New to the neighborhood... looking for leasing advice.

[EngravEER]

Greetings from "Almost Heaven" West Virginia! Been lurking for a while and finally making my first post to seek advice on the following lease "possibility".

The family and I hail from Martinsburg, WV which is in the far eastern part of the State, about 80 miles west of Washington, DC. From September through March, we make numerous trips about 150 miles west to Morgantown for West Virginia University home football and basketball games. John Howard Nissan of Morgantown is on the "Mileground" on the way into the Stadium, and since the first football game back in September, I've been eyeing a Blue 2012 SL sitting on their lot.

Months after that first football game, we trekked out their again this past weekend for our first basketball game of the season. And there sat that same Blue 2012 SL, this time prominently displayed out front with "Save Big! - $8,025.00 Lease Cash Available!" scrawled across the windshield. These guys are obviously looking hard to part with a vehicle that's sat on their lot for quite some time.

We finally stopped to take a look at it driving back out of town after yet another Mountaineer loss LOL! Looks to be in good shape, but did notice from the pics online that the car has 183 miles on it...

http://www.johnhowardnissan.com/new/Nissan/2012-Nissan-LEAF-ebf4e20e0a0a00020100124fe9325a30.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://pictures.dealer.com/j/johnhowardnissan/0712/91e73b35f49706aa9d8af2999506f287x.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Since venturing upon this site, I've noticed folks across the country getting some great lease deals on the '12's, especially with the MY13 launch upon us. Thinking of making these guys a low-ball lease offer of $0.00 down and $199.00/month or something along those lines, but I'm a little leery about battery degradation with the amount of time the car's sat on the lot. I don't have access to a "GID Meter", so there wouldn't be a reliable way (at least that I know of) to check the battery health. Also, I'd have the issue of getting it the 150 miles home. Unfortunately between Morgantown and home lies the vast mountainous plateau known as Garrett County, Maryland which offers-up some of the region's worst winter weather, but basically nada in terms of EV charging opportunities.

So how concerned should I be about the vehicle's battery health and the 183 miles already on it (at least at the time of the photograph above... could be more miles by now)? I really WANT to get into a Leaf, but the car is just that... a WANT and not a need. Considering that, am I better served sitting tight and waiting for the complete scoop on the MY2013 offerings, both in terms of features and lease price(s)?

Any input would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[x10guy]

So how concerned should I be about the vehicle's battery health and the 183 miles already on it (at least at the time of the photograph above... could be more miles by now)? I really WANT to get into a Leaf, but the car is just that... a WANT and not a need. Considering that, am I better served sitting tight and waiting for the complete scoop on the MY2013 offerings, both in terms of features and lease price(s)?

Any input would be much appreciated. Thanks!

183 miles?? Battery degradation isn't really an issue until you put maybe 7-8 times that on the odometer. And even then, unless you are in extreme hot climates, it'll be a gradual decrease. Charging capacity is affected by cold temps but that is temporary with the seasons. I wouldn't worry about 183 miles especially if the dealer is anxious to get it off the lot. I'd say go for it and try to get the best deal.

 

[EngravEER]

So how concerned should I be about the vehicle's battery health and the 183 miles already on it (at least at the time of the photograph above... could be more miles by now)? I really WANT to get into a Leaf, but the car is just that... a WANT and not a need. Considering that, am I better served sitting tight and waiting for the complete scoop on the MY2013 offerings, both in terms of features and lease price(s)?

Any input would be much appreciated. Thanks!

183 miles?? Battery degradation isn't really an issue until you put maybe 7-8 times that on the odometer. And even then, unless you are in extreme hot climates, it'll be a gradual decrease. Charging capacity is affected by cold temps but that is temporary with the seasons. I wouldn't worry about 183 miles especially if the dealer is anxious to get it off the lot. I'd say go for it and try to get the best deal.

Thanks for the quick response x10guy! Yeah, as it relates to battery degradation, I was thinking more about the time it's just been sitting. I know it's been on the dealer lot since the first week in September, and likely much longer than that. Who knows what SOC it's been left at. Any reason for me to be concerned from the "length of time" standpoint?

 

[TonyWilliams]

Who knows what SOC it's been left at. Any reason for me to be concerned from the "length of time" standpoint?

Assuming the worst, and it already has 5-10% capacity loss due to high SOC for a long period. Thankfully, it doesn't get that hot from Sept until now, so heat won't be a factor on the battery.

So, the real question is, "why do you care about capacity loss on a lease car?"

Will you be driving anywhere close to the limits of its degraded range? First, tell us how far you plan to drive in a typical day, and what the worst conditions are (cold, snow, etc).

 

[EngravEER]

Who knows what SOC it's been left at. Any reason for me to be concerned from the "length of time" standpoint?

Assuming the worst, and it already has 5-10% capacity loss due to high SOC for a long period. Thankfully, it doesn't get that hot from Sept until now, so heat won't be a factor on the battery.

So, the real question is, "why do you care about capacity loss on a lease car?"

Will you be driving anywhere close to the limits of its degraded range? First, tell us how far you plan to drive in a typical day, and what the worst conditions are (cold, snow, etc).

Tony, thanks for the response.

I live 2.5 miles from my shop and have many days where I don't drive more than 10 miles total, so a Leaf with 50% capacity would work for me LOL! However, I'd like to have the capability of making delivery/shopping trips to larger towns that are 25-30 miles away (50-60 miles round-trip). Unfortunately, neither of those towns have readily available L2 public charging access. Also, there is a possibility that in the near future my employment situation will change and I MAY be looking at a 34 mile one-way commute (68-70 miles round-trip). IF that comes to pass though, I'd fortunately have plenty of L2 charging access at BOTH ends.

My worst driving conditions weather-wise are Mid-Atlantic winters and summers. Little snow (except for occasional dumps) and winter average temps of 40's for highs and 20's for lows. This past summer was the hottest on record (same can be said for lots of folks anywhere in the U.S.) with 30+ 90 degree days I believe. We can have occasional 100's, but -- thankfully -- those are exceptions. Plenty of humidity to go along with those summer temps.

We're in the foothills of the Blue Ridge, so no huge mountain climbs (1,000' vertical climb/decent at most) although the terrain is far from flat LOL!

Again, thanks for your input.

 

[philipscoggins]

The mileage is nothing. I put about 150 miles on a LEAF during an extended test drive weekend, so that could easy have been where the miles came from.

The only damage that could/should have been done to the battery would be if they've left it sitting on the charger since September, but from my experience dealers are too lazy/unconcerned to do that. You could ask them if they've kept the battery fully charged while it's been on the lot, as a trick question. But that does leave them open to a car saleman not telling the truth (say it isn't so).

Agree with Tony, with a lease it's not as big a deal. The only way to get a ballpark idea is make sure it has 12 capacity bars.

About getting the LEAF home. Is there a Nissan dealer between the purchasing dealership and your home? You could have it towed, compared to buying a new car, shouldn't bee that much or of course you could find a hotel close to the middle ground & ask them if you could plug in while you spend the night...


I just put 4000 miles on my 2 month old LEAF & couldn't be happier about putting my Accord in the building behind the house...
Go for it!

Philip

 

[TonyWilliams]

... I'd like to have the capability of making delivery/shopping trips to larger towns that are 25-30 miles away (50-60 miles round-trip)..... winter average temps of 40's for highs and 20's for lows.

That's going to be a bit of a stretch over time (the rest of your scenarios seem just fine). Can you drive slow without a heater on this trip?

 

[EngravEER]

... I'd like to have the capability of making delivery/shopping trips to larger towns that are 25-30 miles away (50-60 miles round-trip)..... winter average temps of 40's for highs and 20's for lows.

That's going to be a bit of a stretch over time (the rest of your scenarios seem just fine). Can you drive slow without a heater on this trip?

Tony, yes, that's probably doable. I'd normally take I-81 which runs between those two towns (Hagerstown, MD and Winchester, VA) and my home in Martinsburg, WV (sitting almost in the middle). Old Route 11 parallels I-81 though and is a 45-50 mph road so I could easily take that road to make those trips at less than highway speeds. I'm assuming IF I could find an hour or two of L2 charging in either of those two towns, I'd definitely be good-to-go, correct? Cold won't bother me as long as I have heated seats and a heated steering wheel. If the Mrs. is with me, that may be a different story (although the heated seats are her favorite feature on her Prius Plug-In)!

If I'm leasing for 24-36 months, how much battery degradation am I likely to come up against before returning the car for a newer model Leaf?

 

[TonyWilliams]

If I'm leasing for 24-36 months, how much battery degradation am I likely to come up against before returning that car for a newer model Leaf?

Sloaty and the crew have come up with some EXCELLENT guesses as to how much range you can expect:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/wiki/index.php?title=Battery_Capacity_Loss" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[blueblob06]

EngravEER, did I see right that the state of WV has a $7,500 state tax credit for EVs now? That's crazy! So, in theory, you could get $15K off a Leaf. So you could buy a 2013 Leaf for roughly $15K if you qualify fully for the credits.

Just a thought, maybe you should check out a 2013, the 2 higher trims of the 2013s have the new, more efficient heat pump that would be good for your cold trips in the winter.