It has rained every single time I’ve been given or bought an automobile. It’s never planned this way, it just happens. When I put a deposit on a car on Friday morning to reserve it, knowing we wouldn’t be able to pick it up the following week due to traveling schedules, WifeGeeding thought with the current forecast, the streak would have been broken.
We’ve been a one-car family for over two years, and since I work from home, it’s worked well for the most part. But as the kids have grown and there are more activities and commitments, we’ve felt the need to get a second vehicle. Our only problem was we didn’t know what we wanted. So I started to figure out what our what our true wants and needs are. Price was a huge factor and functionality which fit our lifestyle was second – car seats had to fit, ability to get backpacks easily in and out, stuff like that. Another big issue was blind spots. Since WifeGeeding is limited to vision in only one eye, it’s important to me that she’s able to get a good view all around her. No sedan seemed to fit those needs, and we didn’t like the price and mileage that came with SUVs that fit our criteria. I thought about buying an old truck just for me to use, especially with all the DIY stuff I like to do, but nothing was really out there. But on a whim, we decided to test drive a Nissan Leaf and was hooked.
A Leaf? Some of you think that may perfectly fit me as a tree-hugging liberal, but environmental concerns had very little to do with it. What about range anxiety? Well, I work from home, WifeGeeding works less than a mile away, our church is seven miles away, and we have another car for any long trips. What really got my attention was the price for a used pre-owned one. I could find 2014 models around the 10,000-mile range for $9,000-$13,000. The only thing left to do was a test drive.
Going into the test drive, we thought it would be cramped but was surprised that it was roomier than most small SUVs we looked at. Off hand, you’d think acceleration would suck, but since it’s electric it’s already torqued, so it’s surprisingly peppy. It’s really a fun car to drive, and blind spots don’t seem to be an issue. Due to the weight of the battery and it basically being the base or bottom of the car, it feels well centered and handles well.
As for charging, it comes with a charger that plugs into your basic 120-volt outlet, but it will take about 21-hours to charge an almost empty battery. A 240-volt option is available which will charge the car in about four hours, and Nissan will sell you the charger for $1,000 and charge you another $1,000 to install it. However, you can find 240-volt chargers on Amazon for $300 to $700 with install prices ranging from $200 to $600. I got my charger off Amazon in two days for about $450 and install is expected to be close to $200, perhaps less. I find out today.
On my drive home, the first thing I wanted to hear through the speakers was the same thing I have to listen to on any new car or device, U2. I went with Achtung Baby.
The last two or three vehicles we’ve bought had the actual window price sticker in the glove compartment. That’s always a neat find to see what the actual window sticker price was and to see the actual list of options and features included.
BoyGeeding loves to charge LeafGeeding when we get home, he’s a one-man pit crew.
I’m a bit overwhelmed with all the features, but it’s one of those things where you just have to accept you don’t need to understand them all right away, there’s no time table. But at the same time, it’s fun to have a new toy and see what it can do.
Thumbing through the service and maintenance guide, the only thing you need to change is the brake fluid every 7,500 miles and maintain proper tire rotation. Other than that, there’s no other maintenance.
In my neck of the woods, a power line fell closing the area around 121 and 635 right before rush hour. It was eerie seeing those roads abandoned, not a single vehicle or person on them. As someone that’s lived around DFW Airport for the last sixteen years, the closest thing to this was when all airplanes were grounded right after 9/11. You’re so used to seeing planes in the air and the slight noise pollution that comes with it, but when it’s gone, it’s eerie.
On last night’s ‘Wheel of Fortune’, one of the contestants was a little person, I’m sure he wasn’t even five feet tall. He was allowed to bring a friend to be his wheel spinner. The winner of last night’s show has a father and sister that were also winners of the game show.
I usually don’t take using bug spray seriously, but mosquitos with West Nile have been found in traps in three areas within a mile or two of GeedingManor.
Before each episode, the host answers questions from the audience. Asked about his wife, Colbert responded with a six-minute monologue about how he knew, in the moment he first saw her, that she was the one.
Jackie Gervais (Army veteran of two tours in Afghanistan) Galvin of Rush City, Minnesota, said on her Facebook page that the eagle had become entangled in a rope in the tree. It had hung upside down from a branch near the cabin belonging to her and her husband, Jason Galvin, for more than two days, she said. Jason Galvin used a borrowed .22-caliber rifle with a scope to sever the 4-inch (10 cm) rope after firing 150 shots. Galvin never hit the eagle.
Great choice in the car. What a reasonable price! Wow. Can you post a pic? Also, I’m surprised you didn’t include some kind of annual fuel savings calculation in your post.
Great to hear about the car and the thought that went into it. I'm seriously considering electric for my next work car, but since my commute is 50 miles round trip, I'll be interested to hear if the estimated range you've been quoted matches reality. I'm a little gun shy based on how off the car manufacturers' "estimated" MPG seems to be.
If I lived in town I might consider an electric car. Not very practical for those with long commutes, but that's where a hybrid would work. Just need to beef them up a bit. They're starting to build a hybrid 18 wheeler called a Nikola. If they ever built a hybrid pickup with decent towing power and high milage it would bust the market wide open.
In Texas, 17-year-olds are considered adults under criminal law.
Great choice in the car. What a reasonable price! Wow. Can you post a pic? Also, I’m surprised you didn’t include some kind of annual fuel savings calculation in your post.
Great to hear about the car and the thought that went into it. I'm seriously considering electric for my next work car, but since my commute is 50 miles round trip, I'll be interested to hear if the estimated range you've been quoted matches reality. I'm a little gun shy based on how off the car manufacturers' "estimated" MPG seems to be.
If I lived in town I might consider an electric car. Not very practical for those with long commutes, but that's where a hybrid would work. Just need to beef them up a bit. They're starting to build a hybrid 18 wheeler called a Nikola. If they ever built a hybrid pickup with decent towing power and high milage it would bust the market wide open.