Just a friendly hi!

[supra410]

Hi everyone. I have been very interested in the Leaf for some time. It all started when I was sitting at a stop light in Dallas in my wifes Prius. Next to me pulls up a silver leaf. He looks over at me as I'm checking out his wheels. Light turns green & (whoosh) he's gone! Jerk had to show me up with that smile forcing acceleration. :shock: I really wanted a Leaf but was hard pressed to shell out that kings ransom Nissan was demanding. After the Tsunami in Japan apparently there was a major shortage on the Prius. Lightbulb went off in my head! I sold for a few hundred less than I payed a year and a half before. I was always considering a new Leaf. I decided I'd wait til 2013. I always looked at the prospects of pre-owned, but they seemed just as high as the new & no tax credit. I live in Oklahoma, so the fed tax cred was all I would get. Also, i live outside of Tulsa which has a whopping 4 lvl 2 charging stations 3 being at nissan stealerships. After the release of the 13's being cheaper. I was in full Leaf buying mode. Local DS had 2 2012's available. I just knew I could snag a great deal for one. Wrong!, they would only discount them 1k below invoice. No 13's available yet. I went down to oklahoma city as they had 3 13's. I was soooo close and I mean sooooooo close to buying a black sv or better yet lease. it was at invoice. Lucky for me it was late and the finance mgr left for the night. DS offered to let me take the car, but I explained I live 100 miles away. Didn't want to chance that on a sat night. So, I left with intentions on returning monday. Meanwhile, sunday I had all day to search the preowned and do some calculations. I never lease vehicles. I always buy, but the instant tax deduction and low pmts were very enticing. I planned on leasing, then buying out the residual. After 3 years of 240 a month I would owe around 16k. The market for pre owned really took a bad hit as I was finding them close enough to my residual price to take a second look. Long story short I call the ds and backed out of the Lease & purchased a 2011 Cayenne Red with a mere 5900 miles for $17,500!! I love a new car, but the economics just didn't make sense to buy the new. If oklahoma would kick in a little teaser credit, maybe. Anyhow, glad to be here.

 

[vrwl]

Welcome to the land of electric driving! There's nothing wrong with getting a pre-owned 2011, I did the exact same thing last summer and I've been incredibly happy with it. I only drive a few days a week (I work from home) so my use is low and my distance requirements are generally low as well. There's only two places I go that are about 70 miles round trip, and so far, even with some battery degradation due to Texas summer heat, I'm still making the trips ok. A couple aftermarket things I invested in were a light for the inside of the charging hatch, so I could see in there at night if I needed to charge away from home. The other thing I bought were heated seat pads for the two front seats so I could reduce my use of the energy sucking heater this winter.

Here's the post about the charge cover light http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=2502&p=262228#p262228" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And here's the post about the heated seat pads http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=11089" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[supra410]

Wow, those are both great ideas! my daily commute is 38 miles roundtrip. My wife is suffering from major range anxiety. I'm like a kid with a new toy. I know I will love it! I normally burn over $300 worth of fuel a month, so I'm really anxious to see how well that will be reduced. Thanks for the welcome!

Welcome to the land of electric driving! There's nothing wrong with getting a pre-owned 2011, I did the exact same thing last summer and I've been incredibly happy with it. I only drive a few days a week (I work from home) so my use is low and my distance requirements are generally low as well. There's only two places I go that are about 70 miles round trip, and so far, even with some battery degradation due to Texas summer heat, I'm still making the trips ok. A couple aftermarket things I invested in were a light for the inside of the charging hatch, so I could see in there at night if I needed to charge away from home. The other thing I bought were heated seat pads for the two front seats so I could reduce my use of the energy sucking heater this winter.

Here's the post about the charge cover light http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=2502&p=262228#p262228" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And here's the post about the heated seat pads http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=11089" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[vrwl]

You'll be amazed at how much money you save by eliminating the fuel costs. I have yet to really notice a difference in our electricity bill and with you being in OK, your electricity is probably about as inexpensive as ours is. My husband is similar to your wife...he gets a little tense when I'm pushing the range limits because he doesn't drive the car every day and isn't aware of how far it can go. Just give her time, she'll relax as you both get used to the car and drive it around. We leave my husband's car in the garage on the weekends all the time now and we take the LEAF everywhere we go, as much as we possibly can. No sense paying for gas when you don't have to.

Oh, one other thing I wanted to mention that I use constantly... if you have an iPhone, there's a data logging app that was developed by a fellow LEAF owner that sure makes it nice to track efficiency and to also track the capacity of your battery as time goes on. The app is called EV Logger and you can find it in the iTunes app store. I log data at two different times: when I unplug from a charge, I'll log the charging data (kWh, ending GOM range, 80%/100% charge, etc) and then when I return home after my daily driving, I'll log driving data (m/kWh, total round trip distance driven, odometer, SOC% end, average speed, etc). The app has the ability to email you the data in spreadsheet format, so you can manipulate the data yourself if you want. I originally logged this data in a journal I kept in the car, but once this app came out, it replaced the journal and has been very handy to have.

 

[supra410]

Cool! Thanks for the info!

You'll be amazed at how much money you save by eliminating the fuel costs. I have yet to really notice a difference in our electricity bill and with you being in OK, your electricity is probably about as inexpensive as ours is. My husband is similar to your wife...he gets a little tense when I'm pushing the range limits because he doesn't drive the car every day and isn't aware of how far it can go. Just give her time, she'll relax as you both get used to the car and drive it around. We leave my husband's car in the garage on the weekends all the time now and we take the LEAF everywhere we go, as much as we possibly can. No sense paying for gas when you don't have to.

Oh, one other thing I wanted to mention that I use constantly... if you have an iPhone, there's a data logging app that was developed by a fellow LEAF owner that sure makes it nice to track efficiency and to also track the capacity of your battery as time goes on. The app is called EV Logger and you can find it in the iTunes app store. I log data at two different times: when I unplug from a charge, I'll log the charging data (kWh, ending GOM range, 80%/100% charge, etc) and then when I return home after my daily driving, I'll log driving data (m/kWh, total round trip distance driven, odometer, SOC% end, average speed, etc). The app has the ability to email you the data in spreadsheet format, so you can manipulate the data yourself if you want. I originally logged this data in a journal I kept in the car, but once this app came out, it replaced the journal and has been very handy to have.

 

[mhigley]

Welcome to the club!

Treasure the days your wife has range anxiety. My wife got over hers. Now when I go to hop in my LEAF all I see is an empty driveway.

 

[SalisburySam]

The app is called EV Logger...

[/quote]

...and is currently showing a price of $2.99, FWIW. While not expensive, I'm not sure I want to add all that data to it for every trip I take. BTW, EV Logger is an iPhone app that will work on iPads but is not specifically designed for them.

 

[ERG4ALL]

Welcome! I am so excited to see ever more people joining the EV ranks because I know I'm not typical. I started following the LEAF in September of 2009. In December we got to actually see a prototype at a mall in Phoenix. We drove about 200 miles to see it. There were others there from California. Then in December of 2010 we got to test drive one on the Nissan LEAF tour. We were able to get one of the first ones in the U.S. (#404) in March of 2011. Anyway, to put your mind at ease about having a "pre-owned" LEAF, we have almost 22,000 miles on ours and still have all 12 capacity bars showing and no noticeable range degradation. So Enjoy!

Just one word of caution to preserve the battery, learn the habits that will make the battery last. There are some things that can help. Some people drive them exactly like their ICE car (e.g. 75 mph) and are disappointed with the range. But I liken the shift from ICE to EV to be far less of an adjustment than when people moved from horses to Model Ts. With the Model T you had to worry about spark advancement and retardation, holding the crank in a certain way so a backfire would not break your thumb or wrist, three pedals plus a gas peddle, etc. etc. So it amazes me when I hear whining from a few that have a hard time with the transition from ICE to EV. We enjoy our LEAF and hope you will like yours half as much as we like ours.

 

[vrwl]

The app is called EV Logger...

...and is currently showing a price of $2.99, FWIW. While not expensive, I'm not sure I want to add all that data to it for every trip I take. BTW, EV Logger is an iPhone app that will work on iPads but is not specifically designed for them.

Yes, I paid $2.99 for the app, but being in a hot weather area of the country, I don't want to have to rely on my memory to track my battery capacity. It only takes me a couple of minutes a day to do it, and now I've got all the data I need when I want to compare how my car was doing 6 or 10 or 24 months ago.

 

[supra410]

Thanks for the welcome! I have been fortunate to own many different cars. I am a certified car nut! I love when a manufacturer does something revolutionary like mass producing a new technology that is aimed for the masses. Toyota did it over a decade ago & now it's nissans turn. I live in a state thats more aimed at cng vehicles & less interested in ev transpotation. A leaf tends to be a rare sight in Oklahoma. Especially where I reside. While I have been a Leaf pilot for a very short time. I am in love & willing to accept and adapt to any shortcomings. I classify myself as a bit of a miser. I'm the type of person who would avoid fast speeds to conserve energy. I would opt for service roads & side streets to maximize effeciency. My Prius was a great training aid to prepare me for Leaf ownership. I will admit I have so much to learn. How are people able to accurately read batt capacity?

Welcome! I am so excited to see ever more people joining the EV ranks because I know I'm not typical. I started following the LEAF in September of 2009. In December we got to actually see a prototype at a mall in Phoenix. We drove about 200 miles to see it. There were others there from California. Then in December of 2010 we got to test drive one on the Nissan LEAF tour. We were able to get one of the first ones in the U.S. (#404) in March of 2011. Anyway, to put your mind at ease about having a "pre-owned" LEAF, we have almost 22,000 miles on ours and still have all 12 capacity bars showing and no noticeable range degradation. So Enjoy!

Just one word of caution to preserve the battery, learn the habits that will make the battery last. There are some things that can help. Some people drive them exactly like their ICE car (e.g. 75 mph) and are disappointed with the range. But I liken the shift from ICE to EV to be far less of an adjustment than when people moved from horses to Model Ts. With the Model T you had to worry about spark advancement and retardation, holding the crank in a certain way so a backfire would not break your thumb or wrist, three pedals plus a gas peddle, etc. etc. So it amazes me when I hear whining from a few that have a hard time with the transition from ICE to EV. We enjoy our LEAF and hope you will like yours half as much as we like ours.

 

[supra410]

Haha! She's already venturing farther with each trip, like a toddler testing her boundaries. The car was initially my main commuter as she telecommutes. As each day passes she finds excuses to send me to work in one of the fumers.

Welcome to the club!

Treasure the days your wife has range anxiety. My wife got over hers. Now when I go to hop in my LEAF all I see is an empty driveway.

 

[vrwl]

... How are people able to accurately read batt capacity?

It's just basically tracking how far you can go on a full charge to Low Battery Warning (LBW) or Very Low Battery Warning (VLBW) or Turtle. Once you've owned the car for a while, your efficiency in driving will tend to average out and become more predictable, so in some ways the Guess-O-Meter (GOM) will probably become a bit more predictable for your driving style. That means it can be a useful comparison tool (what did my GOM say at an 80% charge 6 months ago vs what it says now). It's not a highly accurate prediction tool for miles you can go, but comparing it to itself in prior months can be useful to give you an indication if your battery is starting to lose some capacity. (e.g. I used to show 75 miles on the GOM when I charged to 80%, now I only show 65 miles at an 80% charge)

A more accurate way to judge your battery capacity (but still not the "be all, end all" of measurements) is a GID meter of some sort. There are several people here on the forums who sell meters you can use with your car to measure the number of GIDs your car has on a full charge. The meter plugs into a spot underneath the steering wheel. The best GID reading has been determined to be 281 on a brand new car. Lower numbers usually means some sort of capacity loss. When I bought my pre-owned car, I borrowed a GID meter to see my "baseline" number with the car and mine was 256, so it already had some loss right when I purchased it. There is a 500+ page thread in this forum about that one subject and it's a hefty read if you decide you want to plow through it, but you'll learn a lot about your car and battery capacity if you do. Here's the link to that thread: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=8802" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; but just keep in mind the thread represents a complete learning curve for all the participants. The knowledge about the cars at the beginning of that thread is not nearly as great as the knowledge about the cars at the middle and end of the the thread.

 

[supra410]

Thank you for the explanation! That pretty much clarified every post I have been reading and scratching my head about.

 

[vrwl]

Glad I could help