2011 LEAF as 3rd car?

It is simply not an opportune time to replace either his or her car in our house. Hers is an old 2005 Equinox, but still runs and she likes for size/space for hauling our 2 kids. His is a 2011 Prius purchased 2 yrs ago. I'm suffering from some sunk cost effect and don't want to sell after I watched it depreciate even more than I thought last 24 months. Plus we use it frequently to drive 200-280 miles round trip to visit family. She can drive Prius in a pinch around town but would prefer to run Equinox into the ground.

At work we are getting car charging stations via a grant. It was my initiative and I'd like to show some leadership in this area (Indiana has very low EV adoption). I won't plan on saving any money vs. a Prius, doing it more for the demonstration and hope for ripple effects.

As much as it pains me I'm considering an old LEAF as a 3rd car. All the advice is saying don't buy a 2011-2012. However, as a 3rd car, this would literally only need to get me to work and back (17 miles). Technically, only 8.5 miles one way as I can charge either home/work. Registration/insurance costs here are low, though Indiana is stupidly considering a $150/yr EV charge. It could serve as a stand-in in case we have auto-trouble as the Equinox dies, or a loaner for our friends who also frequently have auto issues.

Local offers around here are a 2011 w/ 43K miles and 10/12 bars showing (per photo) for $6700 (CarFax showing rear-accident with no airbags deployed), and a 2012 w/ 31K miles and 11/12 bars (photo) for $6400. Cheapest 2013's are $8K+.


Any real-world reports of 2011 range out there???? Expecting to drive them for another 5 years+? Thanks.

Based on what I've read, 20 miles in frigid weather with the old "water heater" blasting is the worst you'd do. If it's only from a sense of obligation, don't do it. If you'd like to drive an EV then a good leaf with a degraded battery should be great. Just make sure a 2011 has the heated seats, which were optional that year.

If you are looking for a cheap commuter car that's an EV, perhaps you'd consider a Smart fortwo? If so, this one from the Chicago area is cheap:

https://goo.gl/9xFxbD

The Leafs have proven to be a pretty reliable car with basically no maintenance. As Leftie said even in worst case conditions you should be able to make your commute and who knows, you wife may end up enjoying driving the Leaf and use it for a local run-around car after work. I know my wifes Prius gets basically zero use other than her 20 mile RT commute and longer 70+ mile trips.
Again make sure it has the cold weather package as not all '11s had that and don't expect a lot of heat quickly with a '11 or even '12 glycol based heater, it will as draw quite a bit of juice and lower your range although especially with a work charger you'll have no problem.
If you were in a position to replace your Prius I'd say get a Prius Prime(if you could live with the 4 passenger thing). It would easily have enough range to make your commute in all EV mode yet give you 50+ MPG for long distance travels.
Another lower cost option(although not as low as the Leaf, more like 11-$12k) would be an older Volt. Plenty of range to make your commute in all EV and it could even replace your Prius for longer trips, albeit at a lower MPG. The downside to a older Volt(IMO) is very small cockpit style seating, 4 seats only(and rear ones are kids only!) and limited storage compared to the Prius. On the + side the Volt's liquid cooled battery has proven to hardly degrade at all, even in hot summers, something that cannot be said about Leafs, for sure ones build before 4/'13.

alozzy said:

If you are looking for a cheap commuter car that's an EV, perhaps you'd consider a Smart fortwo? If so, this one from the Chicago area is cheap:

https://goo.gl/9xFxbD

Click to expand...

And don't forget the iMiev :lol:

LOL, it sounds like he wants to spend less than $6K so the choices are going to be pretty limited. iMiev though, that would be a last resort :lol:

Have not been inside an I-Miev, Fiat, Spark, or ForTwo. All of them look like little death traps. The I-Miev maybe would work but I don't know. Don't want to start a long thread on this, but I'm interested in surviving my commute. Also, I'd prefer that the first EV that I roll up to our charging station isn't a micro car, just for impression's sake.

That said, there are some real deals on all the above!

Another option would be to takeover someone else's lease payments. Here's just one example:

http://www.swapalease.com/lease/details/2016-Nissan-LEAF.aspx?salid=1113316

That one has 35 payments left @$250.29 per month (after incentives), but you might find a better deal elsewhere. You might want to ask your local Nissan dealerships too.