Nissan lowers Leaf lease price to $289/month; issuing refunds for unused deposits

Back in April, Nissan updated the process it is using to sell the all-electric Leaf. Most importantly, that meant that interested buyers no longer needed to place a $99 reservation fee to order their car from Nissan's website. Instead, as Nissan's Katherine Zachary told AutoblogGreen, interested customers can now create an account online or order a Leaf directly from the dealer, "without any associated fees. Dealers across the country are able to sell the Leaf, with many receiving the cars directly." In short, the Leaf is starting to be sold just like any other car.

As part of the change, Nissan began issuing refunds to anyone to had previously put down a $99 deposit on a Leaf but had not yet ordered one. Getting a refund does not take a person out of their place in the reservation queue. Zachary added:

The changes are part of the natural evolution of the Nissan Leaf sales process and are a reflection of customer feedback. It's important we provide customers with the options they desire when it comes to the purchase process. Our dealers have made significant investments in sales and service training, and charging capabilities, and are well equipped to provide the highest level of customer satisfaction.

In some limited situations, such as when the credit card used to make the deposit was now inactive, Nissan is issuing refunds via check.

Originally, Nissan set the Leaf lease prices at $349 a month for a 36-month lease. This week, that price was lowered to either $289 a month (for SV trim) or $319 for the upscale SL model. That's not all that's changed: the lease term has now climbed to 39 months and the initial payment went from the original $1,999 to $2,999. So, instead of paying $14,563 for a Leaf lease, you can now pay either $14,270 or $15,440, plus taxes and whatnot and minus the federal tax incentive.



Source: Autoblog Green