Now we have two LEAFs

[TaylorSFGuy]

As many of you know, I purchased my 2011 LEAF with the idea of saving money on my daily 130 mile commute. But with over 120,000 miles and 3 bars gone, I was getting concerned. So I started shopping for another car, not necessarily as a replacement, but as a backup if things got too rough with my fading 2011. Last week, I took advantage of the zero percent and $3,500 promotion being offered by Nissan and brought home a 2014 SL. Combined with the extra $1,000 for 2011/12 LEAF owners and the tax credit, this was a deal I couldn’t pass up.

But I did need to find a dealer and reach a deal. I tried Costco, TrueCar and a number of other online services. They all seemed to point to the same group of dealers. Many of these didn’t respond to emails beyond the standard auto reply.

So I went to Nissan of the Eastside in Bellevue WA. The lead repair tech – Aaron has been very helpful with my few repairs so I thought I would give the front end a try. I met with them and told them what price I wanted to pay. No games – they said they couldn’t do it and I left. Some more research and I adjusted my proposal slightly. It was enough to make the deal happen.

I would recommend Eastside – apparently a number of others feel the same way – they have signs saying they are the highest volume LEAF dealership in the US. The whole process was quite easy – not quite as easy as it was with the 2011 but still not that bad.

Eastside had all the colors – others just had a couple of choices as the month and incentives were coming to an end. Not to mention their own QC that is constantly humming.

I wasn’t sure what to do with the 2011, but now with the battery price finally announced, I have some choices. Lucky for me – my wife drove the new one home and now she wants to drive it. Up until now the LEAF has been my “experiment”. She didn’t want anything to do with it – had only driven it a couple of times – she didn’t have too many chances, it was with me most of the time.

So now we are a 2 LEAF family and I think it is going to work.

Thanks to Nissan and Nissan of the Eastside. My savings will continue for some time to come.

 

[DaveEV]

Congratulations!

So your wife is going to drive the '14 while you drive the '11? I'm personally curious to see how the '14 holds up to your commute!

The $3500 + $1000 really does make a new LEAF tempting!

 

[MikeD]

TaylorSFGuy: Could you talk a little about your approach to charging both Leafs at your house that could be useful to others who may become dual Leaf owners?

 

[stjohnh]

Welcome to the 2 LEAF Club

I bought a 2013 about June 1st last year. My wife moaned and complained how much she hated the car and why didn't she get a new car too !!!... So 2 weeks later, after test driving a bunch of cars, she says "I want one too, but not with that dreary black interior." So we ended up with 2. Its great. I sold my ICE minivan at the time, she has kept her 1998 ICE Camry, but has not driven it ONCE since getting her LEAF.

Charging:
I converted my portable EVSE brick that came with the car to 240, had a 240 volt outlet installed on a metal post in our driveway, and got a free 240 EVSE unit via the California air quality program (I don't think this is available any more). I had to pay some for the installation because the program only pays for "standard" installation. Anyway, that's how we charge. I have 13k on my car, my wife has 10k miles in about 13 months. Drive the cars in the day, plug in at home every night. Simple.

 

[Phatcat73]

Congrats! Leaf #2 should reduce your range anxiety substantially, furthermore you're driving a Leaf with a few extra miles range and improved battery pack as compared to your '11 when it was new. It sounds as if your wife has a much shorter commute and the 11 will work well for her.

I'm considering BEV #2 myself.

Re: charging 2 Leafs/BEVs. I have a 7.2 Siemens charger. We have a utility fixed rate 24x7 and work typically 9-5. Driver 1 would plug in as soon as they arrived home. Driver 2 would plug in before going to bed. In the morning we'll have 2 fully charged Leafs.

 

[TaylorSFGuy]

I will still be driving the 2011. My wife who is retired (early out from Neonatal RT) will probably only need to charge a couple times a week (if that). Not expecting anywhere near the miles on this one that I drive. Unless of course I can get it back from her and we end up switching.

Charging won't be an issue for us - she can pull into the "charging lane" when I'm at work. I never considered having two when we installed the charger on the outside of the garage. So my only suggestion for that is look for one that will have a long enough cord that you can park side by side and open the car doors. The Blink doesn't reach where I put it.

 

[camasleaf]

Could you talk a little about your approach to charging both Leafs at your house that could be useful to others who may become dual Leaf owners?

I believe it is better to have two charging stations for at least two reasons:

1 - if the one charging station has issues you will need to L1 charge and it might not be fast enough, both EVs might be unusable for a while
2 - if you do not move the cars around and extend the cord you can cause trip hazads or http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=14894" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We have the Blink and the http://evseupgrade.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

 

[mitch672]

regarding charging both Leafs, you could build/buy a "hydra"

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=14012&hilit=Hydra" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[linkim]

I will still be driving the 2011. My wife who is retired (early out from Neonatal RT) will probably only need to charge a couple times a week (if that). Not expecting anywhere near the miles on this one that I drive. Unless of course I can get it back from her and we end up switching.

Charging won't be an issue for us - she can pull into the "charging lane" when I'm at work. I never considered having two when we installed the charger on the outside of the garage. So my only suggestion for that is look for one that will have a long enough cord that you can park side by side and open the car doors. The Blink doesn't reach where I put it.

Congrats on your new purchase! Happy to hear that you continue to have confidence in your older LEAF for commuting. You are a great example of EV commuting despite what is the limited range. You may have mentioned, but do you have a rough idea of how much money you saved by driving the LEAF instead of your previous ICE vehicle? Can you please update us with the latest info on the status of your traction battery in the 11LEAF, if/when you have access to the proper tools. Thanks.

 

[DanCar]

Would be cool to see some pics on G+

 

[cgaydos]

Could you talk a little about your approach to charging both Leafs at your house that could be useful to others who may become dual Leaf owners?

We have the Blink and the http://evseupgrade.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

Schneider and evseupgrade.

 

[rmay635703]

As many of you know, I purchased my 2011 LEAF with the idea of saving money on my daily 130 mile commute. But with over 120,000 miles and 3 bars gone, I was getting concerned. So I started shopping for another car, not necessarily as a replacement, but as a backup if things got too rough with my fading 2011. .

Just on an off topic, you can gain 4-10 miles (depending on your 12v loading) by replacing the 12v leaf battery with a standard
8v deepcycle + a standard 6v deepcycle + a 14v FLA charger. (your out of warranty on one car so )

The upper ceiling before your car will throw a CEL on the 12v system is about 16 volts and your DC_DC will maintain the FLA above the 80%DOD limit.

The above has been tested on a volt (I know different vehicle) but it did work.
----------------------------------------------------------

Also if you ever decide to sell your car with 120000 miles, I would take it for the carmax offer + 10%

Good Luck
Ryan

 

[kieranmullen]

Would not mind to have 2 leafs too. We will see how the existing 2012 works out.

Off topic... The Kia Minivan we use for hauling the popup camper is on storage for insurance reasons. We can just turn it back on for the weekend if we wish. However I would not mind to get rid of it all together but still need a towing vehicle. Most truck rentals do not allow for the ability to tow correct? perhaps getaround?

 

[JPWhite]

Steve,

Will you buy the Lizard battery replacement to make your 2011 a more convenient commute?

JP

 

[johnrhansen]

Does nissan of th3 east side still have that program where they will loan you an ice car once in awhile when you need to go on a longer road trip?

 

[mwalsh]

Most truck rentals do not allow for the ability to tow correct? perhaps getaround?

U-Haul. Pickups are $20 day plus mileage. All are rigged with hitches.

 

[TaylorSFGuy]

I am not ready to buy a new battery yet. I can make this one work a bit longer. Every 10k miles I drive gets me another $1000 down the savings road.

Yes Eastside does provide 20 uses of an ICE if I have a need.

With gas at $4 I am definitely clearing $0.10 a mile net of electricity costs compared to my 30mpg Honda.

Really do like the car and now with the battery replacement pricing firmed up I feel like my decision to give it a try more than three years ago was a good one.

 

[KJD]

TayorSFGuy, I can see from your signature that you are over 130,000 miles now, that is impressive.

How many battery capacity bars are gone now ?

How is the rest of the car holding up ?

 

[ybitz]

TayorSFGuy...what was the sale price on your SL?

 

[EvansvilleLeaf]

Us too.

Although the second is just an early replace for the leased first. I knew I would lose the 1000 loyalty at the end of 2014 and had no clue how long the 3500 +0% would last so grabbed a discounted loaded SV (hate leather seats). Come Feb it will just be the one Leaf.

As far as charging goes we have one 240v on one garage wall and my wife's 110 from her CMax Energi on the other. Both can reach either garage bay so it's just a matter of grabbing what's available as needed for us.