Driven5 wrote: Must be nice to have gas that averages only $3.25 per gallon gas where you live! How confident are you that your average gas prices will continue to average that low over the next 2 or 3 years?
It's actually cheaper than that now, something in the teens. The gas price would need to average $5 to make the EVs pay for themselves by my math for my situation.
In reply to tuna55:
I filled up at $3.99/gal for 87 swill this morning. 
It's $6.24US/gal for me...and it's been higher before. But at least you get decent 91 octane gas for that.
tuna55 wrote: OK, I did the actual math - longhand with actual insurance numbers. Still makes financial sense to buy used regular car, but not by much - this is with gas at $3.25 and electricity at just under $0.10/kwh and 12k per year. I saved just over $60/month with the Cruiser over the lease of a Leaf. The Fit would be VERY close, $24/month, because they pay the insurance, but it's not available near me. I'll send the spreadsheet if anyone wants to play with it or criticize it.
I'd be interested to check it out, I'll shoot you a message. I made a really quick spreadsheet when we got our Leaf because my wife didn't believe me, but it was very back-of-a-napkin as far as spreadsheets go for me.
I'm curious what rates you are using because I am paying significantly less than advertised rates, more than $60/month difference. The insurance does suck...I only have liability on my cars usually, but the lease requires full coverage, something like double the price I normally pay per month.
Bryce
Sent to you.
What rates are you asking about? I got real quotes from my agent today for each of those options if it's insurance you're speaking of.
I meant the lease rates, sorry for the confusion. Now that I see your spreadsheet, I see that you're assuming the advertised lease rates. As I said, when I got my Leaf lease last October, I paid about $70/month less than the current advertised rates. The mynissanleaf.com forum has a whole section dedicated to following what the latest deals are, as leases vary all over the place and can go below MSRP, just like the sale price. I hate haggling, so I didn't haggle much at all, just said that they need to offer their lowest price if they want my business. I got my 2012 right as the 2013 specifications were coming out (which are better all around), so the timing was probably related to how eager they were. In either case, don't assume suggested retail is the best they can do for pricing.
When you get to the same cost of ownership (+/- $25/month) as a used PT Cruiser that is assumed to have extremely low maintenance cost (no major problems...) over several years for a BRAND NEW car like the Leaf, Spark EV, Fiat 500e, etc...that's one hell of a value, in my opinion. These lease deals are shockingly low...
Bryce
Nashco wrote: I meant the lease rates, sorry for the confusion. Now that I see your spreadsheet, I see that you're assuming the advertised lease rates. As I said, when I got my Leaf lease last October, I paid about $70/month less than the current advertised rates. The mynissanleaf.com forum has a whole section dedicated to following what the latest deals are, as leases vary all over the place and can go below MSRP, just like the sale price. I hate haggling, so I didn't haggle much at all, just said that they need to offer their lowest price if they want my business. I got my 2012 right as the 2013 specifications were coming out (which are better all around), so the timing was probably related to how eager they were. In either case, don't assume suggested retail is the best they can do for pricing. When you get to the same cost of ownership (+/- $25/month) as a used PT Cruiser that is assumed to have extremely low maintenance cost (no major problems...) over several years for a BRAND NEW car like the Leaf, Spark EV, Fiat 500e, etc...that's one hell of a value, in my opinion. These lease deals are shockingly low... Bryce
No doubt they are VERY low - and very attractive. A few things are preventing me from making the call.
The PT Cruiser's maintenance was over my actual ownership over five years. The Minivan will likely be the same. Sometimes we get a dud, but we're careful in car selection and usually the maintenance costs are very low.
In 1.5 years, I'll 'probably' be bringing three kids to school on my way to work. In a Leaf or whatever, I'd need to rig up some sort of airbag defeat system in the passenger seat or squish the kiddos together in the rear seat. The Mazda5 on the spreadsheet is the real bogie here, not the Cruiser.
There is one shining light. I have a line on a cheapo car that I can swap with the Cruiser to get me through the next year. Perhaps something more applicable will come through in that time in the EV world.
I perused that site - the deals would need to be down in the $140ish per month range to make it may for itself - only the sweetheart Ca deals barely get down to that level. I doubt it will work for now.
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