Chicagoland area

[lukati]

shouldn't be long now!

Real close. My dealer called this afternoon. The car arrived at their lot on Saturday afternoon. They prepped and charged it up today, and it is now ready for pick-up. Can't do it tomorrow, but come Wednesday I'll be driving a LEAF!

 

[lukati]

Picked up today. Car looked great, cold drive home 79 miles with no heater the whole way, my feet about froze but my forehead was sweating about halfway home when the car started saying I could not make it and it was pouring off for the last 4 miles when the distance to empty was ---.

I am picking up tomorrow, followed by a long and cold 65 miles trip home. At what speed did you drive these 79 miles? I am thinking of going surface streets the whole way, although there are some not so great neighborhoods on the way.

 

[dutchinchicago]

Still radio silence from Nissan so I called them today.

Apparently they successfully changed my dealer to Mid City Nissan but then my original dealer final got certified and now they have to transfer it back to the Martin Nissan. they do not know when this will happen.

I am worried that I will not get this car this year and miss my Illinois rebate and it means I have to wait a year on the federal rebate.

I phoned Martin Nissan but as usual my salesperson was not there. If she is there she is with a customer or on the phone. I send several e-mails regarding EL plates but no reply. Hopefully I can get hold of her later today.

Maybe by the time I get my car the 2013 version is out with the contact less charger.

Paul

 

[radryan]

Picked up today. Car looked great, cold drive home 79 miles with no heater the whole way, my feet about froze but my forehead was sweating about halfway home when the car started saying I could not make it and it was pouring off for the last 4 miles when the distance to empty was ---.

I am picking up tomorrow, followed by a long and cold 65 miles trip home. At what speed did you drive these 79 miles? I am thinking of going surface streets the whole way, although there are some not so great neighborhoods on the way.

75% were highway miles I started at 58 miles an hour and when the range started dropping about halfway thru I backed off to 52 miles and hour. Did most on crusie control but with about 25 miles to go I started turn off cruise to go up and down hills so I could limit power on the way up and get some speed and regen on the way down.

 

[dutchinchicago]

Spoke to my sales person at Martin Nissan. She is getting on the 20th but they are not for me. She does not think that my car will be arriving this year.

This sucks. My car has been in port since the end of November and was supposed to be delivered on the 5th of December.

 

[bigtlb]

My dealer called to tell me he had the VIN and is anticipating Dec 23rd delivery.

My dashboard still says Dec 20th.

I told him I would be out of town until the 28th, but I definitely wanted to pick it up before the end of the year. He said they could prep the paper work for 2011, in case I didn't pick it up until Jan.

I don't know if this is shady or not, or if your dealer might do this.

 

[lukati]

75% were highway miles I started at 58 miles an hour and when the range started dropping about halfway thru I backed off to 52 miles and hour. Did most on crusie control but with about 25 miles to go I started turn off cruise to go up and down hills so I could limit power on the way up and get some speed and regen on the way down.

Thanks for the information! It looks like the temperatures will be just around freezing during my trip tomorrow. No precipitation in the weather forecast, so this should be doable.

 

[kmp647]

Dress warm

Use the set heater and heated wheel

Use main heater only when you are sure you will make it home

 

[EdmondLeaf]

18F to work 22F back mostly highway still 4 mpe on 60RT. I do not believe seat heater, wheel heater so important for that weather because winter coat, wish there is foot heater. Only problem my feet are cold, but will try to figure out something

 

[prolix74]

Spoke to my sales person at Martin Nissan. She is getting on the 20th but they are not for me. She does not think that my car will be arriving this year.

This sucks. My car has been in port since the end of November and was supposed to be delivered on the 5th of December.

Ouch, that is tough. Although we are not in a coastal state, there should be no problem with getting a car from any port in the country within a week.

I am wondering if one of those cars coming on the 20th is mine since that is what my dashboard says. I will try to get a hold of Olga at Martin Nissan to confirm. However, I would not be surprised if I was in the same boat as you (pun intended).

 

[bigtlb]

My dashboard says week of Dec 22nd this morning.

 

[dutchinchicago]

Has anyone already completed their illinois vehicle rebate form?

What did you do for:

3.A copy of the manufacturer’s MSRP window sticker or other document that shows the total cost of the vehicle or “upcharge” of the alternate fuel vehicle or engine compared to the conventional model (if applicable). Note: An E85 FFV engine that is listed as part of an “upgrade package” with other add-on options reflected as one overall cost amount on the MSRP sticker is not acceptable. The MSRP information must distinctly itemize the additional cost of the E85 FFV engine, separate from other add-on options. Please contact the Illinois EPA for assistance on whether a new E85 FFV purchase is eligible for a Vehicle Rebate.

For proof of payment did you use an invoice marked as paid?

 

[radryan]

Has anyone already completed their illinois vehicle rebate form?

For proof of payment did you use an invoice marked as paid?

Yes and Yes made them mark the bill of sale as paid.

 

[redLEAF]

Has anyone already completed their illinois vehicle rebate form?

For proof of payment did you use an invoice marked as paid?

Yes and Yes made them mark the bill of sale as paid.

As IL EPA only processes these two times per year (12/31 and 6/30) be aware that if you don't send them in before year end you'll need to wait until mid-year before they'll process again, but need to send it in within one-year of purchase -- think the check comes within 60 to 90 days of acceptance by them but as always check their site (which is subject to change):

http://www.illinoisgreenfleets.org/fuels/index.html

For those that already sent in for registering for EL plates, did you include the 'affirmation of electric vehicle' form along with photos or has the IL SOS and EPA shared information that the LEAF is a legitimate electric vehicle? I would think this old form (which was really designed for EV conversions) would no longer be necessary with all the LEAF's publicity but would hate not sending it holding up getting your EL plates ... I mentioned this form months ago as we were all waiting until the cars came in as I hope to see mine this weekend:

 

[Ramesh]

1) We did send in the Illinois Rebate forms the day after completing our purchase. No idea as to when we could expect payment. Our dealer did not have an inkling about the "EL" plates or any special rates that would apply. We passed on the information that we had but did ask them to specifically mention that the car is electric and not a hybrid - will wait and see what happens.
2) Nissan needs to do a better job educating their dealers as they appeared clueless about the capabilities or special needs of an electric car. Why assign cars to a dealer who is not vested in the process?
3) 1st Impressions after driving the car for 3 days
a) Great little car. It just moves and moves well
b) Frightfully cluttered dashboard, too many icons/ bars/ graphs. I want a car and not the cockpit of a B-1 Bomber. Simplicity be thy name
c) Why have 2 clocks in the car - one for the GPS/NAV and one for the Car itself and of course they do not synchronize.
d) The controls for the dashboard really need to be rethought- too many menus to be truly user friendly. The trip computer doubles as the menu button etc...
e) Nissan threw in a few environmentally friendly carrying bags.
f) So far have driven it 55 miles but the battery charge indicator has dropped only 10 miles. Not sure if it will suddenly dive by 45 the next time i start up?
g) The Carwings App for the IPhone - not that excited about it.
h) The Master Warning Light - Red Triangle with an exclamation mark is meant for serious issues - right? Wrong - If you don't buckle up the Master Warning Light remains on.
i) In most cases if you change any settings on the car, they seem to take effect only after a complete shutdown and re-start of the car. Maybe i just have it wrong but it appears so.
j) Our Insurance Company - State Farm does not have the Leaf in their system and could not provide us with an insurance quote or cards. Anyone else run into a similar problem?

 

[redLEAF]

1) We did send in the Illinois Rebate forms the day after completing our purchase. No idea as to when we could expect payment. Our dealer did not have an inkling about the "EL" plates or any special rates that would apply. We passed on the information that we had but did ask them to specifically mention that the car is electric and not a hybrid - will wait and see what happens.
2) Nissan needs to do a better job educating their dealers as they appeared clueless about the capabilities or special needs of an electric car. Why assign cars to a dealer who is not vested in the process?
3) 1st Impressions after driving the car for 3 days
a) Great little car. It just moves and moves well
b) Frightfully cluttered dashboard, too many icons/ bars/ graphs. I want a car and not the cockpit of a B-1 Bomber. Simplicity be thy name
c) Why have 2 clocks in the car - one for the GPS/NAV and one for the Car itself and of course they do not synchronize.
d) The controls for the dashboard really need to be rethought- too many menus to be truly user friendly. The trip computer doubles as the menu button etc...
e) Nissan threw in a few environmentally friendly carrying bags.
f) So far have driven it 55 miles but the battery charge indicator has dropped only 10 miles. Not sure if it will suddenly dive by 45 the next time i start up?
g) The Carwings App for the IPhone - not that excited about it.
h) The Master Warning Light - Red Triangle with an exclamation mark is meant for serious issues - right? Wrong - If you don't buckle up the Master Warning Light remains on.
i) In most cases if you change any settings on the car, they seem to take effect only after a complete shutdown and re-start of the car. Maybe i just have it wrong but it appears so.
j) Our Insurance Company - State Farm does not have the Leaf in their system and could not provide us with an insurance quote or cards. Anyone else run into a similar problem?

For# 1 -- as you can register the LEAF as either with EL (electric vehicle) or regular plates hopefully IL SOS will notice but without specifically asking for them it's anyone's guess; as mentioned earlier on the forum, EL plates run for two years at $35, regular plates run $99

For #2 -- agreed, but the last rep I had (who has since left my dealer) was actually trained by Nissan about many aspects of EV's and was actually fairly knowledgeable; will see how their replacement does

For the rest, will have to wait and see myself (except #3 j -- we use Allstate and they have the LEAF on their database, will cost us actually the same as the car it's replacing (which is six model years old) so we're pleased)

 

[radryan]

On the plates the SOS indicated that they did not need photos or affirmation.

On State Farm, they do have rates for EV’s but it needs to be quoted thru the underwriting department. So your agent needs to contact the underwriting department to complete the quote.

As far as dealer participation, I would say your experience is going to vary. But it does not surprise me if the experience is less than satisfactory. The order process is different than any other car so that haven't learned it(if they have typically only a few people at the dealership know the process since it is like 3 or 4 cars a month) and they do not have control over many parts of it so they often dislike working with it. Also, from a sales person perspective they would much rather sell you something today and get their money today than wait 4 months until your order comes in. I worked with the Sales manager first and then got passed to a Sales person for delivery, I don't know for sure but I am thinking that may impact the amount of commission the sales person gets.

After all that I will say this, selling at MSRP there should be some profit in the car for the dealer and I am guessing that it is more profit than if they sold you another Nissan on the lot at invoice, also the dealer has made some investment to be leaf certified. I make these points to say somebody at the dealership should care about this profit and if you go high enough I think they would get invested in the process or find someone who is. Just don't know if high enough is Sales Manager or General Manager

 

[lukati]

This is my hundredth post, and YES I have a Leaf charging in my garage as I am typing this.

I bought mine at Hove Nissan in Bradley. As I stated in a previous post, I contacted every Leaf certified sales manager in Illinois and had substantial conversations with quite a few of them before I RAQed. I chose Hove because Julie was very knowledgeable about the car and the ordering process and she offered to sell at $500 below MSRP. I had one other offer at that price, but the level of enthusiasm and knowledge just wasn't comparable. Throughout the process, Julie and RJ (the Leaf point person) were just great. No carsalesmenese. Today's transaction was very enjoyable and totally smooth. I can highly recommend Hove to anyone looking for a dealer.

The trip home was a bit chilly toward the end (I preheated at Hove and did not use regular heat), but never uncomfortable. I had packed long underwear, gloves, and a hat, but never needed it. The range was a non-issue. I used cruise control at 40-50 mph depending on the type of road and averaged 4.9 miles/kWh. Toward the end I used the seat/steering wheel heater and drove ~69 miles total. I arrived home with an estimated SOC of 25%, three bars, and 27 miles on the DTE display.

Thanks everybody for great suggestions and good wishes. This car is a keeper.

 

[fishfool]

Chicagoland Pioneers,

I see some of y'all are taking delivery, Horay for your patience. I am a Chicago native. My leaf is in Tennessee. I noticed a question about Chargepoint a while back. I have a Chargepoint RFID even though the area where I use the Leaf only has one public charger on the Chargepoint network(most down here are Blink network). I would recommend getting card since most public chargers in the Chicago area are on the Chargepoint network. Someone said the card requires a $25 deposit, when I signed up the card was $4.95. They were very slow to send card. One day I tried to use a Chargepoint charger, since I didn't have the card yet so I called the CS #. It appears the CS is out of India. They couldn't find the charger to activate it for my use. Since then I have gotten 2 cards and used a Chargepoint charger by swiping card(charging is free for now). So if you plan on using public chargers I would sign up for the RFID card before you need it.

I was biking/shopping in Chicago yesterday so I thought I would look for chargers in parking lots. The Whole Foods near me is on the network map. I asked in the store, Where is the electic car charger?" Whole Foods CS said they didn't have any. I decided to scout around where the map indicated a charger. Sure enough they had two chargers. One of the chargers was ICE'd. That's a acronym you may be using more often now that you are an EV driver.

Anyway have fun being in the EV vanguard. Chicago is just starting the EV learning curve from what I observe.

 

[lukati]

One of the chargers was ICE'd. That's a acronym you may be using more often now that you are an EV driver

Greetings to the South. I drive past a Walgreens on my way to work every day. I noticed on my first electric drive yesterday that it had two chargers installed and checked them out. Now that I know where they are I can see them from the road as I am passing by. Both were ICE'd this morning.