64chevy
Member
My wife and I have been researching the Leaf on and off since about 2013 and we think we're ready to grab one. Her commute is about 2 miles one-way during the school year, and while we put on a lot of miles on average (15-17,000 a year) most of those are to and from work, groceries, etc.. Rarely do we exceed 15-20 miles (one way) in any given day and we have a second car - a minivan - for longer trips. We'd be private party selling or trading in our 2009 Sienna and paying cash for the rest.
We're looking at the following three options at this time:
- a 2012 SL with very minor body work (a very minor 'scrape' - just enough to scratch a small bit of paint off - clearly a low speed incident) for about $12,500. Full battery bars. Local (non-Nissan) dealer.
- a 2013 SV, lease return at a Nissan dealer. Nissan certified. Listed at 14,500 but I suspect we could talk 'em down 500-1000. Full battery bars.
- a 2015 S. New, Nissan Dealer (100 miles away, however). Includes $5K towards financing, etc.. but we'd pay cash outright. They claim to want about $14,000 for it. Several other _new_ 2015s in a similar price range, but they are all S models.
About our climate: we live in (the South part of) Wisconsin. Vehicle would be garaged and trickle charged - it's not too likely we'd get a level-2 charger.
Notes: the 'hump' in the middle of the floor of the second-row seating is much more pronounced in the 2013+ models. Crash test scores are also slightly better in the 2012, however the range (both battery and due to the hybrid heater in the nicer 2013+ models) is improved 2013+. And, of course, all things being equal generally the newer models are more likely to hold value.
We have test-driven several Leaf models (2013 S and 2012 SL) and we loved 'em both, but the 2012's very slightly nicer second-row seating, better crash-test scores, and (possible) better build quality over the 2013's is compelling.
We also understand that when the "new" Leaf comes out that will likely destroy the used market for older Leafs. So long as the "bottom" of the used-car market doesn't drop below $5,000 within the next 3-4 years then we are OK with that.
With respect to the "S" vs "SV/SL":
I'm not sure we care about Carwings, and I'm not sure if the alloy wheels make much difference either. Cruise is a nice-to-have. The nicer backup camera is a win to be sure, and the 6.6 kw charger likely doesn't make much difference either. The hybrid heater is probably a nice win, but for 1/2 of the trips in the cold the vehicle will be coming from a garage (not heated, but very very rarely drops below freezing, despite subzero outdoor temps). The auto headlights are nice. I do want to be able to - periodically - hit the car with a CHADEMO charge (I'm told it's good for 'em every once in a while). I would really like to be able to limit the day-to-day charge to 80% if that is possible.
I found this: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=14080
and it's just perfect. Other than the Hybrid heater I suspect an 'S' would do just great for us.
Sorry for the long initial post, I'm trying to be complete (a habit I have from my work).
Edit: typos.
We're looking at the following three options at this time:
- a 2012 SL with very minor body work (a very minor 'scrape' - just enough to scratch a small bit of paint off - clearly a low speed incident) for about $12,500. Full battery bars. Local (non-Nissan) dealer.
- a 2013 SV, lease return at a Nissan dealer. Nissan certified. Listed at 14,500 but I suspect we could talk 'em down 500-1000. Full battery bars.
- a 2015 S. New, Nissan Dealer (100 miles away, however). Includes $5K towards financing, etc.. but we'd pay cash outright. They claim to want about $14,000 for it. Several other _new_ 2015s in a similar price range, but they are all S models.
About our climate: we live in (the South part of) Wisconsin. Vehicle would be garaged and trickle charged - it's not too likely we'd get a level-2 charger.
Notes: the 'hump' in the middle of the floor of the second-row seating is much more pronounced in the 2013+ models. Crash test scores are also slightly better in the 2012, however the range (both battery and due to the hybrid heater in the nicer 2013+ models) is improved 2013+. And, of course, all things being equal generally the newer models are more likely to hold value.
We have test-driven several Leaf models (2013 S and 2012 SL) and we loved 'em both, but the 2012's very slightly nicer second-row seating, better crash-test scores, and (possible) better build quality over the 2013's is compelling.
We also understand that when the "new" Leaf comes out that will likely destroy the used market for older Leafs. So long as the "bottom" of the used-car market doesn't drop below $5,000 within the next 3-4 years then we are OK with that.
With respect to the "S" vs "SV/SL":
I'm not sure we care about Carwings, and I'm not sure if the alloy wheels make much difference either. Cruise is a nice-to-have. The nicer backup camera is a win to be sure, and the 6.6 kw charger likely doesn't make much difference either. The hybrid heater is probably a nice win, but for 1/2 of the trips in the cold the vehicle will be coming from a garage (not heated, but very very rarely drops below freezing, despite subzero outdoor temps). The auto headlights are nice. I do want to be able to - periodically - hit the car with a CHADEMO charge (I'm told it's good for 'em every once in a while). I would really like to be able to limit the day-to-day charge to 80% if that is possible.
I found this: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=14080
and it's just perfect. Other than the Hybrid heater I suspect an 'S' would do just great for us.
Sorry for the long initial post, I'm trying to be complete (a habit I have from my work).
Edit: typos.