Can I save $ by buying a Leaf

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Bankmaggot

New member
Joined
Jan 10, 2018
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1
I got a long work commute, roughly 100 miles round trip. I put roughly 30 k mi per year on my car that gets 30mpg. I'm wondering if getting a used Leaf 2015 can save me some $ and wear and tear on my current car? I can charge at work using L1 for a few hours but would likely rely on a quick charge each day to get through my commute. (I can charge at home overnight as well as in my garage.) When I checked the quick charge stations along my commute route (via chargepoint, chargehub, plugshare app), I noticed that some L3 stations are marked as "free". I asked a coworker of mine who drives a Leaf, and he says the parkkng is free but the charge costs $$. It seems like the charging station apps data conflicts with one another. Is there a way to tell how much the charging station costs without having an electric car or being at the charging station? I'm just trying to research and see if the Leaf is a viable option being that my commute is so long.

Thanks in advance.
 
If you are primarily looking to save money, a Leaf isn't the way to go. It also would be too hard over time to do all the charging needed to get to work and home. Your best bet would be a Prius hybrid, although a used Prius PHEV or used Volt would also give you much better overall fuel economy. If you want the EV experience for at least much of the drive, look for a good used Volt.
 
It doesn't sound like you'd save much money in the beginning. First of all a 2015 Leaf might not get you the range you need during the winter or after the battery capacity has depleted to 70% (end of life). Second, it sounds like you're going to be paying top dollar on daily quick charging, which also will kill the battery quickly and could void the battery replacement warranty.

Generally a cheap used Leaf is a good option if
  1. You need a second car.
  2. Your drive is close to that of an average American, about 30 miles per day.
  3. Your price for electricity is close to the American average of around ten cents per kilowatt hour.

All summer I was commuting 130 miles per day once a week in my 2013. But it was quite rough. Now it's not even possible with winter.

Look at it this way. Gasoline and diesel cars suffer less wear and tear per mile when used for long trips. What kills gasoline and diesel engines are short trips. Electric cars are the oposite. Short trips don't hurt them a bit. It's the long trips that are hard on electric cars.

If you were looking to get a new car a 60kWh or bigger Tesla Model 3, Chevy Bolt or 2019 Leaf could save you money in the long run for your circumstances by being able to charge at home, granted you only pay around 10 cents per kWh. And if your place of work had a level 2 charger anything with a 30kW battery or bigger would work well as long as you didn't get charged an arm and a leg.
 
"Saving wear and tear" on the current car sounds like OP is considering owning two cars.
Forget that..

Own one high MPG car or one plug-in hybrid. The Gen1 plug in Prius would give about 25 EV miles a day from charges at home and work, and be a 50 MPG hybrid the rest of the time. I would choose a Prius over a Volt for reliability; and since a lot more have been made any repairs would likely be a lot cheaper using aftermarket or used parts.
 
Sounds like your round trip is a little too long for making it practical with a Leaf. Having to rely on fast charging every day is not a good idea. Do you want to wait around during your commute every day to wait for your car to charge? What happens if the fast charger is out of order, or someone else is using it?

Why can you only charge at work for a few hours? Your existing car gets pretty good gas mileage, so that makes saving money tougher. It also depends on the cost of electricity in your state, it varies greatly.
 
Not enough info provided to give you a realistic recommendation.

**What is your electricity rates?

** What restrictions, if any do you have with workplace charging?

**where are you located

** How do you drive? How fast? mix of the drive; freeway, surface, county?

** What is your budget?

**What is your TCO timeline desired?
 
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