Should I buy a leaf

[Ital74]

Hello All,
I think I am going to get an SV plus. With the trade in prices so high, my local state incentive plus the federal tax credit make it very affordable,
I currently drive a 2016 GTI with 58k miles. which I like but its a manual and I need to move to an automatic as other family members need to be able to drive it if needed.
I think I am going to go with a Gun Metal Leaf SV plus,
the price is around $36k, I like all the safety features the cars comes with.
I do live in the north east and we do experience some pretty cold weather, thus at least the sv with the heat pump is a must. The car will be in the garage always overnight.
I think the car is a decent bargain with the $4k price drop this year. I do really like the Ioniq 5's but as of now they are selling for about $10 more than the leaf at $45k and that is without all the safety feature the leaf has. Also the leaf is proven and reliable.
I hope the car holds the value for 2\3 years and will perhaps upgrade then. I am worried about keeping the car long term because of what I read about needing a new battery after 10\12 years with prices being over $10k to replace

I am only losing about $9k on my GTI and its 6 years old. Its one in a life time situation. We do have another large family car that we can use on long trips. I hope I can make the leaf perhaps handle better with bit wider tires not sure if that is recommended. I do understand I would lose some range but I read that tires squeal easily when cornering and I cant stand that.

Anything I should know? Am I making the right decision? Thank you

 

[salyavin]

I like the LEAF. Good quality control, dependably car that is cheap to operate and where I live great tax incentives. The batteries do not tend to catch fire as well.

Someone correct me if I am wrong but I expect resale value to go down post chip shortage and pandemic for a LEAF.

You may want to check on the winter package, it probably has it but ask.

What do you want to do with the car? How far do you want to drive regularly? Depending on what you do you may not even need a Plus though the extra range helps in the winter. You can save a lot of money only buying the battery capacity you need.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Starting with either '21 or '22 - I'm fairly sure it was standard on my '21 - the heatpump and seat/wheel heaters are now standard on the SV/SL again. Confusing, huh? It's the '18,'19, and '20 Leafs that have the All Weather Package as an option.

ITAL74, you don't need bigger tires, just better ones. Even the X-ice snow tires I use make the cars handle much better, especially on wet or wintry roads. Just get the tires that give the best kind of handling you desire, same size or at most just one size larger, and some of the good ones are even Low Rolling Resistance like the slippery OEM tires.

As for the battery, the newest generation of batteries from Nissan look to last longer than the 8-10 years the older "Lizard" pack lasts. It's only a guess at this point, but I'd say 10-15 years in climates like yours that aren't really Hot.

 

[knightmb]

You have the Plus version, so you have the biggest battery Nissan currently puts in the Leaf, so you can never wrong with extra range and less charging trips. You have the heat pump, so that is a must when living in cold climates where you can benefit from the power savings. Having a garage means you can pre-heat the Leaf without the worry about exhaust, that is another bonus for range and convenience. I think you have all the basics covered for that.

The only thing I would add, if this is your first EV, takes a while to get accustomed to all the different driving modes. You don't have to use them, you can just use D mode and be happy, but some of the other modes for higher regen or ePedal are useful in various circumstances. I expect you'll be driving through a lot more snow than I would, but the limited experience I have with my Leaf, it does better than any of my previous "car" vehicles in winter weather given they all just used "all season" tires, nothing specialized for winter. I'm sure you'll know what works best for your area, just keep in mind the tires can have a big effect on range. Speaking of tires, the OEM tires that come from the dealership are probably the cheapo versions of good tires, so expect to replace those after +30k miles if you stick with them.

You didn't mention anything about charging at home (assuming in the garage), the Leaf comes with a L1/L2 brick that works with 120V or 240V, so you'll need an electrician to wire up a 240V outlet. If you use a regular 120V outlet in your garage, expect it to take literal days to charge it up if the battery is well depleted. Everything is faster on 240V charging.

You can read plenty of doom and gloom articles about the batteries of all EV, so it really depends on if you are making frequent, long range trips that depend on having maximum range at all times. If you need an EV that fills in the 99% use case with the 1% being that urge to drive across the entire country for fun, we usually get a rental for that (even when my wife and I still had ICE vehicles, we still rented another vehicle just to keep that kind of long distance wear and tear away from ours )

Hello All,
I think I am going to get an SV plus. With the trade in prices so high, my local state incentive plus the federal tax credit make it very affordable,
I currently drive a 2016 GTI with 58k miles. which I like but its a manual and I need to move to an automatic as other family members need to be able to drive it if needed.
I think I am going to go with a Gun Metal Leaf SV plus,
the price is around $36k, I like all the safety features the cars comes with.
I do live in the north east and we do experience some pretty cold weather, thus at least the sv with the heat pump is a must. The car will be in the garage always overnight.
I think the car is a decent bargain with the $4k price drop this year. I do really like the Ioniq 5's but as of now they are selling for about $10 more than the leaf at $45k and that is without all the safety feature the leaf has. Also the leaf is proven and reliable.
I hope the car holds the value for 2\3 years and will perhaps upgrade then. I am worried about keeping the car long term because of what I read about needing a new battery after 10\12 years with prices being over $10k to replace

I am only losing about $9k on my GTI and its 6 years old. Its one in a life time situation. We do have another large family car that we can use on long trips. I hope I can make the leaf perhaps handle better with bit wider tires not sure if that is recommended. I do understand I would lose some range but I read that tires squeal easily when cornering and I cant stand that.

Anything I should know? Am I making the right decision? Thank you

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

You can even use it for the 1% if you have the Plus, though charging goes a little slower. The challenge is if you don't have a Plus, but need to go far in a pinch (ice is in the shop) you are kind of stuck.


Personally, we have 2 Leaf Pluses. A 2019 SV+ (sadly before 360 view was standard) and a S+. The the S+ is the road trip Leaf as its efficiency is significantly better (aftermarket lightweight rims have helped further).

 

[LeftieBiker]

You didn't mention anything about charging at home (assuming in the garage), the Leaf comes with a L1/L2 brick that works with 120V or 240V, so you'll need an electrician to wire up a 240V outlet.

Just remember that it has to be a 40 amp circuit, not the more common 30 amp "dryer" circuit. The Nissan EVSE lets the car draw almost 30 amps, and there has to be a full 20% buffer for devices like that, because they can pull power for many hours at a time.

 

[Ital74]

I do plan to charge from the garage with a regular plug most of the time. If I have to, I do have a dryer plug near by that I could use. I want the bigger battery because of the more range and power. I hope it does hold somewhat of a resale value... otherwise I will keep it for the kids as they get older.

Thank you for all the replies. I think I am going to like it here.

 

[Ital74]

I just checked and my dryer circuit breaker in the basement has two 30AMP breakers bridge together, so i am assuming that means 60amps.
I plan to charge most of the time with the regular plug and if I have to I can tap into my dryer plug since is probably about 15 feet away in the mud room attached to the garage
I just hope it does not drop in price like crazy.. if it does then I guess I will just keep for the kids
I wanted the plus because I needed the 220hp as well
I think I will love the e-paddle since that is the main reason why I always drove a stick shift. I like making the engine doing the breaking for me, now its going to be on steroids... <3

Thank you all for the replies. I think I am going to really like it here.

I am a car fanatic and I hope to contribute to the community.

 

[Triggerhappy007]

Hello All,
I think I am going to get an SV plus. With the trade in prices so high, my local state incentive plus the federal tax credit make it very affordable,
I currently drive a 2016 GTI with 58k miles. which I like but its a manual and I need to move to an automatic as other family members need to be able to drive it if needed.
I think I am going to go with a Gun Metal Leaf SV plus,
the price is around $36k, I like all the safety features the cars comes with.
I do live in the north east and we do experience some pretty cold weather, thus at least the sv with the heat pump is a must. The car will be in the garage always overnight.
I think the car is a decent bargain with the $4k price drop this year. I do really like the Ioniq 5's but as of now they are selling for about $10 more than the leaf at $45k and that is without all the safety feature the leaf has. Also the leaf is proven and reliable.
I hope the car holds the value for 2\3 years and will perhaps upgrade then. I am worried about keeping the car long term because of what I read about needing a new battery after 10\12 years with prices being over $10k to replace

I am only losing about $9k on my GTI and its 6 years old. Its one in a life time situation. We do have another large family car that we can use on long trips. I hope I can make the leaf perhaps handle better with bit wider tires not sure if that is recommended. I do understand I would lose some range but I read that tires squeal easily when cornering and I cant stand that.

Anything I should know? Am I making the right decision? Thank you

The Leaf makes a great choice for an economical EV. With your state incentive and tax credit, it could only cost mid to high twenties. The weight and handling of the Leaf is nothing compared to your GTI. If you're worried about resale value and handling, get a Model 3. Order it now and trade in your car when it arrives. I don't think the car market will get back to normal for at least 2 years so your resale value won't go down much by the time you get your Model 3.

 

[LeftieBiker]

I just checked and my dryer circuit breaker in the basement has two 30AMP breakers bridge together, so i am assuming that means 60amps

NO. That is two 120 volt breakers, linked to provide 30 amps. The voltage is doubled, NOT the amperage. You need an EVSE that provides no more than 24 amps.

 

[Ital74]

Ok.. wouldn't it be easier to change the breaker to a 40 amp breaker then? Sorry not sure if it's a dumb question as it seems to easy... lol

 

[knightmb]

I just checked and my dryer circuit breaker in the basement has two 30AMP breakers bridge together, so i am assuming that means 60amps.

For a 240V circuit, it's still 30 amps per leg, so it's only 30 amps total not 60 amps. The default Nissan brick will try to pull too much power, but if you are on a budget to save money for a new outlet installation, the best you could do is buy a separate EVSE that can set the current lower, so that it only pulls 24 amps or less, that would work on your existing circuit. It might be a hassle though if you have to unplug your dryer just to charge your EV unless you don't have or use a dryer. I would look at the cost for an electrician to install a dedicated outlet for your EV charging verse going the other route of buying a EVSE to use a lower power setting and the hassle if you have to swap it back and forth with your dryer.

 

[knightmb]

Ok.. wouldn't it be easier to change the breaker to a 40 amp breaker then? Sorry not sure if it's a dumb question as it seems to easy... lol

It's better to ask now than start an electrical fire
The wire for the dryer was probably run as 10 gauge wire, so even though in theory, if the Leaf is only using 27.5 amps of current, without knowing the length of wire from the breaker box or the condition of the wire, you would be pushing the safety limit swapping in 40 amp breakers to avoid a nuisance trip during charging. If it is a short or easy run, any electrician should be able to swap out the 10 for 8 gauge wire and keep the plug as a dryer outlet for the future, it will just be able to handle 40 amp breakers instead of 30 amp breakers. The outlet itself would have to be upgraded to be on par with the new 40 amp capability. It might be cheaper to swap an existing circuit around like that instead of having an electrician run a brand new circuit.

 

[alozzy]

It's probably less expensive and less hassle to purchase an adjustable EVSE that will provide a 24A~26A supply and use the existing dryer circuit. You'll get about 90% of max charging rate anyways.

By the time you add up labor, wire, etc, installation costs to upgrade to a 50A circuit (NEMA 14-50R) will almost certainly be over $500 and as much as $1000. Much more if you need to upgrade the panel.

In contrast, a reliable EVSE that can be set to 24A can be purchased for as little as $300.

 

[GerryAZ]

How many miles do you typically drive each day? If you drive more than 30 miles per day you will want 240-volt charging. The charging unit (EVSE which stands for Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment) that comes with the car is a good unit that will allow 12 amperes at 120 volts or 30 amperes at 240 volts. It uses a standard 15-ampere, 120-volt receptacle with the adapter plug; it needs a NEMA 14-50 receptacle like an electric range or RV for 240-volt charging. I suggest you ask an electrician the cost to install a NEMA 14-50 RV receptacle in your garage (don't say it is for an electric car) to get the best price. As others have already noted, you can get an EVSE that has maximum of 24 amperes or less to use with your dryer receptacle.

 

[Ital74]

As of now i work from home but my commute when I do go back to work is about 60miles round trip. I figure I could let it slow charge for 12 hours for about 50 miles everyday and then during the week end it will full most of it up. Anyway I did find this interesting gadget on Amazon. What do you guys think?

It looks like I would still need the 24 amp evse though.

Splitvolt NEMA 10-30/10-30 Splitter Switch 10-30 Plug to two10-30 Outlets (A&B) - Automatic Power Switching for Dryer and EV, Internal Safety Breaker and Real-time Display, 24 Amp, 240V EVSE

 

[LeftieBiker]

Yes, those are handy for using a dryer and charging station or cable on one circuit. But again, as you noted, you'd still need a 40A circuit for the Nisan EVSE to be used at 240 volts.

Anyway, for your needs and with what you have, your best reasonably priced bet is to pick up a $300 24A (or adjustable, with 24A an option) EVSE, and to use it with your dryer circuit. If there is a dryer on it as well, then it gets more complicated, because it could cost as little as, or even less than the above to just keep the dryer on its circuit, and run a new 40A circuit for the Nissan EVSE. It usually depends on how far the EVSE will be from the breaker panel. Short runs, with no more than one through the wall section, are usually cheap. Long runs, especially those that go through multiple walls, are expensive. And as Gerry says, don't mention the car to the electrician. In fact, hide the car!

As for using L-1 charging, it has worked for us, and you seem to have a similar driving profile: few long trips, and not driving every day. That could also work for you, as long as that circuit (including the outlet) is in very good shape, with no more than a couple of LED lights sharing it. My housemate uses her e-Plus with L-1, and she is fine with her several trips a week, but not driving every day.

 

[OldManCan]

Running a line for new 240V 40 or 50 A circuit should not be that expensive and will be worth the cost in the long run.

One thing that can really blow out the budget is if your electrical panel is maxed out and does not have any more space for the 40 or 50A CB on the bus bar. You may need a survey to determine this and get a quote. I got 3 electricians give me quotes for the new "dryer" outlet I needed in my garage... They didn't ask why I need a dryer there but judging by the variability of their prices ($550 to $1700) I reckon some sniffed out the plan... I ended up with the $550 guy and happy ever after.

PS. Also check whether you need a permit to run this new line. I understand some states / counties may require this which may add to the cost and complexity.

 

[LeftieBiker]

One thing that can really blow out the budget is if your electrical panel is maxed out and does not have any more space for the 40 or 50A CB on the bus bar.

In this case the solution to that would be to use the either/or device on the existing 30 amp circuit, or to replace it with a 40 amp circuit and do the same thing - if there is in fact a dryer already on it, of course.

 

[Ital74]

Thank you all for the replies.
I will wait and see how I manage with the L1 charger for now and if I have to, I will get a L2 plug installed in the garage as recommended by many.

Thank you all again for the feed back