Anybody thinking about trading in their 2011 Leaf?

[debbieandpatrick]

Have been debating whether to trade our 2011 in on a newer model or keep it long term. Those heated seats in our other leased 2013 Leaf are pretty nice, faster charging on 200-level, etc. But the 2011 is nearly paid for, batteries are still great, only 26K miles, etc. Wondering what others are thinking along these lines? We're on Oregon coast, so easy climate on batteries.

 

[smkettner]

Not trading for another LEAF.

 

[camasleaf]

We will keep the 2011 until the range drops below what I need for my comute. Right now I need about 20 miles RT. That could change to 60 miles RT with L2 at work. It is paid for. The leased 2012 we will not keep, and a new Leaf decision will depend on battery price and range.

 

[ColumbiaRiverGorge]

I am hoping to keep the LEAF until I no longer have enough battery capacity to make it home from work. Hopefully by then the Tesla E will be available for my family.

 

[ebill3]

My wife and I are retired. Since the Tesla arrived, the LEAF doesn't see near as much use as before. Plan to hang on to it until, well, don't really have a plan.

 

[Wennfred]

Will trade mine in for the Model E.


Fred

 

[debbieandpatrick]

Thanks for replies, I was also thinking about that Tesla E on the horizon, but doubt the 2011 Leaf will be worth much then to trade in. Still, the gas savings have been phenomenal to date and it's perfect for running up and down the coast. The SV will go back at the end of the lease--miss that back-up camera.

 

[RonDawg]

I say keep the car until the battery is no longer usable for your needs, and/or the car becomes unreliable for some reason. Yeah it won't be worth much by the time you get that Tesla, but it's lost quite a bit of value by now anyway.

Since you said the '13 is going back at lease end, the '11 can become your secondary car. It's also nice not having to make car payments.

 

[TomT]

I will not be trading. When the lease is up in early 2015, I'll decide then what I am going to do but keeping the present car is not an option. Unless there is a significant development by then, I'll likely exercise my Tesla X reservation, or perhaps go an entirely different direction altogether depending on what is available then...

Not trading for another LEAF.

 

[Christopher]

Well I just upgraded from my 2011 LEAF last week and I'm having a blast with my leased RAV4 EV:
http://crimdom.net/2013/10/brought-home-a-tesla/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Tesla Model S and X are too big and I was impatient waiting for the Model E or something new from Nissan (particularly with all these Model S's driving around Silicon Valley now) so this will be a lot of fun until the next generation battery/vehicles come out!

 

[rickbecker]

I just ordered a Model S so my LEAF will be sold.

 

[kubel]

I'll probably be trading in my 2012 at the end of its 38 month lease and will probably buy a used LEAF with a good battery (unless by some miracle they cut me a deal to buy out my current car, unlikely though). Then once the Tesla Model E comes out, I'll get one of those.

The LEAF is merely a stepping stone to better technology and a better way to buy a car (screw dealerships) from a better company.

That's not to trash the LEAF. Even knowing the limitations on the battery, I'd still rather be driving this car than 99% of the gas cars out there (that are within my budget).

 

[hbleaf]

the 2011 ocean blue is paid for and only 24500 miles on it. Still charges up and gives us 80 useable miles, sometimes more sometimes less. Perfect for our uses I prefer the older wheels Its a keeper.

Steve

 

[cgaydos]

Have been debating whether to trade our 2011 in on a newer model or keep it long term. Those heated seats in our other leased 2013 Leaf are pretty nice, faster charging on 200-level, etc. But the 2011 is nearly paid for, batteries are still great, only 26K miles, etc. Wondering what others are thinking along these lines? We're on Oregon coast, so easy climate on batteries.

You can add aftermarket seat heaters to the 2011 - search here for discussions on that.

Otherwise it's true that the 2013 has a number of improvements over the 2011. But the 2011 has the ability to defeat the backup beep. I know it seems like a small thing, but often I find myself choosing our 2011 over our 2012 for that reason alone.

 

[thankyouOB]

i will be keeping the 2011 LEAF for some time. it does my commute in a back stroke, and with charging at work, it doesnt even strain on the 25-mile one-way trip.
i would like to use it to do roundtrips of 68 miles for some occasional tasks, such as going to the theater. i havent tested it in that arena for a bit.
but overall, i think it is running fine with 31k and 12 bars. the coastal climate, where the temp never gets over 6 bars, kisses the battery.
i am lucky to have that, and know it.
my biggest problem: whether to get new wipers or just inserts.

 

[garygid]

If good wiper inserts are available, why get the whole
wiper blade assembly, unless it is better in some way,
and not much more expensive?

Of course, the whole wiper blade assembly might
be easier/faster to install.

My original wipers, with very little use, are rather
streaky... what is better, plesse?

 

[Kelangst]

Well I traded my 2011 for the 2013SL. I didn't get nearly the lease deal that others got, but I am exceptionally happy. It has all of the bells and whistles, and just makes me smile to drive it. My other one had lost enough capacity to start making my daily commute stressful. At 47 miles each way with many elevation changes, it was frankly pushing it to get home. For me, this was a great decision as I had missed some of the refinements and felt myself drawn to that Tesla. I feel like this one provides me enough of that luxury feel combined with all the things that are necessary, and just enough bump on the level 2 charging to make it feel perfect. I was having to use the quick charger 3-4 times a month, so hopefully that will go away for the next year or so.

Extremely happy with the choice- but as this forum demonstrates, we all have different lifestyles, distances, and finances to consider. No one right or wrong choice.

Have to say my kid is happy I didn't put the big decals all over this one.

 

[TickTock]

I plan to drive my 2011 until it falls apart. Once it is out of warranty the real mods can begin ;-). The leaf has great potential as a sleeper, IMO (already kind-of is).

 

[JimSouCal]

I plan to drive my 2011 until it falls apart. Once it is out of warranty the real mods can begin ;-). The leaf has great potential as a sleeper, IMO (already kind-of is).

Feel the same way here, but the near double charge capacity of the 13 has some great allure after sitting a few charge sessions out to finish my run. OTOH, newer future technology implementations seem to point toward a MUCH greater improvement, and if the L3 charger rollout continues, it won't be that big a deal. The range of the Tesla S is pretty adequate...

 

[mwalsh]

I'm keeping my 2011, barring something unfortunate happening to it. After all, I've just got it where I want it, with all my mods. I'll work around the diminishing range.