This week, I said my farewells to my very first car – my Nissan Leaf. It’s been a tough emotional week. I’m not sure if its the pregnancy hormones, or if people truly get this upset about their cars.
I never thought of myself as a car person. Heck, the first car I would officially ‘own’ (aka my name was on the paperwork!) was this 2012 Nissan Leaf, we purchased in 2015. I was 24, and for the past 8 years I’d been driving my husbands cars, my boyfriends cars, my friends cars, and my parents cars. But never my own.
When we decided to buy it, putting my name on the paperwork was critical. I felt like I needed to hit that milestone in life. It’s a milestone so many have cherished memories of, and I wanted to experience it too. And, I guess in the tears I shed, it was true, my first car will forever hold a special place in my heart.
Selling our Nissan Leaf
Earlier this month, we had decided it was time to part with our Northern Nissan Leaf. It was no longer reliable and we were loosing faith in dear ol’ Leafy. but, I didn’t actually think we’d get an offer we could live with.
I knew we weren’t going to sell it locally… I didn’t want to sell it locally. Leafy is a Friday Car… a lemon. He needs attention… He needs a mechanic to love him. While I know many EV drivers rarely, if ever have maintenance issues with their vehicles, our story is a different story – we’ve spent more money on maintaining our electric vehicle than we have on any of our internal combustion vehicles. And because we don’t have a electric vehicle repair shop/dock in Prince George, maintenance had its hurdles. Last year we had to send it to Vancouver (and pay to have it shipped back). Who knew when that would happen again…
We ended up selling it to a dealership. They had sparked interest before we even considered selling the vehicle. And at the end of the day, the dollar amount they gave us for the vehicle in the condition it is in, was better than the time, energy, money, and effort it would take to sell it in the Vancouver market, or anywhere else. It wasn’t the best deal… but we can live with it, and we see ourselves as winning!
Driving Electric
We loved driving electric. I loved driving electric.
If you’ve never driven an electric vehicle you are missing out. It has zip. It is quiet. It is beautiful.
Ah, there’s issues with range and limited mobility, but I’m a SAHM who lives in the heart of her city. The furthest I go is to my local cloth diaper shop, and it’s 10 minutes away. I rarely ever had issues/anxiety or concerns.
And driving an electric in the North, is really no big deal. My Northern Nissan Leaf handles the snow like a champ. With its heated steering wheel, I’m always comfortable, and honestly if it’s below -17C, I’m not leaving the house anyways.
What’s Next…
Well right now… we are in a weird situation. Earlier this summer, we sold our Honda Fit (totally incompatible with rear facing car seats and 6 foot adults), and purchased our BIL Chevrolet Silverado.
We just have the truck, and just the truck isn’t super awesome. Car sharing with a baby/toddler isn’t fun. My husband always has to leave when the toddler is sleeping.. So, he’s taking taxi’s to work and we’re in the market to change up our vehicle situation. Husbands eyeing up his dream car – an MR2 – and I’m trying to talk him into trading the truck in for a minivan or maybe an SUV. Getting in and out of the truck is hard, and the truck is a BEAST. I hate driving it….
So stay tuned, maybe my next car will be another dream maker, memory builder, bawl your eyes out vehicle. <3
Missing you Leafy.
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