Our neighbors must think we're crazy because when they look at our house, there are two Spark EVs in the driveway! 
That's right. After my teenage daughter's old POS Hyundai broke down for the umpteenth time, she refused to drive it anymore and demanded a decent car. I couldn't blame her and it just so happens that the best choice out there for just about any car is a new 2015 Spark EV.
Visually they are the same - 2LT trim painted Summit White. Mine has the DC Fast Charge option and hers doesn't, but that's OK; there are almost no places to charge it here in Maryland. The neat thing is the two Sparks drive exactly the same. Handling, braking, acceleration, and even the mediocre speakers are identical, which gives me confidence both cars are working as they should.
More important is the deal. We decided to lease hers for $0 down and 39 months. This is somewhat misleading since the lessor (us) is responsible for tax, tags, title and dealers fees. This added up to more than $2700. They gave us $700 for trading in her old car (way more than it was worth), so we only needed $2000 to cover the rest. This will be more than recouped when our $2375 rebate arrives from the state. The monthly payment is $150, BUT our insurance went down $8 per month thanks to OnStar and 10 airbags, AND her monthly fuel cost should drop from around $90 in gas to about $25 in electricity. That leaves total out-of-pocket cost around $75 per month for a new Spark EV, which she has volunteered to pay for with her baby-sitting, house-cleaning money. If that weren't enough, I've been averaging about $300 per month just trying to keep her old, crappy car on the road. I don't have to pay that anymore! Yippee! :lol:
The only downside is we have to share the same EVSE. Since we're on a special time-of-use EV charging schedule to get a reduced electric rate, we can't begin charging until 8 PM. As it is now, she gets it until 11 PM when I switch the cord over to my car. This should work for a while since she only drives half as far as I do every day. If she starts to run a deficit, she can make it up on weekends when electricity is cheap all day long. If that isn't enough, it should be pretty easy to install a second EVSE.
I guess the big question is: What am I going to do with all the extra money?
Dusty
That's right. After my teenage daughter's old POS Hyundai broke down for the umpteenth time, she refused to drive it anymore and demanded a decent car. I couldn't blame her and it just so happens that the best choice out there for just about any car is a new 2015 Spark EV.
Visually they are the same - 2LT trim painted Summit White. Mine has the DC Fast Charge option and hers doesn't, but that's OK; there are almost no places to charge it here in Maryland. The neat thing is the two Sparks drive exactly the same. Handling, braking, acceleration, and even the mediocre speakers are identical, which gives me confidence both cars are working as they should.
More important is the deal. We decided to lease hers for $0 down and 39 months. This is somewhat misleading since the lessor (us) is responsible for tax, tags, title and dealers fees. This added up to more than $2700. They gave us $700 for trading in her old car (way more than it was worth), so we only needed $2000 to cover the rest. This will be more than recouped when our $2375 rebate arrives from the state. The monthly payment is $150, BUT our insurance went down $8 per month thanks to OnStar and 10 airbags, AND her monthly fuel cost should drop from around $90 in gas to about $25 in electricity. That leaves total out-of-pocket cost around $75 per month for a new Spark EV, which she has volunteered to pay for with her baby-sitting, house-cleaning money. If that weren't enough, I've been averaging about $300 per month just trying to keep her old, crappy car on the road. I don't have to pay that anymore! Yippee! :lol:
The only downside is we have to share the same EVSE. Since we're on a special time-of-use EV charging schedule to get a reduced electric rate, we can't begin charging until 8 PM. As it is now, she gets it until 11 PM when I switch the cord over to my car. This should work for a while since she only drives half as far as I do every day. If she starts to run a deficit, she can make it up on weekends when electricity is cheap all day long. If that isn't enough, it should be pretty easy to install a second EVSE.
I guess the big question is: What am I going to do with all the extra money?
Dusty
