Used LEAF as entry into the EV market?

[adiggs]

I wish it was that easy! I have a hard enough time convincing my wife to let me get a second-hand Miata! I need at least a nominal 4-passenger capacity, and 150-ish mile range. Also, I seriously doubt I could afford even a used Roadster. I want an all-in-one vehicle that works as a daily commuter, but still has enough power and performance to be entertaining when not making the daily slog. Patiently awaiting the Gen-III.

The Roadster has all that 'cept for the 4 person thingy. Daily commuter (119 mgpe - better than Model S!), plenty of range. There was a time that some of the 1.5 Roadsters were going in the lower 50k range. It's been awhile since I was watching, but I'd expect to be more like 60/70k these days on the low end, up into the 100k range on the high end.

And 3.7 0-60 (Sport model), or a laggardly 3.9 0-60 for all the other Roadsters. Lots of zip and plenty of entertainment value.


Actually I would be waiting for Model X or Gen 3 - then we figured out that we could take the money that would go into the Model X, and spend most of it now if I could just find a good enough deal that I could trade it in / sell it later to move the money over to the Model X. That would let me start driving electric immediately, and then switch to the car I really wanted later (Model X).

What a lovely plan - it even almost survived two weeks of Roadster ownership (now about 15 months into owning the Roadster). The new plan is to figure out how we afford both a Roadster and a Model X, because you're not prying the Roadster out of me or my wife's hands

So just think of it as taking money you'll spend sometime in the future, and putting it to work today in a usable electric car. And if your daily commute is 100 miles, think of all that fuel expense you'll save doing it in your Roadster instead. If it helps, I get 3-4 miles per kWh of electricity (closer to 4 than 3 unless I'm making like a jackrabbit, stoplight to stoplight). That'd be ~30 kWh for your 100 mile of commuting - the money saved on fuel might make a decent run at paying for the car.

Admittedly you'll still need a second car for the family - ah tragedy. Then again, any days you can pick up one of your kids from school in the Roadster, you'll instantly be the coolest parent ever! Well - or so I suspect anyway.

 

[jarred767]

Wow, a lot of responses on a non-Tesla, pretty impressive group here. Thanks a lot!

So, I guess I didn't include quite enough info in my original post.

-I actually plan to use the car as a work vehicle, and I'm a mobile auto detailer in Seattle, so it essentially need the space of the hatchback. (All my stuff will fit, already covered that, but it will be equivalent to 1-2 passengers in weight all the time - not sure if that makes much of a difference on range or anything).
-As for commute, it varies every day from as little as 10 miles RT to a maximum of about 50 RT (and that's pretty rare) so I figure I should be good on range.
-It would be our second car; the wife's VW Tiguan is the family car and mine strictly used for work, so when I get home it will always sit in the garage until the next morning (aside from maybe 1-2 days a year where I can't use hers in the evenings).

The more I look and hear from others, the more it sounds like a great option, if I can get a used one with payments around $250/month (which I believe should be feasible) I'd essentially be swapping my gas bill for car payments and moving way up in car! (I have very well used 98 explorer w/close to 200k on the odometer) plus, once the payments are done, I'm way ahead compared to if I keep lugging it out in my current beast. its beginning to sound like a no-brainer in my head, am I missing something?

 

[ckessel]

its beginning to sound like a no-brainer in my head, am I missing something?

Not at all. If the car works for what you need, the lower end EVs pretty much are a no-brainer. You get a new (or fairly new) car that costs very little given the net gas savings.

 

[freds]

Wow, a lot of responses on a non-Tesla, pretty impressive group here. Thanks a lot!

Its beginning to sound like a no-brainer in my head, am I missing something?

Well if you also do a home based tesla as one of your stops during the day, you can juice up while you work the car(slight discount of course....)....

Given the age of the Leaf you would probably have a 3.6kw charger, some of which are 240volt convertible.

 

[abasile]

I don't have hard numbers, but I've seen a fair number of postings on MyNissanLeaf.com that point to 2011/2012 LEAFs being more reliable than model year 2013, which was their first year of production in the U.S. All 2011/2012 LEAFs were produced in Japan.

Also, the 2011/2012 LEAF has a 3.3 kW charger which only adds 12-15 miles per hour at 240 V. This is still fine for home charging for most folks, though it can be inconveniently slow if you need to use public Level 2 charging stations. The speed of DC fast charging (CHAdeMO) hasn't changed, though. In the Pacific Northwest, I'd recommend you verify that any LEAF you are buying has the CHAdeMO port.

Another point: The charging adapter that comes with the car only takes 120 V. You'll either need to purchase and install a 240 V charging dock for your home, or go through EVSEUpgrade.com to modify the stock charging adapter to take 240 V. (Too bad Nissan doesn't provide a 240 V plug like Tesla does.)

 

[igotzzoom]

Depending on your finances, you might want to consider leasing a brand new 2015 Leaf, given all of the current incentives and product improvements (such as the faster charger) since the older models. I have seen a lot of TV commercials talking about a 3 year Nissan Leaf lease for $249/month.

A Chevy Volt would also be a good choice, that would be a little more expensive.

Honestly, the Leaf doesn't do much for me as a car enthusiast. I don't doubt its efficacy as a commuting appliance, but I need something with a little more passion. As strange as it may sound, the Spark EV is probably one of the more enthusiast-oriented affordable EVs on the market right now. It would probably be between that and the Fiat 500. The new Kia Soul coming out has some promise (for its combination of practicality and range), but an est. 12-sec 0-60 time doesn't sound terribly exciting. I would consider the VW eGolf, but I had a very poor ownership and reliability experience with VW in the past, so I'm a little hesitant to give them my business again. I don't mind waiting a few years for the Gen-III. I think my patience will be rewarded. :smile:

 

[ZsoZso]

While I have a Prius, I have 2 boys turning 15 in August and 16, obviously, a year from then. Would love for them to have a Leaf as their primary vehicle as they should have mostly very short commutes (the HS is just 2 miles away and they farthest they go for activities is 20 miles away). I wouldn't have to worry about when they need oil changes and such, they would have to be responsible for charging (and concern about who pays for gas is gone). It seems a perfect new-driver vehicle.

I'm in a similar situation with similar thoughts: my daughter is 16, currently doing driving school, should get her license in August. When I get my S delivered in Septermber, she will "inherit" my i-Miev (picture in my avatar) that I was driving for the past 2 years. She already loves the lil' run-about EV, its the primary car she is practicing driving -- her only request is to be able to paint "Zero CO2" on it in big green letters.

 

[Electroman]

My ex Leaf and the current Leaf with a combined 30K miles have had absolutely zero issues. I took my first leaf to the dealer at 1 year mark only because Nissan mandates that we do the battery checks every year. I am hoping my 2nd Leaf would be the same.

Just looking at the number of serious issues mentioned here for Model S, and for the Leaf in the MyNissanLeaf forum, you can easily conclude Nissan has done a great job on Leaf's reliability. Agreed Model S with its high capacity and very high charging rates is a more complex machine, much like any other luxury sedan.

 

[jarred767]

Thanks again for all the thoughts and suggestions guys. While I love the Model S, it's definitely outside of my budget, especially considering it would be used as a work vehicle. The LEAF seams very practical and ideal for my current situation. The long-term plan as of now is to wait for a Gen3 to replace my wife's car and then be out of the ICE age.

Now the biggest hurdle is convincing the wife that it's a good idea to go out and get a new car - most likely the hardest part of the situation. Thanks again everyone!