Opinions sought re $34,765 MSRP SE

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walking

New member
Joined
Sep 12, 2013
Messages
2
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?
 
To answer some of your questions:

(2). I personally don't think the premium package is worth its price. Nearly $4,000 for a Nav with Bluetooth and a backup cam and the quick charge package. A decent Nav radio with Bluetooth and a backup cam can be had for a few hundred bucks at a store. The quick charge package on the ES is $700, so combined the premium package should only cost about $1,500-$2,000.

(3). The quick charge port would still be of some value simply because of the backend hardware/software built into the car on equipped vehicles. The high voltage cabling can be reused for the SAE comboplug if someone (Mitsubishi) updates the firmware to listen to J1772 for quick charging instead if CHAdeMO. Also, a good number of quick chargers are expected to keep CHAdeMO, and most will offer both if the SAE plug ever makes it to the market. It's worth it to have it in my opinion.

(4). The age of your car (especially an SE Premium) is more likely than not to have been in the US for some time. I don't think Mitsubishi is even sending any new i-MiEVs to the US. If they were, tbey would be 2013's, while all available cars in the US right now are 2012's. It probably spent the better part of the year on a dealer's lot somewhere else and got dealer traded. Check the window sticker, it should say who the original dealer is.

These are well engineered vehicles, maybe even better than some high-end cars. They are a perfect match for everyday driving. I have no regrets in buying mine.

(6). You should get two (Lock/Unlock) keys with one MiEV remote. The MiEV remote allows you to set charging timers (delay to start and delay to stop) and pre-condition the car while it's plugged in.

Welcome to the forum.
 
Yes, Welcome! - Glad you found us

There are two SE packages - The 'standard SE' doesn't have the quick charge, the Bluetooth, the Nav or the back-up camera and is about $3,500 cheaper than the Premium Package. It seemed like the best value for us because we really wanted the bits it comes with that the ES doesn't - The much better stereo, the alloy wheels, the fog/driving lights and the interior embellishments - I really like the leather steering wheel because I never wear driving gloves

We're in the same 'boat' you appear to be in - Our town doesn't have a single public charging station of any kind, let alone a Quick Charge station and the Nav features would be pretty much useless here (not to mention my non-computer savvy wife would never use it) so we didn't look twice at the single Premium Package car on the dealers lot (which was a true blessing for me, because the wife was kinda in love with the Raspberry color which is NOT something I'd care to drive :lol: ) and the only Premium Package one they had was the Raspberry color. After a quick discussion, the wife agreed the color wasn't worth the $3500 extra, so that left us with a choice of a black ES (not a good color choice for a place where the sun shines 300+ days a year) or the white standard SE, which is what we bought. If I had it to do all over again, I'd still buy the non-navi SE . . . . I still think it's the best value

I assume Mitsu decided they weren't learing anything new from the no longer required annual battery testing. The few reported battery failures we've heard about have all been replaced under warranty by Mitsu, so I don't have any 'battery anxiety' with this car - If the battery fails after several years, you get a free new one (maybe even a better designed one) so it won't bother me one bit if that actually happens one day down the road

Generally, I'm 99.7% against leasing any vehicle unless you have a business which you can write it off against, but a short term lease of an EV seems to make good sense because no doubt EV's will be both better and cheaper a couple years from now than they are today, so yes . . . .if there was a good lease deal on the table for an iMiEV, I'd certainly consider it

Don
 
I'd actually feel more confident of the battery in a used iMiEV than what would be New Old Stock at this point, unless you get proof that the battery has not been sitting at 100% SOC for the past year. The base model that I traded in sold for around $14k this summer. That means you get a low mileage EV and don't have to fool around financially for the tax credit, but still have 7 years of remaining warranty. (of course, with very low miles, it could have been sitting at 100% SOC as well)
There are a few around $14k on AutoTrader right now with under 2k miles. Here's one.

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?zip=98338&endYear=2014&modelCode1=MITI&showcaseOwnerId=100008272&startYear=1981&makeCode1=MIT&searchRadius=0&mmt=%5BMIT%5BMITI%5B%5D%5D%5B%5D%5D&listingId=352300957&listingIndex=5&Log=0
 
Bought a SE with MSRP of $34,900 for $22,000 delivered less Federal Tax Credit of $7,500 (trucked by out of state dealer) with 100% 0% 60 month financing from Mitsubishi. I presume the same deal should be available today.

Love the car.

Jeff
 
Congratulations on your new car,
Once you get comfortable with your daily driving routes the range anxiety goes away.

The fun is just starting
 
Many thanks to all for your responses!

Jeff - that was an excellent price you got - taking it down below dealer invoice, even with the $10K incentive. I wonder if there's some other non-advertised incentives the dealers are getting that push their cost that far below invoice. If I do get down to actual negotiating, finding an out of town offer would certainly be a handy tool to use. As it stands right now, I'm taking a passive, waiting approach, one which might cause me to miss out on the small remaining supply.

Jray - I think I might have test driven that black SE that you ended up in. Auburn, right? Your side of the hill is a lot more EV-friendly than mine.

Again. Thanks to everyone. I don't know if I'll get an i-Miev from the 2012 model year or a future one - perhaps not at all, but I can claim that, for all future car purchases, I've joined the "no plug - no sale" camp.
 
walking said:
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.


There are only about 100 Mitsubishi EVs left in the USA.
After these are gone and the 2013's come in I doubt that you will ever see another opportunity to get an electric car of the capability and quality of theses 2012 MiEVs at anywhere near the either the price for the loaded one you're looking at or the others that seem to be available at about $22K before tax credit. There are 4 of what i call the mid trim level ones (SE's without the very top end options in Utah last time I checked.

We purchased our for $22K from a dealer 600 mile away and paid ~$500 trucking. Have it 6 months now. Very very pleased.. More so than we expected.

I doubt you would ever regret buying one either for $26K or 22k.
Personally if you have any interest in an EV I think it would be a mistake to worry about whether or not the dealer is asking a few hundred bucks more than his absolute bottom line.

You are being offered the navigation, fast charge, Bluetooth and back up camera for $4000.
IMO not worth THAT much extra compared to the mid level SE..but I'd rather buy that one, if in your shoes, than miss this opportunity completely.

If you own a conventional ICE car don't get obsessed with range considerations. Use the ICE carvforblonger tips. Quite possible that like use may be surprised how often 70 miles of range is enough.
 
walking said:
Many thanks to all for your responses!
Jray - I think I might have test driven that black SE that you ended up in. Auburn, right? Your side of the hill is a lot more EV-friendly than mine.
I've joined the "no plug - no sale" camp.

Thanks, Walking, yep Mr. Bean was sold in Auburn, and the last iMiEV sold in Western WA, AFAIK. (You've gotta be in great health, walking around the Puyallup River Valley (Ever practiced the Lahar Sprint- 42 minutes to evacuate the valley when Mt Rainier finally blows. ;-). EV-friendly terrain depends on your point of view- Mr Bean and I enjoy the hills EVen more than the flats, and I certainly save more fuel compared to a gasser in the hills than cruising on flats. Having the torque to accelerate past traffic up South Hill and Elhi Hill is a hoot, and pegging the regen all the way down past Victor Falls is quite gratifying. Like most EV owners I live near the top of a hill (Graham), and my 16.4 mile morning commute takes all of one bar! I think perhaps half of our double-takes are from drivers who come around from behind me to see why I have no brake lights until the last couple of car lengths before a red light...

If you'd like an extended test drive, just reach out. The closest other iMiEV is in Bonney Lake, and two EVentual EV owners borrowed my car for a couple of days before their final decision (one bought an i, the other a LEAF). One of my neighbors bought a Volt this week, and I'll take partial credit for that. ;-) I have a portable L2 EVSE with the car, and other vehicles to use, so no swap required. MR Bean will be on display at the WA State Fair this Friday in the Pavilion building for the Tacoma EV Association.
Cheers,
Jay
 
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