lorenfb said:
Given your expressed negativity toward Nissan and their batteries, I think based on the BEV
knowledge you've acquired since your Leaf purchase, you'd still have made the same '13 Leaf purchase, right? Surely you feel that your
Leaf ROI will be positive over time.
I have explained this before. Don't you read every one of my posts !?
Our LEAF purchase is likely to be a fantastic value and experience. It also has a laundry list of caveats that make my LEAF far from anything approaching a normal ownership experience.
1. I paid $7,000 net after tax credits, excluding Colorado TT&L
2. I found a dealership willing to let me choose the car in his inventory with the best LeafSpy results and I did not have to worry about a reset
3. The car is never asked to go further than 45 miles between charges (and that has been voluntary for all but 3 trips in 15 months), and typical use is 10-15 miles a day. We also have another car without range limitations.
4. I baby, baby, baby the car. Anything you can think of to prolong battery life, I do it. And more. For one example, since coming into ownership of the car, it has never been parked on hot, sun exposed asphalt in the summer. We find a shaded space and walk to our destination.
5. I live in a cool climate
6. I don't have any concerns about being a victim of a rapacious and/or ignorant dealership or god-awful Corporate Nissan. If push comes to shove the car goes to the junkyard. It was cheap enough that every day it continues to fulfill its assigned tasks is gravy.
So you see, I was able to buy my proven low degradation LEAF for a song, and she lives the life of a pampered princess. Within the constraints of a *very* sheltered life, our LEAF does great, the monthly TCO is pennies, and the acquisition cost was almost ridiculous.
OF COURSE I am delighted with our LEAF. It fills a niche need with aplomb. Now ask me how I would feel if had acted on another impulse at the time: Buying a $25k 30 kWh LEAF for my 90 mile work commute, only to find out that range had degraded too much in 24 months to keep using the car for that purpose; and moreover that it had depreciated some $15k in the meantime. My negative impression of the LEAF has nothing to do with my anecdotal, unusual experience, but the likelihood that a high fraction of buyers will face the scenario (or one similar) I avoided by a hair and NIssan Corporate will tell any caller to go jump.
A LEAF bought or leased without *huge* discounts off MSRP is horrible value because of the inability of the battery to provide more than a few years of service at anything approaching new car range unless the car lives in a cold climate. I know it; you know it; and potential buyers who come to this website should come away so informed. In summary, the battery sucks and Nissan corporate is below contempt but those things may not matter and the LEAF may be the car for you if it is cheap enough and demands on the car are within its limited abilities.