Advice on purchasing a 2013 Leaf

[latitude500]

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to say thank you for your information on this site. I've been reading up on everything I can before I make my purchase. If this isn't the right area please let me know and I'll move the post.

My range that I need is 50 miles per day so I believe the leaf is going to work for me. Plus my work has the L2 chargers. I've downloaded the leafspy app on my iPhone, but honestly I can't say I understand it. What GIBs am I looking for when I test the car / battery, and does the car need to be fully charged to get a clear reading? What other items should I be looking for. I know I need the 6.6 charger, anything else.


Any advice on purchasing a used 2013 leaf would be wonderful.

Thank you
Michael
Cedar Park Tx = north of Austin Tx.

 

[mjblazin]

For a used 2013 fully charged, you should probably expect at least 17+ kWh and 225-240 or more GID. At 4 miles per KWH that gives you 70+ miles range. In comparison a new vehicle is 280+ GIDs and 22+ kWh. These readings are on the 4th screen.
On the first screen
your AHR amperage per hour should be near mid 50's or higher and State of Health SOH 82% or higher.

You should exercise the map and route functions in Navigation to verify that you have the SD card necessary for those functions.

You should check trunk to verify you have the plug in adapter in the nylon bag. That is for charging at home off a wall plug.

You will need an OBDC II adapter for the LeafSpy to talk to the car. If your phone is an iPhone, the adapter will have to be WiFi. Amazon has plenty for under $20.

Your regular battery, the one that powers the accessories and lights, not the traction system, should be in very high 12 volts/low 13 volts. Indicator is in bottom left of every LeafSpy screen.

Rest of items, tires, satellite radio, lights, locks, weird noises, etc. are like any other car.

 

[cwerdna]

Your regular battery, the one that powers the accessories and lights, not the traction system, should be in very high 12 volts/low 13 volts. Indicator is in bottom left of every LeafSpy screen.

I'm not sure I would depend on this. http://www.electricvehiclewiki.com/?title=Leaf_Battery_Application mentions that requires calibration.

 

[RonDawg]

As you live in a hot environment and have a fairly lengthy commute, I would recommend getting a new Leaf with the (supposedly) more heat-tolerant battery, rather than a used one that likely already has battery capacity loss which will only get worse in the Texas heat.

I would recommend leasing (you would need 15k/year with your commute) but if for some reason you don't want to lease, Nissan right now is offering not only 0% 72-month financing but is also offering $5k cash on the hood offers for new 2015's. Some dealers are throwing in additional cash as well. When you factor in the $7500 Federal tax credit, you could be looking in the mid to high teens net price for a brand new car, not a whole lot more than a used one with a degraded battery.

 

[latitude500]

Thank you everyone for the information.

I'm finding a lot of Leafs but they have the SD card removed. Can I still use Leaf Spy if this item has been removed? I'm not sure why they are removing it. Surely they can get the data off and send it to Nissan and place the card back in the car? How much is this to replace if the dealership doesn't have it?

 

[Reddy]

Thank you everyone for the information.

I'm finding a lot of Leafs but they have the SD card removed. Can I still use Leaf Spy if this item has been removed? I'm not sure why they are removing it. Surely they can get the data off and send it to Nissan and place the card back in the car? How much is this to replace if the dealership doesn't have it?

The SD cards are being removed because they can be sold on EBay. Sucks, but that's it. Demand that the seller include a new SD card or lower the price. Leaf Spy uses the OBDI-CAN bus (what ever that is, but the connector is under the steering wheel) and should work in the absence of the SD card (which I think is for navigation/maps).

 

[LeftieBiker]

I believe the SD card is also needed to run the climate control in the SV and SL models.

 

[cwerdna]

Thank you everyone for the information.

I'm finding a lot of Leafs but they have the SD card removed. Can I still use Leaf Spy if this item has been removed? I'm not sure why they are removing it. Surely they can get the data off and send it to Nissan and place the card back in the car? How much is this to replace if the dealership doesn't have it?

The SD cards are being removed because they can be sold on EBay. Sucks, but that's it. Demand that the seller include a new SD card or lower the price.

What can a buyer do with it? I thought they used the Secure part of Secure Digital (SD) to copy protect them and pair them w/the head unit? They're not supposed to work if you move them to another nav/head unit. Are they just scamming buyers who don't know better?

That said, it is quite annoying to see used Leafs w/the SD card missing. When I was in the market, that was something I made sure wasn't missing.

 

[latitude500]

So with the SD Card missing the Nav/ mapping doesn't work. And on the SV and SL models if the SD card is missing the A/C system doesn't work. Oh I can think that would lower the price a bit in TEXAS. I couldn't imagine purchasing a car without A/C.

I will most certainly demand that they replace the SD Card, however if they can't how much would it be to replace it. I understand that it has to be matched up with the head unit. Does it need to be matched up with the head unit S/N or VIN of the car?

Thank you so much I'm learning a lot here.