My neighbor's Leaf needs a battery

[redpoint5]

$200 a year in brake pads!

I may have spent that much on all vehicles in 24 years of driving.

I get that most will pay a shop $200 to replace brake pads on all 4 wheels, but that's once every 5 years, maybe?

I'll go 10 years on a set of $20 ceramics.

[Drifter]

Originally Posted by hayden55

30 miles a day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year is 7500 miles.
National average gas is like $4.20
7500/30=250 gallons of gas * 4.20 = $1050
How did you get what you got? That's very far off.
A leaf at say 120mpge -> 7500/120 = 62.5gge*33.7kWh/gge = 2106.25kWh
National average electricity is around $0.12/kWh
2106.25*.12=$250+$200 extra fuel tax regi fee. = $450 a year.
I don't really see brake pads and fuel savings on the leaf paying for the battery pack.
Say brake pads are $200 a year thats $1250 - 450 = $800 savings and possibly double that on average at 15000 miles a year.

The clear choice is to sell the Leaf and replace it with a corolla for $2500 lol

Not sure how I messed that up - perhaps I multiplied by three? Or maybe I copied down the estimated annual kWh by mistake.

30 miles/day x 5 days/week x 50 weeks/year / 30 mpg x $5/gal (currently $5.60 here) = $1250/year in gas, not $3,750.

vs

15kWh/day x 5 days/week × 50 weeks/year = 3750 kWh × $0.08/kWh (our overnight electric rate) = $300/year in electricity

Annual registration for a $5,000 Leaf costs $25 extra (a $60,000 EV would top the scale at $175 extra), insurance costs the same, and if you're "low income" (make under ~$70,000/year after deductions) even your used leaf would be eligible for the carpool lane which could save ~30 minutes per day (~125 hours/year). Parking at the Capital or City Hall parking garage is $200/month for plebeians or $100/month for those driving an EV (they used to also do free level1 charging, but now only offer Level 2 that costs more than residential overnight rates and you have to move your car after 4 hours).

With a 5,000 mile oil change interval, you'd save 1.5 oil changes per year. They go for ~$75/pop here. So $112.50/year. At 7,500 miles/year of stop & go driving, you'd probably save a $300 brake job every ~7 years. So $43/year.


So in my area (Sacramento) a Leaf would save:

$950/year in fuel
$1200/year in downtown parking
$150/year in oil changes & brake jobs
$1,875/year in commuting time (30 minutes/day) paid at minimum wage ($15/hr).

It would cost:
$25/year in additional registration
$625/year in battery replacement ($5,000 every 8 years)


That's $300/year in fuel savings alone, $1,650 in hard costs if you pay for downtown parking, and $3,525 if the carpool lane saves you 15 minutes each way and you value your time at at least $15/hour.

[hayden55]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

$200 a year in brake pads!

I may have spent that much on all vehicles in 24 years of driving.

I get that most will pay a shop $200 to replace brake pads on all 4 wheels, but that's once every 5 years, maybe?

I'll go 10 years on a set of $20 ceramics.

Right. lol
I was giving plenty of slack. Most maintenance programs will have you replace them every 36,000 miles. But I hardly met that even messing around and burning the brakes on purpose.

Also, California has a lot of hoops doesn't it. Yikes.

[Isaac Zachary]

When I sold my Leaf I had to tow it 300 miles. I believe I'd have to do the same even if I had sold in on Carvana.

Now a neighbor who bought one just because I had bought one has less than half the original capacity (only has 4 bars IIRC) and can't seem to sell it now either.

All I can say is "I wasn't a great influence."

[Drifter]

Before I took a bath on it, I'd at least call EV Rides in Portland to see if they'd buy it. I see they sell a lot of Leafs for $13K & up, leaving them plenty of room for profit after shipping & swapping batteries:

https://portland.craigslist.org/sear...gid=7366813710