Cheap Electric Car Options

[Woods247]

Do any of you guys own a Leaf or Bolt or any other 100% electric car for local commutes. Im considering a 2015 Leaf S with 50k miles for $10k. The battery has 2yrs and 50k miles left on its warranty and will likely cost around $7k if I have to replace it outside of warranty, which I won’t do... Any opinions on this? They seem to be relatively free from problems. I do not want a hybrid. I want 100% electric with at least a 75 mile range. Thanks for opinions.

 

[Mikey456]

My opinion.... I would always pick the Bolt. It’s a good looking hatchback with good performance and range. That is if I planned to keep it for awhile. The Leaf would probably be a good car on the cheap and as you pointed out does it does have limited range. But if I was pushed into electric the Bolt or if I had extra money the Tesla.

 

[Jabbit]

BMW i3 is cheaper than you'd think. And there is an option for a small gas engine that acts as a generator.

 

[TyphoonFiST]

The bolts have been having issues with Fire risk* FYI...There is a recall for those model years also*

 

[jeffreylyon]

I have a gen 2, non-plus Leaf and commute (commuted) 70 miles a day. 0 problems. If I were to do it over again I would have waited for the Leaf+ or, maybe, gone with a Bolt for the extra range, although I find the Leaf to be much more comfortable. I've spoken to a colleague with a i3 and a similar commute who is considering trading it for something else as it's more of a city car than a commuter. The i3 REx (onboard generator) uses a motorcycle engine and is much less reliable than the non-REx.

Telsa's have notoriously bad build quality. Good tech, bad car.

 

[flbchbm]

There was a certain model year where they changed battery technology and they were better. I briefly looked at used Leaf's, briefly. The $10k cost for a used short-range full elec car wasn't worth it for me given my round trip work commute, 18 miles. That's one reason I ended up in a FiST. Less than twice the cost out the door, $18.5k, > 5 times the power, endless range and, oh wait, what's that? We're out of gas here in VA today?.......lol

 

[Ford ST]

$10,000 for a car that has two years left on the warranty for the battery yeah that doesn't sound like a smart decision. If you don't care about that though go for it.

Unfortunately the Nissan leaf is truly a disposable car the battery is the car.
I hope you're not making this decision because a bunch of stupid people decided to fill up 15, 5 gallon jugs of fuel.

I have been listening to Clark Howard for 20 plus years and he was a very early electric car adopter. He never had much good to say about the leaf.




Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk

 

[powermatt]

Leaf batteries are also air cooled, so they have significantly shorter life than anything else out there (first gen Leafs all seem to be hovering around 40 miles range now, or about half the original capacity). There's a reason they're cheap.

I filled up the Miata on Saturday, which means I'll be good just doing commuting for the next month.

 

[Erick_V]

Have been thinking of EV’s because the Fiesta is almost paid off and I want a “normal” car and it’ll will see like 200 miles a week. Although I could do a Tesla I don’t see a need to spend that much money with school and other things. But as mentioned above a used EV has concerns that I’m not sure I want to deal with. Also want a Supermoto like the DRZ400SM but that’s another discussion lol. I just want like 25+ mpg min on 87 with little maintenance but something entertaining also. I wish Miata’s didn’t hike in price, you have to spend at least 5k for a decent NA here in South Texas, I don’t like buying people’s heaps so that eliminates a lot the ones on FB marketplace.

Had thoughts of a Honda Fit because Gridlife has an entire racing series around otherwise stock Fit’s so if the Fiesta is down I can still race and get seat time. I can’t make up my mind. I want a practical car but also find myself looking at JZX90’s lol

 

[jeffreylyon]

Leaf batteries are also air cooled, so they have significantly shorter life than anything else out there (first gen Leafs all seem to be hovering around 40 miles range now, or about half the original capacity). There's a reason they're cheap.

They aren't even air cooled - they're passively cooled. That becomes an issue if you're DC charging often. Given its range, I wouldn't consider my Leaf for a road trip and have never use the CHAdeMO port. I've never come anywhere near a heat issue commuting in Pittsburgh summers and Level 2 charging. If you're DC charging in a warmer climate you may have a different experience.

Twice, during really cold days, I got a range warning on the dash with cabin heat on full blast (resistive heating) and moving at > 80 mph. I backed off for a minute or two and the warning went away and my range returned to something expected, so a battery heater would be nice. More so if I DC charged as a cold battery doesn't want to charge.

I'm grabbing F-150 EV on launch day and my wife is eyeing the ID.4 and the ID Buzz, but I may hang onto the Leaf for a commuter. Like I said, 0 problems thus far - it's a very comfortable, reliable, soulless appliance and my overall experience has convinced me that I've purchased my last ICE daily.

 

[powermatt]

They aren't even air cooled - they're passively cooled. That becomes an issue if you're DC charging often. Given its range, I wouldn't consider my Leaf for a road trip and have never use the CHAdeMO port. I've never come anywhere near a heat issue commuting in Pittsburgh summers and Level 2 charging. If you're DC charging in a warmer climate you may have a different experience.

Twice, during really cold days, I got a range warning on the dash with cabin heat on full blast (resistive heating) and moving at > 80 mph. I backed off for a minute or two and the warning went away and my range returned to something expected, so a battery heater would be nice. More so if I DC charged as a cold battery doesn't want to charge.

I'm grabbing F-150 EV on launch day and my wife is eyeing the ID.4 and the ID Buzz, but I may hang onto the Leaf for a commuter. Like I said, 0 problems thus far - it's a very comfortable, reliable, soulless appliance and my overall experience has convinced me that I've purchased my last ICE daily.

If the F-150 EV wasn't likely to be $70k+ for a mid level trim, even I'd think about it (basing on a hybrid I optioned out after watching a review last night). Also, who knows when they'll actually be a reality. My Mach-E order is likely still 6+ months out from delivery (and even that's a guess).

Realistically the Bolt is all the EV most people will need (even for road trips), but there's still so much FUD around range and charging. I'd have a current gen Bolt already if the seats weren't such hot garbage (literally, in some cases, though I'm mainly talking about the interior: the bottom seat cushion has to be like 2mm thick).

 

[Woods247]

I have a gen 2, non-plus Leaf and commute (commuted) 70 miles a day. 0 problems. If I were to do it over again I would have waited for the Leaf+ or, maybe, gone with a Bolt for the extra range, although I find the Leaf to be much more comfortable. I've spoken to a colleague with a i3 and a similar commute who is considering trading it for something else as it's more of a city car than a commuter. The i3 REx (onboard generator) uses a motorcycle engine and is much less reliable than the non-REx.

Telsa's have notoriously bad build quality. Good tech, bad car.

Great info! Thank you. I considered the i3 as well but comfort is preferable as the furthest commute is 27 miles each way. I won’t buy a Tesla due to the poor sales/service experiences in my area. It might be worth spending more for a later model Leaf or one with the larger battery. I appreciate your reply. Definitely helps to hear from someone with experience.

 

[Woods247]

$10,000 for a car that has two years left on the warranty for the battery yeah that doesn't sound like a smart decision. If you don't care about that though go for it.

Unfortunately the Nissan leaf is truly a disposable car the battery is the car.
I hope you're not making this decision because a bunch of stupid people decided to fill up 15, 5 gallon jugs of fuel.

I have been listening to Clark Howard for 20 plus years and he was a very early electric car adopter. He never had much good to say about the leaf.




Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk

Clark Howard is a dipshit. We have gas in Atlanta.

 

[Ford ST]

Clark Howard is a dipshit. We have gas in Atlanta.

Sorry you feel that way.

Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk

 

[powermatt]

Have you had a look at the Ioniq EV? They're far nicer inside than the Leaf, and they have a pretty similar range. Two year old used examples are ~$20k.

 

[Woods247]

The bolts have been having issues with Fire risk* FYI...There is a recall for those model years also*

Fire has always been a concern of mine when it comes to electric cars. Every other car here seems to be a Leaf or Tesla. I haven’t heard of any wilting yet but perhaps I need to Google. Ford also made an electric Fusion. I wonder if it’s any good?

 

[Woods247]

Have you had a look at the Ioniq EV? They're far nicer inside than the Leaf, and they have a pretty similar range. Two year old used examples are ~$20k.

I have not. I’ll check it out thank you.

Edit: I kinda dig it! Thanks man. I’ll add it to the test drive list.

 

[M-Sport fan]

None of these companies have adapted any form of KERS recharging (whether during/from braking, or some sort of electro-magnetic generator in the wheels/hubs) to their fully electric platforms yet, to extend the range?

Or would that necessarily add $50K+ to any price tag, so therefore, it's totally unfeasible?

 

[SteveS]

They all recharge on braking. Most even have settings to increase or decrease the amount of regenerative braking. Many of the electric car fanatics call it "one-pedal driving"

 

[kivnul]

We have a Bolt at work that I have driven a time or two. There is a paddle on the steering wheel that acts as a heavy regenerative brake, beyond what either the "one-pedal driving" mode has (which I am not a fan of) and the amount normally provided by the brake pedal.