I have a Leaf, so now what?

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So I may have just had a setback (or setforward??). The Golf's transmission died. I'm not sure if forking over $2,000 for repairing a +500,000 mile car is such a good idea. As of now I'm getting my 1972 Super Beetle running. But I do plan on keeping my eyes open for something a little more modern, unless the charging infrastructure finally decides to catch up first, in which case I'll just keep my Leaf. I don't have much for a down payment, so if I find a car that I just can't pass up either I'll sell or trade in the Leaf or sell the Bug or both or just wait until I've saved enough.
 
IssacZachary said:
So I may have just had a setback (or setforward??). The Golf's transmission died. I'm not sure if forking over $2,000 for repairing a +500,000 mile car is such a good idea. As of now I'm getting my 1972 Super Beetle running. But I do plan on keeping my eyes open for something a little more modern, unless the charging infrastructure finally decides to catch up first, in which case I'll just keep my Leaf. I don't have much for a down payment, so if I find a car that I just can't pass up either I'll sell or trade in the Leaf or sell the Bug or both or just wait until I've saved enough.
Click to expand...

I had a yellow Super :) You'll have to click the link, cannot get the pic to upload

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1MkaSgEWeEnSzMn9dlReonboztgHrvHcW
 
LeftieBiker said:
I hope you have a propane heater for the Beetle!
Click to expand...
No I don't. But I do have
  1. Stock OEM heat exchangers on the exhaust that are covered in heat exchanging fins unlike all cheap aftermarket junk.
  2. I put the engine thermostat back, which I've been told is one of the main reasons people froze in these cars. The thermostat limits air to the engine and directs more air to the heat exchangers and the cabin. It was popular to take the thermostat off your brand new VW back in the day and then complain about heat.
  3. This particular Bug has a nice, hardly used (if ever used) stock auxiliary heater that I am also installing.
 
LeftieBiker said:
How does the auxiliary heater work?
Click to expand...
It has two air circuits with a motor that turns a blower fan in both. In one circuit it draws in outside air, sprays gasoline into it which is ignited by means of a glow plug, then blows the hot exhaust gasses past a heat exchanger, then back out of the car. The other circuit draws air from inside the cabin, blows it through the heat exchanger and then back into the cabin.

The neat thing is that it is independent of the engine, so I can preheat the cabin using less fuel and producing less emissions without idling and wearing out the engine.

Although mine's an antique, Eberspacher still makes these.

https://www.eberspacher.com/products/fuel-operated-heaters/air-heating.html

I had once contemplated on installing a similar unit on my Leaf that uses propane. After all, using fuel for heating can be well over 90% efficient. Much better than using fuel for propulsion.
 
IssacZachary said:
Although mine's an antique, Eberspacher still makes these.

https://www.eberspacher.com/products/fuel-operated-heaters/air-heating.html
Click to expand...
They're the same company that makes the crappy heater that went into the 2011 and 2012 Leaf + (gen 2) Toyota Rav4 EV. Their heaters look like the top unit at https://www.eberspacher.com/products/electrical-heaters.html.

Not sure about whether the PTC heaters in 2013+ Leafs still come from them.
 
cwerdna said:
IssacZachary said:
Although mine's an antique, Eberspacher still makes these.

https://www.eberspacher.com/products/fuel-operated-heaters/air-heating.html
Click to expand...
They're the same company that makes the crappy heater that went into the 2011 and 2012 Leaf + (gen 2) Toyota Rav4 EV. Their heaters look like the top unit at https://www.eberspacher.com/products/electrical-heaters.html.

Not sure about whether the PTC heaters in 2013+ Leafs still come from them.
Click to expand...

Was it the heater to blame or Nissan's lack of insulation? Technically any electric resistance heater is 100% efficient. But if that heat is used to heat the motor compartment instead of the cabin. Then again maybe the unit itself sheds a lot of heat in the motor compartment and not just the metal tubing.
 
Yes, I now seem to remember something about a 'gasoline heater' for the Beetle. I was a Volvo guy, so never learned any more about it. Aside from a '62 P220 wagon that I loved otherwise but didn't heat well despite a 'windowshade' radiator shroud, all of my Volvos had good heaters.

Technically any electric resistance heater is 100% efficient.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that old saw bugs me no end. All electric heaters are "100% efficient" only because any lost energy is in the form of heat, which gets added back in. Heaters actually vary wildly in how effective they are in heating a given space, under varying conditions...
 
IssacZachary said:
LeftieBiker said:
I hope you have a propane heater for the Beetle!
Click to expand...
No I don't. But I do have
  1. Stock OEM heat exchangers on the exhaust that are covered in heat exchanging fins unlike all cheap aftermarket junk.
  2. I put the engine thermostat back, which I've been told is one of the main reasons people froze in these cars. The thermostat limits air to the engine and directs more air to the heat exchangers and the cabin. It was popular to take the thermostat off your brand new VW back in the day and then complain about heat.
  3. This particular Bug has a nice, hardly used (if ever used) stock auxiliary heater that I am also installing.
Click to expand...

Back when I had my Beetles the reason I froze was the salt used on the roads had turned the heat-exchanger shouds into swiss cheese by the time the cars were cheap enough for me to afford them :p . After some work with aluminum pie pans my heating system was brought back up to where you could actually de-ice the windshield after a spirited half-hour drive.
 
IssacZachary said:
cwerdna said:
IssacZachary said:
Although mine's an antique, Eberspacher still makes these.

https://www.eberspacher.com/products/fuel-operated-heaters/air-heating.html
Click to expand...
They're the same company that makes the crappy heater that went into the 2011 and 2012 Leaf + (gen 2) Toyota Rav4 EV. Their heaters look like the top unit at https://www.eberspacher.com/products/electrical-heaters.html.

Not sure about whether the PTC heaters in 2013+ Leafs still come from them.
Click to expand...

Was it the heater to blame or Nissan's lack of insulation? Technically any electric resistance heater is 100% efficient. But if that heat is used to heat the motor compartment instead of the cabin. Then again maybe the unit itself sheds a lot of heat in the motor compartment and not just the metal tubing.
Click to expand...
By crappy, I'm talking about a bunch of things:
- it being a power pig
- it being slow to heat
- it being so expensive to replace due to failure. We've seen some here and a bunch on myrav4ev.com. On the latter, it seems to also often take out the DC to DC converter in the process.
 
SageBrush said:
A Prius Prime is a fair idea since Colorado has a $5,000 refundable tax credit. On top of the $4,250 Federal tax credit (presuming enough tax liability,) the Prime can be inexpensive, under $10k if the LEAF really sells as OP hopes.

I bought mine for $25,500 before local taxes,
Paid $900 to ship it to Colorado from NY
Then paid $1500 TTL
Tax credits totaled $9,250

uc
Click to expand...
I'm leaning now more torwards the Prius Prime the more and more I dig into this.

I'm finding I drive a lot more than I had originally thought. (It doesn't help when your cars don't have working odometers.) I'm going to be doing some 25,000 miles per year. So with the amount of miles I'm driving I started leaning towards a new car (for the first time in my life). So the first thought was a new Honda Fit or Toyota Yaris. Something in the $15,000 to $18,000 range. But if I can get tax credits like those I should be able to make the Prime closer to those figures.

I think my federal tax liability is going to be around $5,000 this year. Other than that, any chance that I won't be able to get either the state or federal tax credits? :?:

The only down side is that it only has 4 seats. But I don't think I could ever swallow the bill on a Chrysler Pacifica plugin hybrid so I might as well settle for the better deal.
 
Toyota has up to $4,000 discounts on the Prime in some of the states on the East coast. You will probably have to shop around though since I imagine that by now the dealerships are aware of the manufacture discounts and want a portion. You will also have to put some work into the shipping to get a good price since you live off the beaten path. You may end up agreeing to meet the shipper some distance from your home and then drive home. That was my approach.

Second, I was able to avoid dealership and NY state registration/paperwork fees by having the dealership load the car directly on to the carrier. I bought a $6 temp registration from my local MVD to drive the car home. The temp registration is only given to cars that are already local so be prepared to lie if asked. The car is not inspected for the temp registration. Do yourself a favor and arrange financing outside of the dealership ahead of time so that you are treated like a cash customer.

Lastly, keep in mind that you will pay more in annual Colorado ownership taxes than you are used to from your old cars. This table is pretty close if not exact:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ch0HtUR3Ba9aFzWG2

Good luck!

P.s., -- TANGENT
I just sold my like new 2013 Honda Fit for $10k
 
SageBrush said:
Toyota has up to $4,000 discounts on the Prime in some of the states on the East coast. You will probably have to shop around though since I imagine that by now the dealerships are aware of the manufacture discounts and want a portion. You will also have to put some work into the shipping to get a good price since you live off the beaten path. You may end up agreeing to meet the shipper some distance from your home and then drive home. That was my approach.

Second, I was able to avoid dealership and NY state registration/paperwork fees by having the dealership load the car directly on to the carrier. I bought a $6 temp registration from my local MVD to drive the car home. The temp registration is only given to cars that are already local so be prepared to lie if asked. The car is not inspected for the temp registration. Do yourself a favor and arrange financing outside of the dealership ahead of time so that you are treated like a cash customer.

Lastly, keep in mind that you will pay more in annual Colorado ownership taxes than you are used to from your old cars. This table is pretty close if not exact:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ch0HtUR3Ba9aFzWG2

Good luck!

P.s., -- TANGENT
I just sold my like new 2013 Honda Fit for $10k
Click to expand...
If I understand this correctly the Colorado Tax Credit can be sent directly to the dealer as part of the payment. Is that what you did?

I'm also seeing a Prime Plus for $28,000 here in Boulder on Cars.com. But elsewhere I see prices as low as $23,000, but I need to check into them and make sure they're not water damaged from flooding in certain states. (I'm paranoid I guess.) Too bad my 60mpg VW diesel no longer is working. That would be a cheap way to get out to the east coast to pick one of these Primes up.

I just sent off the last payment on the Leaf. Hopefully I'll be getting the title soon. I'm going to put it in the paper for $10,000 OBO and see what happens. When I get the 1972 Beetle running I'm also going to put it in the paper for the same price. If I can get at least $7,000 for each that would be great. I'm not so sure how long it will take to sell them though.

I'm also thinking of getting the TCU upgrade done on the Leaf to see if that helps sell it. What do you think?
 
IssacZachary said:
If I understand this correctly the Colorado Tax Credit can be sent directly to the dealer as part of the payment. Is that what you did?
Click to expand...
So far as I know, that is only possible if you buy from a Colorado dealership.
No idea about the TCU upgrade.
 
EVDRIVER said:
Best way to extend the LEAF range is to post it on ebay, then use the proceeds to buy another EV. After hundreds of posts it will become pretty clear.
Click to expand...
So that's what I'm doing. Well, maybe not eBay yet, but it's for sale just about everywhere else. So far my Leaf hasn't sold. I've been offered $5,000, but want at the very least $7,000. Otherwise there's not much point in selling it if I'm practically giving it away for free. Hopefully it sells some time this year, before all EV and Plugin credits are used up. Meanwhile I'm still looking around at Prius Primes and other EV's and Plugin's.
 
IssacZachary said:
EVDRIVER said:
Best way to extend the LEAF range is to post it on ebay, then use the proceeds to buy another EV. After hundreds of posts it will become pretty clear.
Click to expand...
So that's what I'm doing. Well, maybe not eBay yet, but it's for sale just about everywhere else. So far my Leaf hasn't sold. I've been offered $5,000, but want at the very least $7,000. Otherwise there's not much point in selling it if I'm practically giving it away for free. Hopefully it sells some time this year, before all EV and Plugin credits are used up. Meanwhile I'm still looking around at Prius Primes and other EV's and Plugin's.
Click to expand...

If you are limited to $250/ month to pay for car, then you really should not be dreaming up all these car swapping schemes... Only $250 per month will get you nothing in terms of car payments. Keep that $250 per month, enjoy your NO monthly payment cars, and save it..

Take it from an old car guy... ANY TIME you change cars... You get less money than you expected on the sale of the old car, and it costs ALOT more than you expected to get the new car....

You have Leaf that is still very young (50k miles), and an old, money saving beater (that no one would pay you more than $500 for)....

What more could you ask for? Stop looking at the greener grass over your own, very green grass at home.
 
powersurge said:
You have Leaf that is still very young (50k miles), and an old, money saving beater (that no one would pay you more than $500 for)....
Click to expand...
But I don't have an old money saving beater. I have an old money saving beater with no transmission and +500,000 miles on it and a new job that's too far away for the Leaf. So right now I'm not able to drive either. Basically I've temporarily traded cars with my Mom until I can figure something else out. :(

But on the other hand I do appreciate your comment. I'm putting the Leaf up for sale but if in the next 6 months it doesn't sell then I'm keeping it and putting a pusher trailer or battery trailer or solar panels or generator on it. Actually I kind of hope that it doesn't sell and that someone would put in a Level 2 charging station between here and there.

But if it does sell, then $30,000 (Prius Prime) - $8,000 (Leaf) - $2,500 (savings) - $4,500 (federal) - $5,000 (state) = a $10,000 loan, which can be had at $250/month payment + fuel and everything else = around $700 per month average, (about $300 more per month than what I have paid all last year, but at least it would be a running car.) I even have a money work around planed for my taxes so that I can have that money as the downpayment and then reimburse the workaround once I figure out my taxes in early 2019.
 
Can you find someone at work or nearby who will let you pay for an L2 installation and the electricity you use ?
 

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