NYSERDA Rebate and Dealer Games (are they pocketing the rebate?)

JustAnotherPoorDriver

JustAnotherPoorDriver

Active Member
Feel free to move to a different forum if this isn't the right place, but this relates to buying a Clarity in NYS.

NYS has a NYSERDA rebate for electric/PHEV cars which is a point-of-sale rebate for in-state dealers and state residents only. You have to be a NYS resident and buy from a "participating dealer" (which, conveniently, are only dealers in NYS). For the Clarity this is a $1,700 rebate. The $1,700 is then taken off of your sale price.

I got a truecar price on a Clarity Touring as a NYS resident living in NYC (~$32,600). I just asked about the NYSERDA rebate and the answer was "only one NYSERDA or Truecar". Fine--but I was curious about whether they differentiate NY and non-NY residents (since only NY can get the rebate)--so I configured the same car on Truecar as a Jersey Resident (some Jersey towns map to some NYS dealers) and got basically the same price from that same dealer.

Since [my understanding is that] the NYSERDA rebate must be passed on to the buyer (the buyer signs that they got a discount), and since the price is the same whether you are a NY or NJ resident, I presume this means they are having NYS residents sign and making $1,700 more on them (essentially pocketing the rebate for NYS residents). Is this correct?

Wondering if I should send some of the screenshots/prices to NYSERDA and whether anything will happen?....
 
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When I leased my Clarity at a NYS dealer in Syracuse, they made sure to put the $1,700 rebate on the sales invoice and had me initial it. I am thinking they may have had an issue in the past and got called out on it. Good thing they did so as I was just about to ask about the federal and state rebates and how they worked with a lease.

If you are a NYS resident and purchase or lease a Clarity or other type of alternative fueled vehicle in New York, the rebates apply. In fact, NY just sent me an online survey to fill out about the rebate and my opinions about it and the car.
 
SThomas219 said:
When I leased my Clarity at a NYS dealer in Syracuse, they made sure to put the $1,700 rebate on the sales invoice and had me initial it. I am thinking they may have had an issue in the past and got called out on it. Good thing they did so as I was just about to ask about the federal and state rebates and how they worked with a lease.

If you are a NYS resident and purchase or lease a Clarity or other type of alternative fueled vehicle in New York, the rebates apply. In fact, NY just sent me an online survey to fill out about the rebate and my opinions about it and the car.
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The Federal rebate is a tax credit you file with your taxes and will get the full amount if you have the tax liability, BUT this only for purchases. For a lease, most of it is discounted from the negotiated sales price of the car. This is set by the bank in most cases. When I checked, Honda was giving about $6900.

Then there's additional dealer cash Honda has been giving for ZEV states. This is supposed to be for both sales and leases.

Regarding state rebates, AFAIK most have been either credits or rebates done to the consumer directly. If it is a discount at point of sale, then it will be discounted from the negotiated sales price.
 
su_A_ve said:
If it is a discount at point of sale, then it will be discounted from the negotiated sales price.
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That's the problem: it is a POS rebate, but according to my salesperson I won't get it since I'm getting the Truecar price and "you only get one discount". I think they don't know what they are talking about (since it's not out of their pocket), and have asked the salesperson to speak with a manager twice, but the other, more nefarious possibility is they intend to charge me $1,700 over the quote and roll it in (giving it to me for the Truecar price, and pocketing the rebate. This is why I priced it for a non-NY resident (and found the same price).
 
Need to compare it to another dealer.

In NJ many had the same prices given to PA residents only to find out the ZEV states dealer cash doesn’t apply to them when signing docs with the finance manager..
 
I also live in NYC and what I found is that a lot of the sales people don't know how the rebate works. Some managers or the people who do the paperwork know. Maybe the manager doesn't know. I asked them specifically what is the price before the NYSERDA rebate. I would ask them if they know about the rebate and if they do, ask them to show how the bill will look. If they don't show it, walk out. It is possible the price they gave you includes the rebate. I paid $33,200 not including the rebate for the touring. You do have to pay taxes on the price before the rebate. They listed the 1700 as "other" below the cash deposit and had me initial it in case they have trouble claiming it. I bought it from Paragon if you want to give them a try.
 
JustAnotherPoorDriver said:
Feel free to move to a different forum if this isn't the right place, but this relates to buying a Clarity in NYS.

NYS has a NYSERDA rebate for electric/PHEV cars which is a point-of-sale rebate for in-state dealers and state residents only. You have to be a NYS resident and buy from a "participating dealer" (which, conveniently, are only dealers in NYS). For the Clarity this is a $1,700 rebate. The $1,700 is then taken off of your sale price.

I got a truecar price on a Clarity Touring as a NYS resident living in NYC (~$32,600). I just asked about the NYSERDA rebate and the answer was "only one NYSERDA or Truecar". Fine--but I was curious about whether they differentiate NY and non-NY residents (since only NY can get the rebate)--so I configured the same car on Truecar as a Jersey Resident (some Jersey towns map to some NYS dealers) and got basically the same price from that same dealer.

Since [my understanding is that] the NYSERDA rebate must be passed on to the buyer (the buyer signs that they got a discount), and since the price is the same whether you are a NY or NJ resident, I presume this means they are having NYS residents sign and making $1,700 more on them (essentially pocketing the rebate for NYS residents). Is this correct?

Wondering if I should send some of the screenshots/prices to NYSERDA and whether anything will happen?....
Click to expand...

What a scam. That salesman knows full well how things work. Of course you get the additional $1700 off whatever you negotiate, whether it be a price from Trucar or any other negotiated price. Find another dealer, or see a manager at that one with your obvious evidence of an illegal scam.
 
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