The official "I got my Leaf" thread

[DFWLEAF]

I'm new to these type of boards...so here it goes.

Just got my new silver Leaf yesterday at Bankston Nissan in Dallas. First one sold from this dealership and the salesman hadn't even finished his training. Thanks to this board and other online resources, I felt more knowledgeable than anyone onsite. No balloons, parades or other fanfare. Just four hours of talking and paperwork.

First day of driving it to work and back and had only slight range anxiety.

Stay charged!!!

 

[Navin]

We got our Leaf last Friday from Casa Nissan in El Paso. We were the first of 4 in the city that were delivered last week with 5 more coming in August. Casa calls themselves the "Nice Guys" on their commercials, and after a slow start everything went smoothly. Sal, Mahmood, and Jeff treated us very well. All the salespeople were surrounding the Leafs--they were creating quite a buzz in the showroom.

I'm very happy with the car. All the computer stuff takes some getting used to and I find myself stressing out about trying to raise my miles/kwh average, but the car drives great and plugging in your car is awesome!

This thing is a game-changer, I hope it really takes off!

 

[CHM]

I picked up my Leaf on Tuesday - Cayenne Red, loaded, orphan originally from Stadium Nissan in CA. Now, home in northeast TN. No issues or trouble whatsoever. I am waiting on ETEC to contact me regarding a 220V charger. I hope to have this installed asap.

 

[TNleaf]

I've read a few different things on what happens once CarWings opens up on your DB, but maybe someone here can clarify. What's the typical timeframe between CarWings opening up (and receiving a VIN) and arrival of the Leaf into the US?

Thanks in advance!

 

[hatuey]

Read my Blog - My wife and I just got our Leaf - we are happier then flies on crap.

http://tomasito-h.blogspot.com/

:mrgreen:

I started reading your blog; but was offended by your language in the 2nd sentence. Coarse and un-called for, imho.

Sorry, must be all my years as an adult. It is only language. The usage of swearing is common and considered colloquial or slang in contemporary English language. Still, my intent was comical, and not to insult or offend anyone.

I just changed the settings on the blog. Before accessing it you will be informed that it contains "Adult Content"

 

[lightningrob]

I got my Leaf today at Nissan Sunnyvale. Cayenne red. Love driving it. Only problem so far is the bluetooth keeps disconnecting and reconnecting to my iPhone. I saw another subforum for issues like that so I'll check out what others say about it.

Rob

 

[DWrath]

Picked up our Leaf last PM at Grapevine Nissan in Texas. Enjoying it finally.

 

[rawhog]

.

 

[skirsch]

I just got my leaf today. it had trouble downloading charging stations, but that is resolved. Squeaky right front brake caliper which i notice after I got home.

They tried to sell me the sealant package for $386, the 7 yr 70K warranty for $1885, and the maintenance package for $1575.

The claimed if they didn't do the service at Nissan, the warranty is void.

I didn't buy any of the three items.

I have several questions:
1) the battery caps seem super tight on the 12V battery. is there a trick to getting them off to fill with distilled water?
2) can you check the drive shaft boot yourself? how about the reduction gear oil? that seems totally not documented and not easily accessible.
3) can you replace the micro filter yourself? how?
4) they said they gave me 3 copies of the sales documents: 1 for the calif rebate, 1 for the tax credit next year, and one for the sticker/fastpass. But they didn't provide any info on how to do these three things (I did do the first but they are out of funds now and the rebate is half).

can someone fill me in on my questions?

 

[Desertstraw]

I just got my leaf today. it had trouble downloading charging stations, but that is resolved. Squeaky right front brake caliper which i notice after I got home.

They tried to sell me the sealant package for $386, the 7 yr 70K warranty for $1885, and the maintenance package for $1575.

The claimed if they didn't do the service at Nissan, the warranty is void.

I picked up my Leaf at Avondale Nissan last week. As a matter of policy, they do not try to sell customers any extras. Since then I have had several calls from them asking if I was pleased with the car and the way they handled the transaction. Based on how I was treated, I think that they would be a candidate for best auto dealer in the country.

 

[TurboFroggy]

Picked up our Leaf from Rairdon's in Auburn on Tuesday.
Excellent car, I will NEVER be going back to that dealership again.

 

[SeaAir]

We picked up ours yesterday, June 25, from Stadium Nissan in Seattle. Nice folks, but they seemed a bit overwhelmed by the 20 Leafs they have to deliver over the next few days. We rejected all of the extended warranty and maintenance. They didn't break out the prices, but the combination was almost $4000.

 

[planet4ever]

4) they said they gave me 3 copies of the sales documents: 1 for the calif rebate, 1 for the tax credit next year, and one for the sticker/fastpass. But they didn't provide any info on how to do these three things (I did do the first but they are out of funds now and the rebate is half).

can someone fill me in on my questions?

You don't need one for the federal tax credit, except that you should hang onto one copy just in case you get audited. You apply for that by including Form 8936 in your next income tax return.

You apply for diamond lane stickers by going to this website. You should probably apply at the same time (in the same envelope) for an EV parking decal using a form from here. Include a check for $25 if you do both. If you try to apply separately they may kick one of them back as a duplicate. Their records seem to be a bit sloppy. You don't need sales documents, but you do need a VIN, and they ask for a license plate number. Some people have gotten lucky with just a VIN, but others have had the request bounced if no plate number.

I don't see any indication of where you are located. In the Bay Area we have FasTrak. Is that what you meant by fastpass, or do you have something similar by that name where you are? I can't speak to any such programs since I haven't applied for anything like that, but I would be surprised if you need any sales doc.

Ray

 

[jkyu99]

Metro Nissan of Montclair, Ca. They sold their first two last Thursday and I got one of them. They received six, but they think several may orphan, so i have referred them to here and Craig's list to take care of those orphans. I love the car. It took incredible patience for someone who is very much a I-want-it-now, guy. They leased it below MRSP and matched the info that is on the MyNissanLeaf lease spreadsheet. It felt so good to have that information, from here, when I walked in the door for their first sale. I have updated the owner's spreadsheet. -Jerry

 

[FairwoodRed]

I got my leaf Saturday at Younker Nissan in Renton. It took about 4 hours to get thru delivery and go thru the features of the car. That meant that the salesman was there over an hour after they closed. Great commitment on their part.

I ended up going for the interior protection (scotchgard) and I am interested in getting leather seats. I plan to ask at the upholstry shop the dealer recommended to see how much they will charge. I did convince the finance lady to write on the "We Owe" form that I was owed "lifetime engine oil changes" because the salesman is responsible for ensuring all that stuff is delivered and I knew he'd get a laugh out of it.

My car is a pollen car. When I looked over the red paint, it was visually fine, but I ran my hand over the entire car anyway. There was a bit of stuff adheared in spots, but my fingernail moved it without much effort and it kind of looked like had settled on there after it was washed.

One thing I must have missed is the "guage" around the trees. It looks like an efficiency guage, but I'll have to look it up in the manual for the details on it.

The only think I really didn't like is when they showed me how to set charging timers. I tried to tell them that I was never going to use it and not to set any, but it didn't work. I got home on Sunday and I had a devil of a time getting the car to charge. I had to find the charger timer and then fight with it to remove it. I could change it easily enough, but I wanted it to go away altogether.

 

[youngr3]

Picked mine up on June 22nd from Bruce Titus in Tacoma after one year, one month, one week, one day at 1:00 pm. Unlike above postings had an excellent experience with Steve throughout process and less than one hour at dealership to do walkthrough and paperwork. Low pressure on addons with I did not take any. I highly recommend Steve at Bruce Titus.

 

[Brentster]

Finally got our Leaf from Mossy in National City (San Diego) last week on the 26th. Max provided excellent service throughout the process. No add-ons or pressure to buy anything additional. I really appreciated that.

Funny story, the night before we went in to pick up our Leaf, we saw the exact same model in the parking lot of the restaurant we went to eat out at. I think it was a good sign.

 

[ronnyguru]

Got my leaf from Fontana Nissan On June 23- 1k under msrp - SL-e , part of the EVSE program.

Those guys were great! All paper work was ready and I was out in an hour.

Drove 75 miles or so from dealership to van nuys- I was a bit nervous at first - didn't turn up AC , but it got home with "29" miles left

I was told that I'm their youngest leaf purchaser- born in nov -83
Any how I upgraded from a 2010 Prius , so Im decent at getting good mpg.

So far I really love the car.
It's a practical car! I have a 18 mi commute each way ( hills ) but it works great for me .
The car feels great. It's peppy compared to the Prius 2010- when in D , ECO mode is slow but it's workable
The front feels roomy to me. The rear cam is nice but I don't know what the green / lines are for yet.
I didn't watch the DVD yet.

Im charging only to 80% on weekdays.
I turned off the starup sound already.

I just wish I could pop the charging port hood from the remote- they should have put the release somewhere easier to get to- it's something you do everyday!
it's a not a tank you fill bi-weekly

The sound system is not great but it'll play my iPad / iPhone audio / pandora , anything wirelessly -which is nice.

Overall it's a great car and I'm lucky to be part of history !!




Ive seen 4 leaves around - there's someone in the same office bld as me with one .

 

[Mdg56]

Took delivery of our Silver Ocean SL-e yesterday! Thanks to David Talman at Mossy Poway for a great job of handling the transaction remotely...it was so nice not to have to set foot in the dealership.

The car is great, though I'm a bit nervous about its range performance in the Phoenix summer heat after yesterday's experience. I'll be hypermiling it to work today, no doubt!

 

[sirfergy]

I picked up an orphan Silver SL-e from Younkers Nissan last night. Great dealership and an amazing car!

Glad I don't have to wait until August for delivery, especially since the orphan was identical to the model I had on order and I didn't have to pay a premium.