A true $$MM post! Trading a paid for car for an electric?

[BAMFMrsB]

I drive an '09 Jetta TDI. It's been paid off for over 2 years now. We think because of a front-end wreck (all cosmetic, NO airbag deployed) and high miles (20k per year) we can get $8-$9k on trade in. I KBB'd and used Edmunds and they both said the same for an 'average' or 'good condition' rating (basically a 3 out of 5). The car looks great but because of the wreck and high miles, I see why it's not an 'excellent' or 'very good' condition contender. FWIW, she gets 35 around town and 42 highway MPGs. Also, people on Craigslist be cray-cray. Some are posting in the $15k range.  I'm assuming for heavy negotiation reasons, or really low miles.

On to the electric car - we can get a base model LEAF for a 2 year lease at $169-$199ish a month. According to Clark Howard, you can drive the car for 'free'. The state government kicks back a $5000 tax credit (and the U.S gov't gives you $7500, which the dealerships 'keep' by lowering the cost of the car). The suggestion is that you take the $5000 and put it to a bank account that the car payment at $169-$199/mo will pull from and then you have a roughly 25mo car payment covered. www.ajc.com/weblogs/atlanta-bargain-hunter/2014/may/12/wes-moss-new-car-s-more-free/?ecmp=ajc_social_facebook_2014_sfp

We would need to watch the 'lease' mileage at 12k/year. I obviously drive a hell of a lot more then that right now, but we've used my car as the constant driver, and DH's as more of a garage queen. Obviously, that would have to change. We'd also rent a car anytime we drove out of town, because DH's is a stick shift and loud and I'd really prefer we rent a car for long distance travels over driving his. So there's an added cost right there.

Charging is ZERO problem. There are a lot of stations at work and we can charge at home as well. My commute is 40mi a day, total. I currently refuel my diesel at ~$50 a tank every 10ish days.

I believe it's a similar insurance cost to what I already drive. DH is checking on that.

I would probably get a 2014 since the 2015's are set to release.

So, $$MM, WWYD? Feel free to ask more Q's. I'm sure I haven't covered every aspect.

[starryfish]

Why wouldnt you buy it then? You wouldnt have to worry about the mileage and truly use it as much as your could

[imojoebunny]

Just a note, my neighbor bought one of these a few weeks ago for her DH to drive to work. He can charge it at work, but when they charge it at their house, it doesn't charge enough for the trip the next day. They have to get a different charging system for home that cost a lot, since they have an old house and the panel has to be upgraded.

Maybe you can borrow one from the dealer for two days and make sure it works for the commute you want to make. It worked the first day, but the second, it didn't.

I wouldn't lease if you drive 20k miles a year. Renting a car for trips can be done, but would you really do it? I know people who do it, like my friends whose main car is a Tesla.

[Susie]

Oct 20, 2014 11:28:15 GMT -5 BAMFMrsB said:

I drive an '09 Jetta TDI. It's been paid off for over 2 years now. We think because of a front-end wreck (all cosmetic, NO airbag deployed) and high miles (20k per year) we can get $8-$9k on trade in. I KBB'd and used Edmunds and they both said the same for an 'average' or 'good condition' rating (basically a 3 out of 5). The car looks great but because of the wreck and high miles, I see why it's not an 'excellent' or 'very good' condition contender. FWIW, she gets 35 around town and 42 highway MPGs. Also, people on Craigslist be cray-cray. Some are posting in the $15k range.  I'm assuming for heavy negotiation reasons, or really low miles.

We just bought a new TDI because gently used listings were so expensive relative to what you get.  I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.  If you decide to go ahead, see if you can sell it for $12-13k.  Nothing to lose by trying!

Owning/leasing a daily driver and renting a car for trips would be too much hassle for me, but that's why there's vanilla and chocolate.

[egishere]

I would do it if you think you can stay under the mileage for the lease! My friend just did basically the same thing and got the Leaf but her and her husband work in the airline industry as a pilot and FA and don't drive much other than to the airport and errands around town.
They did have an electrician put a separate plug in their garage for the charging so it wasn't connect to the whole house electrical system or something like that and she said they were going to buy the at home system which I think was $800?? She also said lease makes more sense because the technology on these cars will change in 2-3 years.

[shopgirl07]

I wouldn't lease a car with that commute. And the fact that you currently drive 20K miles per year means you'll have to do a lot of shifting around to come in under 12K. Sounds like a pain in the ass.

[BAMFMrsB]

Oct 20, 2014 11:33:05 GMT -5 superduper said:

How much more would you need to drive your DH's car? What kind of mileage does it get? Do you normally drive out of town when you go? How often? Then there is the whole leasing thing, I think that I've been advised that that is never a good idea, but IDK about that $5000 tax credit, when do you get that? Is that something that is on your federal return? Is it like the EIC but for a car? I'm pretty confused aboutt hat part (I can't read your link, my work blocks that site).

How much more would you need to drive your DH's car? I just mean using it more for the 'daily' car than my own. Going to run errands in it. Taking it to attractions. 
What kind of mileage does it get? ehhhhhhhh, 25mpg around town. 30 highway.  
Do you normally drive out of town when you go? Yes We normally take my car on a '3 hour tour' to visit DH's hometown on long weekends. We try to keep that to 2-3 times a year. We'll go to another neighboring state in the new year for DH to go on a race. We used to drive it to FL pre-kid because we could get there on 1 tank of diesel.
Then there is the whole leasing thing, I think that I've been advised that that is never a good idea, but IDK about that $5000 tax credit, when do you get that? Is that something that is on your federal return? Is it like the EIC but for a car? I'm pretty confused aboutt hat part (I can't read your link, my work blocks that site). I don't know yet either if it's a chunk tax return or if it's something you apply for and then send to you. DH said he'd investigate that aspect.

[BAMFMrsB]

Oct 20, 2014 12:03:44 GMT -5 imojoebunny said:

Just a note, my neighbor bought one of these a few weeks ago for her DH to drive to work. He can charge it at work, but when they charge it at their house, it doesn't charge enough for the trip the next day. They have to get a different charging system for home that cost a lot, since they have an old house and the panel has to be upgraded.

Maybe you can borrow one from the dealer for two days and make sure it works for the commute you want to make. It worked the first day, but the second, it didn't.

I wouldn't lease if you drive 20k miles a year. Renting a car for trips can be done, but would you really do it? I know people who do it, like my friends whose main car is a Tesla.

We can add the charging station. It's an additional $600. *-) DH does not think it is necessary. And the ones at work are the real ones.

Renting a car for trips is completely doable. We rent a lot for work purposes, so I can rent for personal use on-site as well. 

20k miles a year is because I do not like or want to drive DH's car. It's POSSIBLE to drive his car more and it is reasonable to expect we would have to so we don't go over miles on a lease - this is a BIG reason I don't like leasing. Keeping low miles is annoying.

[BAMFMrsB]

Oct 20, 2014 12:13:41 GMT -5 Susie said:

Oct 20, 2014 11:28:15 GMT -5 BAMFMrsB said:

I drive an '09 Jetta TDI. It's been paid off for over 2 years now. We think because of a front-end wreck (all cosmetic, NO airbag deployed) and high miles (20k per year) we can get $8-$9k on trade in. I KBB'd and used Edmunds and they both said the same for an 'average' or 'good condition' rating (basically a 3 out of 5). The car looks great but because of the wreck and high miles, I see why it's not an 'excellent' or 'very good' condition contender. FWIW, she gets 35 around town and 42 highway MPGs. Also, people on Craigslist be cray-cray. Some are posting in the $15k range.  I'm assuming for heavy negotiation reasons, or really low miles.

We just bought a new TDI because gently used listings were so expensive relative to what you get.  I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.  If you decide to go ahead, see if you can sell it for $12-13k.  Nothing to lose by trying!

Owning/leasing a daily driver and renting a car for trips would be too much hassle for me, but that's why there's vanilla and chocolate.

Isn't that nuts? I was thinking of posting for the moon as well since others seemed to aim for it. :Y: WTH, why not, right? I clicked through some of the postings and most seem to be the sportwagen version, so obviously they can ask a higher price, but some had higher mileage than my car!

I think people see 35-42MPGs and lose their minds!

[starryfish]

you would have 10K miles a year JUST in your drive to and from work (thats not including stopping other places, etc). So to stay under 12k would be a PITA. I would look into purchasing it instead.

[aurora]

Oct 20, 2014 12:40:33 GMT -5 BAMFMrsB said:

...We can add the charging station. It's an additional $600. *-) DH does not think it is necessary. And the ones at work are the real ones.

Renting a car for trips is completely doable. We rent a lot for work purposes, so I can rent for personal use on-site as well. 

20k miles a year is because I do not like or want to drive DH's car. It's POSSIBLE to drive his car more and it is reasonable to expect we would have to so we don't go over miles on a lease - this is a BIG reason I don't like leasing. Keeping low miles is annoying.

There are (at least) two elements to the charging: one, is your house's wiring set up to handle the required amperage, which is what I assume the charging station would take care of, and two, is the supply to your house sufficient. The latter would need to be confirmed with the utility. I would imagine in most cases it is, but you might just want to make sure.

I have a hard time believing that leasing is really the better deal long-term than buying, so I'd also look very carefully into all the assumptions there.

[BAMFMrsB]

Oct 20, 2014 12:43:47 GMT -5 starryfish said:

you would have 10K miles a year JUST in your drive to and from work (thats not including stopping other places, etc). So to stay under 12k would be a PITA. I would look into purchasing it instead.

That's what I said to DH. I don't like be limited.

[lys]

leasing =/= buying!!! Would a lease even qualify for any of the rebates? (make sure they are still in effect for your state and if the fed rebate allows leasing rebate.

You have a paid off, fuel efficient vehicle now --- I would keep that until it dies and when it needs to be replaced - then consider electric if that is still a beter/best choice of vehicles at the time..

[M]

We got a Leaf last May and so far, we like it well enough for the purpose that we got it for: hauling the dogs around town and really just driving around town to save money on gas. There are no 15 minute charging stations nearby us so the furthest we can go is about a 40 mile radius which we've done a couple of times and it was worrisome getting back lol. One time we had to stop for 15 minutes at a 3 hour charging station to gain an extra 7 miles just to get home.

Charging station at home: I think it's unnecessary. It takes about 12 hours to charge to 80% which is what is recommended unless you're going to go further. 80% gets us about 80 miles. We get home, plug it in and can leave the next morning about 12 hours later. Since you have stations at work, you are set. If by chance they are taken, there are tons of 15 min charging stations in ATL.

$$ saved: We're spending more than we had anticipated. We got it thinking it would only cost us $100/mo more to add the car. We're paying $60/mo for full coverage, low ded insurance. Our electric bill has gone up about $60/mo (compared to last year and dealer said only $10/mo pssh) and driving about 800 miles a month, but we only charge at home. Our payments on it is $249/mo and we're only saving about $200/mo in gas.

So overall, we've been thinking about letting the car go on lease swap or something but we're holding off for now until we see what happens with my job. Whatever we decide to do, we are not keeping it once the lease is up. We'll likely get another gas car or a Tesla or maybe one of BMW's electric cars because they all have higher ranges. Though in 2.5 years, I believe Nissan is supposed to be coming out with a longer range Leaf model.

[sillygoosegirl]

You should look into the cost of the chargers near work. They may be more expensive than you expect. We got our EV when we still lived in an apartment, and the public chargers cost about half (per mile driven) what we'd been paying for gas for a vehicle getting slightly worse mileage than yours. So not as much of a savings. Also, if you accidentally left the car on the charger overnight (or any time after it was fully charged), it would keep charging you at the same hourly charge rate, so really, it wasn't saving us that much and was kind of a pain in the ass.

Now that we own a house, charging at home our "fuel" price per mile is about 1/4 of gas, and the charger/meter shuts off when the car is charged. We have enough range that we almost never have to charge anywhere else (except my parent's house, and then it's on their utility bill--they have the same model EV that we do, so they charge at our house sometimes too in exchange).

Anyhow, not to be a downer. I love our EV and I love that our budget is basically not impacted by gasoline prices at all, but it isn't "free" to operate, and if you have to charge away from home, it can quickly stop being even that cheap.

[tiffany81]

I know a few people who did the GA electric gas rebate and leased a Leaf. They all love driving it, but it doesn't sound like it will work for you. It only goes about 40-50 miles on each charge. Your daily commute would strain that limit and if you needed to run an errand or hit major traffic then you'd be screwed. Plus the mileage limits are way under what you currently drive.

Adding a different outlet to the garage helped speed up the charging time, but it costs between $1,000-$2,000 to do so. And lately I haven't heard of the $199/deal. If you have been quoted that with nothing down, please tell me what dealership. Because the last few people I spoke to about this were getting much higher quotes now or with a significant amount down.

[mrsd2006]

Oct 20, 2014 18:27:28 GMT -5 tiffany81 said:

I know a few people who did the GA electric gas rebate and leased a Leaf. They all love driving it, but it doesn't sound like it will work for you. It only goes about 40-50 miles on each charge. Your daily commute would strain that limit and if you needed to run an errand or hit major traffic then you'd be screwed. Plus the mileage limits are way under what you currently drive.

Adding a different outlet to the garage helped speed up the charging time, but it costs between $1,000-$2,000 to do so. And lately I haven't heard of the $199/deal. If you have been quoted that with nothing down, please tell me what dealership. Because the last few people I spoke to about this were getting much higher quotes now or with a significant amount down.

No, the range is further than that, 80 ish miles. We have two Leafs. No one is buying them because the technology will change so much in a couple years. You can get a lease with more miles, my coworker got 15k but of course it costs more. 

We had to get the home charger because the trickle charge isn't enough for two cars. I use about 25% round trip, DH uses 60 to 70% round trip on a daily basis. We kept our gas cars because we regularly make trips longer than 80 miles. We are going to be selling DHs SUV soon. 

you do not get a lump sum payment of the $5k. It's a credit, applied to your state taxes. It it can be taken over a few years. I'm not sure how much the electric bill has gone up. 

There are several posts on slickdeals about the Leaf and there is a FB group called EV Club of the South and Atlanta Nissan LEAF Owners. Check them out they can answer lots of your questions. 

[tiffany81]

Oct 20, 2014 22:03:15 GMT -5 mrsd2006 said:

Oct 20, 2014 18:27:28 GMT -5 tiffany81 said:

I know a few people who did the GA electric gas rebate and leased a Leaf. They all love driving it, but it doesn't sound like it will work for you. It only goes about 40-50 miles on each charge. Your daily commute would strain that limit and if you needed to run an errand or hit major traffic then you'd be screwed. Plus the mileage limits are way under what you currently drive.

Adding a different outlet to the garage helped speed up the charging time, but it costs between $1,000-$2,000 to do so. And lately I haven't heard of the $199/deal. If you have been quoted that with nothing down, please tell me what dealership. Because the last few people I spoke to about this were getting much higher quotes now or with a significant amount down.

No, the range is further than that, 80 ish miles. We have two Leafs. No one is buying them because the technology will change so much in a couple years. You can get a lease with more miles, my coworker got 15k but of course it costs more. 

We had to get the home charger because the trickle charge isn't enough for two cars. I use about 25% round trip, DH uses 60 to 70% round trip on a daily basis. We kept our gas cars because we regularly make trips longer than 80 miles. We are going to be selling DHs SUV soon. 

you do not get a lump sum payment of the $5k. It's a credit, applied to your state taxes. It it can be taken over a few years. I'm not sure how much the electric bill has gone up. 

There are several posts on slickdeals about the Leaf and there is a FB group called EV Club of the South and Atlanta Nissan LEAF Owners. Check them out they can answer lots of your questions. 

I guess it depends on driving conditions, etc., because that's how far the two people I know can go on a charge.

[Deleted]

As the owner of an 09 Jetta, I would stay put with what I have.

[sweetiesparkles]

I thought about a leaf too but like shoegal I love my 09 Tiguan and 06 Jetta too much.

[krystee]

I would stay with what you have. It sounds like a Leaf does not fit your current needs and if you are going to be driving H's car half the time, you may as well stick with yours since you like it better.

[BAMFMrsB]

Oct 21, 2014 5:11:16 GMT -5 @shoegal said:

As the owner of an 09 Jetta, I would stay put with what I have.

I know. I $&%(#)ing LOVE my car. Like LOVVVVVVVVVVVE it.

DH and I talked about that 'savings' calculator last night and because my car gets such great gas mileage, we only save $900 a year by going electric. :^) It's not really a ZOMG life changing choice!



And someone said check how much charging stations NEAR work cost. They don't. They're AT my work and a perk. Which is why there are now a FLEET of LEAF's (LEAF-ves??) in our parking garage. A lot of people have jumped on the bandwagon.

[trident0]

Oct 21, 2014 12:54:18 GMT -5 BAMFMrsB said:

Oct 21, 2014 5:11:16 GMT -5 @shoegal said:

As the owner of an 09 Jetta, I would stay put with what I have.

I know. I $&%(#)ing LOVE my car. Like LOVVVVVVVVVVVE it.

DH and I talked about that 'savings' calculator last night and because my car gets such great gas mileage, we only save $900 a year by going electric. :^) It's not really a ZOMG life changing choice!



And someone said check how much charging stations NEAR work cost. They don't. They're AT my work and a perk. Which is why there are now a FLEET of LEAF's (LEAF-ves??) in our parking garage. A lot of people have jumped on the bandwagon.

At my office "green" cars like the leaf get front row parking and free charging.  I'm eyeing them. 

[rbp]

I want a Leaf. That is all.

[Deleted]

BAMFMrsB - what are you leaning towards now that you've thought about it a bit more??? so curious!

[DirtySouth]

I traded a paid off car a few months ago for a leased Leaf.  I didn't go with the base model because it doesn't have quick charge capability, where you can charge in 30 minutes at Nissan dealerships.  I walked away with $4k for my trade in and a payment of something like $285.  The GA credit won't completely cover my two years of payments, but it does cover 1.5 years.  With the gas savings taken into account, it's a really crazy financial deal.  I commute 30 miles a day and it's not a problem at all.  I even drove it to the North GA mountains last weekend, almost to NC, and did a 20 minute quick charge in Gainesville on the way.

[M]

DirtySouth - How did you charge when you were in N. GA? Were you near Clayton by chance? That's the nearest quick charge to us (92 miles  ) so we've been a little apprehensive about making the trip down to ATL because 1- what if our lead foot doesn't get us 92 miles out of it, 2- what if the quick charge station is broken when we get there, and 3- What if we don't make it back up the mountain and there's no charging stations until 10 miles from our house   . 

[DirtySouth]

Oct 25, 2014 19:58:43 GMT -5 M said:

DirtySouth - How did you charge when you were in N. GA? Were you near Clayton by chance? That's the nearest quick charge to us (92 miles  ) so we've been a little apprehensive about making the trip down to ATL because 1- what if our lead foot doesn't get us 92 miles out of it, 2- what if the quick charge station is broken when we get there, and 3- What if we don't make it back up the mountain and there's no charging stations until 10 miles from our house   . 

I went to visit my parents so just did a trickle charge and had them drive me around for the weekend.

I once had a broken quick charge station and had to plug in and go to dinner for two hours. That sucked. I had my parents ob stand by to cone pick me up if needed.

I wouldn't chance a 92 mile drive without any charger on the drive. I drove from Gainesville to hiawassee, which I think is about a 60 mile drive, but it actually used up 75 miles of charge. After charging in Gainesville I made it to hiawassee with only 15 miles to spare.

Sent from my HTC One mini

[M]

Oct 25, 2014 22:04:47 GMT -5 DirtySouth said:

Oct 25, 2014 19:58:43 GMT -5 M said:

DirtySouth - How did you charge when you were in N. GA? Were you near Clayton by chance? That's the nearest quick charge to us (92 miles  ) so we've been a little apprehensive about making the trip down to ATL because 1- what if our lead foot doesn't get us 92 miles out of it, 2- what if the quick charge station is broken when we get there, and 3- What if we don't make it back up the mountain and there's no charging stations until 10 miles from our house   . 

I went to visit my parents so just did a trickle charge and had them drive me around for the weekend.

I once had a broken quick charge station and had to plug in and go to dinner for two hours. That sucked. I had my parents ob stand by to cone pick me up if needed.

I wouldn't chance a 92 mile drive without any charger on the drive. I drove from Gainesville to hiawassee, which I think is about a 60 mile drive, but it actually used up 75 miles of charge. After charging in Gainesville I made it to hiawassee with only 15 miles to spare.

Sent from my HTC One mini

ok I think we won't try to make the trip. I looked again and it's actually 82 miles to Clayton but if you lost 15 miles going up from Gainesville then I think we won't be making it home from Clayton. Maybe one day when they put in at least a 3 hour station in between.

[BAMFMrsB]

Oct 25, 2014 10:47:34 GMT -5 @shoegal said:

BAMFMrsB - what are you leaning towards now that you've thought about it a bit more??? so curious!

We'll probably go look at the cars and do a test drive, but I dunno. I really love my car. The downside is it's getting higher miles so I need to start putting money in to upkeep. Up next: new timing belt which makes MrBAMF nuts as many cars are swapping to chains now, but not mine! NEWP. That'll be pricey. :N: I have an old service guide here, so I don't know if these prices have changed much, but it says JUST the belt service is $550 from the stealership. I'll also need an oil change at the time. Fun stuff.

I think I really like the idea of a fully electric car and limited upkeep, but I love my car, too.