$10,000 off MSRP "rebate" available on remaining 2012's

[acensor]

I got this off the
SAN RAFAEL dealer's site:
"ALL-ELECTRIC i MiEV - $10,000 REBATE on all in stock A remarkable offer on the incredible all-electric i MiEV. Can be combined with CVRP $2000 Rebate and $7,500 Federal Tax Credit for a total cost reduction of $19,500 OFF MSRP!! .......Offer ends 4/30/13 “

Don't bother going to that dealer. They had two SE's, and both were sold today.
(I purchased one of them . Mine is white with the blue trim.)

If you, or anyone you know, is still shopping for a MiEV do note that Mitsu has thrown $10,000 into the pot for ALL dealers, but not all are passing on the full $10K to the buyers.

Not all the dealers will tell you about this $10K on the table this because it is not an official direct-to-customer rebate/discount.

The factory commonly creates (when old stock is sitting on dealer lots and they can't put out the new ones without depreciating that stock) a dealer incentive. It's "We'll pay you this much cash for each of those you sell off your lot."
I got this from another dealer when I asked why THEY were not offering the same $10K rebate:
"Officially the new higher $10,000 incentive on the i-MIEV is called a dealer delivery bonus. It can be used for advertising, flooring expense, sales incentives, customer discounts or any other sales expense. It is at the discretion of the dealer how to apply the credit. It looks like the dealer in question you advertise the full $10K as a customer rebate may have an oversupply that he is trying to move out. "

Point is, now that you know that _all_ the Mitsu dealers have this incentive you can tell them that and bargain with it at ANY dealer.
If they knock off the whole $10K from SRP they still make about $600 on the sale. They may only knock off $8000 and insist on pocketing the other $2000. It's a question of how much they want to make that sale and whether they think they can hold out sell it to someone else for more than your final offer.

Alex
P.S., You'll be seeing more of me here when our MiEV arrives.
One factor in purchase decision was you folks being here and so knowledgable and helpful.

 

[camiev]

Last chance to get an EV for cheap. No matter what price you pay in the US it is still cheaper than the countries.
Don't forget you can get up to $1000 for in home charger in tax credit. Expire in 2013.
MiEV advantage for Leaf as I see it: More cargo, fun looking shape, better battery, cheaper (with all promos for US market). Leaf compete well and won this round, but here is your chance to own an EV for very good price.

Many used one I saw sell for 15K-18K. Suppose you buy MiEV for $21500. Take $9500 tax credit in CA. So your cost in only 12K. You can drive for 2 years and sell back about 15K. That is a deal.

I wish I can buy more but I max out my tax credit already.

 

[Don]

I wish I can buy more but I max out my tax credit already.

Obviously, you can! Getting $10K from Mitsu is much better than paying the regular price and getting the $7500 tax credit from Uncle Sam

Don

 

[aarond12]

P.S., You'll be seeing more of me here when our MiEV arrives.
One factor in purchase decision was you folks being here and so knowledgable and helpful.

Awww. You're so sweet. It is really nice to have a group of owners who are so willing and able to answer pretty much any topic you could ask about here. Then again, I've never actively searched for a owner's group before the i-MiEV either.

Here's my hint for you or anyone else who is looking for a specific topic on the board. While there is a search function here, you can add a simple command to Google:

site:myimiev.com your search string

Put that in your search and your search will be restricted to this forum. Very helpful for me; hopefully for you too.

 

[micmel2]

Congratulations on your purchase, acensor. I leased my i from the same dealer. Great bunch of people there.

 

[mikecz]

Is this rebate only in the USA, or is it also in Canada and/or other countries?

 

[jray3]

Mitsu can afford to cut pricing on the i, now that the Yen is down agains the dollar almost 28% since September! Lets see, a $31k car discounted 28%, well, that could explain $8680 of the $10k. Sure wish they'd make the price drop real and start some advertising!

 

[lawjds]

They have do something o move them 2014 model year is fast approaching.

 

[Remym]

I bought the other miev at San Rafael Mitsubishi. My first EV wow great car.

 

[JoeS]

Remym, congratulations! The more you drive it, the better I think you will like it.

 

[randy3]

First off, Hi everyone! I've been somewhat active on the mynissanleaf forum but might become more active on the i-MieV forum, maybe...

I'm looking for a reality check, please.

I've owned a LEAF since 01/11/2011. It has 18,000 miles on it. I live in Fresno, CA and it has lost one battery capacity bar, meaning it may have lost up to 15% battery capacity. But, I'm not sure if the instrumentation is correct, because I think the actual loss is more like 10%. Anyway, I am somewhat concerned about the California Central Valley heat and it's effect on the LEAF's battery.

Anyway, back on topic, a local fleet dealer is offering i-MieV's at $11,000 off MSRP. I can qualify for the full $7,500 federal tax credit, the CARB rebate and a San Joaquin Valley Air District $3,000 rebate. That puts the price for a new i-MieV at about $10,000 with tax, etc. I'm having a hard time not jumping on this deal!

Our family doesn't need another car. We have a Honda Insight for longer trips and the LEAF is our daily driver. Since I received rebates from CARB and the Air District in 2011 when I bought the LEAF, I can't sell it until January 2014 without having to repay a pro-rated portion of those rebates (about $1,800). And, I'm not sure what the LEAF will sell for in January 2014, maybe $15,000 (?).

It sounds like the Mitsu's battery is holding up better in hot climates than the LEAF battery, right? I've test driven the i-MieV and like it as much as the LEAF. It's slightly lower range, compared to a new LEAF, isn't a problem, especially if the LEAF's range decreases faster.

Does it make sense to jump on this i-MieV deal?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Randy
Fresno, CA

 

[aarond12]

Welcome, Randy. Yeah, for $10,000, that's a hard deal to pass up. Have you considered selling your Insight, then renting a vehicle when you need a car for a long trip? (That's assuming you don't make too many long trips!)

What differentiates the i-MiEV from the LEAF, as far as hot weather is concerned, is that the i-MiEV will actively cool the battery using its on-board air conditioning.

It's a little difficult to see, but at the front (facing you) of the battery pack is a small, round vent. That connects with the on-board air conditioning. Whenever the battery gets too hot, the A/C is turned on to cool the battery. It's maybe not as elegant a solution as the liquid-cooled batteries out there, but at least it's something.

I just got my i-MiEV in January, so I have yet to put my car through a hot Dallas summer. Last year, we had like 27 days in a row with temps over 100°F. :evil:

 

[randy3]

Welcome, Randy. Yeah, for $10,000, that's a hard deal to pass up. Have you considered selling your Insight, then renting a vehicle when you need a car for a long trip? (That's assuming you don't make too many long trips!)

~snip

Thanks for the response and clarification about the battery cooling. That helps. Nissan has told us to expect some battery degrading. They've even put in a battery loss warranty, but imo it's a weak warranty.

We only use the Insight a few days per month, but I have to keep it because my son (also named Aaron, btw) is on the list for a heart transplant at Stanford hospital. So, we have to be ready to drive 175 miles and get there within 4-5 hours after we get the call.

I'm thinking of buying the i and selling the LEAF in January, hoping that the LEAF won't lose much more battery capacity over the summer so that it will get a good price when I sell it.

 

[aarond12]

I hope everything goes well with your son, my namesake.

The i-MiEV has a similar warranty to Nissan's in regards to the battery, but I haven't heard any reports of battery degradation on the i-MiEV. LEAF, yes, but most of those reports were from Arizona. I'm surprised you're experiencing degradation in California... unless you're on the other side of the mountains, in the desert.

Other threads on this site have determined that Mitsubishi intentionally limited the maximum charge to around 85-90%, helping to reduce the issue of lithium-ion batteries remaining at a high state-of-charge for a long time. Between that and adding forced cold air cooling, it does appear Mitsubishi has done their homework.

 

[Vike]

Wow - just noticing that the 2012 i-MiEV ES models sitting on dealer lots in Albuquerque are still there, with the full $10k discount per truecar.com. I don't really know what to make of this. This is a town with a lot of Smart cars and Fiat 500s and more than a few Volts, operating in a relatively small footprint (so little range needed) under a mild climate (so heater isn't often a factor) - in other words, what one would think of as prime i-MiEV country from any practical perspective. But still no takers? This really draws a line under Mitsubishi's non-existing sales effort. To date, exactly nobody who's stopped to ask me about the car knew that Mitsubishi had an EV for sale.

Only one acquaintance of mine had been pondering an EV, and I've kept him up to date on this, but I don't think the casual shopper has the context to understand what's going on here. As I explained to my friend, while we do expect (or at least hope) that EVs are going to be getting better over the next few years, I have no reasonable basis for expecting any highway-rated EV (as opposed to NEV) will be cheaper than the 2012 i-MiEV any time in the foreseeable future.

Put another way, if the i-MiEV meets your needs, this really is a unique opportunity.

 

[acensor]

?..The i-MiEV has a similar warranty to Nissan's in regards to the battery, but I haven't heard any reports of battery degradation on the i-MiEV. LEAF, yes...

Other threads on this site have determined that Mitsubishi intentionally limited the maximum charge to around 85-90%, helping to reduce the issue of lithium-ion batteries remaining at a high state-of-charge for a long time...

Do I take it right that someone knows that Leaf does NOT program their charger to a similar conservative charge limit?
If so that could be part of where Leaf gets a bit more range.

BTW, I read somewhere (probably here ) that Mitsubishi has anticipated the in the distant future day when the battery pack will have lost , say, 20% of capacity and have in their service bag of tricks a software update option(?) to allow it to charge to closer to full capacity. If so, for some, especially if seriously considering replacing the batteries, a reasonable alternative to living with the lower range ....stretch the normal range afew years further .

Alex

 

[MLucas]

Don't forget the Leaf has a vertically stacked battery setup, the top batteries in the stack really get cooked from the heat rising from the lower batteries. The i-MiEV has a single row of batteries. Another advantage of the i-MiEV is the i-MiEV uses a battery setup that is easier to replace than the Leaf's batteries - meaning we have commercially available options to replace the battery packs.

 

[randy3]

I made the jump today, or started the jump I should say
The car is going to take six weeks to get here (they're selling cars that are at East Coast ports).

A local fleet sales program is offering $11,000 off msrp. I've put in a purchase order for a SE with Premium Package, in Raspberry.
Total cost with tax, license, etc.: $23,278.
After tax credits and state/local rebates: $10,778.

I just don't see a downside at this price.

This will be my second EV after buying a LEAF in January 2011. State/local rebates on that purchase requires that I keep it until January 2014, or I have to pay back about $1,500 (they were more generous with rebates back then, totalling $8,000). So, I'm now wondering if the LEAF will depreciate more than $1,500 in the next 8 months.

Anyway, we're really looking forward to our new 'i'!

Randy
Fresno, CA

 

[GremlinGrrl]

I have spoken to Green Mitsubishi in Springfield IL (the place where I leased my iMiEV) and asked with the rebate how low they are willing to go. They have one Labrador Black model left in stock for $22,584 plus tax, title, doc fees. That's not counting federal and local tax credit incentives. The manufacturer also offers 0% financing for 60 months. This deal is only good until 4/30/13.

Anyone interested should contact Alvin Robinson at (217) 522-1222. Tell him Jen sent you.

 

[Vike]

This deal is only good until 4/30/13.

I doubt it, at least if Mitsu has a brain in their heads. Cars that haven't moved by 5/1 aren't going to be any less in the way of whatever 2014 plans they might have or any less embarrassing or annoying to dealers than they are today. The number of people willing to pay 30k for a 2012 model car that was 20k three weeks ago is approximately zero. The 0% financing might be another matter, but that's more of a sweetener than a deal-maker. More practically, though, this deal is obviously only good until the current supply of 2012s is exhausted.

So at this point, I'd say the situation is like waiting for the price on that jacket you love at the outlet store to be reduced still further. Yes, it could be cheaper next month - but only if nobody buys it in the meantime. So while I won't guarantee this deal can't possibly get any better, I certainly wouldn't be waiting for a better one. The circumstances that led to this fire sale are unique, and if you're an EV enthusiast of moderate means, I can tell you as one who actually purchased this vehicle and lived with it for six months, I'm pretty sure in a couple of years (or sooner) you'll be kicking yourself about passing this up.