[Edit Fall 2020]: End of year deals are back, at least in Seattle or Portland.
Fed credit looks viable throughout most of 2021 for Leafs. Leafs no longer get the EZCharge card. Some areas are offering $250 credit with EVGo. Rebates are dead for Tesla and GM.
[Edit Fall 2019]:
The Oregon state credit (and some in WA, CA) are still in force, and the Federal tax credit is still happening (probably throughout 2021 for Nissans) but the additional incentives for (most) power company customers in Oregon all went dead July 1st. All is not lost however, the Aug-Sept time-frame is when the dealers get additional incentives from Nissan to move 2019 inventory. Historically that has meant an additional $1.5-2K off, assuming you can find someplace with considerable stock levels. Oregon seems pretty tapped out in that regard, but there are still a fair number of units in the greater Seattle area, and since Oregon residents don't pay WA sales tax, the only real additional 'cost' is the bother of going up there and getting it. We highly recommend having all the negotiations completed over email before heading up there. The process can be fairly painless, and if you can get the NoChargeToCharge/EZ-Charge benefit working before you leave the dealer, the 'fuel' cost of getting of home should be minimal.
One other thing to consider: The Aug-Sept time frame has had the best deals for leases we've seen. As a result, folks that don't qualify for most or all of the Federal Tax Credit (generally incomes below $70,000) see our post on that topic: Link
Even right now (July'19) the dealer up in Bellevue has 51 LEAFs and an extra $1000 off for previous Nissan owners and takes an extra $10,100 off for lease purchases. Remaining financial engineering is left to the reader. ...remembering that there's still the $2500 Oregon credit...
Now defunct post remains for historical perspective: ;-)
This deal has been out there for a month now and we only caught on last week. Granted the deal goes through the end of June, but for some of you that's hardly enough time to get your ducks (or beavers) in a row.
The basic thing is: PG&E, Portland General Electric, Pacific Power and EWEB customers get an additional $3500 off of a new Nissan LEAF (40KWh 156 mi. range) or $2500 off a new LEAF Plus (60KWh 225 mi. range) that they purchase outright before July 1st. Not applicable to leases, so if you don't make enough to qualify for the federal tax incentive, you're out of luck (in many ways... ;-)
YES! ALL THESE INCENTIVES 'STACK'
Lets do the math; for Oregon at least, there are somewhat similar deals going on in other states, WA and CA in particular.
New LEAF 'S' (base model, no leather or ProPilot, 150 mile range) $28,000 +Tax&Lic&Fees.
$28K - Fed $7.5K - Oregon $2.5K - PowerCo. $3.5K = $14.5K +Tax&Lic&Fees.
$36.5K - Fed $7.5K - Oregon $2.5K - PowerCo. $2.5K = $24K +Tax&Lic&Fees.
First, find the lowest advertised price in Oregon or Washington for the general type of car you want.
We have historically started with pricing from the Seattle Area dealers (Bellevue, Younker or Campbell Nissan) and then take that link and use it to beat the dealer you're actually interested in buying from over the head. This has historically worked well with Dick Hanna Nissan and somewhat with Carr Nissan, both are PDX area dealers. It's a good idea to approach their internet sales department from the Costco dealer discount page (if you're a member) since that adds to their incentive-to-discount. Who knows, this could work with local dealers too. We always check... and it hasn't worked yet.
In the examples above we just did 10 min. worth of web searching. The low on a Leaf S was 27.9K from Bellevue Nissan and the low on a Leaf S-Plus was at Carr Nissan (Beaverton) and of course the 'loss leader' specials get sold out quick, but staying on top of it and retaining copies of the 'specials' actually works. We've been through this before ... and before.
"All this is just too much bother!"
Fair point, but that just means you probably aren't ideally equipped to step far enough outside your current 'comfort zone,' to where an EV is necessarily a good idea for you. It is admittedly quite a bit to deal with, most of it's calmly after the sale though.
Links:
Overview
Pacific Power
Portland General
EWEB
Downsides:
- Purchase deals only, no Leases. We have previously been fond of leases.
- The Federal tax rebate is easy to do, but you do need to have enough federal tax liability outstanding after all other deductions. Implying an income above $70K.
- The Oregon state rebate has a couple hoops to jump through but it doesn't have an income test. Can take over 9 months to get the money though.
- The rebates from the various power companies are supposed to be applied 'up front' ir at least that's what the paperwork implies. No income test. The obvious big issue is getting the transaction done in time (end of June.)
- If you want the lane-keeping auto-cruise-control (ProPilot Assist) and the fancy wheels and leather power seats then you're out an additional $7K
- In the worst-case real world, Cold blowing rainy day with lights heater and defroster on while doing 70+ mph on the freeway the range on the 'S' is below 120 miles and the S-Plus 160 miles. That's just physics, folks.
FYI we've had our 'New/Upgrade' model 'S' 40-KWh 2018 LEAF (see previous posts) for 10K miles now and it's been no trouble at all. Goes over 100 miles a day with no additional charging, couple days a week. Comfortable, quiet, corners and brakes well. Plenty of 'pep.' Fits four real humans, plus a bunch of boxes and stuff in the back.
The Oregon state credit (and some in WA, CA) are still in force, and the Federal tax credit is still happening (probably throughout 2021 for Nissans) but the additional incentives for (most) power company customers in Oregon all went dead July 1st. All is not lost however, the Aug-Sept time-frame is when the dealers get additional incentives from Nissan to move 2019 inventory. Historically that has meant an additional $1.5-2K off, assuming you can find someplace with considerable stock levels. Oregon seems pretty tapped out in that regard, but there are still a fair number of units in the greater Seattle area, and since Oregon residents don't pay WA sales tax, the only real additional 'cost' is the bother of going up there and getting it. We highly recommend having all the negotiations completed over email before heading up there. The process can be fairly painless, and if you can get the NoChargeToCharge/EZ-Charge benefit working before you leave the dealer, the 'fuel' cost of getting of home should be minimal.
One other thing to consider: The Aug-Sept time frame has had the best deals for leases we've seen. As a result, folks that don't qualify for most or all of the Federal Tax Credit (generally incomes below $70,000) see our post on that topic: Link
Even right now (July'19) the dealer up in Bellevue has 51 LEAFs and an extra $1000 off for previous Nissan owners and takes an extra $10,100 off for lease purchases. Remaining financial engineering is left to the reader. ...remembering that there's still the $2500 Oregon credit...
Now defunct post remains for historical perspective: ;-)
This deal has been out there for a month now and we only caught on last week. Granted the deal goes through the end of June, but for some of you that's hardly enough time to get your ducks (or beavers) in a row.
The basic thing is: PG&E, Portland General Electric, Pacific Power and EWEB customers get an additional $3500 off of a new Nissan LEAF (40KWh 156 mi. range) or $2500 off a new LEAF Plus (60KWh 225 mi. range) that they purchase outright before July 1st. Not applicable to leases, so if you don't make enough to qualify for the federal tax incentive, you're out of luck (in many ways... ;-)
YES! ALL THESE INCENTIVES 'STACK'
Lets do the math; for Oregon at least, there are somewhat similar deals going on in other states, WA and CA in particular.
New LEAF 'S' (base model, no leather or ProPilot, 150 mile range) $28,000 +Tax&Lic&Fees.
$28K - Fed $7.5K - Oregon $2.5K - PowerCo. $3.5K = $14.5K +Tax&Lic&Fees.
[MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE that you're getting one that has the Fast Charging option, even if you don't think you're going to need it.]
New LEAF S-Plus (base model, no leather or ProPilot, 225 mile range) $36,500 +Tax&Lic&Fees.$36.5K - Fed $7.5K - Oregon $2.5K - PowerCo. $2.5K = $24K +Tax&Lic&Fees.
First, find the lowest advertised price in Oregon or Washington for the general type of car you want.
We have historically started with pricing from the Seattle Area dealers (Bellevue, Younker or Campbell Nissan) and then take that link and use it to beat the dealer you're actually interested in buying from over the head. This has historically worked well with Dick Hanna Nissan and somewhat with Carr Nissan, both are PDX area dealers. It's a good idea to approach their internet sales department from the Costco dealer discount page (if you're a member) since that adds to their incentive-to-discount. Who knows, this could work with local dealers too. We always check... and it hasn't worked yet.
In the examples above we just did 10 min. worth of web searching. The low on a Leaf S was 27.9K from Bellevue Nissan and the low on a Leaf S-Plus was at Carr Nissan (Beaverton) and of course the 'loss leader' specials get sold out quick, but staying on top of it and retaining copies of the 'specials' actually works. We've been through this before ... and before.
"All this is just too much bother!"
Fair point, but that just means you probably aren't ideally equipped to step far enough outside your current 'comfort zone,' to where an EV is necessarily a good idea for you. It is admittedly quite a bit to deal with, most of it's calmly after the sale though.
Links:
Overview
Pacific Power
Portland General
EWEB
Downsides:
- Purchase deals only, no Leases. We have previously been fond of leases.
- The Federal tax rebate is easy to do, but you do need to have enough federal tax liability outstanding after all other deductions. Implying an income above $70K.
- The Oregon state rebate has a couple hoops to jump through but it doesn't have an income test. Can take over 9 months to get the money though.
- The rebates from the various power companies are supposed to be applied 'up front' ir at least that's what the paperwork implies. No income test. The obvious big issue is getting the transaction done in time (end of June.)
- If you want the lane-keeping auto-cruise-control (ProPilot Assist) and the fancy wheels and leather power seats then you're out an additional $7K
- In the worst-case real world, Cold blowing rainy day with lights heater and defroster on while doing 70+ mph on the freeway the range on the 'S' is below 120 miles and the S-Plus 160 miles. That's just physics, folks.
FYI we've had our 'New/Upgrade' model 'S' 40-KWh 2018 LEAF (see previous posts) for 10K miles now and it's been no trouble at all. Goes over 100 miles a day with no additional charging, couple days a week. Comfortable, quiet, corners and brakes well. Plenty of 'pep.' Fits four real humans, plus a bunch of boxes and stuff in the back.
