We took the Leaf for a test drive yesterday.

[Roadburner440]

actually it was $10,000 cash then $7500 added for down payment of $17,500. i had originally wanted to purchase so arranged my finances to maximize the tax credit but was set for 2010. well missed that date by a few weeks, so had to lease. it worked out since i sold my Prius which was good because was hurting after writing Uncle Sam a $4600 check for taxes

Wow that's a lot! So your lease payment must just be the taxes then. We have socked away about $6000 to put down on our Leaf if need be as we have been planning for this for awhile.. The Volt was the experiment to see if we could even handle an electric car (my Volt is the only electric car I have ever seen in the wild, other than 1 other Volt when we were still in Florida)... So far that experiment has been a huge sucess, and has led to us deciding to take the final plunge in to a full EV.

We got a really good deal on the Prius we have. We bought it when gas was still "cheap," and before the Arab revolutions last year that swept the Middle East. That was the foot in the cold water if you will that has now led us to this moment. To think before last year I made fun of people who drove hybrids, and EV's.. Who would of thought.

I have walked away from the demo, and that dealership altogether.. I am guessing since I put my reservation in my dealer only had 24 hours to answer. They sent us a quote for our 2012 SL for $34,181+ anything else I ordered (my mats for another $175).. So I am going to take them at that price. That is far better than I expected. Honestly I expected to pay the full MSRP of $37k and some change. So getting the offer from them for that price was quite a shock. As long as they follow through they have definately earned my business, and it will be worth the 40 mile drive across town to pick my car up.. Plus they said once my reservation comes through they will loan me their demo for a day or two to see how she does in my everyday life. They just want to stop by my house to make sure I have a L2 which is reasonable... All in all if the process goes this smooth to the end I am happy. Just have to call them up tomorrow, and accept and do what I need to do there so the car can be put in line for production I guess? As it seems stalled at the dealer price negotiations (says they have till tomorrow). Suppose after that I will get the cars birth date?

 

[Roadburner440]

normally, i would say that too and in my area we do have orphans sitting on the lot going for MSRP but in his area? maybe not so much supply and the gas price spike that has already begun might make getting anything at MSRP extremely difficult for a while

Normally I would say that... but unlike my Volt where they just kind of sold the car, and sent us on our way you cannot really do that with a Leaf. They could with me, but I now have almost 5000EV miles under my belt, and know how to accurately estimate my range & so on. You cut an average person loose with a Leaf I think it would be asking for problems.. So I think these cars may remain at MSRP for awhile. I read you guys talking about them sitting at 100% on the lots is bad. That was another concern I had with buying the demo after doing a lot of reading which ultimately led us to decide to order a car. I know there has been no negative effects seen yet, but I know the demo I drove the other day has been sitting on the lot for months. When we got in it was sitting at 100% charge (even though we were assured they only charged to 80% as I specifically asked). So while orphaned cars may be common, I do not think they can hock them for a lot above MSRP. The only 2 charging stations other than all the Nissan dealers are down on VA beach right next to each other. So there is almost no infrastructure for EV's.. So the market is nill here if you ask me. In your state I imagine its different as Washington state seems to support EV's. For us we live right smack dab in the middle of Norfolk, so everything is within driving & return trip distance for the Leaf. It is almost within driving & return distance for our Volt even. The most we ever have driven on gas around here was 17.2 miles over the battery range (we got 46 miles that charge with the whole family in the car). The average person does not think or plan like that though. Nor do they want to.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

actually it was $10,000 cash then $7500 added for down payment of $17,500. i had originally wanted to purchase so arranged my finances to maximize the tax credit but was set for 2010. well missed that date by a few weeks, so had to lease. it worked out since i sold my Prius which was good because was hurting after writing Uncle Sam a $4600 check for taxes

Wow that's a lot! So your lease payment must just be the taxes then. We have socked away about $6000 to put down on our Leaf if need be as we have been planning for this for awhile.. The Volt was the experiment to see if we could even handle an electric car (my Volt is the only electric car I have ever seen in the wild, other than 1 other Volt when we were still in Florida)... So far that experiment has been a huge sucess, and has led to us deciding to take the final plunge in to a full EV.

We got a really good deal on the Prius we have. We bought it when gas was still "cheap," and before the Arab revolutions last year that swept the Middle East. That was the foot in the cold water if you will that has now led us to this moment. To think before last year I made fun of people who drove hybrids, and EV's.. Who would of thought.

I have walked away from the demo, and that dealership altogether.. I am guessing since I put my reservation in my dealer only had 24 hours to answer. They sent us a quote for our 2012 SL for $34,181+ anything else I ordered (my mats for another $175).. So I am going to take them at that price. That is far better than I expected. Honestly I expected to pay the full MSRP of $37k and some change. So getting the offer from them for that price was quite a shock. As long as they follow through they have definately earned my business, and it will be worth the 40 mile drive across town to pick my car up.. Plus they said once my reservation comes through they will loan me their demo for a day or two to see how she does in my everyday life. They just want to stop by my house to make sure I have a L2 which is reasonable... All in all if the process goes this smooth to the end I am happy. Just have to call them up tomorrow, and accept and do what I need to do there so the car can be put in line for production I guess? As it seems stalled at the dealer price negotiations (says they have till tomorrow). Suppose after that I will get the cars birth date?

that is a great price. i know a lot of people think its useless, but make sure you get the Quick Charge port. its not that much more money and it will really extend the functionality of the car down the road (and probably keep the resale value higher!)

 

[Roadburner440]

Quick charge port is standard of the 2012 SL if I am not mistaken? It says so on the Nissan site... I was torn all morning about ordering a SV or a SL, and finally decided the SL was worth the $2000 more. I figure they must have put that solar panel on the spoiler to charge the 12V battery for some reason. If nothing more than to give me like 1/4 mile more range by not using the li-ion to keep the 12V charged.

Can only hope to see a QC station around here at some point, but I doubt it. Mainly went with the SV cause I knew at some point I would regret it probably, and according to you guys there is no way to back fit these options (QC port, solar panel spoiler, and backup cam) to the SV. So figure for $2000 it was worth the investment.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Quick charge port is standard of the 2012 SL if I am not mistaken? It says so on the Nissan site... I was torn all morning about ordering a SV or a SL, and finally decided the SL was worth the $2000 more. I figure they must have put that solar panel on the spoiler to charge the 12V battery for some reason. If nothing more than to give me like 1/4 mile more range by not using the li-ion to keep the 12V charged.

Can only hope to see a QC station around here at some point, but I doubt it. Mainly went with the SV cause I knew at some point I would regret it probably, and according to you guys there is no way to back fit these options (QC port, solar panel spoiler, and backup cam) to the SV. So figure for $2000 it was worth the investment.

yes it is, i forgot and that is a good thing. giving 2011 owners the option will prove to be a mistake. it may not be of value to the owner, but it will kill the resale value.

a lot of people complain about it now, but QC is coming (slowly!) and we will soon see a day where we could not imagine being without it.

 

[abasile]

Happy to hear they gave you such a good deal on ordering a 2012 SL! Now you just have to endure the wait, and be prepared for the stated delivery date to slide around imprecisely. It'll definitely be worth your while.

 

[Roadburner440]

Happy to hear they gave you such a good deal on ordering a 2012 SL! Now you just have to endure the wait, and be prepared for the stated delivery date to slide around imprecisely. It'll definitely be worth your while.

Slide around backward or forward? I am fine with it going backward. We are just banking more money as we wait on it, and taking care of some smaller stuff we need to before the car arrives. I certaintly cannot wait till it arrives though. You are right that the wait will be killer. I was joking with the wife that by the time it gets here it will be summer, and I will no longer need the CWP items.

 

[planet4ever]

I called Nissan yesterday, and they ran all of my stuff and were going to waive the $99 fee and home inspection if I call back to order a car.

I assume you are referring to the $100 fee for the home inspection. No one is required to pay that fee, so don't think of it as a special incentive. I think most people on this board would recommend that you not pay it no matter what your EVSE plans are.

[I did pay it in the summer of 2010 even though I already knew I wasn't going to want the charging station they were pushing. I did it with the foolish thought that it would convince Nissan I was serious, and they would move me closer to the front of the line. Hah! I didn't get the car until 8 months after I put my order (not reservation) in.]

Ray

 

[Roadburner440]

I already have the SPX Voltec EVSE, so I don't need another one. I knew it wasn't an incentive, but I thought the $99 fee was mandatory as part of ordering the Leaf (regardless of whether I already had a L2 EVSE or not). I am going to take Ingineer up on the EVSE upgrade on the Leaf's L1 cord though for the $239. So that way we have a portable L2 for both the Leaf and our Volt. It will be very nice to have for the Volt on extended journeys. For the most part though the Volt and Leaf will just share the Voltec charger as we will just be rotating the cars with the Leaf taking the brunt of our commuting. My wife takes the kids cross town for appointments and such about once or twice a week. Even so the Leaf will get priority on the L2, and I will just use the L1 for the Volt (we have a GFCI on the front of the house).

Thanks for letting me know you did not have to pay it though. Reading the site it sure seemed mandatory. The only reason I called them was because my address was wrong and it said I had to. Before we got our Volt last year I was heavily considering the Leaf. Unfortunately we were about to move, and I was having difficulty ensuring that the car would arrive before we left and that I could find someone willing to transport it from Florida to Virginia. After we kicked the idea around for awhile my wife was unsure of the whole "electric car thing" as she calls it, so all those factors added together is how we got the Volt first. So I called them to change my address and that is when the lady offered to waive the fee and all, so I thought it was something special. :lol: Either way I have at least 4 more years here before the threat of moving again, but by then I will at least know 9 months in advance to start hunting for a flat bed to take it elsewhere. Hopefully though there will be QC chargers, and I won't have to worry about flat bedding it at all. .

 

[planet4ever]

I already have the SPX Voltec EVSE, so I don't need another one. I knew it wasn't an incentive, but I thought the $99 fee was mandatory as part of ordering the Leaf (regardless of whether I already had a L2 EVSE or not).

There is a $100 inspection fee and a $99 reservation deposit. At this point I don't think either of them is mandatory. The $99 deposit is held by Nissan and is refundable -- you get it back when you take possession of the car, or if you decide to cancel the reservation. The $100 inspection fee is cashed by Aerovironment and is not refundable, except that if you decide to get their EVSE they will deduct $100 from the price.

Ray

 

[Roadburner440]

That is crazy that Aerovironment charges up front.. SPX at least played nice on that front. Fill out the survey, send them pictures, and they send a local "trained professional" to do a free inspection. Then they hit you with the $2500 installation price. Told them no thanks to that, and ordered the charger myself for $490. We have an electrician in the family, and he told me everything I needed to do and I got it done. Has worked flawlessly ever since. All for less than $600. I see a few of you guys on here built your own EVSE's and that is pretty cool. I wish I had been that savy, but I did not want to risk my Volt experimenting.

I would more than happily pay the $100 reservation. I offered the dealership a deposit and they declined. I even offered a deposit for my overnight test drive of the Leaf and they declined that as well. So they seem like genuinely nice folks. I can only hope that this lasts through till all the paperwork is signed. I was almost scared away from even considering after the first dealer. I am glad I decided to try and find another one. Just sucks it is a far drive from here.