual. If it isn't, I suggest you turn the car in.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Oils4AsphaultOnly said:
Welps. Can't believe 3 years is almost up already! Anyone have any new info about end-of-lease strategies (my 2016 S has a 9900 residual)? Or maybe a recommended dealership to try to negotiate a better buyout price?

If the pack is holding up well, then $9900 is a good residual. If it isn't, I suggest you turn the car in.

Still got 12 bars (~83%). good enough to warrant buying it out. Just trying to avoid paying any extra fees.
 
Oils4AsphaultOnly said:
Welps. Can't believe 3 years is almost up already! Anyone have any new info about end-of-lease strategies (my 2016 S has a 9900 residual)? Or maybe a recommended dealership to try to negotiate a better buyout price?

Tough decision especially in your area. How well is the range "minus 20%" working for you? I had a S30 with a $9100 residual and never would have kept it. Simply wasn't enough to future proof a TCO on a purchase. Right now, my S40 has a $9600 residual (monthly lease $120 a month higher though) and if the pack

1) Holds up well, I will buy

2) Degrades so fast a warranty replacement is likely

I will buy.
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
Oils4AsphaultOnly said:
Welps. Can't believe 3 years is almost up already! Anyone have any new info about end-of-lease strategies (my 2016 S has a 9900 residual)? Or maybe a recommended dealership to try to negotiate a better buyout price?

Tough decision especially in your area. How well is the range "minus 20%" working for you? I had a S30 with a $9100 residual and never would have kept it. Simply wasn't enough to future proof a TCO on a purchase. Right now, my S40 has a $9600 residual (monthly lease $120 a month higher though) and if the pack

1) Holds up well, I will buy

2) Degrades so fast a warranty replacement is likely

I will buy.

Current range is fine. "Minus 20%" will be barely doable. But for my wife, she can use it even at 4 bars left, but she'd rather have a used model Y, so it's a race to see which happens first.

Anyway, it has enough warranty life left to justify buying it. I'm just looking for ideas on how to minimize those pesky dealer fees.
 
Hello everyone,

I am located in Orange County and currently have a 24 KWh 2016 S with QC option. My lease ends in early Sept and I haven't exceeded 36K and my residual is only 9000. I've read about the last 20 pages of this thread and am trying to come up with a strategy. I currently have all 12 bars. I haven't loaded up LeafSpy to determine the SOH but that's on my list. My original lease terms were 0 down and 170/month, which I'm guessing I won't be able to replicate again this time! SO, with my total lease payments come out to 6K - 2.5K for the CA rebate. This means, with the residual, I would have only paid $12.5K if I chose to keep it. 2016 Leafs seem to be going for around 10-12K here, so keep the car seems like a no brainer with my $9K residual.

I'm fine with keeping the car, but would obviously like a 30KW or maybe even 40 so I'm open to leasing a new Leaf, but really don't want to pay the $300/month with $3K down that I'm seeing! My commute is only 10 miles each way and I driven about 10.5K miles a year.

Am I way off base with any of my thinking here? Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated! Thanks.
 
LeftieBiker said:
With your commute, unless you take much longer trips you have no need for a larger battery and should keep your Leaf.

Thanks for the reply LeftieBiker. What you say is true. However, if I had a 30/40 KWH battery, we could eliminate more weekend ICE trips on our primary car, so if the price is right, that might be a good way to go.

Would you agree that keeping the car isn't too much of a risk since my residual is lower than what 2016 Leafs are going for?
 
socaluser said:
Hello everyone,

I am located in Orange County and currently have a 24 KWh 2016 S with QC option. My lease ends in early Sept and I haven't exceeded 36K and my residual is only 9000. I've read about the last 20 pages of this thread and am trying to come up with a strategy. I currently have all 12 bars. I haven't loaded up LeafSpy to determine the SOH but that's on my list. My original lease terms were 0 down and 170/month, which I'm guessing I won't be able to replicate again this time! SO, with my total lease payments come out to 6K - 2.5K for the CA rebate. This means, with the residual, I would have only paid $12.5K if I chose to keep it. 2016 Leafs seem to be going for around 10-12K here, so keep the car seems like a no brainer with my $9K residual.

I'm fine with keeping the car, but would obviously like a 30KW or maybe even 40 so I'm open to leasing a new Leaf, but really don't want to pay the $300/month with $3K down that I'm seeing! My commute is only 10 miles each way and I driven about 10.5K miles a year.

Am I way off base with any of my thinking here? Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated! Thanks.
As I posted in another thread, a UT dealer is selling the 40 kWh LEAF 'S' model for $21,500 before tax credits or TTL. Figure out your tax credits and go from there. The CVRP requires in-state purchase.

I suggest you ignore your lease -- that is a sunk cost. Instead, compare a
$9000 ~ 18 kWh, 3 year old LEAF to
Whatever is otherwise available to you.

As a second, lightly used commuter your car is kinda sorta an OK-ish deal.
If it is your only car, it will hamstring you in a few short years.
 
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