couple questions for my new B class

[erwinsc]

No federal tax credit here
the only bonus you get for an electric car here is you don't pay something like a "property tax" for the first 5 years
(worth about 300$/year for my bmw)

Yeah I have a garage where to plug (and excited to say goodbye gas station!)
I don't travel much outside (wife's still running gasoline SW could take care of that, in case)
so would be willing to take this B class as my main car for next 10 years

Waiting a couple answers from the dealer for this 2015 B-class, and then hopefully I'll take the decision.
Tomorrow I will be checking 2015 gently used models price too, as you kindly suggested.

Well, will let you guys know once the decision will be taken,
and (crossing fingers) when I will finally drive an electric B-class :lol:

 

[JeffRay]

Missed the part that you are not eligible for US tax credit. Oops.

If leasing is an option, you might try running the numbers to allow the finance company to take the $7500 tax credit and lower your cost of ownership for 3 years, then buy out the car if you still like it at end of lease term. I know, stupid finance guy but it is using the $7500 that is offered.

Thanks for post, interesting twist and good current market info.

 

[ftw]

I'm surprised you can still get your hands on a 2015. My dealer is clearing out the 2016 inventory as the 2017 are coming anytime this month. Sounds like you can get a nice smoking deal!

 

[erwinsc]

Just wanted to drop a quick update - I finally got my hands on my B-class a couple weeks ago
(about ONE MONTH later than expected for very obscure reasons...)
....aand, I'm extremely pleased with the purchase

The only couple things that let me confused at first were the audio department not recognizing an USB key with music, unless I unplug-replug each time I switched on the car (moved to USB slot 2 - now it works perfect)
and that dramatically low range esteem - luckily this forum already talked about the issue and that didn't surprise me.
I get very low starting esteem after full charges, that keep steady while driving for many kms (it even grew up a couple times..)
like the range goes -4km every 20 km or so...
so I'm now considering about 10-12 km every "tick" in the battery gauge (I've 16 ticks in there)
seems to be quite reliable

Btw - If you have not big daily ranges and can wait days before a recharge like me,
when do you usually charge?
I've settled to wait for the last two ticks in the battery charge indicator, when I can.

And - I've read it should make some noise at very low speed to warn pedestrians
mine doesn't - should it?

Anyway - just very very happy, no smoke, no noise, no vibrations,
gives you a real feel of what you do and you have to think where you go, and be wise
this is something petrol made us all forget

 

[JeffRay]

erwinsc,

My daily work commute is 8 miles each way. So in a normal week with temperatures in the 50s, I only need to fully charge once per weekend. I have read on another recent post that topping off charges does not degrade the batteries any faster given the way they are depleted. There is a 110 outside outlet at work so I plug in while at work to get 8 miles back. I do this so I don't have to stress too much if I take a side trip to go to dinner or pick the kids up from extracurriculars. So I still charge once a week to 100 percent.

When winter hits here, I figure I will have to top off at work and charge every fourth day or so as my range will drop to 40 miles or so. Mostly urban driving at D- setting.

 

[oilerlord]

I have a garage where to plug (and excited to say goodbye gas station!)
I don't travel much outside (wife's still running gasoline SW could take care of that, in case)
so would be willing to take this B class as my main car for next 10 years

Not sure if you just plan to use the supplied EVSE to charge your car (plugged into a 110v outlet) or if you plan on using 240v. If you only drive a few miles per day, you can get by on 110v, but keep in mind that you could easily be looking at 24 hours to charge if the battery is nearly discharged. If you're going to put a lot of miles on your car, using 240v is essential.

I've put 5000 miles on my car since June, which wouldn't have been possible (for me) without a high current EVSE. I have a Clipper Creek HCS-50p 50-Amp EVSE that works well; it's able to supply 7.6kW out of the maximum 10kW that the car's internal charger can handle. After driving ~50 miles, I'm usually good to go in a couple of hours most of the time, and it only takes around 3.5 hours to charge from empty.

I'm planning to keep my car for a long time too. 10 years though? Who knows.