The official "I got my Leaf" thread

[GasFreeinSkagit]

Leasing myself a 2013 SV Leaf in Western Washington. It'll be my primary car, mostly for the 17 mile one way work commute and some puttering around for groceries. With luck, I won't be touching the ICE but once every 2 or 3 months. Compared to my last car, purchased new in 2001, this thing is a glorious luxury vehicle. Power everything! I'm used to unlocking things by hand, rolling things down by hand, and calculating mileage by hand. It's pretty slick.

 

[bronsonb]

Leasing myself a 2013 SV Leaf in Western Washington. It'll be my primary car, mostly for the 17 mile one way work commute and some puttering around for groceries. With luck, I won't be touching the ICE but once every 2 or 3 months. Compared to my last car, purchased new in 2001, this thing is a glorious luxury vehicle. Power everything! I'm used to unlocking things by hand, rolling things down by hand, and calculating mileage by hand. It's pretty slick.

Our newest car outside of the Leaf is a 2009, and we were still awed by what the Leaf offers. My favorites so far: heated steering wheel and backup camera. While the backup camera will likely become standard on most cars, I doubt we'll see the heated steering wheel in "regular" cars for quite some time.

The kids also love the tilt touch screen (reveals the CD compartment). All the beeps and boops are fun too!

 

[Arvind]

Bought a 2013 SV with the QC pkg and the premium pkg (around view, Bose) on May 8, 2013 from Boardwalk Nissan in Redwood City, CA. Spent four hours in the dealership. Purchase decision took all of the first 30 mins -- we knew what we wanted, we had researched the numbers on MSRP, invoice, etc. The rest of the time was the dealer trying to sell us their financing -- we accepted (1.79%) which was better than what we walked in with (Keypoint credit union, 1.99%).

This is the first non-Toyota car I have bought. Compared to our previous cars (Corolla, Camry, and Prius), this feels like a loaded luxury car. I commute 20 miles round trip each day, plus weekend errands. We hardly drive the Prius anymore, only when it is absolutely needed. Can't believe I won't ever have to take the Leaf to the gas station

 

[ggulik]

I just wanted to sell HI to everyone and share my LEAF story.

I actually have been interested in electric cars for years. Thought about a Prius for years but as long as it had a ICE it wasn't going to do it for me. A few months ago I reserved a Tesla Model S and expected to wait for a while, but it's now expected to arrive in early June.

Then once my wife and I got more accustomed to the idea of an electric car we realized what we also need is a small "city" car since we do live near downtown Chicago and most of the time we make lots of short trips and need to parallel park in sometimes questionable neighborhoods. I did some research and found the LEAF met our requirements most closely.

We test drove one and we were hooked instantly. Slept on it for only 2 days and returned to the dealer and made it happen. Since it has a lot of the same qualities on the Tesla Model S but is smaller and quite a bit cheaper I have nicknamed it the "Tesla Mini".

It's been nearly two weeks now and we still love the car, except the AC doesn't seem to be working and highway speeds have an excessive negative effect on range.

 

[Staque]

With luck, I won't be touching the ICE but once every 2 or 3 months.

I would recommend driving the ICE at least once every 1-2 weeks. The rotors could rust/warp, fuel could become stale and clog stuff up, dry cams, flat spots on the tires. Water can accumulate in brake lines/cylinders. Bad stuff happens to cars when you let them sit. I've had a couple trips to the shop just for leaving a car sitting for a few weeks.

 

[RonDawg]

With luck, I won't be touching the ICE but once every 2 or 3 months.

I would recommend driving the ICE at least once every 1-2 weeks. The rotors could rust/warp, fuel could become stale and clog stuff up, dry cams, flat spots on the tires. Water can accumulate in brake lines/cylinders. Bad stuff happens to cars when you let them sit. I've had a couple trips to the shop just for leaving a car sitting for a few weeks.

You do need to drive your ICE regularly but 1-2 weeks may be more than necessary (unless that's how often you really need to use it). I've been driving mine once a month, putting on a minimum of 20 miles each time. My ICE and my Leaf are garaged so that may be a factor in why I don't need to drive it often.

Now what you don't want to do is drive your ICE around the block, get it slightly warm, and then shut it off for the next week or 2, THAT is definitely bad for the engine. You want to make sure it's at its normal operating temperature for some time before you shut it off.

 

[GasFreeinSkagit]

My mechanic neighbor said once a week for 15 minutes, to make sure the battery gets charged, the gas gets cycled, and nothing falls apart. I really hadn't thought about that. Ah, oh well. One fill up should last me more than half a year even still. Quite respectable.

 

[abasile]

A few months ago I reserved a Tesla Model S and expected to wait for a while, but it's now expected to arrive in early June.

Then once my wife and I got more accustomed to the idea of an electric car we realized what we also need is a small "city" car since we do live near downtown Chicago and most of the time we make lots of short trips and need to parallel park in sometimes questionable neighborhoods. I did some research and found the LEAF met our requirements most closely.

We test drove one and we were hooked instantly. Slept on it for only 2 days and returned to the dealer and made it happen. Since it has a lot of the same qualities on the Tesla Model S but is smaller and quite a bit cheaper I have nicknamed it the "Tesla Mini".

This goes to show that Tesla is helping to expand the market for EVs and thus for the LEAF. After being wowed by the Tesla S, I can foresee some folks deciding to purchase a more affordable EV. Personally, I hope to one day purchase a used Tesla and keep the LEAF as a second car.

 

[kurtww]

We just leased an Ocean Blue SL with premium package (also splash guards and clear bra, which I didn't really want). We test drove an SV and loved it. We really wanted an SL in Ocean Blue and the only dealer around that had one was Tynan's in Fort Collins (we live in Denver). They (Todd and Jake) were super easy to deal with. Really the best buying experience I can remember, and I've bought quite a few cars over the past 25 years.

I talked to two Denver dealers, and got a Costco quote from a third, and we even found a friend's relative who was willing to give us a VPP deal, but Tynan's came up with a better offer. $2000 down and $275/mo (incl. 7.6% tax). The Go Nissan rep we test drove the car with could only do $275/mo with $4k down. No thanks.

The car itself has been great for the past two days. I love all the options, especially the all-around monitor which makes it very easy to get into our small garage. The 110 volt charging is working reasonably well, though I definitely plan to get the EVSE Upgrade, especially since we already have an old 220 volt outlet in the garage.

Today is our first day of range anxiety, with an 80 mile round trip to Boulder planned. There are four chargers within a block of where we're going, so that should help.

 

[kurtww]

A quick followup to our range anxiety. Left the house with 92 miles range showing, drove 80 miles, returned with 29 miles range left, with no charging in between. Awesome! This was almost all highway driving, but no air conditioning needed today.

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

I have only done a couple dozen miles on the freeway so far. It seems if you are willing to keep it at 53-55, you can still manage to that 1 mile per 1%SOC (new car at least) as long as the elevation is pretty constant.

 

[ggulik]

Really? What was your typical speed on that trip?

I had a trip out recently 45 miles each way. I knew I would spend several hours at the destination before heading home so I brought the charger and plugged into 110V to charge. Unfortunately I was going about 70-75mph most of the way there so even though I started with 92 miles range I had only 22 left when I got there!!!

 

[bronsonb]

A quick followup to our range anxiety. Left the house with 92 miles range showing, drove 80 miles, returned with 29 miles range left, with no charging in between. Awesome! This was almost all highway driving, but no air conditioning needed today.

Wow! Sounds like range anxiety will be only a myth for you...I wish it were so for me... If I leave with 110 miles and drive 92, I have 3 left. Still good, but not nice like yours .

 

[Olsonist]

I just bought a Metallic Slate SV+charger/LED+mats for 11% under MSRP or $29,921.80+tax+DMV-$10,000. That is a slightly better price than VPP. Googling around, dealers around the country do offer this 11% discount occasionally.

The dealer was North Bay Nissan in Petaluma, CA which is about a 70 mile drive for me. They're trying to make a sales number and are currently discounting all the Leafs on their lot by 11% under MSRP. It is limited to Leafs on the lot; no dealer swaps.

I looked at the SL and the SL+Premium but concluded that for me even with the 11% deal that the SL wasn't worth the money. The only downside of this rather excellent deal is that Metallic Slate was my third color choice, but thankfully this SV has no frikin hologram or splashguard.

I plan to immediately add the rearview monitor and do some additional LED upgrades. I may tint the windows.

North Bay Nissan knows their Leafs well. They even had the EVSE Upgrade for $350 and set me up with Blink and Chargepoint accounts. They have a DC fast charger on site which means driving up that way will be pleasant.

I'm pleased.

 

[milesmutt]

Just bought a pre-owned 2012 Cayenne Red SL yesterday. It has 7,700 miles on it, and I picked it up from Stevens Creek Nissan in San Jose for $19,700 plus tax/license.

I think I got a great deal on it, and I'm happy I didn't have to hassle with waiting for rebates and paying the additional tax on a new Leaf.

Looks like I might want to do the EVSE upgrade as one of the first things on my Leaf to do list.

 

[bronsonb]

Just bought a pre-owned 2012 Cayenne Red SL yesterday. It has 7,700 miles on it, and I picked it up from Stevens Creek Nissan in San Jose for $19,700 plus tax/license.

I think I got a great deal on it, and I'm happy I didn't have to hassle with waiting for rebates and paying the additional tax on a new Leaf.

Looks like I might want to do the EVSE upgrade as one of the first things on my Leaf to do list.

That sounds like a very good price...heck that's less than the end of lease buy out for my 2012! And I still have over a year left on the lease! Enjoy electric avenue!

 

[rain27]

This may be boring, but it's my story - so here goes. I started looking at the Leaf back in 2010 and had a reservation to purchase, but passed it up. I picked up a Challenger R/T and essentially postponed my desire to do what was right for my desire to enjoy a mid life crisis car. Turns out it was a good decision. I just sold the Challenger at a net cost of $1,500/yr of depreciation.

Now to my Leaf. The price reduction, advancements with the 2013 and impending economic recovery/correlated gas price increases made the new Leaf ("b" Leaf) the right decision. Now that this vehicle satisfies my "sustainability" test of alternative fuels that actually make financial sense, I pulled the trigger.

Funny...my story is similar...but my car is a WRX.

I'll have to look into the SMUD EV program you mention as well...as I live in the Sacramento area too.

 

[milesmutt]

Just bought a pre-owned 2012 Cayenne Red SL yesterday. It has 7,700 miles on it, and I picked it up from Stevens Creek Nissan in San Jose for $19,700 plus tax/license.

I think I got a great deal on it, and I'm happy I didn't have to hassle with waiting for rebates and paying the additional tax on a new Leaf.

Looks like I might want to do the EVSE upgrade as one of the first things on my Leaf to do list.

That sounds like a very good price...heck that's less than the end of lease buy out for my 2012! And I still have over a year left on the lease! Enjoy electric avenue!

Thanks! Yeah, so far so good. Just drove it tonight. The LED headlights are pretty sweet, especially the height adjustable feature.

 

[lion]

So I finally got my 2013 Super Black Nissan LEAF SL with Premium package, very happy with this machine (pics here if interested).

I'd like to add some LED DRLs, change the fogs to match the LED headlights, find some all weather floorliners (not impressed with the Nissan 2011 ones, and Husky/WeatherTech don't make any yet).

Almost bought a RAV4 EV instead, but since my local Toyota dealer wasn't too excited about servicing the car, I gave up on the idea. Disappointed not getting it, but very excited with the LEAF, more than I thought I would be.

Now if Nissan would install some Quick Chargers in the Central New York area, New York is even giving money away for this :/

 

[Reddy]

A quick followup to our range anxiety. Left the house with 92 miles range showing, drove 80 miles, returned with 29 miles range left, with no charging in between. Awesome! This was almost all highway driving, but no air conditioning needed today.

Wow! Sounds like range anxiety will be only a myth for you...I wish it were so for me... If I leave with 110 miles and drive 92, I have 3 left. Still good, but not nice like yours .

The difference is probably high altitude (fewer air molecules to run into) and zero humidity (again, fewer molecules to run into, but this time good old H2O). Don't worry, in January getting 80-100 mi in Denver will be much, much more difficult than in Georgia.