Philadelphia and Southeastern PA

[Anonymous]

Hey Yeswaydude,

Did the PA link that you provided cancel out your normal $7500 at tax time? I was just wondering because I was just filling this paperwork out and wanted to find out first. Thanks all,

Loving the car so far at 700 miles. Couldn't be better.

 

[yeswaydude]

I'm certainly hoping that it doesn't cancel out the $7,500!!!

I'm sure it will be counted as income on my federal return, but I don't think it should be handled as any kind of offset. Maybe if someone from CA is listening in, they can tell us how it works there (I think CA has been giving $5,000 rebates).

AFAIK, I can't claim the $7,500 credit until next year's tax return because I didn't take delivery of my car until Feb. 29th. I'm hoping that goes smoothly!

 

[KillaWhat]

The $3500 Pennsylvania DEP Grant has nothing whatsoever to do with the $7500 Federal Tax Credit.

 

[Anonymous]

Ok, awesome, thanks a bunch for the help guys/gals. I'll post any recurring info I get from the application process if interested. Still haven't seen any Leafs in the area yet, I think it will be a long time until Williamsport gets rolling with electric cars. Most people have 'never even heard of such a thing' and assume I'm from some other galaxy or something.

Thanks again all,.....

 

[durgil]

Anyone have any tips for keeping a black car nice and shiny?!?
I've noticed that the carwash is putting fine scratches in the clearcoat. :-(

BTW, I got my $3,500 rebate check from the Alternative Fuel Vehicles program of the PA DEP

I have yet to find a reasonably-priced good car wash since moving to the area last summer.... sorry I'm no help. Closest thing I've been to is the West Norriton Auto Wash. It's pricey, but they do a decent job. Guess I got spoiled by the proliferation of cheap car washes in Michigan...

Thanks for the tip on the PA rebate program. Not sure if I'll be able to purchase in time for the rebate program to still be going, but it's nice to know it's out there.

Still haven't seen any Leafs in the area yet, I think it will be a long time until Williamsport gets rolling with electric cars. Most people have 'never even heard of such a thing' and assume I'm from some other galaxy or something.

Anytime I mention that I'm thinking about the LEAF, I get a lot of strange looks. a) I have to explain what it is, b) I have to explain how the range is perfectly acceptable to me, and c) I have to explain that after my test drives that it's a helluva lot of fun to drive.

Edit: adding link to the car wash.

 

[KillaWhat]

Still haven't seen any Leafs in the area yet, I think it will be a long time until Williamsport gets rolling with electric cars. Most people have 'never even heard of such a thing' and assume I'm from some other galaxy or something.

I went to the EEVC (eastern electric vehicle club) meeting at the plymouth meeting whitemarsh highschool on germantown pike this Wednesday.

Couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting 5 or 6 of these Leaf things.
Didn't have enough room to park all of them :lol:

Wish we could have spent some time looking at each others vehicles though.
Sounds like there are some things worth looking at, and knowledge to be shared there.

Maybe some other time.

 

[hellraiser79]

For a long time, there was only my MINI E and a Tesla at these meetings. Then in january 2012,i finally got my leaf that i ordered in april 2010. Now they multiply when they get wet just like gremlins. Thanks Leaf owners for coming to the meetings, now im not the only guy there with an electric car. We have 80+ total members, but the most cars ive ever seen at a meeting was last month when we had 6 (half of them Leafs) Also, dont forget we go to Penn State every year in May for the 21st Century Automotive Challenge. Id like some competition this year, so someone please bring your Leaf. May 17-20 2012

 

[hellraiser79]

I went to the EEVC (eastern electric vehicle club) meeting at the plymouth meeting whitemarsh highschool on germantown pike this Wednesday.

Wish we could have spent some time looking at each others vehicles though.
Sounds like there are some things worth looking at, and knowledge to be shared there.

Maybe some other time.

We checked out each others cars for about an hour 6:30-7:30, sorry if you missed it. Also we were there talking and taking rides in each others cars until 11:30pm. Man, is that fisker karma a smooth ride. How long did you stay for?

 

[KillaWhat]

I went to the EEVC (eastern electric vehicle club) meeting at the plymouth meeting whitemarsh highschool on germantown pike this Wednesday.

Wish we could have spent some time looking at each others vehicles though.
Sounds like there are some things worth looking at, and knowledge to be shared there.

Maybe some other time.

We checked out each others cars for about an hour 6:30-7:30, sorry if you missed it. Also we were there talking and taking rides in each others cars until 11:30pm. Man, is that fisker karma a smooth ride. How long did you stay for?

I had to leave at 9:30
I guess I'll be early for the next meeting :mrgreen:

 

[durgil]

Exton Nissan was having an event last weekend to promote electric vehicles. Due to good timing on when we arrived, my wife and I each got a chance to do a ride along in a Tesla Roadster. Pretty sweet. Felt like a horizontal roller coaster.

 

[KillaWhat]

INSURANCE QUESTION

I pulled this over from the National Insurance forum.

I guess I didn't pay much attention to what it was costing to Insure "PLUGZIN", but I took a look at it.

USAA Added has my 2112 leaf w/ $100 deductable For $509.71 / 6 months In Pennsylvania (Semi-Rural)

I have 7 Cars, and I think that's pretty high actually.
My HMMWV is only $310.90 / 6 months

Agent explained it's all up to each states actuary numbers, and apparently there are not enough Data in PA on Leafs yet (Duh!)
So there you go.

What kind of rates are you guys getting?
Anybody in PA getting a better Rate?

Thanks

 

[rick1rick2]

Yeswaydude,

I'm curious about the turnaround time and process of your PA tax rebate. I took delivery of my Leaf on Tuesday (loving it!) and I've mailed in all of the paperwork. I thought I would have missed out on the limited rebate window but I'm giving it a shot. I'm really just wondering what to expect next.

Thanks!
Rick

 

[KillaWhat]

Yeswaydude,

I'm curious about the turnaround time and process of your PA tax rebate. I took delivery of my Leaf on Tuesday (loving it!) and I've mailed in all of the paperwork. I thought I would have missed out on the limited rebate window but I'm giving it a shot. I'm really just wondering what to expect next.

Thanks!
Rick

You are fine.
Last we checked, they were only doing about 70 a month.
It took almost 4 weeks.
Give them a week, then call to ask "if they received your paperwork".
The person I talked with was nice, and told me she had processed my paperwork, and I should receive my check in 4 weeks.
I received it about 3 weeks later.

Good luck

 

[rick1rick2]

USAA Added has my 2112 leaf w/ $100 deductable For $509.71 / 6 months In Pennsylvania (Semi-Rural)

KillaWhat, I'm also with USAA. My 6 month premium with a $500 deductible is $412 ($174 for liability, etc. + $238 for comprehensive and collision). I didn't have comprehensive or collision on my old car and the underlying $174 is right in line with my previous rate.

 

[Anonymous]

A word on the rebate, I sent my paperwork in on April 16th and I emailed them on Friday and they got back to me already saying that the check would be in the mail within the month of May, so it seems like it's still there! A simple form with a stamp is worth the $3500!

 

[yeswaydude]

INSURANCE QUESTION

I pulled this over from the National Insurance forum.

I guess I didn't pay much attention to what it was costing to Insure "PLUGZIN", but I took a look at it.

USAA Added has my 2112 leaf w/ $100 deductable For $509.71 / 6 months In Pennsylvania (Semi-Rural)

I have 7 Cars, and I think that's pretty high actually.
My HMMWV is only $310.90 / 6 months

Agent explained it's all up to each states actuary numbers, and apparently there are not enough Data in PA on Leafs yet (Duh!)
So there you go.

What kind of rates are you guys getting?
Anybody in PA getting a better Rate?

Thanks

From back on page 18 of this forum:

I talked with my insurance agent, and going from my 2000 Plymouth Neon to the LEAF SL will raise my insurance by $107 per 6 months. I think she said that my 2008 Smart ForTwo has a rating of 16 while the LEAF has a rating of 23, which is near the upper end of the State Farm scale.

The agent couldn't really say why it had such a high rating, but I'm suspecting it's because the battery pan has to be removed before baking the paint in the oven. I've also read that the doors and some other pieces of the car are actually made from aluminum and not steel, so that is going to be really expensive to repair. All things considered, I thought the rate was fairly reasonable.

Yeswaydude,

I'm curious about the turnaround time and process of your PA tax rebate. I took delivery of my Leaf on Tuesday (loving it!) and I've mailed in all of the paperwork. I thought I would have missed out on the limited rebate window but I'm giving it a shot. I'm really just wondering what to expect next.

Thanks!
Rick

And, yes, the state rebate processors are fairly slow, but that just adds to the excitement when the check actually arrives! They had only allocated money for 500 rebates, but most people leased their cars and couldn't get the rebate.

I'm considering replacing the stock driver's seat -- it's just too uncomfortable for the amount of driving I do -- and also generates too much static electricity! Has anyone replaced theirs? I'm wondering what kind of a job that's going to turn into given that (I'm assuming) they can't get the existing seat rails off without going through the battery pan!?!

 

[rick1rick2]

Philadelphia airport parking?

Has anyone had any luck finding charging stations or outlets at any of the parking companies at or near the Philadelphia airport? I've been googling and looking with the smartphone charging apps but I haven't found anything.

I don't have any imminent trips but I want to be ready when the time comes.

 

[yeswaydude]

No, I don't have any info on that.

I went to NYC a couple of weekends ago, and the PlugShare app said that the Hamilton train station in NJ had an outlet, but I didn't see one anywhere. But, I also didn't ask any of the attendants either.

 

[tps]

I went to NYC a couple of weekends ago, and the PlugShare app said that the Hamilton train station in NJ had an outlet, but I didn't see one anywhere. But, I also didn't ask any of the attendants either.

I used that outlet last July when I brought the Hertz rental LEAF down here from Manhattan. Go all the way to the top of the parking garage at the Hamilton NJ train station. You will find 1 6-20 240V volt outlet and 4 5-20 120V outlets. You need to bring your own EVSE. I used one from evseupgrade.com with a plug adapter in the 6-20 240V outlet. The attendants may or may not know about EV charging. That has been my experience at more than one parking garage... If you don't have an upgraded EVSE, there's 1 J1772 240V charging point in the parking garage at Palmer Square in Princeton.

 

[yeswaydude]

Thanks for the info, tps!!!

I got tired of driving through each of the levels looking for something, so I never made it to the top level!

5-20 120V is a standard outlet, right? That's plenty of juice given that I was in NYC for more than 21 hours.

I'm still trickle charging at home and only seldom wish for faster charging -- but, then again, I still have a gas-powered Smart car to drive when I give the LEAF an extra day off for charging!