From Camry to Leaf?

[Kingfish]

Hey everyone, long time lurker here needing some advice.  I currently have an active loan on a 2015 Camry SE with 55k miles (I owe $11,500).  It looks like I can break even or even make a little bit by selling my Camry.  I realize some may look at this as a very practical car and I share that sentiment, but from reading this forum and blog posts I realize this car/loan is not mustachian.

I live around ~17 miles from work (one way) and am able to charge an EV at work for $120 a year.  That is all I would need to pay to charge the Leaf for my commute since I will be using this just to commute to work.  I have found a few Leaf(ves), used, around 25-35k miles for $8-9k.

I wouldn’t be able to pay cash for a Leaf entirely but could put down a decent downpayment and pay it off in a year.

So, I am curious as to what you all would do:
1) Keep the Camry and try to pay it down as fast as possible
2) Buy Leaf for 8-9k and pay it down as fast as possible
3) Buy even cheaper car with cash

Option 3 makes me a little more leery because anything under $5k in my area always has very high mileage (160-180k miles).  I have considered still going this route with the understanding I may only get a year/couple years of use before needing to look for a replacement.

My wife has a Subaru Forester so we have a gas powered car if needed.

Sorry for the novel of a question - I greatly appreciate any guidance.  I realize you don’t know my entire financial situation but hopefully I provided enough info for you to make some suggestions.

[feelingroovy]

I would buy the leaf. Well, I did, actually, just over a year ago.

Ours is a 2015 so has a range of 84 miles. It's a perfect commuter car. I cannot overstate the convenience of never having to get gas. Or oil changes.

We have a hybrid we use for out of town trips.

It sounds like you will save money with the leaf.

[nereo]

Option 2 (a Leaf for ~$9k) certainly seems better than your Option 1 (keeping your Camery, which you owe $11.5k on and could sell to break even.  Going with Option 2 you would hav a leaf, $120/year charging bill and $2,500 less in debt.

Back-of-the-envelope calculation has you paying $1200/year in fuel on your Camry, so there's an additional $1000 savings there, plus some change on oil changes and the like.  The Leaf does burn though tires faster, so I'd say the lack of oil changes plus the cost of more frequent tire changes are probably a wash.

Option 3 shouldn't be as scary as you make it out to be.  Buying a new car every couple of years isn't particularly taxing, and it adds variety.  I am concerned that you said "in my area" these cars all have high mileage.  Stop looking just in your area: to save a grand or two I'd certainly drive a few hours with my spouse, or buy a one-way ticket and drive back (heck, make a weekend trip out of it and have some fun). FWIW I bought a 10 year old Civic for $3k with only 72k miles, no rust, no issues.  I've owned it for 2 years and am very pleased with it.  Such deals exist if you are willing to expand your search.

[jamesbond007]

Not sure where you live, but how is public transit to work? If you can get to work within a reasonable amount of time via bus/train then that option is even better. Do you have showers at work? Bike to work. You'd do more good to yourself and the environment. Just my 2 cents.

[Ecky]

EVs are nice to drive, cheaper to operate per mile and lower regular maintenance. The Leaf in particular I'm leery of for long-term ownership. Unlike nearly all other EVs, the battery does not have active thermal management. Some earlier Leafs (Leaves?) in warm climates have severe battery degradation, and I've seen examples which, after 9 years, can travel less than 30 miles on a charge in good weather.

Nissan claims they made changes to the battery chemistry at some point (maybe it was 2013 or 2014) to reduce degradation, but an EV with active battery management like a Volt/Bolt will almost certainly have a longer lasting battery.