Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

roadburner

breld said:

The two dealerships I dealt with had upwards of 40-50 Leafs on each of their lots.

Congrats!

carnaught

@breld, congrats on the punch - great deal!

qbrozen

@breld , have you yet checked to see what vroom/carvana will give you for the Leaf? Might have to wait till the paperwork clears with Nissan, though. Difficult road ahead for you. You’ll be in my prayers.

corvette

Random trivia: What did The Car Wizard name his VW Beetle, and what was it a reference to? It sounded like "war turtle" or "more tortle."

stickguy

Whortle? I think they mentioned it but I know it wasn't something I was familiar with, being a fossil and all.

breld

qbrozen said:

@breld , have you yet checked to see what vroom/carvana will give you for the Leaf? Might have to wait till the paperwork clears with Nissan, though. Difficult road ahead for you. You’ll be in my prayers.

I actually checked with Carvana on a Plus model when I was thinking it could make sense to buy one with the incentives. It seems all those incentives are fully reflected in the fair value of the Leafs - trade offer wasn’t any better than the deeply discounted price.

So are you saying Nissan is challenging to work with on leases?

breld

Out of curiosity, I just got a Carvana estimate on the Leaf I ended up with - it’s a full $3k LESS than the ending residual of my lease.

This is a great example of lease terms being so out of whack in favor of the buyer (lessor).

breld

By the way, the Leaf has been plugged into a standard outlet for over 20 hours. It’s just about fully charged now.

I already have an appointment with an electrician to get a 240v outlet installed.

qbrozen

corvette said:

Random trivia: What did The Car Wizard name his VW Beetle, and what was it a reference to? It sounded like "war turtle" or "more tortle."

Was it by chance Squirtle or maybe Wartortle? The latter being the evolved form of the former, which is a Pokemon turtle character.

qbrozen

breld said:

qbrozen said:

@breld , have you yet checked to see what vroom/carvana will give you for the Leaf? Might have to wait till the paperwork clears with Nissan, though. Difficult road ahead for you. You’ll be in my prayers.

I actually checked with Carvana on a Plus model when I was thinking it could make sense to buy one with the incentives. It seems all those incentives are fully reflected in the fair value of the Leafs - trade offer wasn’t any better than the deeply discounted price.

So are you saying Nissan is challenging to work with on leases?

Just makin a joke.

I didn’t think Nissan leases were Fully transferable, but it seems I may have been mistaken. Odd since Infiniti makes the original leaser remain responsible, even if someone takes over the lease.

mjfloyd1

&breld - congrats. I hope you got both key fobs😂

corvette

qbrozen said:

corvette said:

Random trivia: What did The Car Wizard name his VW Beetle, and what was it a reference to? It sounded like "war turtle" or "more tortle."

Was it by chance Squirtle or maybe Wartortle? The latter being the evolved form of the former, which is a Pokemon turtle character.

Wartortle, that was it. I don't know my Pokemon characters!

au1994

stickguy said:

that is not bad looking. I like the interior. Really would be perfect spare car for my needs. When I actually need one again. Maybe in April they will still have killer deals on them.

My WFH has been extended from end of year until April and common thought is even then we will not go back M-F 8-5.

So, theoretically after selling the Subaru and pocketing $1400, I would have been able to bank 7 months of payments. Would have been a nice down payment on something in the spring! Oh well. Still considering replacing the X1 if we find a good deal on something the wife loves. Might sit tight and see what spring brings. If we truly do not go back full time thats as good of an excuse as any to flip the fleet!

breld

Electrical/EV advice...

As I mentioned, I’m having an electrician install a 240v outlet in our garage.

The Leaf came with a charging cable that has a NEMA 14-50 plug.

My Chargepoint charger that I already have has a NEMA 6-50 plug.

Which plug should I have installed? I believe the 14-50 will give me more flexibility for potential future chargers. But maybe just having the Chargepoint on the wall will be the most flexible option for any future EVs.

For example, let’s just say hypothetically, I placed a deposit for a Rivian. And perhaps with that a new charger would be beneficial...would it be better to just have the 14-50 installed now (which will work with the Nissan charger also of course)?

Or maybe these chargers aren’t really evolving all that much and my existing Chargepoint is fairly future proof. Or maybe a future charger will be hardwired anyway and it doesn’t matter.

kyfdx

I just flip the switch and the light comes on...

28firefighter

I don’t know enough about the charging standards. My EVSE is a standard SAE J1772 plug and is hardwired to my panel.

qbrozen

breld said:

Electrical/EV advice...

As I mentioned, I’m having an electrician install a 240v outlet in our garage.

The Leaf came with a charging cable that has a NEMA 14-50 plug.

My Chargepoint charger that I already have has a NEMA 6-50 plug.

Which plug should I have installed? I believe the 14-50 will give me more flexibility for potential future chargers. But maybe just having the Chargepoint on the wall will be the most flexible option for any future EVs.

For example, let’s just say hypothetically, I placed a deposit for a Rivian. And perhaps with that a new charger would be beneficial...would it be better to just have the 14-50 installed now (which will work with the Nissan charger also of course)?

Or maybe these chargers aren’t really evolving all that much and my existing Chargepoint is fairly future proof. Or maybe a future charger will be hardwired anyway and it doesn’t matter.

The output is the same, just the plug style differs. So simply buy a 6-50 to 14-50 adapter for your existing outlet. $25 on Amazon.

stickguy

I watched some video on youtube where the guy was finding out how convenient the charging infrastructure was (using a non-Tesla model I think, or a Tesla but not supercharger network). Tried out various companies, with erratic success (between all the apps, etc. talking to the chargers, and accuracy to even find them).

anyway, point of this particular ramble, is that they have different plugs depending on the units, but he had adapters to convert to the plug the car needed. I assume Tesla supplies one of those, in case you need to use a non-Tesla network?

so in this case, seems safest to get the most modern one and just make it backward compatible to the leaf using the adaptor, since that would set you up better for the future.

stickguy

au1994 said:

stickguy said:

that is not bad looking. I like the interior. Really would be perfect spare car for my needs. When I actually need one again. Maybe in April they will still have killer deals on them.

My WFH has been extended from end of year until April and common thought is even then we will not go back M-F 8-5.

So, theoretically after selling the Subaru and pocketing $1400, I would have been able to bank 7 months of payments. Would have been a nice down payment on something in the spring! Oh well. Still considering replacing the X1 if we find a good deal on something the wife loves. Might sit tight and see what spring brings. If we truly do not go back full time thats as good of an excuse as any to flip the fleet!

I was permanent WFH anyway. So unless I finally find a new job, I never have to worry about commuting. And even if I do, odds are it will also be a remote position. If there was ever a time for me to get a basic EV, this would be it. Even an easy charger install, since the electric panel is on the garage wall, just inside the door, on my side. Would only need about 1' or wire to connect the charger unit right into it.

sda

WFH has been extended until February. I suspect it will be extended again, as they seem to revise the date on a monthly basis. Probably should have kept the Accord as I am doing so little driving. I am enjoying having a different car, however, so that's good. The heated seats in the Passat will toast the tail.

28firefighter

I'm WFH through June, but expectation is I'll only need to go back 1-2 days a week (unless I want to go back more often).

Michaell

I've been WFH for over 12 years now; for the first 8, I really didn't have an office to go into. With the job I took a few years ago, they did have a local office that I tried to visit every week or two, just for a change of scenery and to connect with the folks there.

Learned a couple of weeks ago that the office will no longer be a place for employees to have a permanent work space; it will only have meeting rooms and reserved cubicles for occasional work.

tjc78

Like @stickguy my position is remote, but my wife my may get called back in Q2. I’m doubtful of that, because her office is right in downtown Philly.

I probably should have waited to replace the Enclave and banked a few months payments... but couldn’t help myself.

graphicguy

breld said:

graphicguy said:

breld said:

Clearly thought I was done for the year, but I’ve had a hankering for an EV experience and thought this was a crazy cheap way to do it...

2020 Leaf SV with tech and all weather packages. MSRP of $39,070. Nothing due at signing, $91/month ($98 with tax) for 24 months, 10k miles.

Not the Plus model, but for my purposes, 150 mile range should be fine, especially for that price.

Yay......Big Congrats. I’ve stuck a couple of toes in the EV test drive waters, but never dove in. Call me “EV curious”.

The i3 we had for a short while really piqued our interest in EVs, but with our driving habits at that time, the range was severely limiting.

I only dove in on this one due to the cheap deal. I like the range (and styling truth be told) of the Bolt better. I understand the Hyundai and Kia offerings are real nice, but they are scarce here in CO. And of course something like a Tesla, eTron or iPace at their cost would be more of a replacement as a primary car, and at this point they don’t interest me enough to do so.

Having said that, obviously can’t beat the Leaf for the deals they’re offering. And if you wanted to get over 200 miles of range, the Plus models would still be well under $200/month.

Great deal. I showed the GF your Leaf pics and told her about your deal. She said she’d pull the trigger right now (she usually drives around 50 miles/day or less) if she could get a deal like that. Around Cincinnati? Looking at the Nissan WEB site, a lease comes in at $500+/mo with $600 down. That’s a big non-starter around here.

Again, congrats!

au1994

tjc78 said:

Like @stickguy my position is remote, but my wife my may get called back in Q2. I’m doubtful of that, because her office is right in downtown Philly.

I probably should have waited to replace the Enclave and banked a few months payments... but couldn’t help myself.

“...but couldn’t help myself “. Lol, I know the feeling! The thrill of the hunt and possibility of something new in the garage was a siren song I could not resist. Plus the fact that I’ve always had a soft spot for Land Cruisers made it a given that I was getting something to replace the Subaru.

WFH is interesting. I’m used to it now and like it a lot. Handy to be able to knock out things like laundry while sitting on a call. Plus being able to run an errand here and there. Not that I do that

stickguy

later this month I will be banking my 4th lease payment not made. so adding in the check they cut me, insurance saved, and dispo fee I won't have, I am probably ahead $3,500 just for 1/3 of 2020. I'll take it, since in 3 months still have not had one instance where we needed a 2nd car so not having it made a difference.

I would be surprised if my wife goes back in before Q2 2021, and even then, would bet it is part time, likely without a dedicated desk. So just as likely, they let her just stay home for good. In which case, really no impediment to relocating next year!

Michaell

As the studio is shut down for the time being, both cars are home full time, now. As much as I'd like to entertain the idea of a 3rd car, it just really doesn't make any sense to take on the additional costs

mjfloyd1

I’m 100% WFW

kyfdx

I'm permanently 100% WFH

au1994

stickguy said:

later this month I will be banking my 4th lease payment not made. so adding in the check they cut me, insurance saved, and dispo fee I won't have, I am probably ahead $3,500 just for 1/3 of 2020. I'll take it, since in 3 months still have not had one instance where we needed a 2nd car so not having it made a difference.

I would be surprised if my wife goes back in before Q2 2021, and even then, would bet it is part time, likely without a dedicated desk. So just as likely, they let her just stay home for good. In which case, really no impediment to relocating next year!

I don’t think there has been a time where we could not have gotten by with the one car. My wife works 8 miles from the house so it would not be a problem for me to take her and pick her up. Probably would have saved even more money as it would have kept me from wandering to the grocery store and for a fancy new recipe. The size and convenience of the Land Cruiser has been welcome on road trips though.

tifighter

breld said:

Electrical/EV advice...

As I mentioned, I’m having an electrician install a 240v outlet in our garage.

The Leaf came with a charging cable that has a NEMA 14-50 plug.

My Chargepoint charger that I already have has a NEMA 6-50 plug.

Which plug should I have installed? I believe the 14-50 will give me more flexibility for potential future chargers. But maybe just having the Chargepoint on the wall will be the most flexible option for any future EVs.

For example, let’s just say hypothetically, I placed a deposit for a Rivian. And perhaps with that a new charger would be beneficial...would it be better to just have the 14-50 installed now (which will work with the Nissan charger also of course)?

Or maybe these chargers aren’t really evolving all that much and my existing Chargepoint is fairly future proof. Or maybe a future charger will be hardwired anyway and it doesn’t matter.

How many amps does the charger pull? If you want to future proof, worry about the wire gauge they run from the panel to the charger. Most electricians will look at the charger, see it charges up to 32A or something, and run the appropriate wire. But on Rivian or Tesla with a bigger battery, you may want to have the ability to pull more in the future.

I upgraded the 40A Clipper Creek charger I had to a 60A Tesla charger this year. They had to pull out the old wire and run new wire to support the amps. But it was worth it, the 3 previously added 30 miles of charge for every one hour connected, now it's 45 miles. When you get into the 100+ kWh batteries on the S/X, Rivian or a Cybertruck, this becomes a significant time saver.

breld

graphicguy said:

breld said:

graphicguy said:

breld said:

Clearly thought I was done for the year, but I’ve had a hankering for an EV experience and thought this was a crazy cheap way to do it...

2020 Leaf SV with tech and all weather packages. MSRP of $39,070. Nothing due at signing, $91/month ($98 with tax) for 24 months, 10k miles.

Not the Plus model, but for my purposes, 150 mile range should be fine, especially for that price.

Yay......Big Congrats. I’ve stuck a couple of toes in the EV test drive waters, but never dove in. Call me “EV curious”.

The i3 we had for a short while really piqued our interest in EVs, but with our driving habits at that time, the range was severely limiting.

I only dove in on this one due to the cheap deal. I like the range (and styling truth be told) of the Bolt better. I understand the Hyundai and Kia offerings are real nice, but they are scarce here in CO. And of course something like a Tesla, eTron or iPace at their cost would be more of a replacement as a primary car, and at this point they don’t interest me enough to do so.

Having said that, obviously can’t beat the Leaf for the deals they’re offering. And if you wanted to get over 200 miles of range, the Plus models would still be well under $200/month.

Great deal. I showed the GF your Leaf pics and told her about your deal. She said she’d pull the trigger right now (she usually drives around 50 miles/day or less) if she could get a deal like that. Around Cincinnati? Looking at the Nissan WEB site, a lease comes in at $500+/mo with $600 down. That’s a big non-starter around here.

Again, congrats!

I was just looking at my energy company's website - looks like $6,500 of the incentive from Nissan is part of an Xcel Energy of Colorado program, and then another $2,000 relates to CO state tax credits.

So makes sense the deal is not necessarily a national one.

qbrozen

tifighter said:

Most electricians will look at the charger, see it charges up to 32A or something, and run the appropriate wire.

Geesh, if that is true, I'm glad I never call in an electrician. I run the appropriate wire for the distance and the breaker rating.

tifighter

5 years ago, 8 AWG wire would have been considered more than enough since most chargers were in the 24-30A range. Now it would be considered bare minimum for what's mostly on the market. A cybertruck, with a I'm guessing 200 kWh battery, will probably support 70A+ charging. But I sincerely doubt many electricians are going to suggest installing a 3 AWG wire for a current 40A charger unless you really push them hard.

isellhondas

oldfarmer50 said:

Looks like JR stole those warehouses. Listed for over $400k and he got it for $236k. Commercial real estate must be in the dumpster in his area.

JR did steal those massive warehouses! In California that would maybe buy a one bedroom condo in Compton...maybe!

isellhondas

oldfarmer50 said:

nyccarguy said:

A few weeks ago, the Pilot needed service. In preparation, I bought all my own parts for the mechanic. At close to 3 years & 58K miles I decided it was time for a brake fluid change, the rear differential fluid needed changing, it needed an oil & filter change, & a Tire Rotation.

$4.59 for a bottle of OEM Honda Brake Fluid & a $100.00 Labor Charge (the dealer wanted $150 for a brake fluid service).

$15.26 for 2 bottles of OEM Honda Dual Pump II Fluid & a $75 Labor Charge (the dealer wanted $120 for a rear differential service). Plus the last time I had the diff fluid changed (15K miles), the dealer put too much fluid in (the mechanic measured when he drained it).

Oil & Filter Change was most likely a wash. He charged me $30 Labor and I supplied the OEM Honda Filter & Mobil 1 0W20 Full Synthetic Oil.

Your mechanic didn’t mind you bringing your own parts? A shop I occasionally use has a sign that says “you don’t bring your own bacon and eggs to a restaurant, don’t bring your own parts here”.

My main go-to guy did agree to install my custom exhaust and strut tower brace however but I asked permission first.

I too am surprised a shop would let you bring your own parts! They depend on the markup they make from the parts to pay the bills.

breld

tifighter said:

5 years ago, 8 AWG wire would have been considered more than enough since most chargers were in the 24-30A range. Now it would be considered bare minimum for what's mostly on the market. A cybertruck, with a I'm guessing 200 kWh battery, will probably support 70A+ charging. But I sincerely doubt many electricians are going to suggest installing a 3 AWG wire for a current 40A charger unless you really push them hard.

Thanks! This is very helpful.

I actually don't know what gauge wire they ran from the breaker to the garage - I suppose they can pull a larger gauge pretty easily at this point.

The Chargepoint I currently own is a 32 amp model. I'll have to see what the electrician has to say tomorrow as to what the maximum amp breaker I can have installed and go from there. I don't even know what dictates that? If I can only get up to 40 amp anyway, then I may as well use the Chargepoint. But hopefully I can get to 50 or 60 amp and have capacity to upgrade down the line.

stickguy

an exhaust system is different than normal parts though. Not something a shop is likely to source on their own, so I could seem them installing that if you bought it (assuming they are comfortable it is the right piece).

stickguy

I am fine now sharing the car since it is always home. If they wife starts taking it to work, I get another one. I refuse to be stuck at home with no transportation! And her office is too far away to drop her off and pick her up.

au1994

stickguy said:

I am fine now sharing the car since it is always home. If they wife starts taking it to work, I get another one. I refuse to be stuck at home with no transportation! And her office is too far away to drop her off and pick her up.

Agree. There is no way I would willingly be stuck without a car. I could’ve handled taking her 8 miles.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

an exhaust system is different than normal parts though. Not something a shop is likely to source on their own, so I could seem them installing that if you bought it (assuming they are comfortable it is the right piece).

My “guy” gives me a substantial discount on parts because I bring him so much work. Similar to Hoovie and the Wizard.

xwesx

breld said:

It's just a white Leaf. But what's a punch without pics?

And, you've already christened it with dog hair! Well done!

xwesx

breld said:

Electrical/EV advice...

As I mentioned, I’m having an electrician install a 240v outlet in our garage.

The Leaf came with a charging cable that has a NEMA 14-50 plug.

My Chargepoint charger that I already have has a NEMA 6-50 plug.

Which plug should I have installed? I believe the 14-50 will give me more flexibility for potential future chargers. But maybe just having the Chargepoint on the wall will be the most flexible option for any future EVs.

For example, let’s just say hypothetically, I placed a deposit for a Rivian. And perhaps with that a new charger would be beneficial...would it be better to just have the 14-50 installed now (which will work with the Nissan charger also of course)?

Or maybe these chargers aren’t really evolving all that much and my existing Chargepoint is fairly future proof. Or maybe a future charger will be hardwired anyway and it doesn’t matter.

I would have the 14-50 receptacle installed. You can get a 6-50 to 14-50 adapter if needed.

I installed a 14-50 receptacle in my garage many years ago. I was plugging in an oven there at the time (nothing has changed, sadly), so I just bought a matching cord for the unit, but I figure the 14-50 is more versatile since it has a port for both hots, the neutral, and the ground. The 6-50 only has the hots and neutral, so even if you adapt it, you still don't have that direct-to-ground connection.

xwesx

breld said:

tifighter said:

5 years ago, 8 AWG wire would have been considered more than enough since most chargers were in the 24-30A range. Now it would be considered bare minimum for what's mostly on the market. A cybertruck, with a I'm guessing 200 kWh battery, will probably support 70A+ charging. But I sincerely doubt many electricians are going to suggest installing a 3 AWG wire for a current 40A charger unless you really push them hard.

Thanks! This is very helpful.

I actually don't know what gauge wire they ran from the breaker to the garage - I suppose they can pull a larger gauge pretty easily at this point.

The Chargepoint I currently own is a 32 amp model. I'll have to see what the electrician has to say tomorrow as to what the maximum amp breaker I can have installed and go from there. I don't even know what dictates that? If I can only get up to 40 amp anyway, then I may as well use the Chargepoint. But hopefully I can get to 50 or 60 amp and have capacity to upgrade down the line.

If you have 8/3 cable, then 40A. If they installed 6/3, you're set for the larger draw. And, as nice as it would be, I really, really doubt they would have run anything larger than 6/3 unless you specified it.

xwesx

stickguy said:

I am fine now sharing the car since it is always home. If they wife starts taking it to work, I get another one. I refuse to be stuck at home with no transportation! And her office is too far away to drop her off and pick her up.

You could pick up a bike from FLX; fresh air, low cost/space consumption (e.g., you could easily pay for it with the money you saved on the lease so far), and you only need to work as hard as you want to work in terms of the exercise element.

breld

Well, dang. I just checked the sheathing of the wire run that was installed - 8 AWG. I wasn’t really aware enough at the time and so I just told them I wanted something to run my existing charger...so that’s exactly what they did.

stickguy

well, unless it was really invasive, the wire should be the easy part of the install, so maybe not too bad to swap it out.

out of curiousity, it looked at local supply of leafs. The big stand-alone dealer has 4, all Plus models. The auto mall store has a whopping zero. And the other stand-alone dealer (2 stores now) shows 7, 3 base and 4 plus.

I kinda like this color. But I suspect that NJ incentives are nowhere near the level CO is at so the lease quote would be much less enticing. especially is supply is super thin.

https://www.mthollynissan.com/inventory/New-2020-Nissan-LEAF-SV-1N4AZ1CP9LC306731/

breld

That’s exactly the trim and options we ended up with (the white color was a little extra). In fact, I was all for the blue, but my wife didn’t care for it. And the dealer said they’d just give the same deal for the white - fine by me.

corvette

breld said:

Well, dang. I just checked the sheathing of the wire run that was installed - 8 AWG. I wasn’t really aware enough at the time and so I just told them I wanted something to run my existing charger...so that’s exactly what they did.

You'll probably be fine with that, unless you get a Rivan or Tesla and need to recharge it from 0% really quickly. For most use scenarios (driving during the day and recharging overnight), I think a slower charge rate works fine for most people. There does appear to be a benefit in efficiency in charging at 240v instead of 120v.

Sandman6472

Well, I can't work from home and very glad about that. We follow strict protocols and so far, not one driver has tested positive, as far as I know. Business is starting to pick up with us delivering more vehicles to dealers who bought online. Luckily, I was hired for that part of the business even though we also supply branches with vehicles when needed. Still a great retiree job, 99% of us are retired folks, most in their 70's and 80's believe it or not. A couple younger folks, my lead is 35, but he's actively looking for another part time gig. Guess he did both for awhile but decided to take some time off from one of them.
Used to get paid weekly at Hertz and got somewhat used to it but Enterprise is the more common bi-weekly. My pension comes in monthly so it's nice to have something else coming in. Still enjoying work so will stay until I finally get tired of it...got a good couple of yers left in me at this point!