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MedioXcore

Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2017
Messages
6
Hi everyone. I'm in need of some expert advice. In a month or two, I'll be in the market for a new car to drive to school and back, about 45 miles round trip. After some thought and reaearch (finding out I spent almost $400 in gas last month), I've decided that EV is the way to go. But with that, some slight complications arise. I won't be able to charge at home, but my school does have about 60 charging stations. My initial thought was I could charge it at school, drive home, drive to school, repeat Monday-Friday. Does this sound like a reasonable plan, or will I be living on the edge?

The one that I currently have my eye on, from what I can tell without being in the car, is in fairly good condition. The dash shows the full 12 bars, but I'm skeptical. I plan on going down to check it out soon, and I'll be getting the obdII scanner and leafspy. Thanks in advance for the help.

Edit to add: the leaf will NOT be my only vehicle. I WILL be keeping the car I have now as a family wagon.
 
I dunno man. I don't want to talk you out of it, but if you really won't be able to charge at home AT ALL (no trickle charge, even?), then if you miss even a single day of charging at school, I think you'd be really pushing it.

Would you have another car to borrow just in case? If you have a backup plan like that, then I'd feel much better about it if I were in your shoes.

Edit: Another thought, what would you do if you wanted to drive around on the weekends and used up the rest of your charge? 'No home charging' seems like it adds a lot of risk to the equation.
 
I cannot see someone buying an electric car an not charging at home... Home is where you have the time and the place to do what you need to your car... If you live in an apartment, and cannot charge a car because you park it in the neighborhood, then you SHOULD NOT get an EV. Period. The only way I could see someone doing this is if there is a charging station within walking or bicycle distance of your house. Otherwise, ... you are out of luck..

When you are in an apartment, you have convenience, but give up room and not being able to have tools and stuff for your car. I did that for years until I got my house. THEN you can keep tools, jacks, compressors... AND AN EV CHARGER..
 
I will be keeping my primary car for the family wagon, so I'll definitely have a back up. The charging situation at home is kinda weird. I live with my mother in law, and probably will until I finish school. (The GI Bill is great, but there's some uncertainty in relying on it) To say my mother in law is peculiar is an understatement. When we moved in, she hadn't used her brand new dishwasher because she believed it would explode. So, I could probably sneak a charge every now and then when she's at work, but relying on it being my primary charging point is a no go.
 
I cannot connect 45 miles a day for 5 days a week with a $400 gas bill

Say $400 is 133 gallons
1000 miles a month

7-8 miles a gallon ??

Either:
You drive a hummer and the solution is to swap into a normal car;
Or you drive a lot more than reported and a LEAF is not going to serve you well.

Personally ? I would not buy a LEAF if it was my only car. As it is we have one EV and one regular, high MPG car.
 
our car is a VW Routan, and it's also our only car at the moment. The gas bill includes weekend driving, but average gas is $2.80/ gallon now, and I'm filling it up at least twice a week. 16 gallons at $2.80/g puts me around $45 each fill up. I believe if it wasn't our everyday vehicle, we would only refuel once every other week.
 
MedioXcore said:
Aussie said:
Where do you live?

Riverside, California

Another consideration for you is that hot climates cause battery degradation. You're not as bad as those of us in Dallas / Phoenix etc but you will see some pretty hefty degradation over summer. If I had my time over again I probably wouldn't get a leaf due to this factor (fortunately I'm moving to Seattle soon so it will be a moot point).
 
Aussie said:
MedioXcore said:
Aussie said:
Where do you live?

Riverside, California

Another consideration for you is that hot climates cause battery degradation. You're not as bad as those of us in Dallas / Phoenix etc but you will see some pretty hefty degradation over summer. If I had my time over again I probably wouldn't get a leaf due to this factor (fortunately I'm moving to Seattle soon so it will be a moot point).


There is that, which is a concern.
 
You might be happier with either a Volt or a Prius PHEV. The former might make your commute in EV mode, and the latter gets 60MPG even when not charged, and 70+MPG for the first 100 miles when charged..
 
LeftieBiker said:
You might be happier with either a Volt or a Prius PHEV. The former might make your commute in EV mode, and the latter gets 60MPG even when not charged, and 70+MPG for the first 100 miles when charged..

The Volt is on my short list of prospects, but the price and I don't agree so much.
 
MedioXcore said:
Hi everyone. I'm in need of some expert advice. In a month or two, I'll be in the market for a new car to drive to school and back, about 45 miles round trip. After some thought and reaearch (finding out I spent almost $400 in gas last month), I've decided that EV is the way to go. But with that, some slight complications arise. I won't be able to charge at home, but my school does have about 60 charging stations. My initial thought was I could charge it at school, drive home, drive to school, repeat Monday-Friday. Does this sound like a reasonable plan, or will I be living on the edge?

The one that I currently have my eye on, from what I can tell without being in the car, is in fairly good condition. The dash shows the full 12 bars, but I'm skeptical. I plan on going down to check it out soon, and I'll be getting the obdII scanner and leafspy. Thanks in advance for the help.

Edit to add: the leaf will NOT be my only vehicle. I WILL be keeping the car I have now as a family wagon.

Just charging at school, no. That might work for the most part, but there's a chance you could come up short. However, I checked the plugshare app and there are plenty of L2 and DCQC in the Riverside area (does the car have DCQC port?). With those to use for auxiliary charging, I think it is viable. An EVgo membership might be a plus though.
 
I think Gen 1 Prius PHEVs are pretty cheap these days.
Or just buy a used Honda Fit :)
We get about 40 mpg in mixed driving.
 
The LEAF is not a good fit for someone who can't plug in at home. Neither is the Volt, but at least you would have some flexibility. There's a roughly $4,000 price difference between used Volts and LEAFs of similar age and miles and equipment, so to get the same Volt for the same price, you'll need to find a high-mileage Volt, but even high-mileage Volt's aren't bad- they hold up very well with high miles and show little noticeable battery capacity loss.

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/690770715/overview/
 
I think Gen 1 Prius PHEVs are pretty cheap these days.

Just to avoid confusion, it's the PHEV version of the Gen 3 Prius. There are some Gen 2 Priuses with aftermarket plug-in conversions, but they mainly use lots of big, SLA batteries. The Gen 1 looked like a Tercel, which it largely was, and wasn't, AFAIK, converted to PHEV by anyone.
 
MedioXcore said:
I will be keeping my primary car for the family wagon, so I'll definitely have a back up. The charging situation at home is kinda weird. I live with my mother in law, and probably will until I finish school. (The GI Bill is great, but there's some uncertainty in relying on it) To say my mother in law is peculiar is an understatement. When we moved in, she hadn't used her brand new dishwasher because she believed it would explode. So, I could probably sneak a charge every now and then when she's at work, but relying on it being my primary charging point is a no go.


Understatement is an understatement! I'd talk to the next door neighbor and run a hefty charge cord from their house so you can level I charge at least. If that works out, I'd move in with them! Pay twice the going electric rate and they'll be happy. Also, shop wisely, you can many times get a new battery under warranty with the 2013 model - little late for most 2012's.
 
I bought a 2013 leaf SL with a 52 mile round trip commute and usually I only charge at work with L2 chargers there. I plug in at home over the weekend to keep the gas cars off the road. so far it hasn't been a problem. The only thing I can think of would be if there is a power outage at work, then i'd have to drive to a charging station or Nissan dealership to top off. i'd say a 45 mile round trip keeps you pretty safe, because you can pretty easily make 3 trips, and emergency plug in at home after the third trip in that case.

just be sure to scan the car with a leafspy and make sure the battery is 91-92% SOH. my car was from California and at 27k had 93% still.

Marko
 
I want to buy an electric car but need some advice about whether it would be wise for me to do so. I am 62 years old, work part-time with an average daily driving habit of 10 miles or less. I am on very limited income so cannot afford to choose my next car foolishly. It has to last me a long time. I loved the Leaf when I drove it and there are many used ones for sale at dealerships here in eastern Washington state. The price for one is within my budget. I seldom go out of town, don't use the interstate highway. Don't have a garage and only have regular household charging capacity. I have a 1991 Mazda B2600 pick-up that I could keep. Don't want the expense of insuring 2 vehicles, but could do it for a while if need be. I am a single woman with just enough car knowledge to be dangerous to myself! Got any advice for me? Appreciate it.
 
As long as you set up a safe, reliable way to charge at home*, and choose a low mileage Leaf in great shape, you should be fine.




* This can be an outdoor outlet with no other electrical loads on it, on a 15 or 20 amp circuit, in excellent shape, with a heavy-duty 12 gauge outdoor-rated extension cord, if needed. Make sure the extension cord and charging cable won't get stepped on or ridden/driven over. You should also make a weather-proof case for the car's charging cable "power brick." A $5 plastic storage box with a tight sealing lid, slightly modified, would work fine. The idea is to keep the weather away from both the plug connection with the house or extension cord, and also away from the rectangular box on the charging cable, even though that is water-resistant. I also suggest a $25 wall-mount charging plug dummy receptacle, to hold the charging plug off the ground when not in use. You don't want to have to put the charging cable (called an "EVSE") away after every charge.
 
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