CVRP Trading in Leaf

[astrality]

Hello! I've owned a Nissan LEAF for over a year now. But being an avid camper/mountaineer, the LEAF and I do not mix well. Now i'm very interested in the Volt. Last year, I was lucky enough to get the $7,500 federal, $5,000 state, $700 QC port, and $2000 charging station perks.

Now that i'm in the process of trading in my Leaf for a Volt, it's dawning on me that I may have gotten ahead of myself.

The CVRP website states this:
"Applicant must retain ownership of the rebated vehicle for a minimum of 36 consecutive months immediately after the vehicle purchase or lease date. Rebate recipients who do not retain the eligible vehicle for the full 36-month ownership or lease period will be required to reimburse ARB all or part of the original rebate amount."

Does this apply even though i'm trading it in to a dealership? I don't want to have to wait another two years

[DonC]

I think you'd need to pay back 2/3rds of the $5000 but you should probably ask.

[Kup]

I hadn't heard of the 36 month ownership period but I guess it makes sense. Otherwise people could essentially force the state to lease them a car at the state's expense. Do it every year and not only would you have a free car every year but the state would be paying you money to do it.

As to your specific question, it would appear that the requirement to reimburse ARB "all or part" would likely mean that you will not have to give back the full $5,000. DonC's guess of 2/3rds sounds reasonable but there may also be a processing charge attached to the transaction. Please keep us posted as to what the actual rules are in this situation so that the community can quickly answer a similar question in the future.

Good luck on getting your Volt!

[bonaire]

The 5K should also be a 1099 event so taxes come into play, right? Our PA state rebate is 3500 and it is taxable income.

What about the new Volt - would that also get the CVRP or was that only for BEVs?

[cab]

The 5K should also be a 1099 event so taxes come into play, right? Our PA state rebate is 3500 and it is taxable income.

What about the new Volt - would that also get the CVRP or was that only for BEVs?

Good catch. If the Volt qualifies, you may have to "give back" 2/3rds from your leaf, but you could get it again with the Volt...of course if you were counting on two rebates from the get-go it sounds like they have themselves covered here in order to avoid having folks game the system.

[astrality]

Well, this turned out to be the least of my worries.

The dealership said that they would absorb the cost if it came to that.

My monthly income was not high enough to qualify for the $488/month lease with $0 down. I'm so confused because when I was approved to lease my Leaf, it was the same MSRP $39k.

Nissan's financing company must have looser standards than GM. Interesting.

[DonC]

The 5K should also be a 1099 event so taxes come into play, right? Our PA state rebate is 3500 and it is taxable income.

It doesn't work this way. The CARB rebate isn't exactly a state rebate and it's not tied to CA taxes. It's like a manufacturer's rebate. No 1099 involved.

[Koz]

Well, this turned out to be the least of my worries.

The dealership said that they would absorb the cost if it came to that.

My monthly income was not high enough to qualify for the $488/month lease with $0 down. I'm so confused because when I was approved to lease my Leaf, it was the same MSRP $39k.

Nissan's financing company must have looser standards than GM. Interesting.

$488/mo lease??? That seems way high unless there are other costs rolled in.

[astrality]

$488/mo lease??? That seems way high unless there are other costs rolled in.

Yeah i'm not sure what happened. Apparently I broke even with trading the Leaf in. The Volt was the 2012 base model with no extras. I'm wondering if it's worth checking other dealerships.