How to , what where's & so on.. yep another Newbie Here!........Hello from South Of England!

[tessr1404]

I just purchased an Ocean Blue 2011 Nissan Leaf with just 34,000 on the clock. I'm feeling let down with myself for believing the seller when he said it was Full Bars Battery now I thought it would be around there give or rather take one or so. Well the max is a 52 mile now this could be 100% or just 80% or it's 75% of what it would have been if new, of the actual expected 80 miles . How do I find out , I know this maybe a silly question but it's all new to me!! I asked the trader to take it back and he offered just 50% of what I paid. Now I am going to suck it up and see if that mileage is OK. It's just two weeks today since it arrived . It was a couple hundred miles away so I couldn't inspect it first. Well, I've learnt an awful lot in the two weeks , what is the correct cable , what should the length be , had a charger installed. So, it's the start of a journey as I'm totally new to EV's per se!

 

[jjeff]

I think it's a 9-bar battery or 65%?? the capacity of new. New you could probably expect 70 miles of range, with 9 bars you are doing good to get 52 miles. Unfortunately the '11 models didn't have a very handy SOC% display but you could add it with a smartphone and the Leafspy app.
The '11 model year also had a energy hog heater that would drastically reduce your range, up to half under very cold conditions using your heater. Also the '11 lacks a heater switch so even if just wanting to run the HVAC fan, the heater will turn on to warm up the glycol loop so it's warm if you need it. I installed a aftermarket switch to disable the heater if I just wanted to run the fan when it was cold out.
The '11 also had a battery that was prone to degradation and got much better after mid '13.
I had a '12(like your '11) and '13 and while the '12 had some nice things about it I much preferred the '13 but the '12 was ok too.

 

[Drew21]

Unfortunately, it sounds like you got taken advantage of by the seller. Or, if we're charitable, maybe the seller didn't know any more about the Leaf and battery capacity than you did.

Only you can determine if the range is sufficient, but with 9 of 12 battery state of health bars your battery capacity is indeed reduced a good amount. As indicated above, it will be further reduced if you use the HVAC system, or if the weather is cold, or if the roads are wet (increased rolling resistance), or if you don't keep your tires properly inflated (again, increased rolling resistance), or if your drive is at high speed (increased air resistance).

Since it doesn't sound like you can return the car, you might as well test it fully for your usage. If that usage is primarily urban/suburban commuting and you can charge at work or at home if you have sufficient range for the round trip, it might work well for you for many years. If it doesn't work you can always sell it to someone else. There are plenty of folks in the world looking for a cheap/efficient/reliable vehicle to use for short commutes.

 

[tessr1404]

I think it's a 9-bar battery or 65%?? the capacity of new. New you could probably expect 70 miles of range, with 9 bars you are doing good to get 52 miles. Unfortunately the '11 models didn't have a very handy SOC% display but you could add it with a smartphone and the Leafspy app.
The '11 model year also had a energy hog heater that would drastically reduce your range, up to half under very cold conditions using your heater. Also the '11 lacks a heater switch so even if just wanting to run the HVAC fan, the heater will turn on to warm up the glycol loop so it's warm if you need it. I installed a aftermarket switch to disable the heater if I just wanted to run the fan when it was cold out.
The '11 also had a battery that was prone to degradation and got much better after mid '13.
I had a '12(like your '11) and '13 and while the '12 had some nice things about it I much preferred the '13 but the '12 was ok too.

Gosh Jeff, thank you so much for your comments ,the HVAC fan good to know! Ok so I'm doing OK to get 52 miles ....wow!! Tell me more about the Leafspy app sounds very James bond!! The battery prone to degradation but got better after 13' yet more valuable knowledge. I look forward to getting more on the Leafspy app. Thanks again.

 

[tessr1404]

Unfortunately, it sounds like you got taken advantage of by the seller. Or, if we're charitable, maybe the seller didn't know any more about the Leaf and battery capacity than you did.

Only you can determine if the range is sufficient, but with 9 of 12 battery state of health bars your battery capacity is indeed reduced a good amount. As indicated above, it will be further reduced if you use the HVAC system, or if the weather is cold, or if the roads are wet (increased rolling resistance), or if you don't keep your tires properly inflated (again, increased rolling resistance), or if your drive is at high speed (increased air resistance).

Since it doesn't sound like you can return the car, you might as well test it fully for your usage. If that usage is primarily urban/suburban commuting and you can charge at work or at home if you have sufficient range for the round trip, it might work well for you for many years. If it doesn't work you can always sell it to someone else. There are plenty of folks in the world looking for a cheap/efficient/reliable vehicle to use for short commutes.

Thanks Drew21,

I'm thinking the salesman didn't know much about the nissan but he knew very well how much he charged me, so yes I guess it was 50/50 that he took advantage of me and he wasn't very aware re the battery power, capacity or he covered it very well! But yes the car wasn't purchased to do any distance , it is just for a run about town and things all local! So, 52 will do me just fine. It could be worse. That's for sure!! I do hope to keep it and maybe get a newer version down the road in a year or so,who knows.Thank you too for your comments I don't feel any better for being taken for a ride but it was a definite lesson!