2016 LEAF totalled with almost no body panel damage

[JPWhite]

I saw this craigslist listing for a 2016 LEAF, parts only.

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/pts/5761098978.html

I don't see much body panel damage (the hood looks tweaked).

Wonder why its totalled already?

 

[aarond12]

That's bizarre. What I find MOST bizarre are the holes in the bumper. It looks like this might have been used for testing self-driving vehicles.

 

[RonDawg]

My guess is this was a "not for retail consumption" car, such as a pre-production prototype, and/or as mentioned above a test mule of some sort. Normally these get crushed when they outlive their original purpose, but either someone felt it had too many good parts to waste, or they wanted to get the last penny out of their investment.

I was watching an episode of "Jay Leno's Garage" on YouTube and he's building a resto-mod Detroit Electric using a different and more powerful electric motor that will be powered by batteries and associated electronics from a Leaf, courtesy of Nissan USA. Not sure if it came out of this car or not.

 

[JimSouCal]

I inquired. The car boots up. Drive train and battery are intact. They won't sell "it" as a whole--not especially clear from ad but apparently for sale by the part. Asking 4K for battery, which seems too high for a used non warranty battery... Looks like if one knew what they were doing (not me) the essentials could be purchased to make a custom EV, or one could maybe negotiate for a fresh(er) battery... I'll pass.

 

[davewill]

I work in car infotainment systems, and work with car manufacturers. The pre-production cars and test mules they provide cannot be titled, registered or insured. When we have to work with one, we are able to drive it with temporary tags, and the manufacturer assumes all liability in case of an accident. They MUST be disposed of after their time as a test vehicle is over. It kinda feels wrong when you watch a perfectly good luxury car get picked up to go to the crusher. They never have any owner but the manufacturer (and I guess the scrapper once it's been crushed).

In this case, the car is obviously owned by someone who is not the manufacturer, so I'm thinking it might have been used as a test mule by someone NOT associated with a manufacturer. They might be concerned that their mods could cause a liability problem if there were to sell it as a functional car. Or perhaps the current owner simply believes they will make more money parting it out.

 

[Levenkay]

They MUST be disposed of after their time as a test vehicle is over. It kinda feels wrong when you watch a perfectly good luxury car get picked up to go to the crusher. They never have any owner but the manufacturer (and I guess the scrapper once it's been crushed).

What; they can't even get used in crash tests? Seems like an ideal way to minimize the lawyer-imposed losses..

 

[RegGuheert]

Asking 4K for battery, which seems too high for a used non warranty battery...

$4000 seems pretty reasonable for a 30-kWh battery. That comes to $133/kWh.

 

[Marktm]

Asking 4K for battery, which seems too high for a used non warranty battery...

$4000 seems pretty reasonable for a 30-kWh battery. That comes to $133/kWh.

Agreed - the purchase price only (not considering life-cycle) of the cheapest FLA (Sam's 6v golf cart style) runs over $200/kWH without any battery management (using 35% SOC delta).

IF you could use the Leaf's BMS, AND find a 400 VDC to 240 VAC split phase inverter AND find a 400 VDC MPPT solar charge controller - it would be VERY reasonable - or move to Japan? =>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd-crZIHWYM).

Anyone have recent updates on "V2H"?

 

[GlennD]

My guess is this was a "not for retail consumption" car, such as a pre-production prototype, and/or as mentioned above a test mule of some sort. Normally these get crushed when they outlive their original purpose, but either someone felt it had too many good parts to waste, or they wanted to get the last penny out of their investment.

I was watching an episode of "Jay Leno's Garage" on YouTube and he's building a resto-mod Detroit Electric using a different and more powerful electric motor that will be powered by batteries and associated electronics from a Leaf, courtesy of Nissan USA. Not sure if it came out of this car or not.

Several years ago I was at Long Beach Fire Training programming radios and they had brand new prototypes that were there to be burned up in training. They were fully optioned cars that the fireman watched to make sure they were complete when burned. That was the agreement with the mfg.

 

[RegGuheert]

IF you could use the Leaf's BMS, AND find a 400 VDC to 240 VAC split phase inverter AND find a 400 VDC MPPT solar charge controller - it would be VERY reasonable - or move to Japan? =>

I was thinking it would be useful in a LEAF.

 

[Stoaty]

Several years ago I was at Long Beach Fire Training programming radios and they had brand new prototypes that were there to be burned up in training. They were fully optioned cars that the fireman watched to make sure they were complete when burned. That was the agreement with the mfg.

I was thinking that would be useful for a Leaf.

 

[GlennD]

That was a long time ago but I think they were new Nissan's. Training in car fires is valuable but the Leaf was not out yet.. An electric car fire would be valuable training.

This was back when the regional programming changed yearly so at pump test days it was also handheld and truck radio program times. Now that I am retired it is someone else's problem. No more headaches and most of all no more on call.