SEL Premium A Good Deal with 2017's around the corner

[knapptimezzz]

So, I've been mulling over leasing a 2016 SEL e-golf because the incentives are really good right now to clear things out for the 2017 model (which has a gorgeous LCD dash). I'm trying to gauge a few things from the e-golf owners on this forum so here's all the information

1. Leasing for 30 months
2. Drive 65 miles round trip for work (90% highway miles 15% stop and go on highway)
3. L1 Chargers ALWAYS available (and free$) at work
4. L2 Chargers (if I fight others for the charger but also free$)
5. Currently no charing at home (working with landlord for L1 Charger might be able to do L2)
6. 18.5k Miles (because I'm seriously afraid of just running out of miles on a lease, never had a lease before hard to gauge for me)
7. $275 a month for the lease with those stats for 30 months

A. Is this even reasonable? Does it makes sense / seem logical?
B. Does the charging situation seem sound at least temporarily?
C. Has anyone has solid success with getting landlords to support EV? No EV home charging (at any level is super prohibitive for owning and EV)
D. Most importantly, are people really seeing mid to high 80's of miles of range with normal driving?
E. PG&E rebate for L2 chargers is still a thing?

Any and all comments are welcome. Shred the idea if don't think it's super viable for right now or convince me to leave work and go commit. I'm really looking for input as this is my first EV, first lease.

 

[miimura]

A. If you only reliably have L1 charging at work it's not going to be practical. It's going to take 13+ hours to replace 65 miles of driving on a L1 charging cord.
B. You didn't say where your home and work locations are, so we don't know if there are fast chargers that could be used in case you can't fully recharge during your work day. Temporarily, that backup could get you through. I would not recommend the car if you routinely need to fast charge to make it through your day.
C. If the electrical meters are near the parking area and you are willing to pay all the costs for a 240V plug connected to your unit's meter, I would definitely approach the landlord. Get the quote from a licensed electrician first to show that you've done your homework. If you will have to rely on electrical service from the common area, it's going to be a major hassle, mostly from a billing standpoint. It's also not reasonable to ask the landlord to bear the cost of your L1 charging.
D. Yes, a 65 mile RT commute is perfectly doable. In rain and cold (for Northern California) you may need to slow down a little on the freeway to reduce your energy consumption.
E. The PG&E rebate is not for L2 chargers, it's just for having an EV registered and a residential electric account at the same address.

 

[knapptimezzz]

Well I wouldn't be asking the land lord to pay for the cost of the L1 charge cost. I just would want an outlet outside. Not a big fan of having to leave windows unlocked and open to run a charge cable out of it. No garage so it really just getting them to put an outlet outside the apartment attached to my electrical utility.

 

[f1geek]

CA law says the landlord must allow you to install a station per legal requirements but tenant has to pay all costs. If you ran a 20 A 120V circuit and bought a high amperage L1 EVSE (Clipper creek sells one that delivers 1.9kW) you could cut down the charge time for 65 miles to 9.5 hours. But if you are going to go through the trouble of paying for all this, you might as well have an electrician put in a 240 V circuit.

 

[forbin404]

CA Law says a station must be allowed but sometimes the manager will force a separate panel. That's a nice expensive job.

 

[johnnylingo]

E. The PG&E rebate is not for L2 chargers, it's just for having an EV registered and a residential electric account at the same address.

Correct. Some counties do have EVSE rebates though, especially in SoCal.. but they usually require L2 / 240V. Good website to check out:

California DriveClean incentives

I just found out there's a $2k vehicle rebate for Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito counties starting Dec 1st :shock:

 

[JoulesThief]

Own a 2015 SEL myself. Waited too long for approval, bids, pulling permits and all after buying my new e-Golf. Mooching electrons the first month was a huge waste of time and suck, no way to enjoy my new to me e-Golf.

Seems a waste to me to pay for permanent property improvements on property you rent, and don't own.

I see 100 mile ranges n charges, sometimes up to 110 miles. I stay off of freeways, drive nothing but surface streets /Blvds, and time to hit all green lights, use Drive at all times, and D1 to slow down for red lights/stop signs. I do NOT drive normal, compared to all the average herd mentality type of red light racer drivers out there, racing to the next red light. I drive slow, steady, and conserve momentum. YMMV, I am retired, and I'm never in a hurry, I let others pursue the rat race, been there, done that, it's stressful driving like a maniac, or for sport.