A global pandemic and supply chain shortages have led to the most volatile automotive market the world has ever seen. As such, any mention of higher prices or new fees garners attention. Last week we heard about just such a thing from Nissan, allowing dealers to add $2,500 in reconditioning costs to folks wanting to use their end-lease buyout option. That certainly caught our attention, but as is often the case, it's not quite that simple.
We first heard about the fee from Cars Direct, but for starters, it's not a fee at all. Motor1.com contacted Nissan for clarification; the automaker confirmed that on March 9, a communication was sent to dealerships outlining a new option through Nissan's finance arm, NMAC. In short, dealers can now include a maximum of $2,500 in customer-approved reconditioning costs when financing the lease buyout through Nissan. This applies to Infiniti lease buyouts as well. Previously, dealerships were not allowed to do this.
