moving from CA to CO ?

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joetesta

Active member
Joined
Apr 12, 2012
Messages
34
I'm on the first year of a lease on a 2015 Leaf & considering relocating from CA to CO; wondering what considerations to think about for the car. Obviously need to find charging either at home or work. Other things I'm wondering:

> how do I get it there, rent something to tow it with or ship it?

> (assuming i don't buy out) will i have to ship it back to return it at the end of lease or can it be returned to a different dealer?

> would I forfeit my CA rebate if I move out of state?

> is the '15 "cold-weather-ready" by default?

> what's it like driving in the snow in one of these, can they use snow tires, chains?

> anything else I'm forgetting?

tyvmia
 
> how do I get it there, rent something to tow it with or ship it?

I helped move my son from IL to NH; we rented a truck and trailer for his car; not terribly expensive but took 1 1/2 days, remember truck/trailer not typically as fast as just driving and about the same distance and time. You could also ship the car with your household goods or simply check out a car carrier and compare costs


> (assuming i don't buy out) will i have to ship it back to return it at the end of lease or can it be returned to a different dealer?

That's up to the leasing company; if its national, they may offer to inspect and pick up at your new location, if not YOU need to get it back to CA

> would I forfeit my CA rebate if I move out of state?

Look through the older threads, seem to recall something that set a time limitation, but again if the lease company 'owns' the car, you could keep and renew the CA plates (here in IL no car inspection for the first 4 years) not sure on CA on where renewal notices go

> is the '15 "cold-weather-ready" by default?

The lizard battery (more for hot climates than cold) ; better heat pump, etc. should do better than earlier years in CO

> what's it like driving in the snow in one of these, can they use snow tires, chains?

I'm sure our prominent CO member can speak to that; here in Chicagoland with 'moderate' snow its fine but we have an AWD SUV for the deeper stuff and can't use snow chains out this way

> anything else I'm forgetting?

You could 'try' to sell your lease before you leave CO (leaseswap, etc.) as I'm sure there may be someone looking for a deal, never know until you try ... much less hassle in leaving it behind
 
  • how do I get it there, rent something to tow it with or ship it?
    It's up to you. Being FWD you can just put the front wheels up on a dolly, and UHaul and other truck rental agencies have these for rent. You can be real adventurous and drive it cross-country :D
  • (assuming i don't buy out) will i have to ship it back to return it at the end of lease or can it be returned to a different dealer?
    No it can be returned to any authorized Nissan dealer.
  • would I forfeit my CA rebate if I move out of state?
    Yes, you will have to refund a pro-rated portion of the CVRP rebate. The minimum CA registration period is now 30 months, down from 36 months when I got my Leaf. So if you have only had your car for 6 months, you'd need to refund $2000 back to the program.
  • is the '15 "cold-weather-ready" by default?
    There is no specific "cold weather package" for the Leaf, at least not for the 2012 and later models. Leafs sold in Denver are identical to ones sold in Los Angeles. You may want to invest in a good set of winter floor mats.
  • what's it like driving in the snow in one of these, can they use snow tires, chains?
    I can't comment on how they are like to drive in snow since I live in SoCal, but if you will be living anywhere where freezing temps are frequent in winter, you may want to consider a set of snow tires. Even if there is no snow or ice on the ground, true winter tires will provide better traction in freezing conditions than all-seasons; that's why they're required in many countries like Germany, or even the Province of Quebec. Be careful which ones you get, as some have more rolling resistance than others, no different than with summer tires or all-season tires. There are recommendations elsewhere in this forum.
 
redLEAF said:
You could 'try' to sell your lease before you leave CO (leaseswap, etc.) as I'm sure there may be someone looking for a deal, never know until you try ... much less hassle in leaving it behind

With NMAC there is one considerable hassle in transferring leases: the original lessee is still held responsible for all remaining payments, and to return the car within the time, mileage, and condition limits specified in the contract. I would personally only consider this if my life situation has changed so that the car is no longer practical (job loss forcing a severe budget cutback, forced job change where the commute is too far, having to move somewhere where the Leaf and/or taking it there is not practical), and/or the person I am transferring the lease to is a highly trusted friend or family member.

Look through the older threads, seem to recall something that set a time limitation, but again if the lease company 'owns' the car, you could keep and renew the CA plates (here in IL no car inspection for the first 4 years) not sure on CA on where renewal notices go

Couple of problems with that:

  • If Colorado laws are similar to California's, you can get a citation for not re-registering your car in-state.
  • The folks administering the program do occasional audits to confirm the car is still registered in California. In doing so they might object if the car is still CA-plated but has a mailing address outside of the state, and it's not registered to a company (other than the lessor). The OP could never notify the DMV about his/her move but then he/she won't get the renewal notices, and that can be problematic if the car is caught being driven with expired registration; in California your car can be impounded if found driven or parked on a public highway with registration expired over 6 months. About the only way the OP can get away with this is if he/she can "borrow" someone's California address to register the car at, or open a PO Box within the state (but then there's the issue about getting renewal notices).
 
Thank you very much for the replies. So this refunding the rebate is an expensive proposition. One possibility is that someone I trust will live at my house and receive my mail and therefore I would not need to change address at all. Another possibility as you mention, I have several relatives in the area whose addresses I could "borrow" for this, but it's not something I'd like to have to do. Maybe seeing if one of those relatives might be interested in taking over the lease makes more sense.... will need to consider, thanks again!
 
joetesta said:
Thank you very much for the replies. So this refunding the rebate is an expensive proposition. One possibility is that someone I trust will live at my house and receive my mail and therefore I would not need to change address at all. Another possibility as you mention, I have several relatives in the area whose addresses I could "borrow" for this, but it's not something I'd like to have to do. Maybe seeing if one of those relatives might be interested in taking over the lease makes more sense.... will need to consider, thanks again!

Of course all situations are different, but at least with my son and his was a newly purchased car, not a lease and we kept him on our car insurance -- he kept the IL plates, we would mail in his renewals and then simply mail his plate stickers out to him, technically I was still on the registration for the car at the time so no laws were being broken --- when it came time for the IL 'inspection' (it was a 'free' emissions related one) he had a choice to drive the car back to IL and stay on our car insurance, etc. and IL plates but he decided to then get plates in NH and get his car insurance there; overall it was a bit more expensive initially but not enough to offset the R/T to IL -- as he lives in a college town, the local police never bothered him, he did get a NH driver's license though and as NH taxes their registrations based on the value of the car (decreases over time) so he did save some money by waiting --- work all the angles I say ... also had assumed it was a 'local' lease and NOT through the mfg. as you didn't specify.

Here where I work, we lease out cars for our rep's around the country and most are leased here in IL, plate the cars here as well and ship them out --- the company pays the lease and gets the cars returned here when the lease expires; some states (like DE) are a pain to deal with so there are exceptions but the 'lessor' is our company, not the individual so the reps have zero out-of-pocket to deal with.
 
joetesta said:
...> is the '15 "cold-weather-ready" by default?

> what's it like driving in the snow in one of these, can they use snow tires, chains?...
All LEAFs from 2012 on are cold weather ready. However, the S model uses a heater that takes more energy (reduces range) than the heat pump in the SV/SL models, in moderately cold weather. One thing to check is the washer fluid. If you park outside in very cold weather you should use washer fluid rated for below zero temperatures or it will freeze up in the lines.

The LEAF is a fine snow car. I do have cable chains for mine to get up my steep driveway when it is slick. The regular Ecopia tires are decent in snow when new but the snow traction decreases as they wear down, no surprise. While you could get snow tires for the LEAF, in most parts of Colorado the roads get plowed and sanded pretty quickly, so you likely can get by with the regular tires if you can wait a bit for roads to get cleared. And most days the roads melt down to bare pavement quickly unless you are high in the mountains. But a lot of it depends on experience; if you have little or no snow driving experience having snow tires will help. As will waiting for roads to get cleared or taking another AWD car, if that's an option.

Be aware that the range in cold weather will decrease a lot, especially if you use the heater (I rarely do, I just use the steering wheel heater because I dress warmly in winter). Preheating the car while plugged-in is very helpful.
 
dgpcolorado said:
Be aware that the range in cold weather will decrease a lot, especially if you use the heater (I rarely do, I just use the steering wheel heater because I dress warmly in winter). Preheating the car while plugged-in is very helpful.

I agree. The LEAF is a great handling snow car - but cold weather and snow-packed roads and a power hungry heater really - and I mean REALLY - destroy range. I'd say in bad conditions you can rely on 40 miles range tops even in a new LEAF. I'm getting close to losing my first bar and so I'm thinking this winter will be a challenge for me.
 
40 miles tops in a new leaf is a pretty conservative estimate! Maybe if you like to blast the heat. I keep mine on the lowest setting and ECO and have never done worse than 60-65miles actual travel + estimated remaining. I've done 55 miles with no less than 25% SOC remaining in some pretty bad conditions multiple times. The beauty of bad road conditions is that if forces you and everyone around you to drive slower, offsetting the range loss from the cold temps.

Parking indoors and setting the charge timer to finish right before you leave in the morning also helps keep the battery warm and improve range.
 
Nfuzzy said:
40 miles tops in a new leaf is a pretty conservative estimate! Maybe if you like to blast the heat.

I've found if I'm driving in a snow storm, and it's cold - if I don't run the defroster with heat (at least 70 degrees) my windows ice. LEAF is outside all day at work in very cold weather. No chance to preheat. Stuck in traffic, running the heater... This is worst case scenario, granted, but it does happen a few times during the winter. Getting around 2.8 Miles/kWh in these conditions. My lifetime average is 4.8 Miles/kWh.
 
Fair enough, I certainly don't doubt that as a worst case that becomes more common as the battery degrades. I also park outside at work and dont charge there but I have been fortunate enough not to get stuck in traffic that is too bad. As long as we keep moving and I keep the heater hitting the window (no silly ac defrost, I hate that's the default), I seem to do just fine in winter with a new leaf.
 
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