So after getting approval from the bank that I could go and order the car, I drove down to Wyong again to do the deal. Except I knew that because there weren’t many alternatives I wasn’t expecting too much bargaining to go on. Going in with that attitude, I didn’t make the dealer work very hard.

I’d done enough research to figure out I didn’t need the in-home charging wall box right now. The typical distance I drive each day is less than 40 km, so the contingency cable, which just plugs into a normal three-pronged power point, would do the trick. Also, there are a couple of fast charging stations nearby that I can use if necessary. They are NRMA ones, so they are currently free.

All that was left was to pick a colour, Magnetic Red, and get a trade-in price for the Jeep Renegade. That was probably the most disappointing part. After 4 years, it was only worth around $12k, which translated to a trade-in amount of $8500. And with the absence on any form of government incentives, it’s a very expensive small car.

The only difference to buying an ICE car is that there is one additional form to sign which has some details on charging and battery-related warranty items.

Then I was handed over to another person, who I assumed was going to sort out the deposit and payment details. But I was wrong, she started talking about paint protection. As soon as I realised what was happening, all I could think was, ok, how much. I’m never sure about the etiquette of these situations, should I just stop the person as soon as I know what’s happening and tell them I’m not interested, or do I let them finish their spiel and allow them to give me everything I they think I need to know. I went with the latter and she almost seemed offended when I said I didn’t want paint protection, additional window tinting and interior protection for an extra 2 grand. There are a number of reasons for turning it down, some that ran through my head were a bit combative - “doesn’t the factory paint the cars properly?” - but I just went with “I don’t think it’s necessary.” At that point she went off on a rant about whether I knew a panel beater and if they were going to buff out any scratches for free. I really had no idea where she was going with her argument, so I just stayed with “I’m not interested.” What was closer to the truth is that I was at the limit of my budget and I really did not want to spend any more on the car than I had to. But this had nothing to do with the fact I was buying an EV, I just thought it was an interesting anecdote.

At various points the sales person would go to get information about various things or talk to his manage. During those times, my wife, Lilly, would ask me questions about the car, charging, range, etc. I was very pleased with myself that I’d done the research leading up to this day that I was able to answer all her questions. The most useful thing I found during my research was installing the PlugShare app. The iPad version appears to be more useful than the Android version at the moment because it allows you to plan and save trips. The Android version doesn’t allow you to save trips. I was able to look at the most common long-distance trips we make and figured out how easy it would be to recharge along the way. The only one that may be difficult for the Leaf is from Newcastle to Kempsey - the main problem being the distance between Kempsey and the nearest fast charger means I probably couldn’t get back to the fast charger, but there would be slower options that could make it work. And we still have Lilly’s Honda City if we don’t want the hassle of dealing with range anxiety on those longer trips.