Chicagoland area

[chijayhawker]

Regarding the Cayenne Red color dealy...there may be something to it. I took my time accepting the quote from the dealer and now my dashboard is saying that my delivery won't be until December! The delay actually works to my benefit as it will allow me to get my finances together better, but still...that seems a long delay.

 

[chijayhawker]

Anyone make some progress on finding a qualified, skilled electrician willing to do EVSE installs at a group discount? My inquiries still have gotten me no where.

 

[redLEAF]

Anyone make some progress on finding a qualified, skilled electrician willing to do EVSE installs at a group discount? My inquiries still have gotten me no where.

Finally have some time myself to get started on this as well ... I have one local guy (NW 'burbs) in mind that I've contacted for an estimate and will report back. My install will be pretty simple (existing 200A box inside my garage within 10' or so of where I would have a 40A plug or hard-wired 'charger' installed) but will find out soon enough -- as we've seen all kinds of estimates on the forum (as well as the extreme ones from AV) will be curious what this will entail.

As to the comment on the color Red; I guess I was surprised the other Chicago dealer who had a LEAF demo had a red one -- but if you've seen the latest Nissan ads running in Chicago, they state that they have cars and are running at full speed versus the other Japanese car mfg's playing catch up (if you look closely, the car carriers in the ad have a LEAF or two on them as well); I haven't seen any updates on my own order yet (last update was 8/11 to month of November) so hopefully it will stay that way regardless of my color choice.

 

[chijayhawker]

I'm sad to say today I'm pulling the plug on being one of the first owners of a Leaf in the Chicagoland area. I simply can't pull it off financially. Almost daily I've been crunching the numbers and in the long run it would benefit me, but it is the current financial situation that is determining the path I have to take. I'm hoping some time in the near future I will be able to go through with the purchase and join the rest of you in proud ownership. I don't think I'll be orphaning a red SL in the area since my delivery date wasn't until December, but just in case I selected Glendale Nissan as my Preferred Dealer. So they may end up with an orphaned SL there.

 

[redLEAF]

I'm sad to say today I'm pulling the plug on being one of the first owners of a Leaf in the Chicagoland area. I simply can't pull it off financially. Almost daily I've been crunching the numbers and in the long run it would benefit me, but it is the current financial situation that is determining the path I have to take. I'm hoping some time in the near future I will be able to go through with the purchase and join the rest of you in proud ownership. I don't think I'll be orphaning a red SL in the area since my delivery date wasn't until December, but just in case I selected Glendale Nissan as my Preferred Dealer. So they may end up with an orphaned SL there.

Sorry to hear that -- while the financial incentives are quite good to get an EV now, not everyone can shell out the high(er) initial cost upfront versus an ICE when needing to replace an aging vehicle. To top that, in many cases people need to get a 'charging' station installed at home, etc. (more incentives as well) so while it's getting better we're not there yet -- I'm still waiting on the IL EPA to clarify the buy/lease incentive (looks like IL 'forces' you to buy for now) so if I do buy it (other than a possible trade-in) of course I need to pay for the entire negotiated price and then file for the Fed Tax credit as well as the cash rebate from IL AFTER paying for it -- I'd much rather lease simply due to how new the technology is and if IL allowed their rebate to apply to the lease but can't easily justify giving up on an extra almost $4K incentive off after the fact. Of course it could be a moot point if IL EPA runs out of funds for this so still a fair amount of risk regardless of what folks do in IL -- add all that to an iffy financial situation and I can't blame you one bit.

If it's any consolation, future EV's should end up less expensive as battery tech, etc. improves and the material and mfg. costs go down; hopefully even within just a few years.

 

[prolix74]

I'm sad to say today I'm pulling the plug on being one of the first owners of a Leaf in the Chicagoland area. I simply can't pull it off financially. Almost daily I've been crunching the numbers and in the long run it would benefit me, but it is the current financial situation that is determining the path I have to take. I'm hoping some time in the near future I will be able to go through with the purchase and join the rest of you in proud ownership. I don't think I'll be orphaning a red SL in the area since my delivery date wasn't until December, but just in case I selected Glendale Nissan as my Preferred Dealer. So they may end up with an orphaned SL there.

Definitely sorry to hear that. I am surprised you got an answer back from Glendale Nissan. I tried to get a quote from them and after waiting a few days, I got an e-mail saying they were not sure when they would get the Leaf and I should try again later, basically clueless on the whole roll out. I went with Martin Nissan instead, even though they were further away, and I got a quote back in minutes!

 

[redLEAF]

For all those in IL awaiting the arrival of their LEAF's listed below is the official response from the Manager of the IL EPA program concerning the IL rebate for alternative fuel cars ... it's 'purchased' vehicles only so unless you're willing to forgo almost another $4K you should seriously consider buying as leasing is NOT eligible -- it appears that Mr. Burkhart is also contacting GM (Volt) and Nissan so they can update the information to their dealer's:


"We have determined again (recently) that leases are ineligible, and the website was updated to make it clear that purchase is not equal to lease. The Alternate Fuels Act states “purchase” and “owner” throughout. The intent is for someone to purchase the vehicle in order to receive a rebate. This is the way we have always interpreted it, but I asked for a second legal opinion, and same result. I called GM and Nissan to make sure their dealers know that “purchase” is required for our program.


Darwin Burkhart, Manager
Clean Air Programs
Division of Mobile Source Programs
Illinois EPA"

 

[Ualdriver]

Thanks for looking into that.

As an aside, I went to visit Todd today at the Elgin, IL Nissan dealership to test drive the Leaf. Nice guy, nice car. It seemed like a pretty nice dealership to do business with. He says they will be selling the cars for sticker.

 

[redLEAF]

Thanks for looking into that.

As an aside, I went to visit Todd today at the Elgin, IL Nissan dealership to test drive the Leaf. Nice guy, nice car. It seemed like a pretty nice dealership to do business with. He says they will be selling the cars for sticker.

No problem -- I also forwarded Burkhart's reply to Todd at McGrath so he can notify the other two folks in queue he has; my LEAF is still due for November, the other two are December. On another note, I had an electrician over on Monday night and am awaiting his quote. Turns out that he has already completed three other EV connection updates for people's garages; his customers didn't mention what EV they ordered (as none had theirs yet) and they were 'finishing' the charger install themselves -- some just wanted a junction box, some a plug, thought he mentioned two were in Barrington but he covers the entire 'burbs and the city. I'll put his name out here once I get the quote and check it out but have to believe it should be reasonable enough. Still a bit disappointed that IL doesn't offer rebates on leased EV's but being early adopter's I guess that's part of the 'risk' you take and many states have yet to offer anything in addition to the Federal program so I'm not complaining one bit --

 

[lukati]

As an aside, I went to visit Todd today at the Elgin, IL Nissan dealership to test drive the Leaf. Nice guy, nice car. It seemed like a pretty nice dealership to do business with. He says they will be selling the cars for sticker.

Might be an interesting car to buy given that it will be 2011 sticker!

I don't know when it happened, but my dashboard changed from month of December 2011 to month of November 2011!
Am I lucky or are other orders coming in earlier than advertised as well?

 

[redLEAF]

Anyone make some progress on finding a qualified, skilled electrician willing to do EVSE installs at a group discount? My inquiries still have gotten me no where.

I was going to post this over on the 'EVSE installation costs, etc.' thread but in going through it, it starts out with talk of the 'original' AV 'charger' unit costs and trails off to other topics ... let's face it, install costs will vary by region so I'll place this here for those in the greater Chicago area -- the electrician I plan to use has already done three of these and he covers pretty much all of the NW 'burbs and the city so would be worth calling for an estimate. I really don't think a group discount will apply here as first off there aren't many of us (we could be surprised with many more once the LEAF becomes more available but not currently with the small dealer allocations) and each install as mentioned earlier may involve extra labor and/or materials due to the run to your box, if you need upgraded service (say from 100A to 200A), etc. I'll relate my own planned install so at least you can use it for comparison and determine what is best for you. I will say that I haven't needed an electrician in quite a few years so I signed up for a subscription on Angie's List as we plan on a few more house related projects and this contractor will offer 10% off for people who found him that way -- he was highly recommended and several jobs were listed on Angie's from small to large.

So for my install -- once all is said and done I may add a few photos; still no 'charger' so may be awhile. I have 200A service and the fuse box is located on my back garage wall (we added 10' X 35' - 2 floor expansion on to our house years ago so I actually have a 4 car tandem style garage - shaped like an 'L' -- two small cars on one side of the older section and the larger ones take advantage of the 10' extra length on the other side). At first I was planning to simply have him put the plug or hard-wire connection about 10 ft. away from the fuse box on the 'new' wall so it would be kind of in the center of the garage -- that would have probably been the easiest but the charger cord would have needed to be at least the 25' one and would always be in the way while charging the car so we opted to run the conduit for it along the back wall and then down the outside wall about 32' or so from the fuse box -- this way, I can go with whatever standard cord comes with the charger and it will be out of the way when in use. His quote includes a new 40A /240V circuit and receptacle (no permit needed for simply adding a circuit in our area), 8 gauge wiring and the conduit will run just above my foundation knee wall (it's a raised ranch style house) so will be pretty much hidden -- total came to $467.00. I’ve posted his company name and contact information below – even though I haven’t had the work done yet, with all the positive reviews, etc. there shouldn’t be any surprises so I’m planning to get this scheduled well before I expect delivery in November:

Clar Electric, Inc.; 302 N Pleasant Dr., Schaumburg, IL 60194 (847) 952-8899 or (800) 606-0270
Jamie Clar, email: [email protected]; URL: http://www.clarelectric.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[redLEAF]

(as my sig' describes; Schneider EVSE installed)

Thought I would share a few photos of the installed unit; first is the hard-wired Schneider / Square D EV2430WS unit 'powered-up' (green indicator light is on); this unit has very low 'vulture' current draw so may simply leave it on; I think the draw is only a few watts when not in use. Second photo is with the unit to the right and how far they needed to run conduit -- this way when in use the EV connection cord is out of the way, always think through where you'll park your EV the most (wife leaves first in the morning so mid-way was best -- tandem 4-car garage). Had to move lot's of shelving, etc. so the elctrician had access so garage looks pretty bare -- you can see where they filled the sump hole after the addition -- knee walls help with conduit placement -- now just need the LEAF!:

 

[scottf200]

FrugleNerd's: Tools for seeing hourly rate (taxes, fees, and watts it seems)
Click [below] for an iGoogle gadget and links to a ComEd electricity price dashboard
http://www.frugalnerd.com/app/comed/comedpages.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Another iGoogle gadget to show hourly rate (watts only)
http://www.jaynick.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nice apps, but the rates don't agree. Any ideas why this is so?

Yes, see info in parens above. One includes taxes and fees.

 

[lukati]

Nothing official yet. No changes on the dashboard. It still says "month of November 2011". But my dealer is telling me that they might have a date. November 22. Big smile!

 

[benleafexpert]

Just to let all you Leaf owners know, we now have out charging station installed in front of our dealership at :

Thomas Nissan of Joliet
1421 N. Larkin Ave
Joliet, IL 60435

While new to Illinois, I have been selling Leafs in San Diego since December 2010, if anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to give me a call, stop by or send me an email.

Ben Rosenberg - 619-818-7975
[email protected]

***also, if any of your friends is interested in purchasing or leasing a new Leaf, we will be offering $500 off MSRP if they mention they are forum members***

 

[lukati]

also, if any of your friends is interested in purchasing or leasing a new Leaf, we will be offering $500 off MSRP if they mention they are forum members***

Excellent! Below MSRP deals are finally coming to Illinois. In addition to Thomas Nissan in Joliet, Hove Buick Nissan in Kankakee is also selling below MSRP. Others will surely follow once the rollout is gathering steam around here.

 

[benleafexpert]

Anything I can do to help any current of prospective Leaf owners out, please don't hesitate to ask.

Ben Rosenberg - 619-818-7975
[email protected]

Thomas Nissan of Joliet
1421 N. Larkin Ave
Joliet, IL 60435
815-741-5353

 

[redLEAF]

Anything I can do to help any current of prospective Leaf owners out, please don't hesitate to ask.

Ben Rosenberg - 619-818-7975
[email protected]

Thomas Nissan of Joliet
1421 N. Larkin Ave
Joliet, IL 60435
815-741-5353

This is great and don't question your sincerity as it sounds genuine but as most IL dealers are only allocated one or two LEAF's per month is it realistic to offer ANY discounts without knowing exactly how many cars the dealership might get? How many LEAF's is Thomas Nissan expecting and when will the first ones be coming in; would also assume you have your dealer demo LEAF as well?

 

[benleafexpert]

We do have a dealer demo here available to test drive, and I welcome you to stop by and take it for a spin.

The Leaf's are allocated based on the amount of orders that are taken, I have no problem providing you a discounted price up front, because in the following months my allocation will be based on the number of orders we receive.

Please notify me immediately if you request a quote with us, so I can verify that you are a forum member.

Ben Rosenberg - 619-818-7975
[email protected]
Thomas Nissan of Joliet

 

[lukati]

Good news and bad news: My CarWings opened up today and I have a VIN number. But my delivery is now "month of December" instead of November.