I will cut to the chase.
-Currently own a 2008 Nissan Altima 2.5SL with about 73k miles, the car works fine mechanically gets around 25mpg in mixed driving..
-Spent $3k upgrading the audio system in 2009 and a few hundred more in 2012 to add sound deadening materials...
-Car has been paid off for about 2 years. Operating costs are relatively low. Fuel costs here in Dallas are ~$3.26 / gallon as of December 2013. I spend on average $85-105 a month in fuel. Had some warranty work where almost my edu reprogrammed / entire exhaust system less the muffer was replaced for free a month ago by Nissan due to a Technical Service Bulletin (and 3 leaks in the system that no longer exist). So in some ways the car drives better now than it has the past few years. My extended warranty runs for 1 more year, CVT warranty is good for 10yrs/120k miles.
-Trade-in value at KBB is around $9000 with current market values.
I am also in the process of getting out of student loan debt to the tune of $36k. I plan to get this paid off in less than 36 months from now, paying on average $1k/mo. I'm generally against leasing but if the offer price is low enough and the tax credit is applied immediately it makes more sense to lease vs buy IMHO. Plus I'll have a big check that I can apply directly to my loans and pay those off faster, presumably before the lease period is over.
I honestly believe electric cars are the wave of the future. Over the next 10 years assuming fuel prices remain the same I will have burned over $12k in gasoline. I hate paying so much money at the pump. The environmental aspect is secondary but still important to me.
Being that I live in Texas, we are used to high temperatures as in high 90s or over 100s for weeks at a time. I'm concerned both about overall range drops in extremes (cold or hot) especially with some of the stories coming out of Pheonix. I also don't exactly need a new car right now, but after 6 years I'm getting a little bit tired of driving the same set of wheels day after day. I have a garage so L1 topping off won't be a problem and neither would L2 if I hire an electrician to do the work.
The big question I think is when should I buy / lease and anyone else been on the fence. The charging infrastructure here is developing slowly but there are ~15 L2 chargers in a 5 mile radius of my home. My work commute is about 21 mi. If I take the side roads I pay no tolls. Also a current incentive for a year's worth of charging through evgo for free.
Last but not least, the early adopter tax. The next revision of leafs or extended life batteries should be able allow the driver to reliably get over 100mi on a single charge. It might make the most sense to wait, but in the meantime the value of my current vehicle goes down and eventually the 7500 tax credit may no longer exist. Thoughts? Also yes I do bounce back around with different ideas in my head..
