Any on the lot?

[gatedad11]

Just wondering if anyone is seeing or has seen 2014 MiEV's on dealers' lots are are all of the sales completed by ordering the I-MiEV? I have seen none at the few Mitsu dealerships in the area. If ordering is the only way to get an I-MiEV, how long does the process take?

Thanks,
Lou

[iwatson]

You can search on Autotrader.com for "New 2014's" and you will find a few on the lot. But it may not be on a lot near you. All have no or low miles and you can see the pictures. If you like you can buy one over the internet and have it shipped to your location, but of course that means no test drive. Ah, but if you order one there's no test drive either.

I have no experience ordering a car, so I don't know how that process works.

I did however buy my Chevy Volt over the internet, sight unseen, no test drive, from the pictures. I checked carfax to make sure it hadn't been wrecked, and since it was under warranty, I wasn't concerned if it had any service issues. Rather than having it shipped, (Which I hear is not terribly costly) I rode to Texas on a Greyhound bus for $49 and drove it home. A very fun and interesting buying experience, would do it again if I found a great price on a car I was looking for.

[iwatson]

According to Autotrader.com The closest one to you would be at Five Star Mitsubishi in Altoona, PA . They claim to have a new 2014 in stock. If you like black, you should also check out the Used 2012 I-miev in Totawa, NJ for an asking price of $9991. We bought our I used for $10,500. For that price we are extremely happy with the car.

[PV1]

A word of warning on the black i-MiEV in New Jersey. My friend tried to buy it. They include military and college discounts on their price. So unless you qualify for them, it's really $13,000 - $14,000.

[gatedad11]

Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it. I will look on the web as you suggested and see what's available. No need for a test drive as I have been driving my I-MiEV for almost 2 years now and it's coming up to go off lease. Funny that you mentioned a Chevy Volt as I am also looking into buying a used low mileage Volt. I have seen a fair number that seem to be in a reasonable price range. I love my "I" but the range is an issue.I have no workplace charging and last winter was just a bear for us here in the Northeast. The heater simply does not get the job done and I hesitated to run the heater very often because of the range hit it took. I was looking at the Volt as a great deal-moderately used 2012-2013 Volts are showing up in the low 20's. I like the fact that the battery design reduces the degradation prevalent in the other EV's, so I am thinking Volt(among many options).

Lou

[DaveMiller]

As I mentioned in another thread, there are 7 new 2014 I Meivs at the O'Brien dealer in Normal Illinois.

http://www.obrienteamnormal.com/search.cfm

Dave

[iwatson]

Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it. I will look on the web as you suggested and see what's available. No need for a test drive as I have been driving my I-MiEV for almost 2 years now and it's coming up to go off lease. Funny that you mentioned a Chevy Volt as I am also looking into buying a used low mileage Volt. I have seen a fair number that seem to be in a reasonable price range. I love my "I" but the range is an issue.I have no workplace charging and last winter was just a bear for us here in the Northeast. The heater simply does not get the job done and I hesitated to run the heater very often because of the range hit it took. I was looking at the Volt as a great deal-moderately used 2012-2013 Volts are showing up in the low 20's. I like the fact that the battery design reduces the degradation prevalent in the other EV's, so I am thinking Volt(among many options).

Lou

Lou,

I got the Volt two years ago....Absolutely love this car. I know you will too if you decide to go with a Volt! I realized that most of the time I drive on electric power only and since my wife drives less than I do (She's a housewife), I knew she could use an all-electric.

For a second car, we considered a Leaf but it was more than we could afford. I knew about the i-Miev but thought it was dorky looking compared to the Leaf or Volt, didn't care for the small size, knew it had less range than a Leaf and generally had a spartan looking interior giving it a less refined, more econobox feel. But we found a used one with 8800 miles and was able to get it for $10,500 so the price and the fact that it was all-electric outweighed my other concerns.

Since we've had it for a couple of months now, I absolutely love it too. I find all kinds of excuses to borrow it. I like the fact that it sits taller than my volt. Although it's a really small car it's easier to get in and out of than my Volt. It's extremely easy to park and it's turning radius is a blast. I've come to realize that the interior, though not as luxurious as my Volt, is adequate, well laid out and quite comfortable. The looks of the car in addition to the rarity causes more people to stop and ask about it.

It's really a shame that so many people (like I did) refuse to consider the i-Miev or are even unaware of it. It is really a surprisingly likable little car. I think you have a hard choice ahead of you. Your situation sounds like a Volt will suit your needs better, and as I said I know you'll love it.....But I think you'll miss your I-Miev as well!

[jray3]

iwatson, thanks for that candid review and 'testimony'. You sound like exactly the kind of customer that Mitsu should pay more attention to. Of course, the decision makers seem to have kept their blinders on and flubbed the re-launch of this car even worse than the first time around in 2011-12. (Great pricing, record of reliability and an enthusiastic owner base, but no inventory or marketing.) I'm betting that this is the end of the line for the i as we know it, and the upcoming joint Nissan-Mitsu offering will be the next 50-state compact EV. It could be nice, with Mitsu's better battery and Nissan's cushy interiors, but I'm not holding my breath. We're in the i long-term.

[jray3]

So InsideEVs.com reports that 110 i-MiEV have been sold since March, (some of those leftover 2012's, no doubt) and there are only 58 new 2014 models listed nationwide on Cars.com (and 8 remaining 2012's). Was that the entire US-spec 2014 model year production; approx 168 cars? Who in their right mind would call that a re-launch or even a production run?
Perhaps they were just using up leftover parts from the 2012 run...
Based on InsideEVs.com sales tallies plus current inventory, we have a total US i-MiEV population of approximately 1877 cars, (not counting those already lost to damage).

[alohart]

Based on InsideEVs.com sales tallies plus current inventory, we have a total US i-MiEV population of approximately 1877 cars, (not counting those already lost to damage).

It appears that very few additional North American "fat" i-MiEV's will be sold. With the new joint Nissan-Mitsubishi kei car now being sold in Japan, the introduction of its EV version will likely end the run of all i-MiEV's, including our "fat" version. This would mean that the parts will likely be in very limited availability and expensive with few wrecked cars available for parts. So I can foresee a time in the near future where only slightly damaged i-MiEV's will be totaled due to low resale values and expensive parts. This is happening to a lesser degree to my other car, a Honda Insight, of which fewer that 20,000 were sold new. But 20,000 is likely far more than the final sales figure for "fat" i-MiEV's, so I expect the parts availability and expense problem to be worse