Advice on Buying Electric Car

[TromboneAl]

Can anyone explain why this 2016 Leaf, 477 miles, could be so cheap ($16,500)?

 

[REWahoo]

CarFax says it's off a one-month personal lease, which looks very odd.

 

[JohnnyBGoode]

I don't have an EV yet myself (put in an order for a Tesla 3, so maybe late next year) but three people I know have the Chevy Spark and absolutely love it. They say the driving experience is terrific (much better than the Leaf, according to them). They all got them last year during some sort of lease promotion (don't know if it is still available) but so far all three of them seem to be happy.
FWIW, the black color is definitely the classiest and softens the "odd" look, IMO.

 

[eroscott]

Can anyone explain why this 2016 Leaf, 477 miles, could be so cheap ($16,500)?

Keep in mind the Nissan LEAF is the only electric (EV) or plug in hybrid electric (PHEV) that does not have a battery cooling system. And they way the treated the early adopters was embarrassingly bad. I watched from afar.

 

[Nodak]

I would like to know how well an all electric (not hybrid) car works in extreme cold. At 40 degrees below zero the lithium batteries in my outdoor weather station cease to function. When batteries have to power the vehicle as well as heat the interior at that temperature I suspect one would not be going very far on a charge.

 

[Sunset]

I would like to know how well an all electric (not hybrid) car works in extreme cold. At 40 degrees below zero the lithium batteries in my outdoor weather station cease to function. When batteries have to power the vehicle as well as heat the interior at that temperature I suspect one would not be going very far on a charge.

I'd be more worried about extreme heat like in AZ as heat shortens the life of a battery a lot (at least for lead-acid car batteries).

 

[Animorph]

After following the Tesla forums for a while (I'm not an owner yet), it looks like cold weather range can be down to 75% of the "normal" range. Hot weather is not as bad. They do heat and cool the battery, so it works fine in all temperatures.

 

[jabbahop]

Winter ranges is definitely an issue - 75% seems about right. You get hit by both the cold effect on the battery, and the fact that it takes energy to heat the car since there is no combustion engine generating free heat.

There are ways to improve things a bit if you pre-heat when charging. This warms the battery and the interior prior to departure so doesn't use the battery range as much.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[GravitySucks]

Lena called home last night to say she'd be late from choir rehearsal. Of course, for a second I thought "Another accident."

That made me realize that it's pretty important to have two cars if something like that happens.

Just get a really good headlight for your bicycle instead.;-)

 

[TromboneAl]

Luckily, we don't have winter or summer here. Avg winter temp 50 degrees, summer, 60.

 

[TromboneAl]

Can anyone explain why this 2016 Leaf, 477 miles, could be so cheap ($16,500)?

I'm seriously considering this one (Portland, OR). The plan would be to buy it, sight unseen, and have it transported here on a flatbed ($470).

Perhaps it's not that unbelievably low:

New: $29,500 - $7,500 tax incentive = $22,000
Almost new: $16,500

 

[Nodak]

I know there are 3 or 4 Teslas running around the Bismarck area but their weather is not nearly as extreme as here. I love the look of them and an electric motor is the perfect power plant for a car with maximum torque at zero rpm. I have been wondering what happened to Honda's fuel cell car experiment a couple of years ago.

 

[swakyaby]

I have been wondering what happened to Honda's fuel cell car experiment a couple of years ago.

I have noticed a fuel cell station across from the Tesla supercharging stations at Harris Ranch in central California. It has 2 pumps which I have never seen used. Taking a closer look, the last person who used the fuel cell pump paid $14 per gallon(?). It sounds expensive, but I'm not sure how far a gallon of this takes you.

 

[mpeirce]

I have noticed a fuel cell station across from the Tesla supercharging stations at Harris Ranch in central California. It has 2 pumps which I have never seen used

Maybe a case of putting the cart before the horse, though you do need to build stations before you can sell cars to visit them.

The Honda Clarity is suppose to go on sale later this year.

Honda Clarity fuel-cell vehicle goes on sale for limited buyers

And Toyota has the Mirai - available in Japan, for around $57,000 - which is also going to be sold in very limited numbers in California

Here's a station map:

https://ssl.toyota.com/mirai/stations.html

 

[Totoro]

I'm seriously considering this one (Portland, OR). The plan would be to buy it, sight unseen, and have it transported here on a flatbed ($470).

Can you remotely hire a mechanic to stop by and inspect it?

 

[REWahoo]

I'm seriously considering this one (Portland, OR). The plan would be to buy it, sight unseen, and have it transported here on a flatbed ($470).

Perhaps it's not that unbelievably low:

New: $29,500 - $7,500 tax incentive = $22,000
Almost new: $16,500

Out of curiosity I did a local search on used Leafs (Leaves? ). Closest thing to a 2016 I could find was a 2015 model S with 3,800 miles. The dealer is asking $15,900.

 

[Chuckanut]

As much as I admire the tech in the Tesla automobiles and Mr. Musk's achievements, I still think a Tesla is a rich man's toy Or at least an upper middle class man's toy. (OK, it can be a woman's toy also. )

Still, I must admit the idea of cruising across the USA in a Tesla and spending $0 for fuel is intriguing. Now where do I get free hotel rooms for Tesla owners?

 

[Totoro]

Why a hotel room when you can sleep in your Tesla?!

 

[NW-Bound]

You forget the free meals.

And no, I rarely eat at fast-food places, and I am not going to start now, not when I am driving a shiny Tesla.

 

[Spudd]

Lena called home last night to say she'd be late from choir rehearsal. Of course, for a second I thought "Another accident."

That made me realize that it's pretty important to have two cars if something like that happens.

Couldn't you just take a taxi in that situation?

 

[NW-Bound]

Dunno about taxi where T-Al lives. Or Uber?

 

[eroscott]

As much as I admire the tech in the Tesla automobiles and Mr. Musk's achievements, I still think a Tesla is a rich man's toy Or at least an upper middle class man's toy. (OK, it can be a woman's toy also. )

Still, I must admit the idea of cruising across the USA in a Tesla and spending $0 for fuel is intriguing. Now where do I get free hotel rooms for Tesla owners?

Using money from these first cars (roadster, Model S(edan), Model X(crossover)) to get experience and money for the Model 3 (smaller $30K car).

I picked up my kid from college yesterday and charges halfway home for "free". Before we were done eating dinner my Tesla phone app told me the car was charge up enough to get home! We were not done eating our curry chicken yet tho

If retired and have the money to buy a nice car that you use and travel in does not affect your future lifestyle then why not live a little! I saved long and hard and want to enjoy life.

 

[aja8888]

If retired and have the money to buy a nice car that you use and travel in does not affect your future lifestyle then why not live a little! I saved long and hard and want to enjoy life.

Great advice and glad you like the car. This is precisely why I plan to buy a Corvette in the near future!

 

[TromboneAl]

Couldn't you just take a taxi in that situation?

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

 

[TromboneAl]

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