eldo73
New member
Well, I'm sure this has been asked to death, but I'm gonna do it again anyways. Pricing and financing on the Leaf seems very attractive right now, and I'm considering replacing my current vehicle. There are two main things that appeal to me about the Leaf: saving some money on gas (and maintenance) and the 'cool' factor associated with an EV. I'm a car guy, an engineer, and a bit of a nerd at heart. I have three cars right now, my current work car, a 1998 Lincoln Mark VIII (20-21 mpg), my wife's 2008 Kia Sedona (18-20 mpg), and my weekend cruiser, a 1973 Cadillac Eldorado (don't ask). As you can see, fuel efficiency is not a strong suit of my current fleet.
Currently I drive 45 miles round trip to work each day, mostly in a straight line, without any hills and very few turns, 5 days a week. There may be opportunity to charge at work, but there's no guarantee, and I'm not planning on it right now. I don't currently use my work car for much else, but were I to purchase a Leaf, I probably would try to use it for more trips around home as well.
My concern is the same as everybody else's, range anxiety. Obviously when new, in warmer weather it shouldn't be a problem, I'm more concerned with a few years down the road, particularly if we have another brutal winter like we did this year with whole weeks where the temp didn't rise out of the single digits. In truth, in those cases, it wouldn't be a problem to just switch cars with my wife for a day or week, but I'd rather not have to.
From all the reading I've done, I'm beginning to think that if I had a guarantee charge waiting for me at work, I should be fine, but without one, it seems I may be pushing it in the worst cases. I'm not a big fan of the automotive lease, but does that make more sense for me? I would greatly appreciate any comments, thoughts, or insight!
Jared.
Currently I drive 45 miles round trip to work each day, mostly in a straight line, without any hills and very few turns, 5 days a week. There may be opportunity to charge at work, but there's no guarantee, and I'm not planning on it right now. I don't currently use my work car for much else, but were I to purchase a Leaf, I probably would try to use it for more trips around home as well.
My concern is the same as everybody else's, range anxiety. Obviously when new, in warmer weather it shouldn't be a problem, I'm more concerned with a few years down the road, particularly if we have another brutal winter like we did this year with whole weeks where the temp didn't rise out of the single digits. In truth, in those cases, it wouldn't be a problem to just switch cars with my wife for a day or week, but I'd rather not have to.
From all the reading I've done, I'm beginning to think that if I had a guarantee charge waiting for me at work, I should be fine, but without one, it seems I may be pushing it in the worst cases. I'm not a big fan of the automotive lease, but does that make more sense for me? I would greatly appreciate any comments, thoughts, or insight!
Jared.