In March, we took my 2012 Subaru Forester in to check an exhaust smell in the cabin. The muffler shop called us back a few hours later and said, bad news the muffler and catalytic converter are shot, it’ll cost you $1800 to fix it! The car had nearly 140,000 miles on it and we just couldn’t see spending that kind of money to fix it.

Add to that the fact that on some days we were generating 50 kWh of solar power on our roof and it was only March! We use about 19 kWh per day on average in our home, so it was very clear to us that we were generating way more electricity than we would ever use.

Maybe it was time to get an electric vehicle (EV) sooner rather than later… We had thought about a Tesla, but that was out of the question after the Highlander. So we started exploring other options and discovered that used Nissan LEAFs are INCREDIBLY CHEAP!

This is a fun read on that subject: https://jalopnik.com/holy-crap-used-nissan-leafs-are-incredibly-cheap-1743475298.

Bottom line is the older models don’t have the range of the newer models and with EV’s, it’s all about range. But there is this cool sweet spot in the 2016 and 17 LEAFs, which have a higher capacity battery giving around 100 miles of range. We decided we wanted a white 2016-17 SL or SV LEAF. (LEAF is an acronym for Leading Environmentally-friendly Affordable Family-vehicle. It is the top selling EV in the world.)

Ok, I admit I got totally obsessed with it! I HAD to have a LEAF. So I hunted online using CarGurus looking for a Great Deal (that’s how they label them), and I found one. A pretty 2016 SV with only 23,000 miles for $13,000! I could not believe it. The bummer was it was in the Bay Area. After vetting the car the best we could long distance, we flew down to pick it up on April 3, 2019.

It took us 8 hours to make the 4-hour drive back to Reno. Because we were EV newbies with a major care of Range Anxiety, we stopped to charge 4 times for about 30 minutes each. That was an interesting experience!

We used quick chargers from an app on the iPhone called Drive The Arc. Most of them were in grocery store parking lots or Walmarts. We learned the LEAF sucks lots of energy going uphill with the headlights and heat on–all of which take electricity. The total cost for the trip was about $35. What we didn’t know is that when you do that many quick charges in an 8-hour period, the battery heats up! We drove the last leg home from Truckee in the red zone and tried not to worry. Fortunately, we made it back without a problem and the battery cooled down overnight. Ok, it’s definitely not a road car.

Turns out it is an awesome in-town car. It is super fast and silent–makes a cool spaceship-like sound during acceleration and softly pings when you back up. The acceleration is exhilarating! There is no transmission in the LEAF so it is pure power to the wheels. The battery sits in the center of the vehicle, giving a low center of gravity so it handles like a sports car. It is the size of small sedan and amazingly comfortable. It includes heated seats and steering wheel and the ability to link to our iPhones, though that link is not as sophisticated as the Highlander’s. It also has a backup camera and a deep, roomy trunk. It costs about the same to insure as my old Subaru. I always wanted a VW Bug and the LEAF reminds me of that design. I think she’s adorable! Ok, so I’m in total love with our new car! And the best part is she is powered by Nevada sunshine and has zero emissions.

The charger is attached to the solar inverter in our garage, so we plug her in like a cell phone. We get about 100 miles out of a full charge, but usually keep her at 30%-80% to save wear on the battery. For our normal in-town use, we plug in about every 2-3 days for a couple of hours.

We hear that EV’s require even less maintenance than a hybrid, maybe 1/3 of the cost, since there is no engine or transmission, and a lot less fluids. This assumes we will get another EV rather than replace the battery, which is guaranteed for 100,000 miles, but can last a lot longer than that.

For the Subaru, we used to pay on average per month: $75 for repairs and maintenance/$85 for gas. Total $160.

What we expect to pay for the LEAF: $25 for repairs and maintenance/$0 for gas. Total: $25.

Savings per month: $135