HannahWCU Posted November 13, 2014 Report Share Posted November 13, 2014 Well ... I'm making a slight change in vehicles. No not getting rid of the CMax, just handing it down to the wife. I took the big plunge and bought a Focus Electric. I couldn't pass up the deal on them currently. The one I got had an MSRP of $30,055. I had access to X-Plan pricing, so out-the-door I got a price of $30,216.50. there is currently a $4000 rebate from Ford PLUS 0% for 60 months AND you get the (up to) $7500 tax credit (no state credits here in NC :nonono: ). which will bring my net price to around $19,000. The big reason that I am doing this (besides the $$) is that my wife recently changed jobs and she went from a 5 mile to a 30+ mile drive to work. This is costing us about $60/week in fuel (she drives a 2005 Ford Escape). And I will be able to Plug the Focus in at work, So even though I have a 30 mile drive to work, I hope to save in fuel and electricity ;) . Even at <$3/gallon for gas ($2.75 in my area :thumbsup: ) we should save at least $200/month in gas, while spending less than $50 in additional electricity. So the net payment will be about $160/month. Not bad for a new car! I also did the whole deal over the phone. First time I bought a car sight unseen, and never have driven it :headscratch: . No Electrics in NC, bought mine from a dealer in GA. No way to drive an electric home from GA (unless I want to take 5 days to do it :shift: ), So I am using U-Ship to get it home. Should be here Tuesday. Wish me luck. plus 3 golfer, Jus-A-CMax, jeff_h and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus-A-CMax Posted November 13, 2014 Report Share Posted November 13, 2014 So...Mrs.HannahWCU could be the next potential 600+ CMax Club member then, yeah ;) Congratz on the FE :rockon: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScubaDadMiami Posted November 14, 2014 Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 That makes good sense. Congratulations! I don't know much about the car. I saw one at the dealer, and I liked the look (which I would not have noticed wasn't a regular model without the badges and port). You said 30 miles to work, where you will have a charge station. What is the range on a single charge, and what are the charge times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HannahWCU Posted November 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 You said 30 miles to work, where you will have a charge station. What is the range on a single charge, and what are the charge times. EPA Rated for 76 miles on a full charge (and we ALL know about EPA Ratings :lol: ). For charging, my work doesn't have an actual charger, but I have access to a 120v outlet. At 120v a full charge will take 20 hours, about 4 hours on a 240v charger (which I will be installing at home in the near future). There is a Volt owner at work that drives 30 miles one way also, he says that depending on the weather, he can get a full charge (from the 30 miles used) in his work day. Since both the Volt and Focus use active thermal management systems for the battery, on cold days it will take longer to charge the battery as the car uses some electricity to keep the battery warm. But even if I don't charge at work I "should" be able to get to work and home on a single charge. As some have said on Focus Electric forums, I will need to get used to ALWAYS being almost out of fuel. Most people fill-up their gas tanks with more than 76 miles to empty. I will start every drive with that or less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestead Posted November 14, 2014 Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 Did you consider getting an energi model? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevedebi Posted November 14, 2014 Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 Did you consider getting an energi model?I own the Energi. For what he describes as his needs, I think the FFE works out best. He has the C-Max for any extended driving. Provided electricity costs are not to extreme, that vehicle is going to work out great for his commute. The Energi maxes out at about 22 miles EV on most commutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HannahWCU Posted November 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 (edited) Did you consider getting an energi model? I own the Energi. For what he describes as his needs, I think the FFE works out best. He has the C-Max for any extended driving. Provided electricity costs are not to extreme, that vehicle is going to work out great for his commute. The Energi maxes out at about 22 miles EV on most commutes. This is true. I considered the Energi when I purchased the Hybrid. But my commute is 30 miles one way, with the Energi only having 20 miles of EV range, I didn't think it fit my needs. Also, the Energi is more expensive (~$32,000 vs ~$29,000) and with incentives and tax credits the FFE works out over $8000 cheaper PLUS it has 0% for up to 60 months. I really like my CMax and know that the Focus will be alittle tight for my 6'2" 300# frame, but I have owned a Dodge Neon and 2nd Generation Saturn. So I think I can make it work. Plus $8000 is a HUGE difference. Edited November 14, 2014 by HannahWCU Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotomoto Posted November 14, 2014 Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 Welcome to Club Electric! :thumbsup: You're gonna' love it and you may not realize it yet but you're life is going to be forever changed. :shift: You MUST give us a quick review after you get it. :detective: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HannahWCU Posted November 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 Welcome to Club Electric! :thumbsup: You're gonna' love it and you may not realize it yet but you're life is going to be forever changed. :shift: You MUST give us a quick review after you get it. :detective: Will do! It is scheduled to be delivered Tuesday evening. I hope to drive it to work Thursday or Friday. I'll give some initial impressions and some follow-ups (if anyone is interested). ScubaDadMiami 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fbov Posted November 14, 2014 Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 ... As some have said on Focus Electric forums, I will need to get used to ALWAYS being almost out of fuel....At least you're getting into this with your eyes open... it's like you're young again, when you had to drive on empty because you douldn't afford gas until payday.Frank HannahWCU 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hybridbear Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 Awesome! Come check join us on the Focus Electric Forum. It's an incredible vehicle. We love our Focus Electric. We've seen range greater than 100 miles in the summer and now with temps in the single digits to high teens we're seeing about 60-70 miles of range with the heat on. Make good use of Go Times to precondition the car at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HannahWCU Posted November 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 Awesome! Come check join us on the Focus Electric Forum. It's an incredible vehicle. We love our Focus Electric. We've seen range greater than 100 miles in the summer and now with temps in the single digits to high teens we're seeing about 60-70 miles of range with the heat on. Make good use of Go Times to precondition the car at home. Good to know on the range. The car is being picked up today in Georgia and will be delivered tomorrow morning. The dealership charged it fully before it is picked up, just wondering how much charge will be left after 24 hours in sub-freezing temps. Which Forum? fordfocuselectric.com or myfocuselectric.com? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hybridbear Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 Good to know on the range. The car is being picked up today in Georgia and will be delivered tomorrow morning. The dealership charged it fully before it is picked up, just wondering how much charge will be left after 24 hours in sub-freezing temps. Which Forum? fordfocuselectric.com or myfocuselectric.com?myfocuselectric.com, I had not heard of the other site. It shouldn't lose much charge. The car likes to be plugged in when it's cold though because the car uses the TMS (thermal management system) to heat the HVB. The TMS doesn't do much on 120V power though. Hopefully you can get 240V installed at home soon. We have a ClipperCreek unit and are very satisfied with it. Others have highly recommended the JuiceBox or OpenEVSE as DIY options which are cheaper. If we had a house and were doing the installation ourselves, as opposed to our apartment maintenance dept doing all the work, we would have bought one of those options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HannahWCU Posted November 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 I joined myfocuselectric.com, so that's good. I had a 240V 14-50 outlet on a 60A breaker installed over the weekend (along with a dedicated 120V outlet). Am seriously thinking of the assembled premium JuiceBox and buying the 50A charge cord with it. (hopefully) Future proofing things! I know the juicebox is overkill, but for the price of a "standard" charger I can get the premium JuiceBox with WiFi and have a 15kwH "charger". So when I win the lottery and buy my Tesla .... ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevedebi Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 I joined myfocuselectric.com, so that's good. I had a 240V 14-50 outlet on a 60A breaker installed over the weekend (along with a dedicated 120V outlet). Am seriously thinking of the assembled premium JuiceBox and buying the 50A charge cord with it. (hopefully) Future proofing things! I know the juicebox is overkill, but for the price of a "standard" charger I can get the premium JuiceBox with WiFi and have a 15kwH "charger". So when I win the lottery and buy my Tesla .... ;)What is the dedicated 120v outlet for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelM Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 Check with your local utility at one time our local Consumers Power had a program that would help with the cost of installing special outlets for electric vehicles via rebate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HannahWCU Posted November 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2014 (edited) What is the dedicated 120v outlet for?The dedicated 120V is for charging the car BEFORE I get the 240V charger. The car should pull about 12 amps by itself so you really don't want anything else plugged into the same outlet. As for the local power company (Duke Energy), they used to have programs for both the charger and the electricity rate. But they all have expired. Edited November 19, 2014 by HannahWCU Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevedebi Posted November 19, 2014 Report Share Posted November 19, 2014 The dedicated 120V is for charging the car BEFORE I get the 240V charger. The car should pull about 12 amps by itself so you really don't want anything else plugged into the same outlet. As for the local power company (Duke Energy), they used to have programs for both the charger and the electricity rate. But they all have expired.Ah, that explains it. I thought you were already installing the Level 2 charger. I have my garage door opener on the same circuit, but it doesn't pull much, and is very short duration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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