Leaf right for me? SoCal Edition

Hello everyone, yes, it is another "Is the Leaf right for me?" threads. I'm located in Southern California, live in Corona and work in Eastern Anaheim. My daily commute is approximately 12 miles each direction. To work speeds are generally around 80MPH, and the trip takes 15 minutes. However the drive home is in horrible stop and go traffic on the freeway. That 12 miles can take up to an hour to get home, and usually averages around 40 minutes. I also want to run some chores or shopping during lunch or after work. Figure another 5-10 miles on those days.

The temps rarely (never?) get below freezing, and usually the days where temps break 100F are infrequent (although this last year has had a ton of 90+ and 100+ days. It has been crazy). So I will rarely use the heater, but I will run the A/C quite frequently. I'm not sure how much the A/C hurts range?

I have an old CRV that will be my "weekend vehicle" for longer trips. Initially I will charge via 120v, but will put in a 240v outlet at some point.

My plan at the moment is to lease and see if I can get a year-end deal. I've been tempted to buy used, but I'm afraid of battery degradation and resell value. I put less than 12k a year on my current car, and since longer trips will be in it I don't see myself exceeding 10k a year on the Leaf.

So what do you guys think, will the Leaf work for me? Need any more details?

Also, how does the carpool lane sticker work in California? I believe they are out for this year. But if I buy a car this year, can I get one next year when the pool opens back up?

12 miles? Shouldn't be an issue...

What will reduce your range is a lot of fast acceleration but even with that, 24 round trip is still less than the worst case that folks here in Phoenix where seeing.

DesertSprings said:

Also, how does the carpool lane sticker work in California? I believe they are out for this year. But if I buy a car this year, can I get one next year when the pool opens back up?

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The Leaf gets the white stickers - they have not run out. The plugin hybrid get green stickers - the next batch of those start Jan 1, 2015
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/vr/decal" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sounds perfect. The Leaf is great for stop/go traffic. Based on experience, your CRV will get lonely really quick.

In the warmer months, I had been driving over 60 miles one-way at speeds of up to and sometimes over 80 with A/C. Not sure if that type of range will last forever, but it is great while it lasts. Lease is the way to go IMHO.

Thanks guys, you've confirmed my thoughts and cleared up my understanding of the sticker program.

I'm leaning pretty heavily towards the Leaf, but I've got one person making a strong case for the Spark EV. Any thoughts on that? I like the idea of the better range and easier to park (parking 3 cars at my place will be tight), plus at least one comprehensive review felt it was the better car. But I'm concerned about the lack of quick charge, and general engineering (since its a hack of an existing car) and dealer support.

I'm anti-GM from a long history, so my view is not unbiased. However, I picked the Leaf because it is so prevalent. I knew it was something that I wouldn't have trouble getting service or parts for because there are so many and it is a mature platform.

Having said that, why not give them both a spin and see which one produces the bigger EV grin?

However the drive home is in horrible stop and go traffic on the freeway. That 12 miles can take up to an hour to get home, and usually averages around 40 minutes.

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I suspect you may want to take the 91 Express Lanes. If so, you can travel on them for free with an EV (except M-F 4-6 PM which is a 50% discount) but you need to sign up for a special transponder from them. http://www.91expresslanes.com/signup.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; under "Special Access." As this is a "Lexus Lane" the HOV sticker alone is not sufficient for you to use them; a transponder is mandatory or you'll get a nasty surprise in the mail (toll violation notice).

I have also found that A/C usage doesn't affect range all that much. On my 2012, heater use is far more energy consuming, but for 2013+ SV and SL models the heat pump style heater is far more efficient especially if your winters aren't subzero; however the base model S still uses the energy hungry heater. The heater can be shut off on the 2013+ models (including the base model) so if you aren't sensitive to cold you can shut it off and just use extra clothing and the seat/steering wheel heaters. However with your short commute I wouldn't worry about it at all.

As far as the Spark EV, if you can live with the smaller size (and arguably funkier looks) that's also a good choice. However I thought I read somewhere, perhaps here, that for 2015 GM was going to reduce the battery size, so it won't have the superior range of the earlier cars.

Also, if you're going to consider the Leaf and Spark EV, you should also look at the Kia Soul EV. Discussion here: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=13531" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Test drive both. I think you will prefer LEAF. Also look at Kia Soul and for a little more money a used RAV4-EV.

Get the Leaf. you wont look back.

Ok, one more question. A friend was saying he thought California had different rules than other states when it comes to battery performance/replacement. I think that is just on certain hybrids. So is it the standard 5 year 9 bar warranty, or something else?

For the Leaf, there is the standard manufacturing defect warranty of 8 years/100k miles on the traction battery.

There is also a capacity degradation warranty. It was included in all 2013 and later Leafs, and was made retroactive for the earlier cars. Nissan guarantees that your traction battery will maintain at least 9 bars for the first 5 years/60k miles. However if you invoke this warranty coverage, Nissan won't necessarily give you a new battery pack; they could theoretically give you a used 9 bar pack as a replacement.

Thanks everyone! Hopefully I'll be able to find a deal that makes sense. Got plenty of time to kill Christmas week/NYE, hopefully I can find a dealer willing to make something happen.

I thought I was done, but looks like I have one more question.

On a lease:
- The Federal Tax credit goes to the dealership, and is usually used to reduce the price of the car
- However the California $2.5k rebate gets mailed to me directly after 90 days

Is that correct? Looks like most dealers are wanting $2.5k down, which I'm assuming is based on the rebate? I give them the $2.5k up front, then the state give me the $2.5k in 90 day or so. So it ends up being a wash. That sound right?

Bump. Anyone confirm my understanding of the Cali rebate?

You are correct about the CA rebate, it is mailed directly to the registered lessee.

Thanks again!

Also, the Federal rebate can be used to reduce the selling price of the leased car, known as the "Capitalized Cost", but only if you use NMAC (Nissan's own financing arm). If you use any other bank as a lessor, you will not get the $7500 at all.

Also note that in CA you will pay your local sales tax on the Capitalized Cost Reduction (of which the $7500 Federal tax credit is part) as well as on each monthly payment. The latter is important to note as your payment will go up or down with changes to the sales tax rate.