In the Washington, D.C., suburb of Springfield, Virginia, Hart Nissan was willing to lease you a brand-new Nissan Leaf electric hatchback for two years for just 99 cents. By now, you’ve probably seen the headline or the Twitter trend.
The deal is over. It was gone almost as soon as it was announced. But the details are worth exploring because similar stunt advertising is bound to appear in other cities as the Memorial Day weekend car sales binge begins.
Hart made the offer as a two-for-one deal. Buyers who purchased a new 2020 or 2021 Nissan Titan (MSRP starting at $36,950) full-size pickup could add on the Leaf lease.
It Was Gone Almost As Soon as it Was Advertised
But a few cautions are in order. Or, rather, were in order. Because the first one is this – there were only two deals available, and both were snapped up quickly. The radio ad (still running in the D.C. area as of this writing) says the deal is offered through June 1. But the dealer wasn’t doing the offer to simply throw new Leaf models in the beds of Titans. They were getting rid of two old ones.
A little-known fact is that dealers are usually making payments on the cars on their lots. When a car sits unsold for a long time, it costs the dealership more money than one just off the truck. This occasionally leaves a dealer willing to do the unusual in order to move a car that hasn’t sold in months.
The standard Nissan Leaf is a practical little family-hauler that packs a lot of space into a small footprint. But it also has a range of 150 miles. The Leaf Plus, on the other hand, can go 226 miles between charges.
Hart Nissan hasn’t said how long it held onto the two Leafs (Leaves?) it practically gave away. But odds are good that they wanted to get rid of two lingering examples to free up space for faster-selling vehicles. It would also generate some buzz at a time when dealers aren’t offering much in the way of incentives.
Many cars are in short supply and selling much faster than normal this spring, thanks to a host of issues.
No Incentives Included
A second caution is in the fine print. Among other things, it read “all rebates and incentives to dealer.” In other words, the $7,500 federal tax credit on two cars that weren’t otherwise selling remains with the dealer.
The fine print also read, “must finance, lease through NMAC.” In many sales, there’s money to be made through finance and lease deals. This particular offer required the use of the manufacturer’s captive finance arm. And to get the Leaf, you had to buy a full-size pickup. A dealer isn’t likely to cut you much of a break on the cost of your desired truck or the price of financing it if they’re throwing in another vehicle in the deal.
The Lease Was Restrictive
Lastly, the offer was for a 2-year lease with a mileage cap of 10,000 miles annually. So it only would have worked for buyers who would not drive their new Leaf very much.
And, of course, buyers would have to take on the monthly cost of insurance and maintenance for two vehicles rather than one.
It Still Made Sense for Some Shoppers
Does all of that make it a bad deal? No. For someone in the rare position of needing two new vehicles at once, this was a great opportunity. Just an extremely limited one. And it’s already gone.
You may not see a shocking ad in your area this Memorial Day, but odds are good that you will see a lot of car ads. This year, the rules of car shopping are different. Learn them before you head out.
