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How can you write "I bought the cheapest EV" in the blog title, and have a section called "Why buy Leaf?" followed by a one-liner zinger aphorism "Price." witho
by usui 1y ago
How can you write "I bought the cheapest EV" in the blog title, and have a section called "Why buy Leaf?" followed by a one-liner zinger aphorism "Price." without writing... the price you bought your used Nissan Leaf for? Someone might want to reference how much it cost back in 2025 a few years down the road.
- anotheryou 1y agoI skimmed for way to long to realize it's just not in there...
- geerlingguy 1y ago$17k minus an extra $2k added to my Camry's trade-in value, and it's eligible for the $4k used vehicle EV tax rebate at the end of the year. So out the door $15k with 36k miles and 94% doh battery, I was satisfied with the deal. At the end of the tax year I'll have paid $11k for the car, effectively. I tacked on the price of the CHAdeMO adapter mentally to the price I offered, since I knew I'd want it for the one or two regional road trips I take per year.
- pbronez 1y agoBMW i3 are going for about the same.
- lagniappe 1y agoand they're an absolute -nightmare- to maintain.... even with that being the case i still want one because russ hannaman had a point- everyone loves a car with doors that open like this \[]/ not like this =[]=
- klardotsh 1y agoMy 2017 i3 REX is just fine. It needs new tires before winter hits, an alignment (it gets knocked way out really easily, especially if you've ever taken it on a less than perfect road. Washington State has many such roads), and I should probably proactively do an oil change on the REX. Oh, and drivers seat heater has a short so doesn't work (the fix from BMW would be prohibitively expensive, but I may try a DIY re-wire). Otherwise, this car is as close to a perfect daily driver I've ever owned. I hope it lasts forever: not a single touchscreen, no OTA updates, decent battery range (and DC Fast Charging at 60kW+), gas engine to fall back on (with OBD-II programming you can enable Hold State of Charge on the NA models allowing you to truly treat the i3 as a proper series-hybrid and not just an emergency limp-along range extender that will crap out going up a hill in the cold), comfy seats, and did I mention NO TOUCHSCREENS and NO OTA UPDATES?
- thijson 1y agoI just took mine on a fairly long trip, around 370 miles. I used the hold charge feature once the battery reached 75%. It was fun to drive through a hilly region, the battery got me up the hill, then the engine plus regen charged it back up to the set point on the way down the hill. I liked that I didn't have to touch the brakes. The fuel tank is quite small, but it doesn't take long to fill. Overall fuel consumption was around 6-8 gallons for the trip.
- hedora 1y agoI haven’t had the alignment problem and our roads are probably worse than yours. Potholes, gravel, dirt, mountain switchbacks, etc. I found that America’s Tires charges $200 less per set than the dealership, but I get steering wheel vibration at around 75-80mph. With dealership install, there’s no vibration up till the electronic limiter hits at 93mph. I’m not sure if handling the same and sounding the same at 65 and 93 mph is a feature or a bug though. :-) This is the only car that they couldn’t align + balance prop Our local mechanic gets the balance to work up to about 85mph. Maybe have the dealership fix the alignment? We know some people with an old leaf. On certain points in their commute the ADAS emergency brakes every single day. It’s particularly bad if someone is tailgating them as they approach that spot, though it can’t be good for the tires either. Used i3’s are going for way under $17K these days, fwiw. I was actually shopping for a used leaf, and ended up with an i3.
- sorenjan 1y agoThe i3 has suicide doors, the i8 is the one with three comma doors.
- lagniappe 1y agoSho you right
- brightball 1y agoThe deals on used electric vehicles are pretty shocking. Used Chevy Volts are actually more expensive now than they were a few years back, at least on the CarMax website. Maybe a higher price because they were discontinued but I used to love my Volt. Averaged 150mpg over 3 years.
- throwawaylaptop 1y agoDuring COVID lockdowns I got on a plane to San Diego and bought a 2013 Volt with 100k miles for $5500. It had warranty until 2023 and 150k miles (I didn't use it though). I have spent Zero dollars on repairs and I'm up to 207k miles. Favorite car ever.
- brightball 1y agoStill can’t believe they stopped making them.
- arbuge 1y agoRe: the tax credit, note the income requirements here: https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/used-clean-vehicle-credit https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/used-clean-vehicle-cr... I don't know anything about your situation, but I'm guessing quite a bit of the readers here on HN from the US won't qualify.
- mtlynch 1y ago>The sale qualifies only if: >You buy the vehicle from a dealer. This is such an annoying part of the tax incentive. It's a huge, pointless gift to car dealers (who need no help) because it means they don't have to compete for price with private sellers or buyers. If I have a used EV to sell, I basically have to sell to the dealer because no buyer wants to bother buying from me when they can get the same thing from a dealer with a $4k tax credit on top.
- supportengineer 1y agoNot to mention there are severe income limits on the rebate
- taftster 1y agoRight, set too low (imho). And not a graduated phase out either. And the market for these cars are going to be people typically past the income limit. My instinct tells me that people below the income limit ($75K/$150K) probably aren't really in the market for an EV. They are probably just trying to keep their regular gas vehicle running. An EV is almost a second/third car for a lot of people, commuters trying to offset their gasoline costs.
- loeg 1y agoIndividual tax credits/deductions shouldn't have income limits / phaseout at all. We get the progressive taxation on the front end, with marginal tax brackets.
- leesec 1y agokind of nuts since a used tesla is within 5k of this
- supportengineer 1y agoYou could get a whole other car for 5k
- bradly 1y agoFor another data point... I purchased a used 2011 Leaf for $5k a few years ago and still use it as my daily driver. It gets between ~50-70 miles per change and charges incredibly slow, but I'm been happy with it.
- bapak 1y ago> I'll have paid $11k for the car, effectively. No you have not. You have paid $11k + a whole working car to get that one. I also can get a new iPhone every year "for only $500" if you consider the real price being "only $500 plus a year-old perfectly-working iPhone"
- me-vs-cat 1y agoHis trade-in car was a long way from "year-old perfectly-working". Looking at $13k (which excludes his $2k trade-in), I'm left wondering if my own conditions are favorable for switching to EV.
- bapak 1y agoThe iPhone example was just to make it more obvious, but the logic still applies. It's 13k at best, not 11k
- skylurk 1y agoI think you are misreading? > $17k minus an extra $2k added to my Camry's trade-in value This says the dealer paid a premium for the Camry to secure the deal on the Leaf. The Camry's full trade-in value was not given.
- bapak 1y agoRight, my initial statement applies: it's not "just $11k", it's a lot more.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- skylurk 1y agoHow I read it, the deal could have been something like $5k (+$2k) for the trade-in car and $10k in cash. Later there is a $4k used EV tax rebate. In this situation the cost works out to something like 5k + 10k - 4k = 11k
- __mharrison__ 1y agoNot to be rude but I'm surprised you qualified for the tax credit...
- dzhiurgis 1y agoCould've bought Model 3 for this and spend $300 for third party buttons. It has software thats actually somewhat hackable and car is far more capable. But I understand it's hard to recommend Tesla these days lol.
- vannevar 1y agoCould also have bought a used Chevy Bolt in this price range, with CCS, ~250mi range, and CarPlay.
- alchemist1e9 1y agoFor some reason when I charge at public chargers a very common vehicle next to me are those Chevy Bolts. If you’ve never compared them side by side you will be surprised, the Leaf is a MUCH nicer car, the Bolts just look way cheaper and lower quality vehicles. I also don’t get this CCS drama, I have yet to come across an actual fast charger station that doesn’t have CHAdeMO in addition to the CCS connection. Maybe in my area of midwest all the charger stations were installed during the dual standard being the standard.
- alchemist1e9 1y agoI’m wrong about CCS, can’t edit this long after so replying here to myself to clarify. I’m dumb, of course I always see CHAdeMO because my charger app is set to that for DC fast. Duh … a friend said unset filters and yeah there are more CCS DC fast.
- geerlingguy 1y agoYeah, in St. Louis metro, I think there are only like 2-3 CHAdeMO chargers, period. On the trip to Chicago, I only see 4 plugs on the way, and those are all at dealerships... which often have cars parked in front of them, so I can't really rely on those being available :D
- 1y ago
- loloquwowndueo 1y agoYou could jump into your local used car listing site and check for yourself. In here a used 2022 leaf goes for about $20-22K CAD. 2016 models go as low as $8K - those had a range of about 120km when new.
- dzhiurgis 1y agoIn NZ you can get a Leaf for $1-2k, about 50km range remaining.
- mrkstu 1y ago50k is equivalent to driving around with a low fuel warning constantly on your dash
- klardotsh 1y agoI'm guessing distances in NZ are shorter, or you're only planning to use that vehicle in the urban city core. Here in the US, 50km range barely gets me to the ferry terminal to get into Seattle, and that's assuming 50km is at 55mph rural highway speeds and isn't assuming I'm driving 25mph in the city. Put otherwise: if the battery is so degraded you only get 30mi/50km range out of it, I see why it's selling for $2000.
- dzhiurgis 1y agoDefinitely only as a secondary/ runabout car. You’d need a proper one occasionally. Shame car share isn’t well established yet cuz that would be viable alternative.