Geraldk
Active member
Well it's all over folks. I had my glorious Leaf SL for 950 gas free days! I want to thank everyone on here that helped me on this journey. I have not posted lately, but I did come here and read what others were saying. Here is what I learned...
I was not really ready to give up my Leaf or to post this, as my lease abruptly ended when I was rear ended this week. My insurance has totaled out my Leaf.:-( I loved my little powerhouse. I loved how fast it was off the line, blowing the doors off people that would give me that let's race look. I never would speed, but my 0-30, I had them beat every time. I also loved letting them take off only to see them stopped at the next light. All my car guy friends thought it was the bee's knees. They made fun at first, but changed their minds after they went for a ride. I was always volunteered when it was time to go anywhere Leaf range would allow. They wanted to ride in the quiet beast. We would rock the sound system along with that sweet sweet AC. Not everyone got it- my Mom, Dad, and Grandma would always ask where the gas goes.
I had a great time showing my car at car shows. I had it at the Solar Grandprix in Long Beach twice. I even had a few signs in my rear windows with info about my Leaf. I would see people come over and read them all the time. Sometimes I would get into great conversations about the car. I talked at least two people into buying one.
Towards the end I stopped using any public charging as they were always full with a Volt or a PIP. My area has a few free chargers.
So how much did I spend?
I had a 2012 SL I paid $277.34 a month with $1,000 down. That's with taxes.
I had my Leaf for about 32 months. $9,877 total out of pocket. California sent $3,500 for the lease. The $7,500 went to Nissan. The tags for it were about $350 each year, so about $700 total.
I also got a car wash every Friday for the first 20 months or so until I moved and it made it inconvenient. The dealer offers this to their buyers. I figured I would have paid at least $10 per wash so safe to say $800 on washes.
Now the electrons. I got a very good average of 4.19kwh. My high was 5.20 and my low was 3.80. I drove a total of 17,900 miles.
Total cost was about $1,050.42. This @ about .25 per kWh and our rate is a little lower, but it is about. I also charged at work a lot, until someone stole my charger! I never replaced it as I just charged at home with my level 2.
So how did I make out?
$9,877 for lease
$700 for tags
$1,050.42 for "gas"
-$3,500 incentives
$8,150 out of pocket to drive gas free and no gas stations (best part) for almost three years!! I also figured I saved at least $250 in car washes. So maybe $7,900 cost give or take.
I did not put in for insurance as it is about the same with my other car that sat in my garage during my gas free years.
Had I been driving my loud Jeep (other car) with no AC. It would have cost me about: $4,000 in gas alone. At $3.50 a gallon average. Plus if I put 17,000+ miles on my Jeep, I would need oil changes and services. The smog alone is over $100. I am always having to buy a replacement part for the Jeep. It's my love, so I don't mind to much. I will now need to dig it out and get it running. $$$
An almost arbitrary number for the Jeep is about $2,200 a year give or take depending on problems. Jeep tops can be expensive. Or about $6,600 for three years!
So the Leaf cost me: about $2,650 per year to drive.
Jeep cost me: about $2,200 per year to drive.
So I figure it cost maybe $450 extra a year driving a brand new car and never waisted my time at a gas station!! At that price, I would almost call it a wash. Not bad driving a new car. People would ask why not just get a "gasser" and now I know why and boy do I tell them.
I just remembered the Level 2 charger. That was $1,000. I still have it, waiting for a new baby.
I had such a great deal that I might try again in the very near future. Not sure what to go with next? Volt? C-max? Maybe a Tesla? In my dreams...
I was not really ready to give up my Leaf or to post this, as my lease abruptly ended when I was rear ended this week. My insurance has totaled out my Leaf.:-( I loved my little powerhouse. I loved how fast it was off the line, blowing the doors off people that would give me that let's race look. I never would speed, but my 0-30, I had them beat every time. I also loved letting them take off only to see them stopped at the next light. All my car guy friends thought it was the bee's knees. They made fun at first, but changed their minds after they went for a ride. I was always volunteered when it was time to go anywhere Leaf range would allow. They wanted to ride in the quiet beast. We would rock the sound system along with that sweet sweet AC. Not everyone got it- my Mom, Dad, and Grandma would always ask where the gas goes.
I had a great time showing my car at car shows. I had it at the Solar Grandprix in Long Beach twice. I even had a few signs in my rear windows with info about my Leaf. I would see people come over and read them all the time. Sometimes I would get into great conversations about the car. I talked at least two people into buying one.
Towards the end I stopped using any public charging as they were always full with a Volt or a PIP. My area has a few free chargers.
So how much did I spend?
I had a 2012 SL I paid $277.34 a month with $1,000 down. That's with taxes.
I had my Leaf for about 32 months. $9,877 total out of pocket. California sent $3,500 for the lease. The $7,500 went to Nissan. The tags for it were about $350 each year, so about $700 total.
I also got a car wash every Friday for the first 20 months or so until I moved and it made it inconvenient. The dealer offers this to their buyers. I figured I would have paid at least $10 per wash so safe to say $800 on washes.
Now the electrons. I got a very good average of 4.19kwh. My high was 5.20 and my low was 3.80. I drove a total of 17,900 miles.
Total cost was about $1,050.42. This @ about .25 per kWh and our rate is a little lower, but it is about. I also charged at work a lot, until someone stole my charger! I never replaced it as I just charged at home with my level 2.
So how did I make out?
$9,877 for lease
$700 for tags
$1,050.42 for "gas"
-$3,500 incentives
$8,150 out of pocket to drive gas free and no gas stations (best part) for almost three years!! I also figured I saved at least $250 in car washes. So maybe $7,900 cost give or take.
I did not put in for insurance as it is about the same with my other car that sat in my garage during my gas free years.
Had I been driving my loud Jeep (other car) with no AC. It would have cost me about: $4,000 in gas alone. At $3.50 a gallon average. Plus if I put 17,000+ miles on my Jeep, I would need oil changes and services. The smog alone is over $100. I am always having to buy a replacement part for the Jeep. It's my love, so I don't mind to much. I will now need to dig it out and get it running. $$$
An almost arbitrary number for the Jeep is about $2,200 a year give or take depending on problems. Jeep tops can be expensive. Or about $6,600 for three years!
So the Leaf cost me: about $2,650 per year to drive.
Jeep cost me: about $2,200 per year to drive.
So I figure it cost maybe $450 extra a year driving a brand new car and never waisted my time at a gas station!! At that price, I would almost call it a wash. Not bad driving a new car. People would ask why not just get a "gasser" and now I know why and boy do I tell them.
I just remembered the Level 2 charger. That was $1,000. I still have it, waiting for a new baby.
I had such a great deal that I might try again in the very near future. Not sure what to go with next? Volt? C-max? Maybe a Tesla? In my dreams...
