New Guy With Leaf

Well, my wife and I ordered a Leaf in October after being told that it would be about four months for the car to be delivered. OK, we thought February or March, that's fine. Then we get the e-mail from Nissan stating that the car is ordered and will be delivered in mid-December. Oh, that's a lot sooner than we thought. Then, a couple of weeks later (on November 12) we get a call from the dealer stating that they have one that the people that ordered it backed out (he called it an "Orphan Car" - how sad sounding ). He said it was the same color (Cayane Red) and the only option we had that this car didn't was the heated seats. He alst said it is an '11 instead of a '12, so it is about $3,500 less. Well, OK, let'e go for it!! So we picked up the car on Tuesday, November 15.

So far we love the car. We do live in the country, but do most of our driving locally. The commute to work for me is about 18 miles each way, so that works well. I am in the process of trying to talk my work into installing a charger.

Since we got the car so quickly, we do not have the 240V charger yet. I called Blink and got on their list (I am not sure we are approved yet), they said we should be able to get the charger installed in about a month (if approved).

I am sure we will have questions, and look forward to the interactions on this Forum.

Regards,
David

Congratulations on your car !!

I'll be getting mine tomorrow..
(With heated seats..in Norway there are no alternative..)

Congratulations on your new family member and the near-record delivery time! Depending on where you live, the heated seats and steering wheel may not be missed; however, you will find threads here on adding seat heaters later if you choose. If you leave home early in the morning for work, being able too turn off the pedestrian warning beeper (the switch was removed for MY2012) may be appreciated by those still asleep.

Probably the most important thing you can pick up from reading the many posts on this forum is to reconsider having the Nissan-affiliated company come out to evaluate your home and install a Blink EVSE ("charger"). While a few people have had satisfactory experiences going this route, it seems to be, far-and-away, the most expensive way to do it. The least expensive way, if you do not already have an unused 240V plug available, is to have your local electrician install one in your garage and then have the EVSE that came with your car upgraded to run on 240V. (Go to http://www.evseupgrade.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false Additional info on that professionally and well-engineered option can easily be found on this forum. If you choose to have a separate wall-mounted unit in the garage so you can take the original unit to work to charge (people grow tired of putting the unit in the trunk each morning), your or your electrician, while putting in the plug, can install one obtained from Home Depot or Lowes, or you can go online. Schneider, GE, Levitron, Blink, and other units are all available. Don't worry about deciding this too fast. Many people drive much farther each day than your commute R/T and satisfactorily recharge at night on 120V.

Congratulations! I have 3700+ miles on my red one, and my wife and I absolutely love this car. With an 18-mile commute, I think you have the perfect commuter car. Don't forget to wave at those gas stations as you drive by.

If you get approved for the free EV Project Blink charger, then it is a no brainer and go with it. Otherwise, as has been stated, there are better options.

countryleaf said:

Since we got the car so quickly, we do not have the 240V charger yet. I called Blink and got on their list (I am not sure we are approved yet), they said we should be able to get the charger installed in about a month (if approved).

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I'll second the recommendation on the EVSE upgrade. It is the only way my car has ever been charged since I took possession at the end of March.

I'd also look into spending some of the $3500 savings on getting aftermarket seat heaters installed. The factory heater is a power hog and you will be far more comfortable with much less power using heated seats. Kits can be had for a couple hundred dollars if you want to do it yourself, and I've seen $300 quoted to someone who was getting leather seats installed. I've not seen a quote for one as a stand alone upgrade, but I bet it is $400-$500.