Birmingham, AL

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kg4bec

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 26, 2010
Messages
126
Location
Birmingham, AL
G'day Y'all,

First may I say THANK YOU to everyone who contributes in this forum. It's been so much fun to watch as people speculated on what the LEAF can do, through the first exciting orders and deliveries, and the almost universal praise that the car has received since then.

As one of the folks in the Tier 2 state of Alabama, I was really happy to see an email from Nissan to say I could request a quote! Armed with all the information from this forum, I was able to educate my local dealer on the process and we have agreed on a price verbally (MSRP). Unfortunately he has not been able to give me a quote yet because he cannot locate an "official" invoice price to base his quote on. Sigh. Perhaps someone here can point me/him to an official source that he can use, presumably a site internal to Nissan?

It was cool to see THREE EVSEs already installed right there at the dealership! Hopefully I won't have to use them because I have such a short commute (about 22 miles round trip, not counting any side trips).

I'm looking forward to starting the journey that so many of you folks have already taken, so hopefully I'll be able to ask intelligent questions.

Cheers, Bert
 
Hang in there, Bert. (At least you don't have to feel like you're talking to yourself, right?)

Hopefully it's only a matter of time before many others in Alabama have reserved and ordered their LEAFs.

In the meantime, you can stick with us Middle TN folks. Heck, if we get DC fast chargers rolled out by the end of the year, a LEAF meet-up in Huntsville should be feasible (if others are prepared to dedicate an entire day to travel and charging), I believe it's about 100-110 miles midpoint from Smyrna, at least.

Again, great to see you at the TN meetup this weekend, hopefully you will receive some promising updates from Nissan regarding your LEAF and your application to the EVproject.
 
Thank you, it was a real treat to meet you (and everyone else) at the Middle TN LEAF get-together! :)

Was it your card I tried to photograph with my phone? If so, it didn't work -- too fuzzy. :-/ So if you wouldn't mind PM-ing me your contact details, I'd appreciate it. Thank you!

So I've signed up with the EV Project but haven't heard anything back from them yet. They're probably wondering where Alabama is. LOL!

Cheers, Bert
 
Wooo Hoo...!

I can't edit the color on my dashboard any more. Common wisdom on this board says that means my LEAF has been built!
YAY!!! One step closer! :) :) :)

Cheers, Bert
 
(talking to myself some more LOL). I sure hope some more Alabamians join in soon!

Since I saw the "week of" delivery date appear I had a closer look at the specs and realized that a qc port is not standard on the 2012 SV, so I will not qualify for ev project anyway. No problem for me as I had budgeted for a level 2 charger install, and had already made the decision that the QC was not as critical for me as it was for a bunch of folks here. :)

With a round trip commute of 22 miles and only exceeding 50 miles three times in the last 3 months, I do not foresee any problems. :)

cheers, Bert
 
kg4bec said:
(talking to myself some more LOL). I sure hope some more Alabamians join in soon!

Since I saw the "week of" delivery date appear I had a closer look at the specs and realized that a qc port is not standard on the 2012 SV, so I will not qualify for ev project anyway. No problem for me as I had budgeted for a level 2 charger install, and had already made the decision that the QC was not as critical for me as it was for a bunch of folks here. :)

With a round trip commute of 22 miles and only exceeding 50 miles three times in the last 3 months, I do not foresee any problems. :)

cheers, Bert

Haha, at least you can know that I'm reading this! (so you don't have to feel like you are talking to yourself).

Did you end up making a L2 EVSE purchase yet, or are you still shopping around?
 
Not yet although I'm definitely leaning towards the Schneider. Already got the 220v line pulled so it'll be a simple install. You can only get them online at home depot, right? I haven't tried yet but I doubt there's any point going to one of their stores to buy one off the floor?

Cheers, Bert

P.s. BTW thanks for confirming I'm not going mad by talking to myself! LOL!
 
kg4bec said:
Not yet although I'm definitely leaning towards the Schneider. Already got the 220v line pulled so it'll be a simple install. You can only get them online at home depot, right? I haven't tried yet but I doubt there's any point going to one of their stores to buy one off the floor?

Cheers, Bert

P.s. BTW thanks for confirming I'm not going mad by talking to myself! LOL!

That's correct, home depot has the Schneider Electric unit online only with free shipping. It's $799 shipped.

I'm sure there are others that read your message too, just not responses!
 
I read ya, Bert! Only a few more weeks before you are buzzing around in your Leaf, or as my husband calls it, "the conversation piece". Was down in Madison, AL. on Saturday. Had to drive the Titan but hope one day to be able to drive the Leaf all the way down...
 
Hey Jill,

Always good to hear from you! Still waiting patiently for my car.

Wish I'd have known you were so close I'd have jumped in the plane and dropped in. Much quicker to fly there than to Nashville from here. :)

Cheers, Bert
 
G'day again,

It's official! I picked up my glacier perl 2012 SV this afternoon! A friend dropped me off at the dealership and I took her to dinner afterwards in the LEAF. She was impressed. :)

I LOVE THIS CAR! :) :) :)

Cheers, Bert
 
kg4bec said:
G'day again,

It's official! I picked up my glacier perl 2012 SV this afternoon! A friend dropped me off at the dealership and I took her to dinner afterwards in the LEAF. She was impressed. :)

I LOVE THIS CAR! :) :) :)

Cheers, Bert


WOOOHOOO Bert!!!!
Congrats, so this is Leaf # 2 in AL??
Wonder if any more are out there that have not found their way to this board.
WE WANT PICS :)
Dan
 
I'll see what I can do about pics tomorrow as I'll be out and about.

I hope we see more Alabamians get LEAFs too as we can stand to have cleaner air!!! I would have thought folks in the Huntsville area would have snapped these up, but maybe not.

Thanks for the good wishes. I'm expecting many gas-free miles in this car and very much looking forward to that!

Cheers, Bert
 
kg4bec said:
G'day again,

It's official! I picked up my glacier perl 2012 SV this afternoon! A friend dropped me off at the dealership and I took her to dinner afterwards in the LEAF. She was impressed. :)

I LOVE THIS CAR! :) :) :)

Cheers, Bert

Awesome, Bert. I've got a huge smile on my face for you! I can only guess how excited you were when you were headed in to pick it up! Congrats! Can't wait to hear how many test drives you give out for your Alabama friends!
 
Yup, the car wasn't on their lot for even a full day when I went to pick it up! :)

They knew how keen I was to get the car, and when it arrived overnight they put it through the pre inspection and detailing so I could get it right after lunch!

I've already showed her off some at the airport, and more showing off to do over the next week! LOL

Cheers, Bert
 
kg4bec said:
G'day again,

It's official! I picked up my glacier perl 2012 SV this afternoon! A friend dropped me off at the dealership and I took her to dinner afterwards in the LEAF. She was impressed. :)

I LOVE THIS CAR! :) :) :)

Cheers, Bert
Yay! I knew when I opened up the regional threads and saw Birmingham listed near the top that you'd taken delivery (finally) of your Leaf!! Congrats, Bert!! I am sure you will love this car as much as I do. Have fun, enjoy and smile as you drive past the gas stations!
Jill
 
Eleafgrrl said:
Yay! I knew when I opened up the regional threads and saw Birmingham listed near the top that you'd taken delivery (finally) of your Leaf!! Congrats, Bert!! I am sure you will love this car as much as I do. Have fun, enjoy and smile as you drive past the gas stations!
Jill

Hey Jill,

Yes it's been a long wait but well worth it. All the folks I've shown it to have been amazed that it's a 100% electric car. I like to let them try to find the gas filler cap. :)

What a great Christmas present! I'm just looking for excuses to drive it and I feel like a kid again. :). Goofy I know but it's just plain fun to drive. Funny how I've been looking at gas prices as I drive by and then realize that I don't have to worry about that any more!

Cheers, Bert
 
So I finally realized that the L1 charger that comes with the car just isn't cutting it in terms of getting a full charge overnight, mainly because I'm having SO MUCH FUN driving the car! :)

I pulled the trigger on a Schneider L2 220V EVSE earlier this week and it arrived today. It was a simple install and now my LEAF is happily sucking 220V electrons and will charge much much faster now than on L1. I probably could have kept limping on with L1 charging but didn't see the point of beating myself up over it, so I just went ahead and did it. No more range anxiety! :) Thanks to TNLeaf for the recommendation - it's a solid unit and I expect many trouble-free charges with it.

I'm surprised at the interest that this car has generated. Just today when I got back from lunch, a complete stranger asked me if this was the all-electric car and had all kinds of questions. He was impressed. Who knows, maybe it will turn into another sale for my local Nissan dealer.

On another note, some folks don't like it when you drag them off the line at the lights. LOL I was on a local errand and was waiting for my light to turn green. Without thinking, I just accelerated away as I usually do, and typically leave all the cars behind because of the really smooth and solid acceleration. One car apparently didn't like that because he came screaming up behind me, then around me (by going into a turn lane so he could overtake me) and peeled away at full throttle. It was almost like I'd given him a personal insult or something. Anyway, I pay a bit more attention to the traffic behind me now.

Let me say again, THANK YOU to all the folks on this board who have given me a lot of good information about this fantastic car, and most importantly, what to realistically expect vs. what Nissans marketing people say. It's helped me make a really well informed decision on a car that I expect will serve me for many many years. I hope that I can return the favor some day.

Cheers, Bert
 
kg4bec said:
Let me say again, THANK YOU to all the folks on this board who have given me a lot of good information about this fantastic car, and most importantly, what to realistically expect vs. what Nissans marketing people say. It's helped me make a really well informed decision on a car that I expect will serve me for many many years. I hope that I can return the favor some day.

Cheers, Bert

Awesome to hear you are enjoying the car. (And nice pickup on the Schneider Electric EVSE). The above is exactly how I felt after spending much time on the forums here. A great source of information (if you can find it all!) and a lot of good advice.
 
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