Feasability of going from gas to only electric

[Isaac Zackary]

Originally Posted by WyrTwister

What model year is your Leaf ?

Perhaps new battery or the Colorado climate has been kind to your battery .

Our 2012 leaf had 32,000 + miles on it when we bought it . Only had a 3.3 kw charger .

I think the 6.6 kw charger came out on the 2015 models ? Think the 2015 came out with the Lizard battery , which is suppose to be more heat tolerant .

Happy you are doing so well with your Leaf . :-)

I would think long and hard about a Chevy Volt , if I came by a good one at the right price .

My situation is , being semi retired & Wifey fully retired , I do not pay enough taxes for the $ 7,500 tax credit to do much good . So , I would have to get a good / aggressive lease . Or buy used at a good depreciated price .

And our state does not offer any incentives . But I think there is a federal tax credit of 30% of the cost of the EVSE + installation . Will check that out , come tax season .

God bless
Wyr

It's a 2013. I'm pretty sure that's when all the better technologies you mentioned came out (lizard battery, 6.6kW charger, etc.) As far as i know Nissan continues to offer the 3.3kW charger on their S models (base models). I test drove a 2015 Leaf S with a 3.3kW charger. But any 2013 or later SV or SL come with the 6.6kW charger. Also the 2016 and 2017 SV and SL's come with a 30kWh battery.

My Leaf apparently lived in Utah before coming here to Colorado. It had to be out-of-state because the place I bought it from imports EV's to Colorado since there's a loophole in the Colorado tax system that allows any Colorado resident to get the Colorado tax credit as long as it's the first time the EV was registered in Colorado, new or used. I thought about going clear to Florida and getting a Leaf for as little as $5,000. But I'm happy with my purchase here.

Also, the way I understand it is that you get the tax credit regardless if you owe taxes or not. If you don't owe any taxes you get a tax refund check. I'm going to get nearly $3,000 from Colorado and usually pay less than $1,000 in taxes. So that means I'll be getting a $2,000 check. Sweet, isn't it!

[Isaac Zackary]

Originally Posted by ME_Andy

One thing I don't like, as a passenger, is it seems we're always going slow cause it's so silent.

Might be the ECO mode too. On the 2013 and later models (like my 2013) this is a button on the dash makes the car require a lot of pedal movement to respond. This is great for finely adjusting the "throttle" as you go down the road, but makes the car feel lethargic.

But either way, the silence is something that you get used to. After just two weeks with the Leaf my wife says she now feels that something's wrong when she's in another vehicle and it starts up.

Most of the time I just poke around town in ECO mode and slowly accelerate onto the highway when I leave town. But every once in a while I love to just punch it and feel that silent torque. This car is much faster and powerful than my VW Golf diesel, and yet much more silent. I cannot carry on a conversation in the Golf due to the noise it makes.

[sendler]

Many dealers aren't good about keeping the web sites updated. Especially regarding the Leaf. I called my local dealer who had a 2016 S24 in stock when I talked to them a couple weeks ago and got the usual clueless response from the salesman. 4th time now including once from the Nissan USA phone agent. It goes like this: Me "Hi. I'm calling about the Nissan Leaf." Them, "Which Nissan do you want to LEASE?" Me," The Leaf". Them, "Which LEASE". Me, "The electric car". Them "Ohhhhh".
.
It was still there but is sold.
.
And Nissan is playing games by pulling all reference to any leftover 2016's which I know there are still thousands of. Trying to make them seem more in demand than they really are?. Three weeks ago they were showing 2,928 on the locator and had only sold 11,000 so far for the year through Oct.
.
That's ok because there will soon be a glut of off lease 2013's hitting the used car auctions which will insure their retail value stays at around $8,000 which gives you three years to drive it and then decide if you need to put in a new battery for $6,000. At which point you will still be $6,000 ahead of buying a new 2016. Nissan sold 17,000 Leafs in 2013 and I believe the vast majority were leased for 3 years.

[WyrTwister]

Welllllllllllllllllll . Over all , I have lost a little money on the insurance settlement . But it could have been worse .

You all may be right , the 2016 Leafs may still be on dealer lot , but not on the internet inventories ? Do not know .

May just sit tight until I fully retire & loose the company truck .

Thanks for your advice & help . :-)
God bless
Wyr

[WyrTwister]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zackary

It's a 2013. I'm pretty sure that's when all the better technologies you mentioned came out (lizard battery, 6.6kW charger, etc.) As far as i know Nissan continues to offer the 3.3kW charger on their S models (base models). I test drove a 2015 Leaf S with a 3.3kW charger. But any 2013 or later SV or SL come with the 6.6kW charger. Also the 2016 and 2017 SV and SL's come with a 30kWh battery.

My Leaf apparently lived in Utah before coming here to Colorado. It had to be out-of-state because the place I bought it from imports EV's to Colorado since there's a loophole in the Colorado tax system that allows any Colorado resident to get the Colorado tax credit as long as it's the first time the EV was registered in Colorado, new or used. I thought about going clear to Florida and getting a Leaf for as little as $5,000. But I'm happy with my purchase here.

Also, the way I understand it is that you get the tax credit regardless if you owe taxes or not. If you don't owe any taxes you get a tax refund check. I'm going to get nearly $3,000 from Colorado and usually pay less than $1,000 in taxes. So that means I'll be getting a $2,000 check. Sweet, isn't it!

I do not think that is how the federal incentive works ? With a lease , the $ 7,500 goes to the leasing company , reducing the total " cost " of the vehicle , there by eventually reducing the cost of the lease .

But I could be wrong .

Our state offers Zero incentives , or if it did , those allocated funds are gone .

God bless
Wyr

[Isaac Zackary]

Originally Posted by WyrTwister

I do not think that is how the federal incentive works ? With a lease , the $ 7,500 goes to the leasing company , reducing the total " cost " of the vehicle , there by eventually reducing the cost of the lease .

But I could be wrong .

Our state offers Zero incentives , or if it did , those allocated funds are gone .

God bless
Wyr

You are correct. For me I get an incentive tax credit because 1) I'm purchasing the vehicle and 2) I'm registering it in Colorado for the first time. Colorado has always offered huge EV tax credits. I do believe right now there's a $6,000 cap but I have heard of some Tesla owners getting as much as $40,000 from Colorado.

[sendler]

Nissan leasing is taking the full federal $7,500 and passing it on along with another $4,000 and a 1% rate to the lessee on the leftover 2016's.

[Isaac Zackary]

I thought this was interesting:

World's First Portable EV Power Unit On Sale Now - Inside EVs

Kind of like a portable fuel can.

[freebeard]

Get the world's smallest boat trailer and you are good to go.

[WyrTwister]

Have you heard of the law of diminishing returns ?

More batteries , more weight . More weight , more electricity / energy is required to move it . More energy / electricity required , more batteries needed .

God bless
Wyr