Does having a Leaf as 3rd car make sense?

[tonytone]

Does it makes sense to lease the Leaf as a 3rd car if the first two cars I have do not offer good gas mileage. I currently SUV for the baby and a 2 seat sports car I use for the 40 mile commute to work. Would getting a Leaf makes sense or should I just continue to drive the 2 sports car? The money I save on gas almost pays for the LEAF's electricity, insurance and monthly payments.

We have solar so I'd like to try out an electric car like the Leaf before a more sensible electric car is made by Tesla for $30k.

Will look into the 24 month lease at Boardwalk Nissan for $87/month.

 

[Stanton]

I had a similar situation to you (SUV and Mini) and bought a Leaf: the Leaf now gets the majority of the miles (~1000/month). The Leaf is "mine" and I kept the Mini Cooper for the kids to drive.

 

[davewill]

Is that 40 mile commute one-way or round trip? The standard around here is to simply state it as a daily number of miles, but you make it sound like it's 40 miles one way. If you actually have an 80 mile commute, and don't have reliable charging at work, I'd say the LEAF won't work for you.

 

[apvbguy]

Does it makes sense to lease the Leaf as a 3rd car if the first two cars I have do not offer good gas mileage. I currently SUV for the baby and a 2 seat sports car I use for the 40 mile commute to work. Would getting a Leaf makes sense or should I just continue to drive the 2 sports car? The money I save on gas almost pays for the LEAF's electricity, insurance and monthly payments.

We have solar so I'd like to try out an electric car like the Leaf before a more sensible electric car is made by Tesla for $30k.

Will look into the 24 month lease at Boardwalk Nissan for $87/month.

if you cannot recharge at work the leaf could not be a dependable commuter, 40 miles each way, 80 miles r/t is just a bit too far without some charging

 

[smkettner]

No it makes no sense because LEAF will be first or second..... not the third car.
You will probably get bored with the sports car as long as the commute is 40mi round trip.
Possibly if you stop at one or two you will also soon trade out the SUV.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

I would do this, but where I live insurance costs way more than gas, making it prohibitive to keep an extra car. So we keep the old minivan and just drive it as little as possible. Maybe where you are insurance is cheaper.

 

[thankyouOB]

as they say on TV, show me the money.
it is all about the bank account. why would it NOT make sense if you are bucks up?

 

[KillaWhat]

I ordered the leaf back in 2010, and at that point I had a plan.
By the time it showed up in 2012, the plan was in the toilet.

Like a couple others on here, we have a 2012 suburban, a 2011 Audi S3 TDI, and the Leaf.

The wife wound up with the 42+ MPG Audi, and I wound up quite happy with the leaf after I upgraded a few things.

A year later, I'm still getting a kick out of this car.

 

[leafedbehind]

Does it makes sense to lease the Leaf as a 3rd car if the first two cars I have do not offer good gas mileage. I currently SUV for the baby and a 2 seat sports car I use for the 40 mile commute to work. Would getting a Leaf makes sense or should I just continue to drive the 2 sports car? The money I save on gas almost pays for the LEAF's electricity, insurance and monthly payments.

We have solar so I'd like to try out an electric car like the Leaf before a more sensible electric car is made by Tesla for $30k.

Will look into the 24 month lease at Boardwalk Nissan for $87/month.

You mentioned Boardwalk so I assume you are in NorCal. I don't know what their lease deal is for 3 years, but a 3-year lease will get you the $2500 CA rebate, while the 2-year won't. Also, 3 years I think is a more likely timeframe for a "LEAF killer" from Tesla.

You don't mention what the downpayment is, or the lease mileage limit. 80 miles a day would blow past 12,000 miles/year easily. Even if you meant 40 miles round trip, you'd probably exceed 12,000 miles per year.

 

[RonDawg]

Will look into the 24 month lease at Boardwalk Nissan for $87/month.

You mentioned Boardwalk so I assume you are in NorCal. I don't know what their lease deal is for 3 years, but a 3-year lease will get you the $2500 CA rebate, while the 2-year won't.

I am increasingly finding that the 2 year lease deals are rivaling if not outperforming the 3 year ones on a cents per mile basis, even when that rebate is factored in.

You don't mention what the downpayment is, or the lease mileage limit. 80 miles a day would blow past 12,000 miles/year easily. Even if you meant 40 miles round trip, you'd probably exceed 12,000 miles per year.

On an average 5 day work week, 40 miles per day x 5 days per week x 52 weeks per year is only 10,400 miles. Plus he still has 2 other cars to drive if he finds himself exceeding his mileage allotments.

 

[Cheezmo]

I got the Leaf as my first car. It quickly became my 3rd (daughter uses it) but only because 2 Volts stepped in front of it. We have a 4th car, a Mercedes SUV that sits in the driveway and drains its 12V battery. I have to recharge the 12V in the SUV as often as we buy gas for the Volts (if not moreso).

In my experience if you get an EV it will not be your "3rd car". You will look for ways to drive the gas cars as little as possible.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I would use it to commute at least half the time to insure you max out your lease mileage. at least that is what I am going to do. I will pay for extra miles but plan to be less than a few hundred if I can help it.

80 mile commute is a challenge but one that can be done easily if you are willing to slow it down. as to whether it makes sense? you don't provide enough details for me to evaluate that question. is your current car piling on too many miles? at 80 mile a day 5 days a week, I am guessing that is a yes. do you do a lot of driving on weekends? is the LEAF comfortable enough for the family to take trips in?

back to the mileage thing. unless you plan to come very close or exceed the lease mileage, I would not recommend it as a 3rd car.

 

[EricH]

We bought the Leaf as a "first" car. Commute is 12 miles round-trip, but we have averaged 180 miles/week over 2 years. So 2/3 of our mileage consists of lunch, errands, and local trips around LA on weekends. The ICE backup is for road trips, or (SUV) high-cargo needs.

I will echo other commenters - don't plan on driving the Leaf Mon-Fri, then parking it on weekends; you may need more lease miles than you think

 

[thankyouOB]

I would use it to commute at least half the time to insure you max out your lease mileage. at least that is what I am going to do. I will pay for extra miles but plan to be less than a few hundred if I can help it.

80 mile commute is a challenge but one that can be done easily if you are willing to slow it down. as to whether it makes sense? you don't provide enough details for me to evaluate that question. is your current car piling on too many miles? at 80 mile a day 5 days a week, I am guessing that is a yes. do you do a lot of driving on weekends? is the LEAF comfortable enough for the family to take trips in?

back to the mileage thing. unless you plan to come very close or exceed the lease mileage, I would not recommend it as a 3rd car.

i dont agree that an 80-mile commute is doable, especially if it includes freeway driving, and not two years out.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I would use it to commute at least half the time to insure you max out your lease mileage. at least that is what I am going to do. I will pay for extra miles but plan to be less than a few hundred if I can help it.

80 mile commute is a challenge but one that can be done easily if you are willing to slow it down. as to whether it makes sense? you don't provide enough details for me to evaluate that question. is your current car piling on too many miles? at 80 mile a day 5 days a week, I am guessing that is a yes. do you do a lot of driving on weekends? is the LEAF comfortable enough for the family to take trips in?

back to the mileage thing. unless you plan to come very close or exceed the lease mileage, I would not recommend it as a 3rd car.

i dont agree that an 80-mile commute is doable, especially if it includes freeway driving, and not two years out.

as a daily driver, I would agree but for "cherry picking" driving days, I think its viable. on a lease he would run way over his mileage allowance anyway and the REAL facts are pretty simple

he can do it if he chooses to do so. the car has the capability.