If you’ve been waiting for the Nissan LEAF for the better part of three years, today might just be the day you get to satisfy your longstanding car-crush. A small group of LEAF reservation holders in the five initial launch markets of Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona and Tennessee will finally be able to request a quote from a local dealer and get their place in line. And, even if you can’t order today, rest assured that you’ll be able to order soon if you live in one of those launch markets.
I decided quite some time ago that if I was going to be an advocate for plug-in cars, I should put my money where my mouth is and get one. So, last April, like so many thousands of others, I put my $99 down to get a spot on the reservations list. A few months ago I paid another $99 to have AeroVironment come to my house and do a home charging station pre-installation inspection. And today, I was one of the lucky few to get an email from Nissan saying I could start the ordering process.
So I diligently clicked on the emailed link and was redirected to my account on the Nissan LEAF website all ready to get the ball rolling… only to have my balloon deflated in a whimpering hiss. Apparently Nissan was having a couple of “minor hiccups,” as Katherine Zachary, Nissan’s manager of corporate communications told me in a quick note. Although the email from Nissan told me I could start the process, my online account was in somewhat of a different mood. With assurance that the hiccup could be fixed quickly, I waited an hour and, indeed, the problem was fixed.
It seems that the few extra days Nissan took to start the ordering process to make sure that it went off hitch free, didn’t get rid of all the potential hitches. In any event I now have my order completed for a tricked out LEAF SL and am waiting on my local dealer to get back to me with a quote, which Nissan says will happen within 24 hours.
I’ve attached all the screenshots I took of the ordering process, including descriptions of every accessory and option. Some of the ones I went for include the $700 DC fast charge port (because you can’t install it after you order the car), the floor mats (really, why are these always optional now?), and the “eco design package”—which includes a “unique” center console applique, blue interior accents, exterior “zero emissions” graphics, and Nissan LEAF holographic door kick plates… to exclaim my plug-in geekiness for all the world to see.
Grand total for all of that as estimated by the website $34,850. We’ll see if I can’t get my dealer to budge on that somewhat.
Other options that come up during the ordering process included choosing if you want to lease, finance or pay cash for the car, and whether you want to roll the charging station installation costs into the lease or finance costs. What wasn’t fully clear was how you would tell the system if you wanted to forego the charging station installation altogether, but I’m guessing that’s something you have to take up with your dealer.
So there you go, with the exception of some minor glitches, a rather uneventful end to my wait. Any of you other readers out there able to order your LEAF today?
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Source: plugincars.com
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