Advice on Buying Electric Car

[TromboneAl]

Bought The Car

We drove up to Portland and bought that car I mentioned above.

I would have just bought it over the phone, but it because it seemed too good to be true, I wanted to see it and and see the salesman at the (HUGE!) dealership.

So, now we have a Leaf that is essentially new, but cost $16,500 instead of $29,000 (- incentives). Topped up, the display showed an expected range of 83 miles.

Tomorrow I'll call a car transport service to have it transported here.

 

[swakyaby]

Congratulations, you'll get a lot of satisfaction driving around town in an electric car. Most Nissan dealerships I have seen have a few level 2 chargers that they let Leaf owners use whenever available.

 

[aja8888]

Can't drive it home?

 

[REWahoo]

350+ miles. Probably not enough charging stations along the route to make it feasible.

 

[aja8888]

350+ miles. Probably not enough charging stations along the route to make it feasible.

Didn't realize it was that far away.

 

[samclem]

Yes, but in situation like her recent accident, it would be much better to have hubbie ride to the rescue.

Well, given the new purchase--the rescue had better be within 41.5 miles of home (if the car is fully charged).

 

[GravitySucks]

Congrats on the new car.

 

[travelover]

Can you rent a 10,000 watt generator and tow it home?

 

[Slow But Steady]

Congrats! Please let us know how you like driving it.

 

[brett]

We looked seriously at a Prius. Could not justify the cost based on our projected annual mtce. Perhaps the next product generation will resolve the long payback issue for us.

 

[NW-Bound]

Can you rent a 10,000 watt generator and tow it home?

Come to think of it, that might work, except that these EVs would have an even shorter range when towing, so I doubt that the manufacturers would have a trailer hitch as an option. Also, probably nobody bothers to make after-market brackets for them.

If one has a large SUV or a pickup, U-Haul rents a car towing dolly for fairly cheap.

 

[travelover]

Come to think of it, that might work, except that these EVs would have an even shorter range when towing, so I doubt that the manufacturers would have a trailer hitch as an option. Also, probably nobody bothers to make after-market brackets for them.

If one has a large SUV or a pickup, U-Haul rents a car towing dolly for fairly cheap.

You mean like this? 2015 Nissan Leaf Trailer Hitch | etrailer.com

One could also rent a UHaul truck one way, with a car dolly.

 

[NW-Bound]

OK.

As I reported in an earlier thread, a Leaf owner said that merely mounting a Thule rack on top of his car knocked the range down precipitously by the additional wind drag. I am surprised that people would think of towing a trailer with any EV.

As to towing a generator, I think one may make the evening news if a reporter happens to spot you.

And about renting a U-Haul truck, I did check into the price out of curiosity. A one-way rent of the truck is around $400, while that of the dolly is $60.

By the way, here's a towable 13kW generator, weighting 1500 lbs.

 

[Hermit]

You mean like this? 2015 Nissan Leaf Trailer Hitch | etrailer.com

One could also rent a UHaul truck one way, with a car dolly.

I think that would be for a bike rack so you could keep your bike back there in case you ran out of juice.

 

[cyber888]

I assume you only use it to drive around the city or to and from work, since you are ok with the mileage range. If so, a Leaf or Bmw i3 should work. How about a Volt ?

Well, we put about 15K miles/year on our main car--it's a ways to town. It's just that we rarely need two cars at the same time.

For fun, we took one of these (BMW i3) for a 20 mile test drive:

[/IMG]

Really fun to drive. I liked it better than the Tesla (less huge). It was used (8K miles). They listed it at $29,000, and the range is only 66 miles.

The dealer said the range was 80, but when we drove it, it showed a charge level of 99% with an estimate of 66 miles to go.

So, that would be a no go. They've had it on the lot for five months. Even at $10,000 it would be too impractical.

There is something magical about silently accelerating with a lot of torque.

 

[Chuckanut]

Can you rent a 10,000 watt generator and tow it home?

Tell the truth. You used to work for GM in the 80's?

 

[NW-Bound]

For a 2nd car to run errands like going to get grocery or to Home Depot for nuts and bolts, I would not mind getting an inexpensive Leaf. Many of our trips are less than 20 miles, and in fact the stores we frequent are all within a 5-mile radius.

Alas, my existing vehicles show no sign of quitting, and I am not the kind of guy who gets rid of something that still works.

 

[REWahoo]

I assume you only use it to drive around the city or to and from work, since you are ok with the mileage range. If so, a Leaf or Bmw i3 should work. How about a Volt ?

Looks like you haven't been following the progress of this thread too closely.

We drove up to Portland and bought that car I mentioned above.

 

[explanade]

BMW reported 10% lower sales this quarter.

But they also said 1 in 7 cars it sold were EV or hybrid, with a lot of it coming in the US.

 

[Chuckanut]

Wait a few years and pick up this baby:

Tesla official describes the next generation Roadster as “different, faster and bigger” | Electrek

Tesla is believed to be working on a new Roadster for an expected launch in 2019.