Electra's, my 2012 Nissan Leaf, lease was coming to an end on Oct 4, so I began to evaluate whether I wanted to re-up with another Leaf or try a different electric vehicle. The last time I looked at EVs, the biggest contenders were the Leaf, the Fusion, Tesla, and Mitsubishi's i-MiEV. Since then, the BMW i3, Prius EV, and Mercedes B-class have entered the market.
As for the contenders, I think the MiEV died a quick death. Although I love the fact that Ford sponsors my favorite show, _The Amazing Race_, I still don't like the Fusion. It feels like a teeny-bopper car. The Tesla is still too rich for my book, but I'm eagerly awaiting the EveryMan's car in 2016/7. I don't like the looks of the Prius and the range is too low. I didn't consider the Mercedes B as it hasn't released here yet in Denver. Thus, the only other car of interest was the BMW i3.
What a stupid car. Sorry to all of you BMW fanatics, but what was BMW thinking with those rear doors? The first problem is that they are suicide doors and trying to open one from the inside takes Cirque de Soliel efforts. Then, the front seat driver has to wait until the back seat rider has to close her door in order to close the front seat door. It's a comedy of synchronicity that requires tons of patience and a user guide. And finally, although I'm sure engineers love the ingenuity, the way the i3 slows down when removing your foot from the gas pedal is flat out weird. It's almost like you stepped on the brake, but didn't. Frankly, I like coasting--and even if the slowing down is regenerating the battery, it's an awkward feeling and does not feel like driving. I dismissed the i3.
In the meantime, since I had a couple of months before my lease was up, I stopped in at AutoNation to start the conversation with the dealer. Disney helped me, but not well. I told him what I was up to, that I wanted the exact same terms on my new lease for an SL as I had on my old (2 years, nothing down, 12000 miles, and $254 or less a month), and to call me when he was ready. He never called.
Since I didn't know the exact process to returning my Leaf according to my lease terms, I called Nissan Finance. They mentioned I would need a wear-and-tear report, which they would arrange for free through a third-party vendor. A week later, the vendor showed up and evaluated Electra. She had some body damage (I can't believe my garage door frame jumped out at me like that!) on two panels and some minor bumper scruffing. The grand total would be $850 in repairs, or I could repair myself.
The next day, I had a mobile detailer come to take care of the majority of the damage at $300. I then also found out that if I returned Electra and leased another Nissan, I would not only get $500 credit toward wear-n-tear, I would get the deal reduced by $1000 due to my "good standing" with the finance company. So once I got the damage repaired, I started with the dealers again.
Disney didn't return my call. So I reached out to Tynan's and to AAA. AAA was super--they responded immediately with some terms, I countered back, they sweetened the pot and came close. Nothing down, $284 a month. Tynan's offered the same. I thought I'd call the Finance company again to make sure I was doing everything right, and they informed me that I would be responsible for my last lease payment, even if I turned the car in. This was news. I responded back to AAA that I was going to wait until September, after I had made all my payments, to get my next Leaf.
In the meantime, since my wear-n-tear report had expired and it needed to be updated to reflect my repair damage, I called for another appointment. They reviewed the car again, bringing my total wear-n-tear down to $475, which will be covered under my $500 re-lease credit.
Thinking I would start the negotiation process with the dealer in the middle of September, in time for my Oct 4 lease surrender, I decided to bide my time. Then Disney called out of the blue on Friday. He said he had a deal that met my terms. I asked him to email me the VIN and the terms. It matched. But being wise, I knew not to take the first offer.
I responded back that he was close. but his timing was off. I wasn't willing to leave money on the table by still being required to pay my last payment. He said he'd call back. Later in the day, he emailed me with my terms and an agreement to make my last payment. Done deal.
Then, I walked onto the lot. Ready to turn in Electra, Disney and I looked at the fine print. Apparently, he "made a mistake" and there was a problem with the VIN. They no longer had the VIN on the lot. I said tough. He needed to honor my deal and come up with a car to match, as I had honored his terms, he need to honor mine. So they came up with a nicer SL with Bose and Surround View, which had an MSRP of $1500 more. None the less, they honored the original offer, including paying my last payment gratis.
So now I'm the proud lessee of my 2014 Nissan Leaf SL. She's blue, leather, loaded. I think I'll call her Aqua. Or maybe Pacifica. Any suggestions?
