The official "I got my Leaf" thread

[theNatural]

I was wondering if next year when all of these 2 year leases on the 2012s start to finish up if Nissan with either offer deals to extend, deals to buy, or perhaps offer the lessors a lease on a new 2014 Leaf a few months before the completion of the 2012 Leaf lease.

With the right terms, I'd continue. Currently, in GA, we can take the $5K tax rebate repeatedly, so I would certainly consider it (or consider buying if things are right).

just took advantage of the lease deal here in GA. With the $5k tax rebate and free HOV/HOT lane access, it's a pretty hard deal to pass up!

for those shopping quotes, i went to regal nissan for:
2013 leaf s base package
12k miles
24 month lease
$240/month (georgia registration tax included)
$280 first payment.

i got an insurance quote from current provider for ~$50/month for full coverage.

i have a 60 mile roundtrip commute with a 120v outlet available at home and work. hoping i should be able to make do with just a level 1 evse.
I don't want to have to carry around the evse between home and work, so i would like a spare. are there any cheap portable alternatives for spare evse's? the going rate seems to be $400+.

 

[jvdhoeven]

Hi theNatural,

That is a great deal at Regal. I'm looking now and may buy on Friday. Considering Sutherlin and GwinnPlace.

With such a great deal did you have to make a down payment then or none??
and is that VPP pricing?

Thanks.

 

[theNatural]

Hi theNatural,

That is a great deal at Regal. I'm looking now and may buy on Friday. Considering Sutherlin and GwinnPlace.

With such a great deal did you have to make a down payment then or none??
and is that VPP pricing?

Thanks.

non-vpp pricing. i only had to pay $280 out of pocket, which includes first payment.
I have heard that gwinnett place is notorious for pulling the bait and switch on customers. i would not recommend going there unless it's a last resort. have not heard much about sutherlin.

I will say that regal (marc taylor) was a pleasure to work with... tell him eddie sent you and he may be able to match the same deal.
He was also very thorough in explaining how to take advantage of all the other leaf benefits (GA tax credit, how to apply for AFV tag and peach pass, etc.).

If you are looking to buy soon, i would definitely recommend going to see him first.

 

[bronsonb]

non-vpp pricing. i only had to pay $280 out of pocket, which includes first payment.
I have heard that gwinnett place is notorious for pulling the bait and switch on customers. i would not recommend going there unless it's a last resort. have not heard much about sutherlin.

I will say that regal (marc taylor) was a pleasure to work with... tell him eddie sent you and he may be able to match the same deal.
He was also very thorough in explaining how to take advantage of all the other leaf benefits (GA tax credit, how to apply for AFV tag and peach pass, etc.).

If you are looking to buy soon, i would definitely recommend going to see him first.

Glad to hear Marc treated you well. I leased my Leaf from him almost exactly a year ago (Saturday after Thanksgiving in 2012). I have sent three other folks to see him, but NONE of them were able to get what they felt were good deals and leased or purchased elsewhere. Heck, if I could get a deal like next year, I might just swap my 2012 for a 2014. Of course, I think I'd still have to have an SL. I do LOVE having my backup camera. And I think the leather seats are a must.

Enjoy your new cars!

 

[firsttimelessee]

As a first time lessee I am a bit anxious to find out how my deal is. I am in San Jose, CA so please give me feedback on the deal accordingly.

Here is the info :

2013 Nissan SL (NO PREMIUM PACKAGE)

15000 miles per year

$2500 down (includes first month's payment - this gets offset by the $2500 CA cashback)

$250 + tax + maintenance = $292 per month.

Other CA (santa clara county owners), could you please also tell me how much extra does it cost to charge the Leaf at home? ( I have PG&E and my wife's work does not have a charger, so will mostly have to charge at night).

Thank you

 

[bronsonb]

Other CA (santa clara county owners), could you please also tell me how much extra does it cost to charge the Leaf at home? ( I have PG&E and my wife's work does not have a charger, so will mostly have to charge at night).

Thank you

I live in GA, so I can't help you with whether that's a good lease deal or not. But you should be able to calculate cost to charge at home fairly easily. The Leaf has a 24 KW-h battery. If you drained it entirely, it would take 24 KW-h to charge it (assuming it's still in good shape). So multiply 24 times the cost of a KW-h from your utility.

My rate is 11 cents a KW-h, so a fully depleted Leaf (and they rarely get fully depleted) would cost $2.64 to recharge. If your utility gives you a very low rate for charging overnight, you can do even better.

Enjoy the Leaf. I've not regretted the lease at all. I am enjoying avoiding the gas pump. However, we kept my old SUV for road trips (it's paid for, 10 years old, and costs hardly anything to insure and register, so it's not expensive to keep it around).

 

[firsttimelessee]

Thank you Bronson. How do my lease numbers look?

Could people in CA also comment on how the lease numbers look?

Thank you

 

[bronsonb]

Thank you Bronson. How do my lease numbers look?

Could people in CA also comment on how the lease numbers look?

Thank you

For me, the down payment seems a little high (but that's from a number of states away...so it's hard to judge). My down payment (last year on a 2012 toward the end of the year) was $1000 and included the first month's payment, security deposit, etc. I tried to get a $0 down, but couldn't find one.

The monthly payment seems fair though (mine is $262 with tax). Also, my lease is ONLY for 12,000 miles a year, but I've barely hit 7K miles in the first year.

Realize that all of my numbers are from LAST year and in GA. In GA we get a $5k state tax credit. Plus, I also got a free Blink charger from EcoTotality. I was happy with my deal as the Leaves were getting scarce at that time.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

As a first time lessee I am a bit anxious to find out how my deal is. I am in San Jose, CA so please give me feedback on the deal accordingly.

Here is the info :

2013 Nissan SL (NO PREMIUM PACKAGE)

15000 miles per year

$2500 down (includes first month's payment - this gets offset by the $2500 CA cashback)

$250 + tax + maintenance = $292 per month.

Other CA (santa clara county owners), could you please also tell me how much extra does it cost to charge the Leaf at home? ( I have PG&E and my wife's work does not have a charger, so will mostly have to charge at night).

Thank you

plus maintenance? get rid of that is the first thing you need to do.

sounds like a good deal. you did not mention QC but its an SL so that is included? 3 year? or 2?

 

[cwerdna]

Other CA (santa clara county owners), could you please also tell me how much extra does it cost to charge the Leaf at home? ( I have PG&E and my wife's work does not have a charger, so will mostly have to charge at night).

Unfortunately, that's a terrible question to ask as you've given us almost no info. See http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=158814#p158814" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

We have no idea what schedule you're on, what rate tiers you frequently run up to, how far you'll be driving, how much energy will be required to charge, whether you'll be charging at 120 volts or 240 volts (120 is less efficient, w/more energy being thrown away), and whether you might change rate plans, etc.

There is an estimator at http://www.pge.com/cgi-bin/pevcalculator/PEV" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. http://www.pge.com/en/myhome/myaccount/charges/index.page" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; can help if you're on E-1. It's useless if you're on any SMART and/or TOU-based plan.

Assuming you're on E-1 and you were at the edge of tier 2 and the EV pushes you into tier 3 or 4 and you drive a LOT, your electric bill will go up a LOT unless you do something about it (e.g. changing plan coupled w/shifting usage, getting solar, doing other stuff to cut usage, etc.)

(I also live in your county and am on PG&E.)

 

[DEPioneer]

I picked up my 2013 silver Leaf S at Sheridan Nissan in New Castle DE on Oct 6th. A friend had told me about the advertised deal of $199 a month and $2,000 down for a 36 month lease. I have a 2000 Toyota Corolla 5 speed std shift for longer trips. But I really wanted to have an all electric car. I really do feel like a pioneer in southern DE, because Nissan dealers are about the only charging stations around. I would like to go to Wilmington, DE, about 40 miles away, but I need to find a charging station while I'm up there because an 80 mile trip is just cutting it too close...I may need lights or the heater and that really drops the range. I've put about 750 miles on it in two months.

I test drove the one they had in stock - a beautiful loaded SL - in July, but they could not find an S for me until Nissan sent them one to have on display at the Wilmington auto show in October. The salesman called me the day after the show and I picked it up the next day. I love it! But charging stations are a problem right now. I'll bet by the time the lease is up, there will be many more charging stations. I do have a dedicated outlet in the garage for the overnight charge. I don't want to invest in a charging station as I plan to move to Maine in September. I hope to invest in solar power for my home there and charge it that way from then on.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Looking at PlugShare, there's nothing in Wilmington, but there is a QC in Carney's Point at the Flying J, did you get a QC port?

You could get a L2 with a plug, and take it with you to Maine.

Glad you like the car. Welcome to the future.

 

[rodkar]

Just picked up the 2013 Nissan Leaf S in San Diego, CA (north county: Escondido) Nissan!
Except I think our packages relate closely to the next level model.

Please excuse me if some of the listed features below aren't necessarily packages and are automatically included in the base model. I'm still learning about the car itself. It's great to have this forum full of knowledgable people.

Nissan Leaf S
- cold weather package
- Bluetooth
- quick charger
- rear view camera

Some pretty great incentives right now on these! In California we get $2500 rebate + $7500 tax refund.
Also included in the deal was the [alleged] $2000 level 2 EV charging kit that will be installed in my home. Apparently they had a select amount to give away.

It's pretty neat to see all these charging stations available through the plugshare app I didn't even know existed!

Does anyone have any recommendations/advice for new owners? All is appreciated!

 

[m2pilot]

A grey S model with charge package is nestled all snugly in my garage. EVSE is yet to be purchased, so I'll be using the 110v plug to recharge from my daily 42 mile commute. The dealership is only 3 miles away so if worse comes to worst I can get a faster L2 charge there I suppose.

mark

 

[Berlino]

Nissan Leaf S

- quick charger
- rear view camera

I believe the other items you listed are standard, but the quick charge capability and rear-view camera come together as an option. Good choice, a very worthwhile option for most people in California.

Also included in the deal was the [alleged] $2000 level 2 EV charging kit that will be installed in my home. Apparently they had a select amount to give away.

If it hasn't been done already, make sure all the paperwork is submitted for the charging stations asap. There's no guarantee you'll get it, because a limited number are offered each month and it's apparently first-come, first-served.

 

[rodkar]

I believe the other items you listed are standard, but the quick charge capability and rear-view camera come together as an option. Good choice, a very worthwhile option for most people in California.
...
If it hasn't been done already, make sure all the paperwork is submitted for the charging stations asap. There's no guarantee you'll get it, because a limited number are offered each month and it's apparently first-come, first-served.

Thanks for your advice! We actually filled the paperwork out at the dealership for the EV charger. They've emailed us earlier today stating confirmation of application and someone would "contact us within 48 hours to set up an appointment for installation".

Love this leaf. After driving it a few days I can't wait get my hands on that quick charger. I'm just worried about some of these posts I see about the mileage range on a full charge during cold weather (as it's a colder winter here in San Diego) and the rate at which the battery degrades through use. I guess I'm just hoping it's not too bad because my commute to work and back is a solid 52 miles.
Also, do you think after a few years (with typical battery degradation) I may not be able to make this commute anymore?

Thanks in advance!

 

[TimLee]

I'm just worried about some of these posts I see about the mileage range on a full charge during cold weather (as it's a colder winter here in San Diego) and the rate at which the battery degrades through use. I guess I'm just hoping it's not too bad because my commute to work and back is a solid 52 miles.
Also, do you think after a few years (with typical battery degradation) I may not be able to make this commute anymore?

At some point you won't be able to make the commute. But 52 miles should not be a problem for at least two years (unless you're doing high speed interstate driving and it is very cold).
I'm at 2 1/2 years, 17,000+ miles, one lost capacity bar, and based on experience this past Monday on a 40F day I could do somewhere around 55 to 60 miles starting from 100% charged without too much effort or caution.
You should check mwalsh's experience. I think he is ~60 mile commute, and he only began having problems with range in year three.

 

[billysnake]

My commute is about 50 miles round trip and I usually never make it back with less than 20% SOC, and I only charge it to 80% so you should have no problem. I live in LA.

 

[rodkar]

At some point you won't be able to make the commute. But 52 miles should not be a problem for at least two years (unless you're doing high speed interstate driving and it is very cold).
I'm at 2 1/2 years, 17,000+ miles, one lost capacity bar, and based on experience this past Monday on a 40F day I could do somewhere around 55 to 60 miles starting from 100% charged without too much effort or caution.
You should check mwalsh's experience. I think he is ~60 mile commute, and he only began having problems with range in year three.

Hmm..well its not usually that cold here in San Diego so I'm hoping that will preserve the battery a bit longer. But thanks for the advice, I'll take a look.

My commute is about 50 miles round trip and I usually never make it back with less than 20% SOC, and I only charge it to 80% so you should have no problem. I live in LA.

Really glad/relieved to hear! We have about the same weather, so I'm hoping for my situation to be identical to yours.

 

[Leafpeepersev]

We're New England LEAF leasers and found a great LEAF geek salesman. Great experience. Here's a link to our blog post chronicling the purchase: http://leafpeepersev.blogspot.com/2013/11/taking-new-baby-home.html