Hey all,
Looking to replace my 2006 Honda Civic since the engine block cracked at 100k miles (of course the extended warranty from the recall expired last year). My wife and I both work and this is our 2nd car, so the main need is for commuting to daycare, work, and errands (30-40 miles at max, unfortunately daycare is out of the way). Our other car is a 2006 Jeep Liberty with 105k miles – no issues and we plan on driving it until the wheels fall off.
I found a 2015 Nissan Leaf SV I’m interested in at a decent price ($11k), low miles (18k) and all bars. No quick charge on this car. I feel like taking advantage of the depreciation of these cars could make sense financially, even after making an investment to install a charger at home. However, when I compare it to something like a 2016 Honda Fit, the true cost to own doesn’t appear to be much different. Also, my main concern is that after 5 years of battery degradation during our hot summers, I will be in an electric car that may not be able to make a full commute without mandatory charging in between. This would be exaggerated further in the cold winter.
I have done plenty of research on the Leaf and have read many MMM followers and other forums swearing by the savings, however I am having a hard time reaching a definitive conclusion in favor of the Leaf.
Here’s my Leaf pros/cons list to summarize.
Pros:
- Great price for a relatively new car that gets us safely around town
- $500/year savings on fuel compared to Honda Fit (14k miles per year)
- Free charging at work and close to our home (at home charger would be a decision for later)
Cons:
- Battery capacity degradation due to no thermal management
- Possible but not a given that the car may not have the range after 5 years to serve our needs on one charge (having a charger at home and work would solve but it’s not a quick charge)
- Knowingly buying a depreciating asset that will continue to depreciate rapidly with out of date technology just sounds like a bad decision...
My long-term thinking in this scenario is if we bought the Leaf, by the time the battery capacity is awful (5+ years) there will be amazing advancements in EV battery tech. I could then take advantage of another used/depreciated EV in the future that will have incredible range and battery thermal management (2019 Leaf will even have this). I’m hoping at that point we will be a one car family as our kids will be in school and I would bike to work (one of the many luxuries I overlooked before kids).
Am I thinking about this correctly? What would YOU do?
