Comments on: Nissan Leaf: Should You Lease or Buy?

By: Oldevguy

Oldevguy — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 19:44:36 +0000

Dave,
You are way too insecure. Who gives a tinkers damn what others think. Drove my converted 92 Geo Metro for 4 years and am in the queue for the Leaf and I can tell you with out a doubt once you have driven electric you will wounder why we didn’t do in sooner. Just think where we could have been if the OEM’s had continued making EV’s back in the 1990’s.

Stay Well,

By: 10 Best Cities for Green Car Fans | Honk Blog

10 Best Cities for Green Car Fans | Honk Blog — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 23:21:47 +0000

[...] new cars, the Nissan Leaf, the Chevy Volt, and the Ford Focus Electric, are slated for production in the next year. In [...]

By: Miss Electric – Miss Electric Orders a Nissan Leaf!

Miss Electric – Miss Electric Orders a Nissan Leaf! — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 04:45:16 +0000

[...] important question is whether I will I lease or buy my Nissan Leaf. I have an article on Honk.com that explores this question in depth. Given the considerable federal [...]

By: tom

tom — Fri, 07 May 2010 23:06:03 +0000

Since I always get a tax refund, the decision for me is fairly simply. I have to lease otherwise I lose all the benefit of the federal credit. Fortunately, the California incentive is in the form of a rebate so I can get that regardless.

I’d rather NOT lease, but I see no practical alternative considering…

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 07 May 2010 01:45:19 +0000

The Leaf is fugly. I can’t believe there are folks who eve like this car! The Fisker is the only electric car I’ve seen that looks like any person with taste would consider.

“Electric” should be a powertrain in every vehicle. Stop trying so hard Nissan. Make an electric car that also happens to look like a car you won’t look like an idiot driving in!

By: Tess

Tess — Thu, 06 May 2010 21:16:11 +0000

Randy is right about the taxes. oops, just checked blog. It must have been changed.

Good note. I am definitely going to wait to purchase an electric car. One, the battery technology is simply not there and the car companies are just learning how to improve the driving feel of these cars. I don’t believe Tesla has a great product just yet. People have been making battery powered go carts for years. It’s just a Lotus with a sophisticated pack of lithium ion cell phones batteries. Clever idea, but not proven until I see more than 50,000 on the road. It will get there and when it does I’ll be in line for mine.

Anxious to see Al Gore’s Fisker car company churns out its magnificent piece of metal. I made you cringe when I wrote Al Gore, huh? ha. I know who Henrik Fisker is. The Aston Martin is my favorite car ever.

Rock on to electric avenue.

By: Shannon Arvizu

Shannon Arvizu — Thu, 06 May 2010 13:53:12 +0000

Actually, I’m looking forward to the day when we can make museum pieces out internal combustion engine parts. This is the only industry that is still reliant on 120-year old technology (which is only 16% efficient – 84% of the $ you spend on gas is wasted as heat). Talk about a true dinosaur technology ;o

By: Randy

Randy — Thu, 06 May 2010 01:47:29 +0000

Hi Shannon,
Good article. One thing to point out, though, is that I believe you have the Federal and State incentives backwards. The Federal incentive is a tax credit for $7,500, and the State incentive for California is a rebate for $5,000. However, the California incentive has only been funded for $4.1M, so it may run out unless it gets extended.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Wed, 05 May 2010 21:29:15 +0000

How fast do you think the battery (and other green) technology on electric vehicles will change? If it is anything like computers or cell phones, seems like leasing is the best bet. I wonder if buyers will get 2 sets of tax breaks- the original tax credit and then the write off for donating an out-of-date vehicle to the EV museum? ha!

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 05 May 2010 20:41:29 +0000

I have to admit that I was leaning in favor of leasing until I read this post. As Tom pointed out, the battery technology is sure to improve, just as it does every year in consumer electronics.

However, I have to thank Shannon for reminding me that those tax incentives are only going to be around for so long. I remember the outrage in LA when Prius owners stopped being eligible for those coveted carpool lane access stickers.

Maybe the freebies are worth more than the extra twenty or so miles I’d probably get in two years.