Mossy Nissan Kearny Mesa Matches any Local Leaf Offers
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walterbays
Well-known member
mossyleaf said:
Leon, it looks like you may soon have to develop your own reservation system. RAD for Request a Drive?
http://green.autoblog.com/2010/09/1...o-dealers-in-december-cold-weather-package-c/
Beginning this December, certified Leaf dealers in early rollout areas will be required to have at least one demonstrator available for test drives. Individual dealers should begin receiving the demo Leafs by the second week of December.
I was discussing this with someone just the other day. They asked "Will you allow people who want to test drive the Leaf to take it home overnite?" I thought that an interesting question. Maybe some feedback from forum members would be good on this one. What do you think?
walterbays
Well-known member
mossyleaf said:
I would love it.
But if I were you, I probably wouldn't do it - at least not while the interest in the car is so high. You could lose demo opportunities to other customers if someone "forgets" to bring it back on time, or gets stuck in traffic, or drives it around all evening and forgets to plug in the 110.
That raises an interesting question of when interest in the car will be highest. Is it now, from people on this forum who have been watching Leaf's approach on the Internet for years? Or will it be next summer when people see public charging stations wherever they go, the first Leafs are cruising around town, and people have a neighbor who tells them that "range anxiety" is an urban myth, and laughs at their trips to the gas station?
electriclarry
Well-known member
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Like everyone else in California after the various 'rebates,' credits, .... we are about to spend about $25,000 for something we dream about but most of us have never even seen in person, yet driven.
It would be nice if we rent a Leaf for a few hours and really see what it is like. I did this when I was on the waiting list for a Prius and after a day with the Prius any second thoughts disappeared. I would like to do my weekend shopping ten mile loop and a 30 to 40 mile combination trip with stops using moderate speed roads, the freeway and surface streets. I would feel a lot better even spending another $50 (dealer credit?) doing a real world test rather then fifteen minutes (maybe) on a test drive.
It would be nice if we rent a Leaf for a few hours and really see what it is like. I did this when I was on the waiting list for a Prius and after a day with the Prius any second thoughts disappeared. I would like to do my weekend shopping ten mile loop and a 30 to 40 mile combination trip with stops using moderate speed roads, the freeway and surface streets. I would feel a lot better even spending another $50 (dealer credit?) doing a real world test rather then fifteen minutes (maybe) on a test drive.
walterbays
Well-known member
electriclarry said:
I did the same, renting from the Toyota dealer. I tried full acceleration up a long steep hill. I wanted to find out what happens when the battery is depleted. Did it turn into a grossly underpowered econobox? But try as I might I could not deplete the battery. So I ordered one. Some time after I got the car I drove to the observatory atop Palomar Mountain. Though I was down to one battery bar much of the time, still each time I would slow down for a curve the ICE would catch up on charging, revving madly even when the car was coasting. Hmmm, I wonder if a Leaf could make it up the mountain?
By the way, both Hertz and Enterprise will be renting Leafs, but I don't think I'll be trying the Palomar Mountain trip.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/09/business/la-fi-travel-briefcase-20100809
evnow
Well-known member
mossyleaf said:
If you know & trust the customer I would. But they would need to be not too far off - may be 30 miles are so. That way you can be sure even if they can't / don't recharge, the car can come back.
Added benefit of this is the neighbours would take a look as well (even though in these times I wonder how many people have neighbours who have a closer than "good morning" relationship).
LEAFfan
Well-known member
electriclarry said:
But how many Priuses did the dealer have for test driving? I'm sure they had more than one. I doubt if any dealer will have more than one LEAF for test drives, so it isn't fair to other people to have to wait overnight or hours before they can see and drive the car.
garygid
Well-known member
One hour of demo driving, then perhaps 4 to 6 hours of L2 charging. That probably means that the "demo time" would be quite limited, or ... often "not available.
However, a 3-minute "easy" drive and then about 12 minutes of L2 charging would allow about 4 short (or two "longer") test-drives per hour all day long (asumming a full recharge overnight).
However, a 3-minute "easy" drive and then about 12 minutes of L2 charging would allow about 4 short (or two "longer") test-drives per hour all day long (asumming a full recharge overnight).
Dav
Well-known member
Leon, under normal conditions I always rent a vehicle I am considering purchasing.
When I was shopping for a convertible I took a Miata with sport suspension up to Lake Arrowhead. Terrific fun in the twisty mountain roads, but horrible for every day driving on the freeway. That short wheelbase and stiff suspension make it bounce all over. I ended up with a Toyota Solara. The extended test drive was the deciding factor.
When I wanted better economy, I rented a Prius and took it out I-8 to Phoenix (rough mountains along that route, short but steep). Made me a believer in the Prius platform, even if I don't like not having control over when it charges the batteries. Then I took a Ford Explorer Hybrid to Tucson to try it in the heat. Really, really weak air conditioning - could not keep up at all. Good economy, but a failure as a vehicle. Again, the extended test drive was required for an informed decision.
But once I was choosing between a Lexus and an Infiniti (both 3 years old). Very similar vehicles no matter how long I drove them. A regular test drive told me all I needed to know about each of them. (I selected the Lexus - now 18 years old and still a great car!)
I bought my RAV4-EV after a 15-minute test drive. It was that obvious that it was finally the electric vehicle I had been waiting for.
Now there are finally going to be competing electric vehicles, but in the beginning longer test drives are probably not going to be the conclusive reason anyone would buy the Leaf. They are going to want a pure electric NOW from a very well known brand... or they are going to wait for the market to mature.
When I was shopping for a convertible I took a Miata with sport suspension up to Lake Arrowhead. Terrific fun in the twisty mountain roads, but horrible for every day driving on the freeway. That short wheelbase and stiff suspension make it bounce all over. I ended up with a Toyota Solara. The extended test drive was the deciding factor.
When I wanted better economy, I rented a Prius and took it out I-8 to Phoenix (rough mountains along that route, short but steep). Made me a believer in the Prius platform, even if I don't like not having control over when it charges the batteries. Then I took a Ford Explorer Hybrid to Tucson to try it in the heat. Really, really weak air conditioning - could not keep up at all. Good economy, but a failure as a vehicle. Again, the extended test drive was required for an informed decision.
But once I was choosing between a Lexus and an Infiniti (both 3 years old). Very similar vehicles no matter how long I drove them. A regular test drive told me all I needed to know about each of them. (I selected the Lexus - now 18 years old and still a great car!)
I bought my RAV4-EV after a 15-minute test drive. It was that obvious that it was finally the electric vehicle I had been waiting for.
Now there are finally going to be competing electric vehicles, but in the beginning longer test drives are probably not going to be the conclusive reason anyone would buy the Leaf. They are going to want a pure electric NOW from a very well known brand... or they are going to wait for the market to mature.
Jimmydreams
Well-known member
mossyleaf said:On the heels of this discussion I spoke with a regional from Enterprise. Looks like there will be 3 Leaf's in San Diego for rent. Will either be very close to my Dealership, or very very close to my Dealership.
Any idea when they'll be available? December, maybe?
I was equally interested in the "when". He didn't know the answer to that. Wasn't familiar with charging requirements either. Seemed like this news had just come to him and there were many details left to be settled. When I hear an eta I will pass it along.
Clearly Leon has a passion for the Nissan Leaf - just as many of us do. He is very fast to respond to questions and extremely knowledgeable.
As a result he won my business and processed my order very quickly and smoothly.
I'm now looking forward to December
Thank you Leon, you are the first car dealer I have recommended to anyone.
As a result he won my business and processed my order very quickly and smoothly.
I'm now looking forward to December
Thank you Leon, you are the first car dealer I have recommended to anyone.
Frank
Well-known member
Once customers are driving their Leafs around and have some technical questions regarding the electronics, controls, battery etc., who should they call? Will Nissan have a National or Regional hotline for the the Leaf, or will these calls be handled by local dealers? Of course the folks on this forum that also will have Leafs will be a valuable source but I'm curious how Nissan plans to handle this.
Jimmydreams
Well-known member
Frank said:
Just find your local Nissan dealer....chances are they'll have a "Leaf Specialist" who's been trained on the car. After about a year or so, I'm expecting the Leaf to be just like any other car as far as Nissan is concerned in that any dealer can work on/answer questions. It's only the initial roll-out stage that will necessitate specialized Leaf training because not all dealers will have trained specialists.
Frank
Well-known member
Jimmydreams said:
But will a Leaf Specialist be available to take calls from customers or will he/she be busy with other things? It reminds me when I have called a dealer in the past to ask a question about a car and the answer was that I should bring it in to the service department. So I'm thinking initially if you aren't able to talk directly with the trained Leaf Specialist you may not get correct answers to technical questions. Eventually EVs will be the norm and this will not be an issue.
Wouldn't it be nice to be able to see the Leaf manual? I wonder if it will be possible to get our hands on one of these before December?
Frank said:
Not likely prior to the release of the car, but this could prove to be helpful. On the Nissan website, click on the "For Owners" link on the top right of the page, select "Nissan Manuals & Guides". Select LEAF and 2011 and you will have online access to the documentation for the LEAF. That could be useful for those ordering later and want specifics prior to ordering.
