Florida

[spike09]

On another note...my daughter just started high school at TERRA which the first "green school" of it's kind. They give preference for the limited parking spaces there to EVs and hybrids. Now she is asking for a LEAF. :shock:

I was reading somewhere there's a dealer moving a lot of Volts, one angle they are using is with parents is get your kid this, and you'll know they're only going 40 miles otherwise they have to ask you for gas money. Kind of silly, obviously you could just check the odometer on any car, and kids could get gas money from friends or whatever, but no sillier than 90% of what is said in car showrooms.

That angle is a much better sell with the LEAF. You can be 100% sure your kid is only going to be able to go so far in a LEAF!

 

[spike09]

Level 2 Public Charging has arrived on South Beach!

There are 4 dedicated EV only charging parking spots and 2 ChargePoint EV chargers located on the 4th floor of the Miami Beach 13th Street and Collins Avenue Garage. The entrance is located on 13th Street. The facility is open 24 hours a day.
Parking is $1/hr but on weekend nights (Fri, Sat and Sun 8 pm to 5am) and during "Events" there is a flat rate of $15. The chargers display $0.49/KWH but I have not yet plugged in to confrim. I posted pictures on CarStations.com.

The South Beach Whole Foods (12th and Alton) also has a free 120V charger but the space is not reserved for Plug-in's.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Man this blows.

Just got my tag renewals... for one year:

Mazda3: $58.35
Civic: $58.35
Odyssey: $71.85 (ok, bigger car, heavier, whatever)
LEAF: $94.35 !!!!

WTF!! The LEAF is more than the minivan??? Are they tacking on some extra on account of no gas tax being paid? Or is it higher because it is leased?

Has anyone else in FL seen this? (I don't expect sympathy from anyone outside FL where these numbers look like a real bargain)

 

[LEAFer]

What are the model years and/or approx. KBB values ? This could explain the difference you're upset about ...

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

What are the model years and/or approx. KBB values ? This could explain the difference you're upset about ...

It doesn't work that way in FL, it's by weight, not ad valorem... witness the 2001 minivan is more than the 2011 mazda3 even though the mazda is probably worth a good 10 grand more. The civic is a 2005, but the fee is the same as the mazda3.

No, it looks like I've got to do battle over this. I was hoping someone else already had.

 

[spike09]

Man this blows.

Just got my tag renewals... for one year:

Mazda3: $58.35
Civic: $58.35
Odyssey: $71.85 (ok, bigger car, heavier, whatever)
LEAF: $94.35 !!!!

WTF!! The LEAF is more than the minivan??? Are they tacking on some extra on account of no gas tax being paid? Or is it higher because it is leased?

Has anyone else in FL seen this? (I don't expect sympathy from anyone outside FL where these numbers look like a real bargain)

Just got my tag renewal. My Leaf is only $58.35. I am not leasing and am registered in Miami-Dade. I would call the tag agency to find out what is up!

 

[keydiver]

Do you have custom plates? I know my wife's 3000GT dolphin plate was double the registration fee every time, because a donation went to the dolphins each time I renewed.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Do you have custom plates? I know my wife's 3000GT dolphin plate was double the registration fee every time, because a donation went to the dolphins each time I renewed.

Nope, no custom/vanity plate. I thought about it, but they shouldn't be able to charge you for that should they?

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Just got my tag renewal. My Leaf is only $58.35. I am not leasing and am registered in Miami-Dade. I would call the tag agency to find out what is up!

So you're not leasing, I am. Does anyone know if the rates are different for leasing?

 

[Weatherman]

From here:

http://www.flhsmv.gov/dmv/faqmotor.html#10" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Why do lease cars cost more to register and renew registrations?

Lease cars cost more to register and renew registration because of the taxing structure in Section 320.08(6)(a) Florida Statutes, which states motor vehicles "For Hire" under 9 passenger pay $17.00 flat fee plus $1.50 per cwt (100 pounds). Section 320.08(6)(b), Florida Statutes states motor vehicles "For Hire" with 9 passenger and over pay $17.00 flat fee plus $2.00 per cwt (100 pounds).

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

From here:

http://www.flhsmv.gov/dmv/faqmotor.html#10" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Why do lease cars cost more to register and renew registrations?

Lease cars cost more to register and renew registration because of the taxing structure in Section 320.08(6)(a) Florida Statutes, which states motor vehicles "For Hire" under 9 passenger pay $17.00 flat fee plus $1.50 per cwt (100 pounds). Section 320.08(6)(b), Florida Statutes states motor vehicles "For Hire" with 9 passenger and over pay $17.00 flat fee plus $2.00 per cwt (100 pounds).

"For hire"??? Give me a break, they should just say "because we can".

Thanks Weatherman, you saved me making a call to complain.

 

[Magalsis]

Hi, new guy here. I am going to buy a Leaf SL next month, and I am wondering if any of you lives in the Broward area (Miramar, Pembroke Pines) and cold tell me your experience looking for charging stations.

Thank you,

Magal

 

[Weatherman]

Hi, new guy here. I am going to buy a Leaf SL next month, and I am wondering if any of you lives in the Broward area (Miramar, Pembroke Pines) and cold tell me your experience looking for charging stations.

Thank you,

Magal

I, generally, don't count on using the public stations, since there are so few of them. To a large extent, they are isolated to Nissan Dealer locations, and only accessible during their business hours. Here's a good source of information:

http://carstations.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And, just a bit of unsolicited advice, if you don't mind…

Lease the car for 24 or 36 months; don't buy. And keep your expectations fairly conservative. If you only need to routinely drive a maximum of 50 miles a day, you should be good for quite a while. If you have a 60 mile+ daily commute, you might be unhappy after a year or two. It's not certain how fast the battery will lose capacity in our warm South Florida climate, but it is certain it will lose capacity over time. If you start with conservative expectations, you are much more likely to be happy with the car.

 

[BrainDonor]

Hi, new guy here. I am going to buy a Leaf SL next month, and I am wondering if any of you lives in the Broward area (Miramar, Pembroke Pines) and cold tell me your experience looking for charging stations.

Thank you,

Magal

Magal, welcome to the forum and to the future of driving! Weatherman is absolutely right. One other thing I'd like to point out is to make sure the car is new and did not sit on the dealer lot for too long while the batteries were fully charged.

 

[spike09]

Hi, new guy here. I am going to buy a Leaf SL next month, and I am wondering if any of you lives in the Broward area (Miramar, Pembroke Pines) and cold tell me your experience looking for charging stations.

Thank you,

Magal

I, generally, don't count on using the public stations, since there are so few of them. To a large extent, they are isolated to Nissan Dealer locations, and only accessible during their business hours. Here's a good source of information:

http://carstations.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And, just a bit of unsolicited advice, if you don't mind…

Lease the car for 24 or 36 months; don't buy. And keep your expectations fairly conservative. If you only need to routinely drive a maximum of 50 miles a day, you should be good for quite a while. If you have a 60 mile+ daily commute, you might be unhappy after a year or two. It's not certain how fast the battery will lose capacity in our warm South Florida climate, but it is certain it will lose capacity over time. If you start with conservative expectations, you are much more likely to be happy with the car.

We can be certain that after 10 months no one in South Florida so far has had any issues with abnormal battery capacity loss.

Yes there are 108 cars in the desert Southwest that have lost capacity sooner than expected but after reviewing the "battery capacity loss" Wiki I think we are safe.

The two main sources of loss are Calendar Loss (aging) and Cycling Loss (charging).

Aging loss is dependent on 4 factors: Mean temperature, Standard deviation of temperature, Mean state of
charge (SOC) and Standard deviation of SOC. South Florida temperatures are not hot enough to put us in the red zone for premature aging. Variation in temperatures are not an issue down here. It is always about the same temp year round, day or night

SOC, Variations in SOC and Charging Losses are all less important. If you stick to the basic charging procedure you will be fine. While it does help the battery life in the long run, there is no compelling evidence charging to 80% instead of 100% causes PREMATURE capacity loss.

All said I would advise to lease mostly because everyone is offering such incredible lease deals on just about every car.

Try to get your LEAF leased for at least $199/month with no money down. I know Weston Nissan was offering $189/month with no money down back on Labor day and Bommarito Nissan in St. Louis was offering $171/month for two years with no money down.

 

[jrreno]

A couple of thoughts on the Leaf in Florida. I don't drive my Leaf long distances usually. The longest drives we have taken are from Sarasota to Tampa. Once in Tampa we had to charge for about 4 hours for the drive home (about 67 miles). There is a very robust charging infrastructure on the West coast. I wonder how many Floridians driving Leaf's regularly need to charge outside the home?
For daily driving needs I have fallen into the habit of charging every third night or so since local driving at lower speeds allows much more range. Once every couple of weeks I'll charge to 100% when we have a little more planned.

 

[spike09]

When I joined this forum I noticed there were members who used their LEAF signature to display their reservation date, order date and finally the delivery date of their LEAF. Some signatures got more elaborate as time went by, adding info like what else you drive and if you are a Zero emission driver by charging with Solar Energy.

We have now come to a point in time where I encourage those with a signature to add their months of ownership, lease vs own, total miles driven, Overall miles/kWh (from CarWings), and number of capacity bars. And for those who do not know you can add your location and VIN into your forum profile.


L1 or L2 charger, 80% or 100% are but a few other details to include if you choose. Have fun with the 255 character limit!

If you would rather not change your signature or reveal anything about yourself to the forum with your signature, please do not be offended.

 

[Magalsis]

Hi, new guy here. I am going to buy a Leaf SL next month, and I am wondering if any of you lives in the Broward area (Miramar, Pembroke Pines) and cold tell me your experience looking for charging stations.

Thank you,

Magal

I, generally, don't count on using the public stations, since there are so few of them. To a large extent, they are isolated to Nissan Dealer locations, and only accessible during their business hours. Here's a good source of information:

http://carstations.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And, just a bit of unsolicited advice, if you don't mind…

Lease the car for 24 or 36 months; don't buy. And keep your expectations fairly conservative. If you only need to routinely drive a maximum of 50 miles a day, you should be good for quite a while. If you have a 60 mile+ daily commute, you might be unhappy after a year or two. It's not certain how fast the battery will lose capacity in our warm South Florida climate, but it is certain it will lose capacity over time. If you start with conservative expectations, you are much more likely to be happy with the car.

That is my idea as well, to lease. And I am on the 45ish mile a day commute. Thank you for replying.

 

[BrainDonor]

This morning, on the way to work, I saw my second LEAF sighting in the wild. It was a silver LEAF in Boca, Clint Moore and Military, around 8:30am. Anyone familiar?

 

[Stoaty]

We can be certain that after 10 months no one in South Florida so far has had any issues with abnormal battery capacity loss.

True, but it took a bit longer (and a second hot summer) for problems to show up in Phoenix, so I wouldn't be overly confident yet.

South Florida temperatures are not hot enough to put us in the red zone for premature aging. Variation in temperatures are not an issue down here.

From what we know about aging and temperature and recent calculations, that is probably not true. See recent additons to Wiki estimating battery aging factors. South Florida comes in above Houston, TX and Dallas, TX.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/wiki/index.php?title=Battery_Capacity_Loss#Factors_Affecting_Battery_Capacity_Loss" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If you stick to the basic charging procedure you will be fine. While it does help the battery life in the long run, there is no compelling evidence charging to 80% instead of 100% causes PREMATURE capacity loss.

Probably true provided you keep your Leaf at 100% charge for a minimum amount of time--the less the better. Otherwise, probably not true.