My dream is a young person is that Nissan would release an affordable car that me and my homeless little brother could sleep in comfortably. We both are in college pursuing CS degrees and it's getting difficult.
I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf
621–630 of 683 posts
Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf
#622Earlier quoted context omitted.
The deals on used electric vehicles are pretty shocking. Used Chevy Volts are actually more expensive now than they were a few years back, at least on the CarMax website. Maybe a higher price because they were discontinued but I used to love my Volt. Averaged 150mpg over 3 years.
During COVID lockdowns I got on a plane to San Diego and bought a 2013 Volt with 100k miles for $5500. It had warranty until 2023 and 150k miles (I didn't use it though). I have spent Zero dollars on repairs and I'm up to 207k miles. Favorite car ever.
Still can’t believe they stopped making them.
Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf
#623Earlier quoted context omitted.
Isn't it also a way to keep outsiders out? If 30 mins by car becomes 1h30 by train+bus combinations, lots of people are effectively pushed out of even wanting to go to the city centre for meeting friends or having a family walk around.
Why would 30 minutes by car become 1.30 hours by public transport. My (European) experience is the opposite: it takes longer to go to work by car, you're sitting in traffic whereas subways and trains take a fraction of the time as they are not impacted at all. I live in Rome, which isn't known for great public transport. Yet I've seen multiple times people going from Rome suburbs to Naples downtown (a completely diff…
> Why would 30 minutes by car become 1.30 hours by public transport.
My city has "great" public transport. It's been appraised multiple times, which I guess means that average public transport must be worse than what I've grown up with. I take 20 mins by car from home (in an outer neighborhood) to my workplace (in a central area), 55 mins otherwise. When you consider roundtrips, it adds up (and if we add a middle stop coming out from work to somewhere else for some shopping, the time counting goes out the roof).
The 30 mins vs 1h30 comparison was assuming a trip from a nearby dormitory city 25 kms away, which is the minimum (insisting: minimum) distance everyone nowadays is being pushed out in order to being able to buy any home at a reasonable price. For example: where my parents live to my work is further away 30 Km: that's 30 min by car and 1h10 by p.t., but that outer city had reasonable prices 15 years ago, not today, so nowadays you would go live somewhere farther than that.
I find that typically people talk about public transport benefits from the perspective of being able to buy a home within the centre that is well connected. Yeah, the subway is great here if you live in a 10 Km radius, but talking about it is out of scope for most.
Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf
#624Earlier quoted context omitted.
You say it keeps outsider out. Let’s not forget people living there already, if you build a car dependant city around them they often get pushed out or have to live through car hell. Not a lot of car dependant city have a thriving and livable downtown, in fact I would love to see which city is having a good quality life in their center while making it easy for cars to come in and out to the suburbs.
Given how things are being consciously designed (via policies and/or lack of political action), the "people living there already" are just those rich enough to not have yet felt pushed out due to the housing crisis (but give them time). That maybe would be just life , but on the other hand you have lots of other policies that also favor centralization of job creation, development, cultural and entertainment opportuni…
If you want to fight the housing crisis decentralization would be a big win. So if the city is hostile, why not set up outside of it? People already in the city can commute to you; people not already in the city can move outside the city and the surrounding areas can grow over time.
If there are professionals willing to pay continually-higher portions of their salary to live in the city regardless of who they displace then why can't we find ways to build new areas they want to live in? In some places there is a huge weather or natural-feature draw that will always prop up demand, but in others there isn't. There's just a lack of imagination and effort.
Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf
#625Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why would 30 minutes by car become 1.30 hours by public transport. My (European) experience is the opposite: it takes longer to go to work by car, you're sitting in traffic whereas subways and trains take a fraction of the time as they are not impacted at all. I live in Rome, which isn't known for great public transport. Yet I've seen multiple times people going from Rome suburbs to Naples downtown (a completely diff…
Unfortunately, America exported our car-privileging planning and policies, so those places that accepted our "expertise" buffed car travel as much as possible - traffic catches up, of course, but that's when the nerfs to public transit come in. It can be a number of strategies come to bear, including poor access to transit nodes, long wait times between service, and disruptions (American trains often have to wait for…
So cars and their use are entirely American inventions now? That's some new levels of American Exceptionalism...
Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf
#626Earlier quoted context omitted.
Like my other cars, I plan on driving it into the ground :) And the range is overkill for me, really. I could live with 100 miles or so and not worry, so even if the battery wears down to 50% SoH (right now it's 93% after 36k miles), I'll still be happy.
What's your strategy for scrapping a car? I find people grossly underestimate the cost of car ownership mostly due to cost of maintenance and repairs at the end of life. It's so easy to keep bleeding parts and labour for longer than is economical.
EV motors typically outlive the rest of the car. Leaf is old enough that there's a whole cottage industry of battery repairs, replacements, and repurposing them for solar energy storage.
Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf
#627Earlier quoted context omitted.
Agree! We got a used 2015 Fiat 500e for $8k 2.5 years ago and it’s been great as an around-town car. Don’t have kids, but can take a passenger or two in the back if need be (it’s tight) but for two people and errands, it’s been a fantastic value.
waiting for an electric Fiat Panda to be old enough. need a mini electric car with high clearance and surprisingly there aren't that many. (need a tall car as I live in rural area and am driving on many dirt roads )
Dacia Spring has a higher clearance. I think it's also the cheapest EV currently (new).
Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf
#628Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why would 30 minutes by car become 1.30 hours by public transport. My (European) experience is the opposite: it takes longer to go to work by car, you're sitting in traffic whereas subways and trains take a fraction of the time as they are not impacted at all. I live in Rome, which isn't known for great public transport. Yet I've seen multiple times people going from Rome suburbs to Naples downtown (a completely diff…
Unfortunately, America exported our car-privileging planning and policies, so those places that accepted our "expertise" buffed car travel as much as possible - traffic catches up, of course, but that's when the nerfs to public transit come in. It can be a number of strategies come to bear, including poor access to transit nodes, long wait times between service, and disruptions (American trains often have to wait for…
It took me 10 minutes to get from Liverpool Station to Paddington via the Elizabeth Line. Last year, I took a taxi, as the Line was on strike. That took maybe 30 minutes, or maybe the driver was just driving aimlessly around to push up the bill.
The London subway system is just wonderful.
Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf
#629Earlier quoted context omitted.
waiting for an electric Fiat Panda to be old enough. need a mini electric car with high clearance and surprisingly there aren't that many. (need a tall car as I live in rural area and am driving on many dirt roads )
Dacia Spring has a higher clearance. I think it's also the cheapest EV currently (new).
didn't know it had a high clearance. I'll look into it thanks!
Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf
#630Earlier quoted context omitted.
Agree! We got a used 2015 Fiat 500e for $8k 2.5 years ago and it’s been great as an around-town car. Don’t have kids, but can take a passenger or two in the back if need be (it’s tight) but for two people and errands, it’s been a fantastic value.
waiting for an electric Fiat Panda to be old enough. need a mini electric car with high clearance and surprisingly there aren't that many. (need a tall car as I live in rural area and am driving on many dirt roads )
Oh hell yeah! I'd love one of these. My other vehicle is a 4WD VW Vanagon Syncro, for fun & hauling.