Wife wants to swap cars

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adric22

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 23, 2010
Messages
2,488
Location
Fort Worth, TX
Ok, here's the situation. I have a 2011 Leaf and she has a 2012 Volt. Both cars are leased. I drive 12 miles per day, she drives 45. The issue is that we have underestimated the number of miles she would be putting on the Volt and it appears we're going to be in the hole for a few grand at the end of the 3 year lease due to overmileage. The Leaf we plan to purchase when its lease is up in exactly one year. That is because it has a $15,500 residual. The Volt, on the other hand, is just too much money to buy once the lease is up (around $26,000 I believe). So she has decided we should trade cars so that by the time the lease is up on the Volt, it will be at the correct mileage.

Ok, so here are the reasons this would be good:
  • Reduce miles on the Volt, eliminating lease penalty.
  • Will actually eliminate our small gas bill since she'll be able to make her entire commute on electric instead of burning gas for 5-6 miles every day.
And here are the reasons this would be bad:
  • She will need to charge to 100% every day. (see below for why) which in the Texas heat concerns me. Right now we have 12 bars, but that may not be the case by next year.
  • She is not capable of driving conservatively. Also she must have climate control at all times, regardless of outside temperature. She believes rolling down or cracking the windows makes her stinky. (as though the air inside the car is somehow different than the outside air) And the Leaf even has this annoying "feature" we all know about where it will often run the heater even when you want some cool fresh air in the cabin on cool days where the sun is shining brightly.
  • She has been known to forget to plug in her car when she gets home. With the Volt, no problem. She can just drive on gasoline that day. With the Leaf, it will be an issue.
  • I like the Volt. I think it is a great car, and it is very attractive inside and out. It will also serve my needs just fine. However, it is not my car. I've spent the last 2 years taking care of my Leaf like it was a baby. I wash and detail it almost weekly, all by hand. I park far away from other cars. I keep the interior clean, no food, no drinks, no trash. She is the opposite. He car is always full of trash, to the point it is embarrassing. She drives very rough, and parks where ever the absolute closest spot is, even if it means she's surrounded by big trucks and shopping carts. She never washes her car . I feel pitty for it (the car) about once per month and I'll wash it after I'm done with my Leaf. Anyway, asking me to drive the Volt is not the problem. I can live with that. Asking me to give my baby over to somebody who I know will not treat it with the love and respect I have is a problem, however. If the situation were permanent, it might be one thing. I could eventually learn to have the Volt be my car. But the idea is that at the end of the lease, I'd be getting the Leaf back (in what condition?)

So there is my dilemma. What do you guys think?
 
I'm not sure anyone has been able to really show that babying the battery has helped people in hot climates particularly. Also, I'd question whether the LEAF's value will be high enough that it will make sense to pay the residual at the end of your lease, especially if you've dropped a couple of capacity bars by then. In your shoes, I'd make the swap, and plan on turning BOTH cars in, finding yourself something that is a little more capable in the heat at that time.

Edit: Another thought; Not trading is the equivalent of adding the Volt's miles overage to your residual.
 
If you do indeed like the Volt, make the trade with her, clean the car up the way you like, and enjoy it for the next two years, knowing that at the end of that time you'll be trading it for something (yet to be determined) that you'll like even more. As for the LEAF, let her decide next year whether she wants to keep it or not. It's not your baby anymore; your baby is coming.

Besides, if she has decided she wants to trade, then do it. This is not something worth causing friction in your marriage.

Ray
 
You are in a tough spot... satisfy the wife and save some money but see your Leaf get "trashed" OR satisfy the Leaf and have your wife trash you. ;) I wouldn't worry about the 100% charging if it is on a timer that finishes shortly before your wife leaves. If she insists on charging it immediately when she gets home so it is always ready to go that would be more of a problem.
 
Better look at those cost numbers again because it sounds like you'll be turning in the Leaf at the end of the lease. In my experience, few people are able to change their habits. That said, if she doesn't change some of those habits, she won't be making it to work or back. Although, I can't understand not being able to make a 45 mi commute in the Leaf, even with heat/ac, wasteful driving, etc.
 
adric22 said:
Ok, here's the situation. I have a 2011 Leaf and she has a 2012 Volt. Both cars are leased. I drive 12 miles per day, she drives 45. The issue is that we have underestimated the number of miles she would be putting on the Volt and it appears we're going to be in the hole for a few grand at the end of the 3 year lease due to overmileage. The Leaf we plan to purchase when its lease is up in exactly one year. That is because it has a $15,500 residual. The Volt, on the other hand, is just too much money to buy once the lease is up (around $26,000 I believe). So she has decided we should trade cars so that by the time the lease is up on the Volt, it will be at the correct mileage.

Ok, so here are the reasons this would be good:
  • Reduce miles on the Volt, eliminating lease penalty.
  • Will actually eliminate our small gas bill since she'll be able to make her entire commute on electric instead of burning gas for 5-6 miles every day.
And here are the reasons this would be bad:
  • She will need to charge to 100% every day. (see below for why) which in the Texas heat concerns me. Right now we have 12 bars, but that may not be the case by next year.
  • She is not capable of driving conservatively. Also she must have climate control at all times, regardless of outside temperature. She believes rolling down or cracking the windows makes her stinky. (as though the air inside the car is somehow different than the outside air) And the Leaf even has this annoying "feature" we all know about where it will often run the heater even when you want some cool fresh air in the cabin on cool days where the sun is shining brightly.
  • She has been known to forget to plug in her car when she gets home. With the Volt, no problem. She can just drive on gasoline that day. With the Leaf, it will be an issue.
  • I like the Volt. I think it is a great car, and it is very attractive inside and out. It will also serve my needs just fine. However, it is not my car. I've spent the last 2 years taking care of my Leaf like it was a baby. I wash and detail it almost weekly, all by hand. I park far away from other cars. I keep the interior clean, no food, no drinks, no trash. She is the opposite. He car is always full of trash, to the point it is embarrassing. She drives very rough, and parks where ever the absolute closest spot is, even if it means she's surrounded by big trucks and shopping carts. She never washes her car . I feel pitty for it (the car) about once per month and I'll wash it after I'm done with my Leaf. Anyway, asking me to drive the Volt is not the problem. I can live with that. Asking me to give my baby over to somebody who I know will not treat it with the love and respect I have is a problem, however. If the situation were permanent, it might be one thing. I could eventually learn to have the Volt be my car. But the idea is that at the end of the lease, I'd be getting the Leaf back (in what condition?)

So there is my dilemma. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...
Give her the Leaf, then dump it in a year. New ones only cost $19,000 these days (at least in CA with both rebates). Kick in the extra couple of pennies and get a brand spanking new baby (that you will raise right!).
 
#1; never trust her to plug in the car. it doesnt work at my house either. If i dont plug it in, it does not get charged. I was gone for 6 days on that Japan trip. the entire time I was gone she drove 54 miles and that was our only car.

#2; dont make a permanent trade. Let her take the LEAF "most" of the time. how close are you to running over your mileage allotment? guessing not that close? or is it too late for something like her LEAFing it 3 days a week?

#3; in our house, the LEAF takes the longest commute 98% of the time which accounts for a pretty lopsided mileage total between our two cars

http://daveinolywa.blogspot.com/2013/04/mar-2013-drive-report.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

but it saves us a significant amount of cash that way. I have 10½ months left on my lease and am at 30,500 miles. I will be cutting it very close. additional public charging has just made it too tempting to go farther and farther

P.S. my SO treats her cars EXACTLY like your wife does which is another reason why it was her turn to buy a car after she wrecked MY Prius... :cry:
 
And here are the reasons this would be bad:
  • She will need to charge to 100% every day.
It would be nice to know that the car isn't going to be majorly effected by charging in a manner advertised that it can be
  • She is not capable of driving conservatively.
Not your problem

  • She has been known to forget to plug in her car when she gets home.
Also not your problem

  • I like the Volt. I think it is a great car, and it is very attractive inside and out. It will also serve my needs just fine. However, it is not my car. I've spent the last 2 years taking care of my Leaf like it was a baby. I wash and detail it almost weekly, all by hand. I park far away from other cars. I keep the interior clean, no food, no drinks, no trash. She is the opposite.
Welcome to married life!
 
1) She will need to charge to 100% every day. (see below for why) which in the Texas heat concerns me. Right now we have 12 bars, but that may not be the case by next year.

So having read everything on this forum about battery degradation I'd be more worried about whether she has shade at work than the 100% charge. Heat seems to far and away be the biggest factor in determining degradation. For LEAFs that are driven in high heat conditions like AZ or TX there is also a strong correlation between degradation and miles driven. So you may see some battery degradation with increased mileage, BUT it probably would be good for you to know before you end the lease if your LEAF has a degraded battery due to heat.

Regarding the 100%, the issue isn't charging to 100% it's charging to 100% then letting it sit for a long period fully charged. I suggest setting charging timers for weekdays with no start time but an end time about 30 minutes before she usually leaves for work. That way it spends little time at 100%.

2) She is not capable of driving conservatively.

I can relate. I'm having great success teaching my teens about hypermiling - but I'm not even trying that with my wife after my discussions about "pump and glide" were met with deaf silence with our hybrid many years ago. However, even with some battery degradation 45 miles is a safe round trip with 100% charge (see comment above about why this is okay).

3) She has been known to forget to plug in her car when she gets home. With the Volt, no problem. She can just drive on gasoline that day. With the Leaf, it will be an issue.

I'll be she does that exactly ONCE with the LEAF. Sounds like the LEAF-Volt swap is her idea, so the first time this happens she can't blame you. Mind you, you can help her by checking for being plugged in using carwings and the various SMS notifications available. Or you can let her be stuck at home once due to not charging.

4) I like the Volt. I think it is a great car, and it is very attractive inside and out. It will also serve my needs just fine. However, it is not my car. I've spent the last 2 years taking care of my Leaf like it was a baby. I wash and detail it almost weekly, all by hand. I park far away from other cars. I keep the interior clean, no food, no drinks, no trash. She is the opposite.

Honestly, I think this is the crux of the matter. It was very hard for me to go from having my own well-kept car to having a pool of shared cars with people in my family, some of whom basically broke every rule about interior cleanliness. And a couple of whom have a high propensity to acquire parking lot dents.

As I say, it was hard. There is some freedom, mind you, in giving up all the hours you spend detailing and caring about the car and just accepting that all your cars are going to get worn over time. But if you're not forced into that situation I can see wanting to hang on to your LEAF. In the end, this last point is probably the most critical and only you can decide.
 
what we really have is another symptom of EV ownership and that is car sharing

http://daveinolywa.blogspot.com/2013/01/car-sharing-another-ev-challenge.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
Thanks for the laughs. :D

Type A meet Type B, meaning that you are going to get used to plugging BOTH cars in at night.

I would definitely do the swap.....and turn the Leaf in at end of lease as well, unless of course Nissan comes to its senses and offers a lower buyout. You can already buy 2012 SLs for just under $20K with much lower mileage than your 2011 will have next year.
 
what choice do you have short of divorce or an ugly argument?? two: pay the couple of thousands for excess miles or switch cars till she hates the LEAF.
I would pay the cash.
otherwise:
give her the LEAF and explain why 100% charging is bad. scare her--maybe she will change her mind. then, you wait for the day she doesnt plug in or runs out of juice, or wants to go to lunch or take a side trip before coming home or go out right after getting home.
she will either learn to drive it right, or decide it was a bad decision.
there is no good way, from your description of her willfulness, that you can win by saying no.
you can get the LEAF back if she gives up on the idea or after driving it.

my wife loves the LEAF but gets that it is an iffy proposition for her driving style and frequent trips of 60-70 miles. lucky me.
 
i think your only "real" option is to balance the miles on the two cars to maximize your lease limits without going over. I am waaaaay toooo cheap to be under 3,000 miles on one lease but over 1500 miles on the other. I would find a way to be under on both or over on both.

what I end up doing is basically maintaining both cars. She is only part of the problem. I also have a kid who eats in car due to our schedule and his appointments, school, etc. its required that he eat in transit frequently and he does not always finish what he eats or is very neat about it and so on. (he also has a bad habit of feeding junk to the Dog who doesnt always like what he gives him but will take it and deposit it somewhere in the car for me to pick up a week later) its not an insignificant amount of free time and i do let it lax. Also, she NEVER gets gas so I have to switch cars occasionally since i only go to Costco and i HATE making special trips to get gas (it never used to bother me until i started refueling in my garage... :cry: )

so once a week or so, i vacuum, fill up a few garbage bags full (the ultra large lawn variety types :) ) and so on.

this is much better than trying to discuss the benefits of maintaining the vehicle...
 
I see 2 points

1 - You really seem attached to the LEAF
2 - You plan on keeping the LEAF after the lease.

So, why not leave things the way they are. You'll pay more for the Volt, but the LEAF will be worth more since it will have fewer miles on it. And, you'll be retaining that value since you plan on keeping the car. With fewer miles on it, that means you'll be able to drive it that much longer before needing to consider another expenditure.

I see it as basically a wash, so why suffer? And the Volt seems more appropriate to your wife's driving habits.
 
ok, there is another option and that is maximize mileage on LEAF since there is no mileage limit if you decide to buy it but then again, i still think buying an EV today is a mistake. there is nothing out there under $40,000 worth keeping
 
I'm with Nubo. The OP clearly wants to keep the Leaf and will forever regret giving his "baby" over to his wife. My own view is spend the few extra bucks on the Volt charges to be happy, assuming it does turn out to be be a few extra bucks, but financial decisions like that are always dependent on individual circumstances.

My greater concern about the original post whether the wife knows that is how she is perceived. Has she read that post? Or heard something like that description or her driving habits in a "frank and open discussion" as the politicians use the term? Maybe her habits can be reformed in some way, at least partially, if she knows what bugs you. On the other hand, if you make the swap, then the trash or door dings or whatever will be her problem anyway. If you can live comfortably with how she treats the Volt now, then why would it be different for the Leaf? It would be her car and she has to live with the trash, etc., not you. The first time she forgets to plug in the Leaf and doesn't have enough charge in the morning, her failure to plug it in will stop. Just make sure to be out of the house with the other car first that day so she can't leave you with the 1 bar Leaf.

My Leaf is mine, and my wife has not pressed to swap, but she will almost always take the Leaf rather than her car if I am not using it. Since she does the shopping and runs most of the errands, while I'm retired and sit at my computer posting on forums like this, she drives "my" car more than I do. However, she takes better care of cars than I do, at least least in terms of interior cleanliness (I hike and run a lot, resulting in some sweat, dirt, and mud, but never eat or drink in the car or leave trash), but she, too, never plugs in the Leaf unless I remind her or specifically ask her to. She's tall enough so she doesn't have to readjust the seats or mirrors, fortunately, so it works out fine.
 

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