Looking to buy Leaf for commute

Maybe the best bang for the buck is another Prius Gen III for yourself. Get a used one perhaps a 2-3 years old with under 50K miles you can pick one up for 40% off the original sticket give or take. Maybe you can befirend a sales guy who will keep an eye out on some else returns. That way your getting a good quality car and at a price that won't break your wallet. You can than keep your truck. I'm guessing being married and in school, money is probaly a priority, saving for a house or paying a mortgage, raising young children or planning to, and all that other stuff that money is needed for (Retirement, vacations, gifts, etc)...

LeaseTrader.com - The Most Recognized Name in Auto Leasing - Car Lease and Lease Swap - BMW 128 - BMW 135 - BMW 320 - BMW 328 - BMW 335 - BMW 528 - BMW 535 - BMW 550 - BMW 640 - BMW 650 - BMW 740 - BMW 750 - BMW 760 - BMW ActiveHybrid 3 - BMW Alpina - BMW M1 - BMW M3 - BMW M5 - BMW M6 - BMW X1 - BMW X3 - BMW X5 - BMW X6 - BMW Z4

 

Very.

I know thread is a few months old now. The used market on Leafs is a bit crazy. The car you mention is an example. I've seen a 2011 with few miles for many thousands less than that. Resale on these is poor, partly because of batteries, partly because of a substantial 2013 price reduction, and other reasons.

 

Most cars depreciate the most the first year.

 

Resale on these is REALLY poor. The market value and residual on my Leaf lease will be different by around $5k at the rate things are going. I really enjoy the car, though. Would lease another, or buy another, but not this one

 

lease with the required mileage would be expensive

there is no longer a Tesla intro model and they were NEVER cheap in any trim


BUT if I were you, I would get a LEAF anyway. Get a 15,000 annual lease and trade cars occasionally to make sure you get your full benefit from it. Fully charging the LEAF at your job will allow you to easily make it during good weather. Guessing even in your area, winter will still be a hit on your mileage. Remember rain on the roadways matter as well. Also, I think you will find that the LEAF will become the go to car for all leisurely family trips. It is that compelling

another thing to consider; When your Wife's commute changes to short in town driving, your 15 mpg truck will drop to 10 mpg. That is simply how gassers work. They thrive on the freeway, they die on the streets. EVs have NO issues with short trips in anyway whatsover. and even if they did, we are talking about a 33% drop in performance which for me and my 1500+ miles a month in my LEAF would add up to LESS THAN THE COST OF A SINGLE GALLON OF GAS

 

Exactly. Which is why it is a great bargain buying it used. When my '04 started throwing codes in late February, I picked up a 2011 Leaf for $16,500 (plus tx/title/etc.). One downside is that the car was in-service in Tx originally and battery capacity is down 1 bar (15% maybe?). But more moderate weather up here should minimize that issue.

The overnight lows back then were around zero F and occasionally near -10F. Several times I'd leave for work and the battery temp showed NO BARS at all. I still made my 18 mile one-way commute with no problems. Free charging at work on L2. Now that I've got my L2 charger at home things are great and I can take the hwy both ways.

Still hoping to get my '04 back up and running for out-of-town trips.

 

Around here, the base is $28K. Subtract $7500 federal and $6000 state and you are left with a brand new 2013/2014 Leaf for $14,500. My fully loaded 2013 cost me $21,500 last year with every option possible and including tax, title, fees, everything. Doesn't seem to bad from here.

 

Sweet. Must be nice to live in an EV-friendly state.

I don't think you'd get the same sort of deal in say...VA.

 

deals do vary greatly from one area to another. State added incentives can be huge. People in GA are essentially leasing LEAFs on two year terms for essentially nothing but the cost of the electricity to power the vehicle due to a $5,000 incentive there. in WA, I leased at 15,000 miles/year and its costing me $245.75 a month. Zero down. Factor in work reimbursement and my cost is pretty low as well.

 

Status update on my earlier post.

I've now owned my Leaf for just under 4 months. In that time I've put on approximately 4000 miles for commute, after work errands, etc.

I get to charge for free at work and I've consumed almost 380 kwh in 72 charging sessions. Based on my home rate for electricity that comes to a grand total of a $58 subsidy from work or an average of < $.85 a day. My guestimate for mileage efficiency is approximately 4.4 miles/kwh. It's a guestimate because my home L2 charger doesn't report usage and it's not on a separate meter. Carwings stats are not terribly useful and I found out earlier this month that it apparently only keeps 3 months of 'Electric Rate Simulation' data...at any rate, the March data has disappeared. Also, it didn't record the first two weeks of March anyway.

Status of the Prius is:
1. I've removed the add-on PHEV system
2. No codes thrown since #1
3. I only drive it occasionally...about every 2-3 weeks, but haven't had a single problem in that time.
4. VERY glad I didn't have the Trans-Axle replaced per the dealer.
5. I still don't trust it 100%, esp. since I've yet to take it on a 100+ mile trip...maybe 80% trust in it.

 

Glad your LEAF is working out for you. I only take the gasser once every few weeks or so as well and lately just to exercise it instead of range concerns