Am I crazy to try this?

[Bronder]

Hi there,

I'm a Leaf fan, as in I don't yet own one but I've been wanting one for some time now. I want to do something with the Leaf that i'm not sure if it would work and I would appreciate your input to tell me if i'm crazy or just very brave. I read some other posts and search for a similar post and couldn't find one so here it goes.

I live in Honduras, Central America, NO public charge stations at all here, no tax credits, no green incentives. My plan is to wait until about 2018-2019 or so to get a used 2016 Leaf with the 30Kwh battery and the 6.6 Kw charger for about $10,000 and have it shipped to Honduras. I'm sure the Customs people here will have trouble figuring out how to charge import tariffs on it as their table are all stated in cubic liters for ICE displacement. I plan to push thru that and figure it out between now and then to get it imported.

Here in my city Tegucigalpa, the traffic rarely allows anyone to drive over 35 mph, 55 mph can be achieved only in a small section of highway.
Also there is rarely a level street as the city is placed on top of a mountanious area so driving uphill and downhill is the norm even on the few "highways" if they could qualify as such.

I also plan to get the 240 v charge station for home and either get permission at work to use the 110v charger or outright pay back to my employer for the energy I'm going to use when I charge at work (if needed). I've been working the same place for 15 years so I figure I could reach an agreement.

Right now i'm taking measurements of my daily commute and i'm averaging 20 miles to work and 35 miles back. In the morning I go drop off my daughter to school and then come back home for about an hour before going to work (about 10 miles away) for about three hours. Then I come home for lunch and go back to work for five to six hours and finally at night I run some errands near my work and drive home.

On weekends things are different, some times driving only 30 miles each day, sometimes driving 100 miles each day. I do have ICE cars that would use when the day calls for them which I hope to be the least amount possible.

Nissan here doesn't sell the Leaf nor do I expect them to to have the capability to honor any warranty so I would basically have to cover any maintenance expenses AND figure out how to actually do them on my own or with a local conventional mechanic that is willing to take the challenge if needed by shipping parts from the US to here. There might be parts and knowledge to service the brakes and other non engine or battery related components

I might be the first to own an EV here so I would be taken the Leaf where no Leaf has gone before

So what do you think? Is it doable for at least three years or so? Any possible upgrades I should get or buy to make it work? any tips or warnings? Any more info you need to voice your opinion? thanks

BTW, i've looked at the Chevy Volt but i've read the back seats are too small and on weekends I need to carry two adults in the back to nearby places in the city.

 

[jjeff]

BTW, i've looked at the Chevy Volt but i've read the back seats are too small and on weekends I need to carry two adults in the back to nearby places in the city.

Note the new Volt's have a bit more room in the back(and now 5 passanger) but height is still SEVERELY restricted. I'm 6'1 and the only way my head won't hit the hard trim around the hatch window is if I sit straight up all the way back, and then my head can touch the rear window and allow me to sit upright. Of course if I had my head there and someone slammed on the brakes...... Not that the rear seat of the Leaf is a lot better but at least I don't hit my head(my hair touches though) but the main issue in the back of the Leaf is leg room. With the front seat all the way back(as everyone in my family does) there is no room between the rear seat and my knees, my shoes also get caught in the small area on the floor, making exiting somewhat difficult.
An regards to your Leaf use question, while I did have a few issues in the first year of use, knock on wood I haven't had any issues since then. Hopefully by purchasing a couple year old Leaf, all the initial bugs may have been addressed, still taking a bit of a chance with no local authorized service, but I guess if you know this going into it and are OK with it you won't be caught off guard.
Note if your country only uses 240v the stock N. American Leaf EVSE won't do you any good, unless you have someone like EVSEupgrade.com upgrade it for you(something I'd suggest to basically anyone anyway). Sounds like with all the hills in your area the Leaf with it's regen may be a good fit, although preferably you'd be going up the hill after leaving home(with a 100% charged battery) and down the hills as the battery is less than fully charged. You won't get much(if any) regen on a fully charged battery, the newer Leafs need to get down to ~90% to see any real regen and the older(pre '13) need to be <50%(or lower) to see any real regen, something I don't like at all about my '12 Leaf.

 

[LeftieBiker]

The only real issue I see is the possibility of a part failing, and your mechanic not being able to diagnose or replace it.

 

[Bronder]

Thank you for the update on the Volt. The adults here are not that big, 1.7m is the norm. I guess I would have to look at the 2016 Volt review to figure f the rear seats are a good fit for my style. The gas engine being a plus could also mean more maintenance complexities here or not. I imagine a mechanic trying to figure out an ICE on a car that is not attached to a transmission.

As for the hills, actually there are uphills and down hills all over the place at different gradients. so I would probably go uphill and downhill both ways. hopefully regen will help on the seldom long downhills.

As for the bugs, that's a good point that I was hoping to avoid while getting a used car. Well that and an affordable price. AFAIK the 2016 is the first model with a 30 Kwh battery so that's why I'm waiting for it. However if between here and 2018-2019 something better comes along the plans could change. I figure with the first Telsa model 3 deliveries starting in 2018 there won't be much of a used model 3 market by that time.

Here we use the american standard 110-120 volt outlets. However with an upgraded EVSE I could be tempted to pay for a 220 installation at the office. I will have time to read more about it. Specially since most houses here use electric ranges to cook rather than gas so they too have the 220-240 circuit for those. Thanks for that tip!

I do imagine that some part might fail or break and my mechanic not be able to fix it right away. I guess it's a risk I have right now. We'll see in two years if that might have improved. Who knows maybe by then Nissan dealer and service center has some Leaf knowledge (slim chance).

I read a lot about geting the heat pump, is that to warm up the inside of the car for driver and passenger comfort or to improve battery performance? Here we usually have temperatures between 25 to 35 Celcius and a few days a year it drops to 15 Celcius overnight and in the early morning but climbs rapidly.

Keep the posts comming. I'm absorbing more information every day! Thank you very much.

 

[redLEAF]

The only real issue I see if the possibility of a part failing, and your mechanic not being able to diagnose or replace it.

+1; in actuality it would be an 'orphan' car although after a quick search, it does appear that Nissan does have a dealer in Honduras (Groupo Q) but as you said they don't appear to offer the LEAF; they also happen to be a Chevy dealer (but didn't see Volts listed); but as long as there is a dealer they could probably get parts for you at the very least; might be pricey but if its out of warranty, I would doubt that Nissan would care much.

http://www.grupoq.com/hn/home.html

The LEAF servicing for areas of the world where it isn't sold does get quite interesting as a number of people on MNL have taken this on; some have imported a Japanese market LEAF to New Zealand and another wanted to buy in Europe and get it to the Middle East (it doesn't do well in hot desert climates as we all know).

The good thing it does have going for it is that it requires very little servicing that you couldn't do yourself; my 4 1/2 year old LEAF (other than traction battery checks by the Nissan dealer) required things that most garages or a decent DIY could do (tires, brakes, cabin filter).

You might do just fine --- with a 'moderate' climate (mountainous sounds more moderate than the tropical coastal areas) the battery should hold up OK as well and who knows, maybe in a few years Nissan will sell these in Central America so it will be a non-issue.

 

[Bronder]

Thank you for your information.

Yes Grupo Q is the local dealer for Nissan and other brands and although I own a second hand Toyota Corolla, the general feeling here is that Grupo Q is a good decent dealer. My first car was a 1980 Datsun 210 and decades after Grupo Q still had some parts for it. I imagine if I paid they could get parts shipped. I do hope they start selling them soon here.

I went to the local toyota dealer website and requested a test drive of their Prius only to be told days later that they no longer sell it, so that was disheartening to learn. Frankly I don't really see any Prius ever on the roads so it must have been a really small batch of cars that they actually sold or never actually had them here.

As for the temperature I do agree that the weather here would be better for the car's performance than the coastal areas of the country. With our local average of 77F to 82F with extremes of 57F and 95F on a couple of weeks each year. While the coastal areas are generally much hotter although the terrain is more level there.

Thank you too for your input. I really appreciate it!

 

[jjeff]

I read a lot about geting the heat pump, is that to warm up the inside of the car for driver and passenger comfort or to improve battery performance? Here we usually have temperatures between 25 to 35 Celcius and a few days a year it drops to 15 Celcius overnight and in the early morning but climbs rapidly.

Keep the posts comming. I'm absorbing more information every day! Thank you very much.

Yes the heatpump is for more efficient heating during moderately cool weather(like it sounds your area is) it doesn't save much if anything at -20c temps but I doubt you get that in Honduras :lol: Also note after '12 the only Leafs without the heat pump would be the S model, which I believe also lacks the 30kWh battery....so if your only looking at the 30kWh Leafs, you'll get the heat pump. I don't believe the heat pump is more efficient in cooling, although I'm open to correction.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Thank you for the update on the Volt. The adults here are not that big, 1.7m is the norm. I guess I would have to look at the 2016 Volt review to figure f the rear seats are a good fit for my style.

That third "seat" in the rear is a small, flat shelf that can more easily hold a car seat. It is not a regular seat suitable for an adult human.

As for the heat pump, it is so warm where you live that you don't really need it. Since you want the 30kwh battery pack, though, you will get it anyway. The S comes with no heat pump but with the smaller 24kwh pack. If you like to run the heat on Low when it's just a little chilly out, you will be happier with the heat pump than you would without it.

 

[Bronder]

thanks for the heat pump information. In the past i've only run the heater on low many one week total during a year...oh and the time my radiator fan broke and I was passing a bad part of town at night and didn't want to stop. Corolla toughed it out and got me home safe.

By the way, just a curious bit of info. In spanish "engine" and "motor" are the same word.

 

[Evoforce]

Try Chevy (Bolt). 200+ miles coming fall 2016. Pure electric!

 

[Nubo]

By the way, just a curious bit of info. In spanish "engine" and "motor" are the same word.

Very sensible! In the USA some people make a big deal about calling electric engines "motors" and gasoline motors "engines". :lol:

Then again, we park on "driveways" and we drive on "parkways".

 

[Nubo]

I read a lot about geting the heat pump, is that to warm up the inside of the car for driver and passenger comfort or to improve battery performance? Here we usually have temperatures between 25 to 35 Celcius and a few days a year it drops to 15 Celcius overnight and in the early morning but climbs rapidly.

Keep the posts comming. I'm absorbing more information every day! Thank you very much.

Yes the heatpump is for more efficient heating during moderately cool weather(like it sounds your area is) it doesn't save much if anything at -20c temps but I doubt you get that in Honduras :lol: Also note after '12 the only Leafs without the heat pump would be the S model, which I believe also lacks the 30kWh battery....so if your only looking at the 30kWh Leafs, you'll get the heat pump. I don't believe the heat pump is more efficient in cooling, although I'm open to correction.

As I recall, the heat pump is slightly less efficient for cooling compared to a cooling-only compressor. But since cooling was already so much more efficient than heating it's not significant.