Went out to go buy a diesel truck, came back with this!

[Nick02]

I went out to buy a used 6.6L Duramax and came back with this Nissan Leaf and I love it, extra $250-500 a month for my projects even after my payments and insurance. I absolutely love the driving experience, the instant torque at any time is unlike any vehicle I've ever driven. Mid 2013 so I think it has the high heat pack, 6.6KW, etc. I leased it, have 6,600 miles on it now, 252 L1-L2 charges and 11 QC's. Built an Open EVSE for it and love it, built one for work and one for home since my round trip commute is 110 miles! Attended national plug in day with the phoenix guys, had a great time!
It replaced my ageing subaru and a montero with a blown tranny, I currently own way too many vehicles; a 1966 MB Unimog, a 2001 Solid axle swapped 4wd converted Dodge Dakota, a 1957 Jeep FC-150 and the 2013 leaf SV. I one day hope to find a salvage leaf at auction and build a dedicated rock crawler, since this one is leased I have to keep my hands out of it LOL!
In the short term I want to build a hitch for it and a gas pusher.

 

[UBUYGAS]

Congrats and Welcome to the Forum!

 

[adric22]

Can you explain how you went out to buy a diesel truck and somehow made a last minute switch to something so different?

 

[abasile]

Welcome to the forum! Looks like you're in a hot area - hope the battery doesn't lose too much capacity for your commute during the lease term! Sometime in 2014, Nissan should be starting to produce battery packs with a better chemistry for hot areas...

 

[Nick02]

Can you explain how you went out to buy a diesel truck and somehow made a last minute switch to something so different?

Well, turned out that financing a young person with new credit history is somewhat hard for used vehicles. No way I could get a new diesel at 50+K. Nissan was able to finance my leaf and I would not buy any other car, if I had to get a car it would be a leaf because of the torque, operation cost and electric cool factor. With the money I save with the leaf I could go buy an older diesel truck and have it serve my intended purpose.

 

[Stanton]

For the record, there are no "hot pack" batteries available/installed yet. Initial availability is rumored to be sometime in 2014 (in a 2014 Leaf).

 

[Nick02]

They will live a short, treacherous life with me then :evil:

 

[LeftieBiker]

Did the salesman tell you it was a "hot" battery pack? There is a rumor that the 2013 has a *slightly* more heat-resistant pack, but it's nothing more than a rumor...

 

[BSmith]

For the record, there are no "hot pack" batteries available/installed yet. Initial availability is rumored to be sometime in 2014 (in a 2014 Leaf).

Did the salesman tell you it was a "hot" battery pack? There is a rumor that the 2013 has a *slightly* more heat-resistant pack, but it's nothing more than a rumor...

I tested the battery in @nick02 Leaf with LEAFSpy and it still shows 100% health. Granted he got it late in the summer so it hasn't seen much heat in use yet but, I'll be watching it once the oven that is the Valley of the Sun starts up once more.