Posted on 08/22/2014 8:50:27 AM PDT by Roman_War_Criminal
So the wife & I are thinking on taking the plunge. I commute about 75 miles a day round trip to work & back. Based on that, I pay over $410 in gas/month on a paid car that is just getting more expensive to maintain.
Any other FReepers who are owners care to give your experiences?
Is it worth it?
User comments here:
Diesel.
We’ve just finished one of the coldest winters on record followed by one of the mildest summers on record. The Farmers Almanac is predicting a bitterly cold winter for the entire Northen Hemisphere and you want to buy a car that emits no greenhouse gases?
Are you deliberately trying to destroy the earth?
Do your part to save the Planet. Buy a Ford F350. It’s a lot safer and you can sleep well knowing that you are trying your best to save all the homeless people and grazing farm animals from freezing to death.
I’m curious about battery life. Down here in Florida, we blow out batteries in the summer. I was told the summer heat is harder on batteries than winter conditions. Would that be true for deep discharge type batteries?
“The Nissan Leaf looks like you lost your man card.”
Even if I put a Gadsden Flag & NRA sticker on it?
This might be helpful.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/06/24/gas-vs-electric-cars-cost-comparison/
Bottome line of this site shows that over the live of a gas vs electric Ford Focus. The electric car will not save you money.
Sorry, I can’t answer to the durability of deep discharge batteries in high heat environments.
Electricity is NOT FREE either. Recommend you find out how much it will cost to charge the LEAF.
Also — as someone pointed it out you may not make it for your full trip with the LEAF, without charging it while at work and you need to find out whether that would be feasible.
I heard from someone who has a LEAF that it takes some 12 hrs or more to charge it up fully — you can pay for some fast charging accessory, that comes with the car, that allows you to charge it faster.
Thanks!
makes a good point.
The Leaf would cost you about 30-37K before Federal Tax break.
Unless you could charge it at work, you might run into problems with the battery range, especially in the winter (less of a problem if you live in a warmer climate).
A plug-in hybrid (I think there is a Prius model, as well as the Volt) might be a better choice.
Personally, I prefer diesels - I drive a 2002 VW Golf TDI - I average about 40 MPG driving from a NYC suburb into Manhattan daily - averaging 39-40 mpg. Car is just about to turn 200,000 miles and has been fairly economical to run over the 12 years I have owned it. A new Golf TDI runs about 27K, the Jetta TDI is less. Great drivers, and nicely appointed cars, to boot.
Do yourself a favor and just wait til next year. You can buy an Elio for $6,800 which is going to get 84 MPG, go over 100 MPH and have a 5 star crash rating. Check it out at www.eliomotors.com
As soon as they go into production we are going to order one.
My sister owns a Leaf, but she lives in a small town where the limited mileage is not a factor. Actually she and her husband set up a solar panel which charges the car’s battery so it is very cost effective for them.
I’m in Atlanta & we have on-site charging at work. Everybody in my group is buying them. I would need to get the Fast-Charge package though.
I have no problem with people choosing to drive electric cars. I just attack the notion that they are better for the environment.
The stickers would probably improve the crash test ratings.
Equivalent to about $1.75 on your electric bill if you charge at home per full charge.
I figure I’d only do it maybe 3 times per week versus the $100-$110 I pay in Obama economy gasoline. We have on-site free charging at work.
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