Sabertooth Posted February 4, 2019 Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 When I was out of town for the holidays, I left my car parked with my soon to be ex-wife at the house. Living downtown now, I can't leave it in the same space for more than a day or two. I figure, I still own (and pay for) the driveway, right? She drove it and parked it overnight at a Christmas party where it got sideswiped. The driver didn't leave a note so I had to make a claim under insurance. If it were a normal car, it would've been a fix of about $4,000, but because it was an EV (a LEAF) there are special battery handling requirements that made it a total loss. I was shocked, frankly. So I went a month without a car. I live close to work and bike a lot so it wasn't horrible but getting across town on transit or out to LA or Orange County was a pain. And then there's the rain. So last weekend, after 8 years of driving a zero emission vehicle, I returned to the dark side of fossil fuel with this gently used MINI Cooper S 4-door. The MINI has 189HP and was the closest thing I could find with the zippiness and immediacy of an EV. I will really have to watch my speed though as I keep blowing past 80 without feeling it. They actually have a "speed warning" that you can set to your MPH of choice. It's currently on 90. 😂😂😂 Anyway, a week in and I'm really loving it. It's decidedly retro with chrome toggle switches everywhere and bonnet stripes. It has super tight handling and is a dream on the freeway. It might be too much fun, really. Aside from the red, it's not exactly a midlife crisis car but it's as close as I am likely to get. Justin, StormSurge, GRay Defender and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted February 4, 2019 Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 Congrats @atarilbc! And you got the S model, how cool is that? Looks great! I love that you're driving something interesting with personality. Hopefully this is all part of great new things for you. Sabertooth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaximumRD Posted February 4, 2019 Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 Beautiful vehicle! I know nothing about cars but I likes what I see! 👍😜😎🍻 Justin and Sabertooth 2 Quote I am Rob aka MaximumRD aka OldSchoolRetroGamer and THIS is my world http://about.me/maximumrd "For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday." - M. Bison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted February 5, 2019 Report Share Posted February 5, 2019 I have a co-worker that has that exact car and also loves it. I'll have to look into one of those! Enjoy it, man! Hard to believe how the insurance company will total out the old car. Sounds like the regulations need to be updated if we're ever going to make progress on everyone having electric cars. Sabertooth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari 5200 Guy Posted February 5, 2019 Report Share Posted February 5, 2019 Nice! High five, man. Sabertooth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted April 17, 2019 Report Share Posted April 17, 2019 Hey look, I just got a new (to me) car too! I'm very excited. It's a 2013 Nissan Leaf. Should be a fine car to get to and from work on a daily basis. RadioPoultry and Sabertooth 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabertooth Posted April 17, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2019 (edited) 33 minutes ago, RickR said: Hey look, I just got a new (to me) car too! I'm very excited. It's a 2013 Nissan Leaf. Should be a fine car to get to and from work on a daily basis. Congrats, Rick! I drove a LEAF for 8 years and would still be driving today had it not been totaled. They are great cars. Edited April 17, 2019 by atarilbc RickR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted April 17, 2019 Report Share Posted April 17, 2019 (edited) Thanks! If you have any tips or anything, please let me know. I really need to read the manual, as there are switches and gauges that I'm not sure what they mean. Right now, I've just plugged it in and will leave it in overnight. I'm using the 120V plug. Is there anything else to it? It really makes me nervous buying a used car, but I feel like this one is in really good shape and the Carfax looks really good. We really wanted another Prius, but it's impossible to find one that has low miles at a decent price. Leaf's seem like a really good bargain. Low mile cars are easy to find and very well priced. This car has both types of plug (AC and DC) and also has some cool bells/whistles (like a rear-view camera). It's showing 11 (of 12) bars on the battery retention. I'm really impressed at how much oomph the Leaf seems to have. It's really fun to drive! Edited April 17, 2019 by RickR Sabertooth and RadioPoultry 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RadioPoultry Posted April 17, 2019 Report Share Posted April 17, 2019 1 hour ago, RickR said: Hey look, I just got a new (to me) car too! I'm very excited. It's a 2013 Nissan Leaf. Should be a fine car to get to and from work on a daily basis. My dad bought a Leaf a few years ago and loves it. He installed a level 2 charger at his house to charge it more quickly. I've driven it a little, and it is pretty great. He always drives it in economy mode to get the most miles out of a charge. There's apparently a setting to just charge up the batteries to 80% so they last longer, which my dad normally uses. RickR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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