new spark ev owner in Alabama

[cwerdna]

The Fiat is too small and only a 2 seater.

Huh? Fiat 500e seats 4, but has very small back seats. And, its just a CA compliance car.

 

[tigger19687]

Is you can't qualifyfor the fed tax credit then just lease. You get the CA rebate and the lease rate combined with the fuel savings will make it cheaper than most any used car over 3 years. The mileage is unlikely to to be an issue if you only charge at home.
Is it really that hard to find the spark ev in stock? My local dealer have 5 or more in stock most of the time.

Not sure if this is for me... But I am in Boston, there are no Spark EV's here.
I would not ever lease, waste of money in my eyes.
I would buy, which is what I am wanting to do.

Can anyone in CA find out when the CA dealers will have 2015?

 

[supcrds]

Is you can't qualifyfor the fed tax credit then just lease. You get the CA rebate and the lease rate combined with the fuel savings will make it cheaper than most any used car over 3 years. The mileage is unlikely to to be an issue if you only charge at home.
Is it really that hard to find the spark ev in stock? My local dealer have 5 or more in stock most of the time.

Not sure if this is for me... But I am in Boston, there are no Spark EV's here.
I would not ever lease, waste of money in my eyes.
I would buy, which is what I am wanting to do.

Can anyone in CA find out when the CA dealers will have 2015?

My point is up till now I never considered a lease because it was "a waste of money" but in the case of the spark ev, I caculated the cost compared to my 2006 toyota Matrix purchased used last year and the spark is cheaper over three years. Between the lower fuel cost, maintanace and CA rebate it was lower. Now there are some guesses for depreciation but for a car that age I think I am close. Now compare to a spark ev purchase with the question mark on depreciation . Will EVs be prevelant and dropping in price, making the spark plumet? Will battery life make a 36k mi spark a poor choice like we are starting to see on the Leaf? If the battery lasts and you keep it 9 years 108k mi you may save some money to the point of resale being a non issue. For me I think I will let GM take that risk this time and go for the lease.
Now in your case in Boston your options are very different. It is all moot for now.

 

[tigger19687]

Leasing would be fine IF and only IF I didn't have to pay for Sales tax, reg and all.

This is all my thinking, as I keep my vehicles for a long time (02 suburban, 06 f-350).
I don't want to pay for something that I am not keeping. Really don't think I should have to pay for sales tax on something that I didn't BUY. Not sure if that makes sense.

I would lease if the Dealer did tax, tags, reg, inspection, excise tax and all I paid for was my monthly fee and Insurance payment.

all in all, I WANT this car but I want it in Green

 

[blownb310]

I hear you about the tax. Some states [like NJ] get taxes waived for an EV lease or sale.

 

[emv]

Sales Tax? What's that? Oregonians don't need no stinkin' sales tax.
Just don't ask me how high my income and property taxes are.

I don't generally lease cars but when we decided to go full electric it made sense as nobody knows what technology will be like in three years.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Arizona (2012 model year),[1] Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico (2011 model year), New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, as well as the District of Columbia.[2][3] Such states are frequently referred to as "CARB states" in automotive discussions because the regulations are defined by the California Air Resources Board.

ZEV states are California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont

There is a difference. ZEV is Zero Em.

I think the ZEV states may get them faster...

Yes, three separate distinctions:

CARB

CARB-ZEV

CARB Coalition

The Spark EV, like other compliance effort EV's, is only sold in CARB-ZEV states.

 

[buickanddeere]

I can't see the price dropping on electic vehicles as the manufactures are already selling them at a loss. In order to meet ZEV quotas. Unless the EV won't sell and manufactures take a further loss per unit. It goes without saying that other vehicles in the manufactures line are subsidizing the EV 's. in addition to the tax payer.

 

[TonyWilliams]

I can't see the price dropping on electic vehicles as the manufactures are already selling them at a loss. In order to meet ZEV quotas. Unless the EV won't sell and manufactures take a further loss per unit. It goes without saying that other vehicles in the manufactures line are subsidizing the EV 's. in addition to the tax payer.

Neither Nissan, nor Tesla, are losing money producing EV's.

Obviously ANY limited production car, oil burner oil not, will likely be too expensive to sell profitably.

So, when companies like Toyota, Honda and GM plan to make a limited production EV, it's not any surprise they are money losers, only priced at a loss to sell in minimum compliance levels.

I'll bet they could all make profitable EV's, like Tesla and Nissan.

 

[FutureFolly]

It's important for everyone to remember that only luxury cars can be built profitably in small scale. Until GM decides to make a real market push, the question of profitability will not rely on battery costs.

The real response a journalist should give to Sergio Marchionne's BEV bashing is, "I dare you to look me in the eye and say, 'Excluding other SRT models, the return on investment for the Viper will not be the worst in Fiat/Chrysler lineup.'

 

[Carney]

We loaded up the whole family and drove around. It was peppy and fun. For being such a small car, it was comfortable for 4.]

I'm married with two kids. I'm looking to replace my gasoline coupe with an electric sedan, as a daily commuter and backup family hauler. Our main family hauler, the minivan, of course has plenty of room for the bulky child safety seats that our kids (age 6 and 3) need. The Spark EV is obviously small, so I'm very interested in your experience. Are your kids small enough to need kid seats? How's that worked out?

 

[Zoomit]

I can comment on my limited experience. The intent for my Spark is similar to yours. We have a minivan that is now relegated to out of town travel and when the Spark won't fit everybody. This past weekend, we had 3 in the car (1 adult, 2 tweens) for a trip the swimming pool. It was tight with all the swimming gear they brought. If you're "not tall", you should be able to fit the kids in safety seats or booster seats in back but you really should visit a dealer to be sure your situation makes sense for this car. If you're accustomed to your minivan, which is so incredibly practical, you may be surprised at how little room remains when 4 people are in the Spark.

Also, and this may not be obvious at the dealer, the seats have pretty thin backs so any long knees or kicking feet will get noticed by the front seat driver/passenger.

 

[fengshui]

The Spark EV is obviously small, so I'm very interested in your experience. Are your kids small enough to need kid seats? How's that worked out?

Kid seats fit great in the Spark EV. Since there's no middle seat in back, there's plenty of room for even the largest car seats. My kids are 5 and 2, and we have no problems. A backless booster seat for the 5 year old can even be tossed quickly in the cargo area when you want to carry 3 adults. I also regularly stick longer items (boogie boards, etc.) in the seat wells in front of the kids. They don't like it for long rides, but it's fine for the quick trip to the pool or beach.

Do you still use a stroller? When we got the Spark EV initially, my youngest was 1, and we were concerned about fitting a stroller in the rear. We brought our smaller stroller along for the test drive and made sure it fit. I'd recommend you do the same with your car seats and any other large kid equipment. I'm sure such testing is common with smaller cars, and the dealer will have no problem with it.

 

[Carney]

The Spark EV is obviously small, so I'm very interested in your experience. Are your kids small enough to need kid seats? How's that worked out?

Kid seats fit great in the Spark EV. Since there's no middle seat in back, there's plenty of room for even the largest car seats. My kids are 5 and 2, and we have no problems. A backless booster seat for the 5 year old can even be tossed quickly in the cargo area when you want to carry 3 adults. I also regularly stick longer items (boogie boards, etc.) in the seat wells in front of the kids. They don't like it for long rides, but it's fine for the quick trip to the pool or beach.

Do you still use a stroller? When we got the Spark EV initially, my youngest was 1, and we were concerned about fitting a stroller in the rear. We brought our smaller stroller along for the test drive and made sure it fit. I'd recommend you do the same with your car seats and any other large kid equipment. I'm sure such testing is common with smaller cars, and the dealer will have no problem with it.

Almost never use the stroller anymore. Thanks for the info!

 

[fhamill]

I have 3 kids, ages 2, 5, and 7. Obviously I can't get all 3 in at a time but we have a full-size carseat for the 2-year-old and a booster for the older 2 and that fits great. Only downside is the kids love riding in the Spark and are always fighting over whose turn it is.