Speaking of the TOU meter, I having a bit of a problem there. The SunPower guys installed my box last Friday. They want Edison to install the TOU meter before they come back with the charge cord and have the city inspection done. When I called my Edison EV rep, she wants the cord installed and city inspection completed before they install the meter. I'm assuming the SunPower approach is correct since they have been doing this for years. I guess I'll have to get them to talk to each other. At least I'll have the option of charging by 110V if this takes awhile to straighten out.

edit - I looked back at Jethro's post on his installation, and it looks like the TOU meter should be installed before the final hookup/inspection. Any updates on your install Jethro?

 

I got a call from SCE yesterday with a similar 'who's on first' situation. I brought it to Kristine's attention to resolve. I think CFCI has the higher level contacts at SCE. But who knows if that ends up being the best approach... this is why I wouldn't begrudge Mini if they decide to simply hand out the cables to anyone that's ready until they don't have any left. Even though it may not be optimal in terms of fairness, they really have no way of knowing how many of these situations will be resolved before they need to start delivering cars regardless.

 

Yes, I can see where problems could crop up and slow the process down considerably. I'm sure very few people have actually had their final city inspection and permit, and who knows how smoothly that will go.

It is interesting that the people who are just getting their wall boxes installed now will get the charge cord, whereas people who have had their boxes for weeks may be have to wait another month to get the next batch of cords. I'm not saying that it is unfair, it is just the way it worked out, and I'm fortunate that 110V charging will work for me. And best of all, I'll have a Mini E by June 30th at the latest!

 

Hi Stan....here's the latest update. I spoke to Kristine 4 or 5 days ago and she wanted some dates of when I'd be available should the cable arrive. Her plan is to coordinate the cable delivery and hookup with the city inspector. Sunpower and the City of Long Beach, CA will show up at the same time. Once that happens, Edison will return to put the TOU meter in the housing. As my commute is 82 miles round trip each day, I'm hoping to get the cable and not have to wait. Will post again when I get the call.

 

First MINI-E delivered. Read about here.

 

Sunpower Electric was by today and installed the cable. They were just finishing up when the inspector for the city of Long Beach,CA stopped by to approve everything. Last step is for Edison to stop by and install second meter into the socket adapter housing they installed earlier this month. I had hoped to be the first one to get the car but Peter beat me.

The cable is 24' 9" long. I measured from where it comes out the bottom of the Clipper Creek charger to the very end of the silver charging plug.

http://electricminicooper.blogspot.com/

 

Congratulations Todd! Even though you were not the first, it sounds like you'll have a car very soon.

I've got a question for anyone - today's "Plugged In" email seemed to imply that we are suppose to call CFCI for the appointment to install the charge cord, and "first come, first served". I just assumed they would call us when they were ready, same as all the other appointments. Anyone know?

 

Hi Stan....on May 15th I was sent an e-mail from Clean Fuel asking for my availability between May 20th and June 5th. I immediately picked up the phone and called Kristine and gave her a bunch of times and dates. My guess is that phone call led to the cable install and inspection earlier today.

 

Thanks!

I'll wait for the e-mail or call.

 

Don't wait. Call. Ext 13.

 

Got a voice mail from Kristine yesterday, inspection and cable install for me will be June 4th. Still not sure how/ if the SCE Time Of Use issues will be resolved- but if the city approves what I have, at least it isn't on the critical path of getting delivery of the car.

 

Photos of the socket adapter, close up of Mini Sticker, etc can be viewed on my blog. Double click photos to enlarge:

http://electricminicooper.blogspot.com/

 

Wow! That's an extremely sophisticated timer box, Jethro! When I zoom in, I can almost make out the little hamster in its wheel . . .

 

Oh great, an unexpected expense - hamster food

 

Heard from my electrician, he'll be over on Monday to install the charger, but without the cable. Might be the first charger box install here on the East Coast, havent heard of any others here.

 

I got my contract today and as expected there were nice enough to put $2,880 (probably plus some tax) in there to beef my garage up and that's net of the standard installation cost, and despite the fact that the program coordinator told me otherwise. So I have asked for a breakdown of the amount into hours and fee per hour but my sense is that I will never get the breakdown. So whatever. Looking at it in total, it is nice to be a pioneer, but not at any price. And especially not if a beneficiary of the high lease rate is that the municipalities get it essentially for free to write you parking tickets etc. It was funny, when I talked to the DPW guy at the test drive I asked him whether he would sponsor my car- and he said since that entails a cash outlay, he would not get the approval. But having saved the same cash outlay through getting cars for free of course did not matter in that equation.
Also talked to a BMW (NJ) guy yesterday and BMW sees this whole trial as a nice experience, but neither the car nor the technology will ever go into mass production. It is a test bed and pioneers pick up most of the tab of it. I would not be so sure that the cars (total # 500) really cost them that much if you look at the fact that they took regular Minis that had already been developed. The incremental cost of building the car, before converting them to EVs should be around $5,000 or so, if you don't count advertising, cost of the network and developing the car. Also I do not believe they had to go through US crash tests etc.
So everybody have fun with their cars and I will pick a mass produced EV next year with an exchangeable battery of the next generation and will be able to get a tax credit for it as a purchaser.

All the best

Klaus

 

I feel your pain Klaus. I just got a bill for a extra charge on the install too. The funny part is my panel requires no upgrades and it 20 feet of wire length away from where I want the charger installed. I don't think the contractors have their act together, not only did they take forever to get me an appointment when the finally did the guy was a no show-no call. Needless to say, I was angry because I had changed my plans to meet them. When they finally rescheduled the contractor was late. He told me it was a simple and standard install but I now have this bill for $700 stating my wire run is too long.

 

$700 for 20 feet?! Unless they're drilling through plutonium, that's seriously out of whack. For sake of comparison, my install (which I rejected as being to pricey, and am now exploring an alternate location for the charger) was going to be $1,100 - and that was to go about 100 feet, and up-and-down through the attic of my two-storey home - a b$tch of a job.

You should push back hard on that quote. Keep in mind, these electrical contractors are hurting for work right now, and when they see a guy who can afford an $850/month lease . . . well, they're only human . . .

 

I talked to them and explained that it is a very short run of wire from my panel to my garage. I was told I would get a new estimate soon because they made a mistake on the original estimate.

 

Time for an update.
I had my Wall Charger installed today, was told its the second install in NJ, only took 2 months from the time the Garage was first inspected. but my shinny Gray box is here now, just missing the charging cable, and the Township's inspection... oh and the MINI E
Well back to watching the Grass grow

 

I should get my new estimate back today. Hopefully it will be a $0 charge one. On another note I was asked to take delivery this week.

 

In addition to having to pay for these additional installation costs, I am still stuck on these other groups/entities getting deals on MINI Es when we regular folks get no such consideration. A woman who worked with a city agency in So. Cal. told me that her city was getting a MINI E at a really really low price because "they hadn't budgeted" for this high lease rate. She said $50/month.

I have since found out that other city agencies, or not-for-profit groups, are getting similar cheap deals--some as low as $0 to $10 per month.


Finally, we talked to an acquaintance of his who is a very highly placed executive at a local retail company. Their company has been approached by MINI to take some of the cars off their hands. No deal yet, but this for-profit company is apparently angling for a super low lease rate. (And, yes, you read that right. This is NOT a non-profit or city agency. Indeed, the company isn't even necessarily a good fit for the MINI E. And the exective said that they don't really have a way to provide useful feedback to MINI. They just hope to lease the cars cheaply and use them for a year.)


I would hope that MINI treats all its pioneers honorably--and equally.

 

That is discouraging, about the for-profit company. Presumably, the cars that they are looking to "take off their hands" are the ones that were slated for the pioneers who dropped out, many of them due to unexpected high cost of the electrical upgrades - you would think the honorable thing for BMW to do is go back to those prospective pioneers first with an offer to defray some of the electrical costs, rather than approaching a third-party with a low-ball lease rate . . . maybe BMW fears that would just open a Pandora's box with the other pioneers who held their noses and paid the extra costs . . .

 

It's not a done deal yet--as far as we know--but if we hear anything about a low lease rate for this company we'll post it.

It seems like BMW/MINI wants to get these cars on the road to get real-world driving data. Also, they need to get the cars on the road soon in order to get CARB (CA Air Resources Bureau) credits.

If this is the case, why don't they just make the lease rate a low, reasonable one for ALL the participants? (This would include private parties, gov't agencies, non-profits, etc.)

 

Yikes- just heard that my city will definitely not approve my wallbox installation without the TOU equipment installed, due to the load on the current panel. That's going to make things quite a bit more complicated. I think I'm heading towards a 110v cable delivery unless CFCI can rustle up some SCE resources. Up until now they haven't been in much of a hurry to do so.