New member in Florida

[siai]

I've been lurking on this forum for a couple of weeks and decided to register. I am new to the Nissan Leaf but not new to electric vehicles. I placed a reservation for a Leaf on 4-20-2010 and have been waiting to see what happens. It looks like I will finally be able to get one in a couple of months. My prior electric vehicles included a Grumman Kurbwatt, two Chevrolet S10-EV's (one lead acid and the other NiMH) and finally a RAV4-EV which I drove for the last six years and sold late last summer. Each vehicle was far better the the one that preceded it and I have great hopes and expectations for the Leaf. Posts on this site look pretty positive overall toward the Leaf with a few exceptions so I am ready to dive in again.

 

[walter]

Don't think you will be disappointed. This is my first venture into electric and I absolutely love it.

 

[Weatherman]

I am new to the Nissan Leaf but not new to electric vehicles. I placed a reservation for a Leaf on 4-20-2010 and have been waiting to see what happens. It looks like I will finally be able to get one in a couple of months.

One thing to look out for with Florida dealers is their "dealer service fee". Unless you can negotiate this fee away (and get it in writing), you are looking at spending $600 to $1,000 above MSRP. Depending on where you are in Florida, demand for the LEAF is not very high (in fact, in some Florida locations, it's quite low). There's no reason to spend MSRP for the car, let alone a $600 to $1,000 premium, especially given that the State of Florida offers no incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles.

If you are paying cash or getting your own financing, a popular option is to purchase a car from Fontana Nissan, in California, and have it shipped. If you can take advantage of one of their $2,000-off-MSRP deals, it more than covers the shipping cost, and California dealers are limited to a $55 "doc fee". Even including the shipping cost, I saved over $1,500 by buying my LEAF from Fontana Nissan, over buying from a local dealer.

 

[siai]

Thanks for the tips---I'll keep an eye on what's happening with the dealer.

 

[siai]

Believe it or not, I picked up the car yesterday. The dealer told me it would be delivered sometime in April, but he called and said it came in on Thursday. I got a e-mail from Nissan with a VIN# on Wednesday. Things moved quickly. The dealer (Deland Nissan) did a really nice job getting the car ready. Signed all the paperwork--straight up Nissan lease--spent a couple of hours going over the vehicle and it's features and drove it home. The dealer suspects it might have been an "orphan" sitting at the port that matched the car I ordered. It had an 11/11 build date. The car is flawless, good fits and paint finish. Runs and drives great. The only thing that looks a little (a lot) cheap is the "carpet" that looks like some flocking sprayed on the metal floor. At least the factory floor mats look nice. All in all, I'm going to enjoy the car.

 

[98clru]

I'm in South Seminole county, look forward to seeing posts on range. 100 miles real world with a/c would work fine, 70, not so well. My '06 prius had it's first issue today. The inverter cooling pump which there is a recall on, so dealer will take care of it but now the bloom is off the rose after 123k, I know more time in shop is coming. I got to do the marketing test on the versa mule and liked what I got to see.

You know the Central Fl zoo has a reserved spot right up front with free charging? Their annual membership is very reasonable, give you something to do while topping off if you need to go to orlando. Of course no membership or admission needed as parking is free but again, constructive way to spend time while charging.

Around Thanksgiving I ran into a Leaf driver in Altamonte springs, says he was getting over 100 miles on a full charge. Had a/c on and said he used it all the time (still in 80's). Had an FL plate, didn't know any were in the state already.

Thanks and good luck!

 

[keydiver]

My '06 prius had it's first issue today. The inverter cooling pump which there is a recall on, so dealer will take care of it

My 2006 Prius just got me with that issue also, while 1000 miles away from Florida! I guess I shouldn't have ignored that recall notice they mailed me.
Other than that, the car has had zero issues in 6 years. The one thing that bugged me about the recall was that the dealer didn't automatically take care of it when I was there for an oil change. When I got home, I saw the recall notice, and remembering being a little ticked off that they didn't catch it while I was there.
I've only had my LEAF for 2 months now, so I don't have much range info to give you yet, but a lot depends on how fast you drive down here. I've rarely used the A/C yet, and have never driven far enough to get the Low Battery Warning, but when I add my miles driven to the GOM at the end of the day I generally get 90+ miles, if that means anything. I actually drive the most on the weekends, about 65 miles typical each day, with around 30 miles left on the GOM when I get home.