Electric Vehicle Time

Several months ago I had to head out of town and since we only have one car I left Brandee with only the golf cart.  The next week I was out of town again and we started talking about our options in case of an emergency.  Based on the last two years with our GEM car we realized that an electric car could be an option.  Our GEM car worked almost perfect except that we couldn't take it out of town.  We started to consider selling the GEM car and purchasing a regular car.  After several years without gas we decided to look at the electric options because it was just too hard to go back to gas.  With a little research we quickly realized that electric cars are really expensive, nearly double the cost of a regular new car.  Our dream of an electric car was going to have to wait. 

Over the next month several things happened unexpectedly.  First, I found out that the government was giving away free high speed electric car chargers to EV owners.  I registered just for fun and received a call letting me know that should I buy or lease an EV in the next month or two I was already approved.

 

I became interested in the Nissan Leaf because it was much less expensive than the Chevy Volt.  The problem was that to get the government rebate you still needed to carry the car loan until tax time.  At this point we decided that an EV was not in our future.

Next, we found out that battery technology will change for the better in 2015.  The main battery technology that GM used for their first EV's was sold to Chevron who has sat on the patent.  It expires in 2015 so we decided that we would look again then when prices should go way down.

Lastly, Nissan was not selling their 2012 Leaf's fast enough and the 2013 model had substantial improvements over the 2012 model.  Sensing an opportunity, I decided to figure out how they planned on moving their remaining 2012's.  They didn't want to hurt MSRP so they put big incentives on their leases.  Here are the details.  A lease is basically paying the dealer for the depreciation.  The car will cost $20,000 after 2 years, this is a given.  The starting price is $38k but after some negotiating you can get the price down to $35k.  The lease should cost $14k over 2 years but since the federal government pays $7.5k and Nissan is kicking in an additional $2.5k (this varies by dealer and states) so instead of $14k it is only $5k over 2 years.  Georgia also kicks in 20% of the total cost or another $1k.  Average gas savings for our use is $110/month or $2.5k over 2 years.  Net cost for a new car for two years is about $60/month.  Add in taxes and fees and you get a car for under $100/month.  I priced all other options and the only thing that could beat the electric car was a $6000 15 yr old honda civic.  I'll take the Nissan Leaf!  This is the one time leasing a car makes more sense, especially since the batteries only have a 8 year life span.  Who wants an 8 year old electric car with bad batteries?

So, how does it drive?  Just like a regular car.  Really, it is so much like any other car that besides the eerie quiet you wouldn't know it was any different.  With a top speed of 90 mph and 100 mile range we will hardly notice that we don't have a motor.  My favorite part besides not paying for gas is that the only maintenance required is changing the brake fluid every 30,000 miles.  The next two years should be interesting and fun but either way I'm glad we decided to embark on this adventure.