Hello!
Almost bought one of these cars a few months back and am still considering.
The one I'm looking at now has MSRP = $34,765 (SE w/ premium package). The initial dealer offer (phone) is $25,998.
Plugging the options into Edmunds, they come up with their estimated "true market value" of $25,169, from an invoice of $33,887. The dealer offer is $2107 over the invoice less the $10,000 rebate. I'm sort of surprised that the Edmunds recommendation is still over MSRP-$10k. I will be able to structure my 2013 income to get full benefit from the $7500 tax credit and will pay no sales tax as my state's further incentive for purchasing full BEVs.
Q1: Any opinions regarding the accuracy of Edmunds "TMV" number?
Even if I get the car for invoice minus $10,000, I still might take a pass. One major sticking point: the incredibly expensive premium package, much of which (NAV, Quick charge) seems to be of limited use. With a 62 mile range and living in a dinky little community I really don't need the NAV (definitely don't need "real time traffic" info or "hands free" anything - barely need a radio) and I think the nearest quick charge station is a couple hundred miles away. I'd be a lot more interested in purchasing the base ES model at around $20K, but the dwindling inventory all seem to be SE's. Unfortunately, that additional $5K puts the price of this 2012 MiEV (apparently viewed as a real dog by 99.9% of the public - even others within the EV community, though not by me) kind of close to what I might pay in another month for a 2014 Leaf - not necessarily my preference - or even a Spark (If GM ever starts selling them here).
Q2: Am I missing something about the premium package? Do you folks think it's actually worth the price?
Q3: Can someone explain that ChaDemo vs SAE standard thing? Does the i-MiEV quick charge port lose all value if our future charging infrastructure is done with SAE standard?
Q4: Somewhere here on this board there was a discussion about requesting the annual battery maintenance/test as part of a purchase. Can anyone link that (I looked but could not find it this time)? Am I correct in assuming that a car freshly delivered to my hometown dealer has probably been sitting somewhere else in the US for up to 18 months or is it likely to have just left the shipyard?
I had positive impressions on my earlier test drive. Subcompacts are my preferred vehicle. I found the cockpit adequately sized and appreciated the simplicity of the dash. I found it to be a fun and zippy driver with a crazy small turning radius. I even kind of like the look.
What I don't like: the two year old starting point - no big deal to me, but I worry about possible residual value compared (again) to a nearly equally aged 2014 Leaf should I end up trying to trade it in in a few years.
Q5: Is leasing still viewed as a good alternative for this car?
Q6: How many key fobs are supposed to come with it?
Almost bought one of these cars a few months back and am still considering.
The one I'm looking at now has MSRP = $34,765 (SE w/ premium package). The initial dealer offer (phone) is $25,998.
Plugging the options into Edmunds, they come up with their estimated "true market value" of $25,169, from an invoice of $33,887. The dealer offer is $2107 over the invoice less the $10,000 rebate. I'm sort of surprised that the Edmunds recommendation is still over MSRP-$10k. I will be able to structure my 2013 income to get full benefit from the $7500 tax credit and will pay no sales tax as my state's further incentive for purchasing full BEVs.
Q1: Any opinions regarding the accuracy of Edmunds "TMV" number?
Even if I get the car for invoice minus $10,000, I still might take a pass. One major sticking point: the incredibly expensive premium package, much of which (NAV, Quick charge) seems to be of limited use. With a 62 mile range and living in a dinky little community I really don't need the NAV (definitely don't need "real time traffic" info or "hands free" anything - barely need a radio) and I think the nearest quick charge station is a couple hundred miles away. I'd be a lot more interested in purchasing the base ES model at around $20K, but the dwindling inventory all seem to be SE's. Unfortunately, that additional $5K puts the price of this 2012 MiEV (apparently viewed as a real dog by 99.9% of the public - even others within the EV community, though not by me) kind of close to what I might pay in another month for a 2014 Leaf - not necessarily my preference - or even a Spark (If GM ever starts selling them here).
Q2: Am I missing something about the premium package? Do you folks think it's actually worth the price?
Q3: Can someone explain that ChaDemo vs SAE standard thing? Does the i-MiEV quick charge port lose all value if our future charging infrastructure is done with SAE standard?
Q4: Somewhere here on this board there was a discussion about requesting the annual battery maintenance/test as part of a purchase. Can anyone link that (I looked but could not find it this time)? Am I correct in assuming that a car freshly delivered to my hometown dealer has probably been sitting somewhere else in the US for up to 18 months or is it likely to have just left the shipyard?
I had positive impressions on my earlier test drive. Subcompacts are my preferred vehicle. I found the cockpit adequately sized and appreciated the simplicity of the dash. I found it to be a fun and zippy driver with a crazy small turning radius. I even kind of like the look.
What I don't like: the two year old starting point - no big deal to me, but I worry about possible residual value compared (again) to a nearly equally aged 2014 Leaf should I end up trying to trade it in in a few years.
Q5: Is leasing still viewed as a good alternative for this car?
Q6: How many key fobs are supposed to come with it?