Bargain Electric Car Shopping? Advice on Early Leaf Shopping

[Warning for bird/bike enthusiasts - this is a post where I endeavor not to post pictures of birds or bikes.]

M and I were having coffee this week in our usual spot. About once a week we try to get together to get caught up on all the important stuff. We generally talk about education, literature, family, being Christians, and things with wheels. When the weather's tolerably nice, we sit outside and try not to be too distracted by traffic.

Nope - it's not a Leaf or even a car, but

(snagit!) that's a beautiful sight in the LBK!

One of Lubbock Citibus' two electric buses kept going by. So, yes, we were distracted by traffic.

[Another warning: we are both Christians who believe that climate change is real and man-made. Yes, we are a rarity in this part of the world.]

The conversation naturally turned to electric vehicles. Another thing that we have in common is that we are both very cheap frugal. So even though we have a deep appreciation for electric cars and for being stewards of a healthier planet, neither of us is ready to plop down $50K for a Model 3. That kind of conspicuous consumption would force us get higher-paying jobs where we'd work all the time and never have time to sit around looking at all the pretty e-buses.

So how does a Mesquite Hugger follow up on such a thing? He starts shopping online for cheap used  electric cars.

So, I started with Lubbock Craigslist and searched for electric cars. Here's what I found:

(Your results may vary.)

So I moved on to Greener pastures - the Dallas Craigslist. The electric car selection was sort of impressive. So, to keep it more frugally manageable, I narrowed it down to the Nissan Leaf.

Okay, that's more like it.

So, naturally, I went straight to the cheapest most frugally priced Leaf available -  and then I got excited. You see, it's not rare to find an inexpensive Leaf if you're looking at the first two production years, 2011 and 2012. Partially through the 2013 model year, Nissan made a significant improvement to the battery pack that added some range and (more importantly) added much longer life.

So those first two years saw some serious battery pack degradation. And those cars have plummeted in value. And many of the owners complained to Nissan. Nissan eventually responded by creating a much better replacement pack and offered them to owners at a reduced price.

All this is to say that I'm usually leary when I see a 2011 or 2012 Leaf for sale. But there's something special about this one.

Line two in the description - it has the upgraded pack! Woohoo!

And if you read the details, you see that this car is owned by someone who knows the car well. The ad is an education for would-be leaf Leaf buyers. If you didn't think you wanted a Leaf (or other electric car), just read the last few lines:

"Why you might want an Electric Leaf
Charge from a regular 110 volt outlet – no gasoline stops
Get a Leaf with the range of a brand-new model for much less
With no belts or timing chains, no transmission, no oil changes, no spark plugs, and no muffler, the regular maintenance on a Leaf largely consists of wiper blades and tires"

So, here I am pondering more debt and offering my wife the Ford hybrid so that we can live the bargain electric dream while cruising around in a tadpole-faced car that's going to need a way to haul bicycles about. 

(Yes, I like tadpoles, too.)

Oh the temptation...

May your dreams lead you to a cleaner, easier on the Earth, more wonderful way of treading lighter. Be well, friends!

PS. Thanks for the coffee and conversation, M!