mxp
Well-known member
davidcary said:Count me in an a happy customer! Might just go out and buy a second Leaf.
Amazing to me to see the naysayers. Truly amazing.
Anyone who knows anything about EVs (even people who know very very little) know that the battery is expensive and it degrades. Having a reasonable price to plan for that is what Nissan needed to do. The motor and other parts will always be available at a junk yard when the battery is much more questionable. The fact is the life on the other components is on average so long, that junk yard purchases will be a very good gamble.
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Yes, I raise my hand as a naysayer. On the onset, it looks like a "deal" but in fact it's not. Looks at the trends, do the math and consider the other alternatives. You will soon begin to see it.
Nissan had a obvious gap in their product strategy and that they absolutely needed to communicate a battery replacement plan. Yes, they did that- thank you. But, in my opinion, it's a bad deal.
Just for grins:
*Today*: you can buy with a 2014 MiEV (16kWh batt) sts feats: heated seats, CHAdeMO DC quick charge port, battery warning system, heated mirrors, rear door speakers, a leather-covered wheel and shift knob, daytime running lights, front fog lamps, 8A/12A switchable Level 1 charging cable is also standard, charge port lamp guide, plus other trim upgrades = $23k (sticker) - $10k (California) == *$13k drive-away*
In California, upgrading my 2011 Leaf will cost me $7k (inc install/taxes). If I put up an extra $6k, I get a new vehicle with the new vehicle warranty. If you have a 2011 model with the badly designed heater, and for some no QC port, why- tell me why would you spend $7k on a battery in an old car?
*Future*: I am just trying to imagine how low the price will go down to for a 2018 MiEV (upgraded battery maybe ~24kWh like a Leaf), upgraded interior, maybe even a Google Android Auto display. And, they might just alter the sheet metal to make the car look prettier.
Pricing any product is a tricky endeavor, and in my opinion, the Nissan product management team did it cleverly. The consumer is led to "believe" it's a reasonable price point for certain arguments, and the product management team now have a highly profitable product offering to re-coup their $300M investment from their battery factory. The process is so simple for them. Customer puts in an order at the dealer, factory ships out the product on a pallet, dealer makes money on the installation. The process is so simple.
Well, in any case, at least there is an official replacement program in place now.