jray3
Well-known member
Well folks, I just couldn't stand all the great deals that you latecomers have been grabbing, and since my only regret about the I-MiEV is not having one with CHAdeMO, I traded mine in today! 
(besides, it needed new front tires before winter)
Yep, my original dealer had one of the last cars on a lot in Western Washington, and we made a trade, sending my silver 2012 ES with 21648 miles to the used lot, and taking home a 2012 black SE with the premium package. The financing can be described from many angles, but I was able to roll over the old 3% loan into a new 0.0% loan that made my out-of pocket net capital outlay for the last 17 months and 21648 miles a grand total of $304.25 (after the tax credit on my first car). Of course the trade was less than I would have preferred, and Mitsu refuses to extend their $500 Owner Loyalty Bonus to I-MiEV and Mirage trade-ins, but that's my only regret (oh yeah, and a black interior would look better in the black car than that chocolate brown). :roll:
In essence, I'm starting over with a car built in May 2012 (7 months younger than the silver ES), and over the new car's first 12 months of service, Mitsu and Uncle Sam will pay a net $616 for me to drive. Cash flow becomes more conventional in year 2 and I'm already upside down on the books, but when this new loan is retired in 5 years, I will have averaged paying out less than $400 per month for car(s) that have been saving $170 per month in gas compared to the 30 mpg Civic they replaced, so that makes no more than $230 per month in average net cost until the loan is retired. With CHAdeMO, I expect to rack up miles at an even faster rate, as a quick charge station is going in next to my wife's clinic, and just yesterday I took a gas-fueled 82 mile trip that would've been a cinch on CHAdeMO, while the I-MiEV ES sat recharging after my wife's commute. As posted previously, I would've gladly paid to have CHAdeMO installed aftermarket, and just about attempted it, but decided on this deal instead.
So if there's anyone out there who can't claim the tax credit and doesn't want a lease, but is looking for a deal on a used car, send a PM my way, and I won't hesitate to provide intel to aid in the transaction. Sorry I couldn't wait to try and sell it to a private party for the trade-in value. (Though if the cash was handy, I'd have preferred to transplant the battery into my Karmann Ghia and mothball the silver car!)
(besides, it needed new front tires before winter)
Yep, my original dealer had one of the last cars on a lot in Western Washington, and we made a trade, sending my silver 2012 ES with 21648 miles to the used lot, and taking home a 2012 black SE with the premium package. The financing can be described from many angles, but I was able to roll over the old 3% loan into a new 0.0% loan that made my out-of pocket net capital outlay for the last 17 months and 21648 miles a grand total of $304.25 (after the tax credit on my first car). Of course the trade was less than I would have preferred, and Mitsu refuses to extend their $500 Owner Loyalty Bonus to I-MiEV and Mirage trade-ins, but that's my only regret (oh yeah, and a black interior would look better in the black car than that chocolate brown). :roll:
In essence, I'm starting over with a car built in May 2012 (7 months younger than the silver ES), and over the new car's first 12 months of service, Mitsu and Uncle Sam will pay a net $616 for me to drive. Cash flow becomes more conventional in year 2 and I'm already upside down on the books, but when this new loan is retired in 5 years, I will have averaged paying out less than $400 per month for car(s) that have been saving $170 per month in gas compared to the 30 mpg Civic they replaced, so that makes no more than $230 per month in average net cost until the loan is retired. With CHAdeMO, I expect to rack up miles at an even faster rate, as a quick charge station is going in next to my wife's clinic, and just yesterday I took a gas-fueled 82 mile trip that would've been a cinch on CHAdeMO, while the I-MiEV ES sat recharging after my wife's commute. As posted previously, I would've gladly paid to have CHAdeMO installed aftermarket, and just about attempted it, but decided on this deal instead.
So if there's anyone out there who can't claim the tax credit and doesn't want a lease, but is looking for a deal on a used car, send a PM my way, and I won't hesitate to provide intel to aid in the transaction. Sorry I couldn't wait to try and sell it to a private party for the trade-in value. (Though if the cash was handy, I'd have preferred to transplant the battery into my Karmann Ghia and mothball the silver car!)
