Sounds Like a Good Deal, Need Advice

[maurinsky]

My local Nissan dealer currently has 3 used Nissan Leafs on his lot - a 2014 and two 2015, standard model. I now realize that I will need to find out the build month to fully understand what battery it has, if I'm understanding correctly from other threads.

The 2014 has about 24,000 miles on it
I test drove one 2015, it has 15,500
the one I'm interested in is a 2015 with just over 14,000 miles

The price point for all three is under $10,000. Which is awesome but also a little worrying

My daily commute is 24 miles round trip, and I also have a part-time job which I go to at least twice a week, which is about 45 miles round trip. My dealer has a charger out front which we can use free of charge - it's the kind that charges more quickly (I can't remember if that's 440 or 220? I have a lot to learn right now); my grocery store also has free electric car chargers in two spaces. I know of a few other locations, including one I go by on my daily commute, not sure whether that is part of a network or if the City is covering that cost.

For some context: I live in Connecticut, it's hilly and we have winter for at least 5 months a year, and it's usually hot and humid in the summer.

The things I want to understand:

• 1. How long can a battery last, if someone is just doing regular driving, not adjusting to extend the life?
  2. How much does it cost to replace a battery?
  3. If the car is 2 years old, and there is an 8 year warranty for the battery, is it challenging to get the warranty to cover it if you buy used?
  4. How long does it take to charge if you plug it in at home (110v? I think?)
  5. Electricity is more expensive in CT than it is in most places, so it would be helpful to know how many kWh it takes to charge the battery completely, rather than asking what others pay
  6. What kind of adjustments did you make to your driving habits when you got a Leaf?
  7. Should I be worried about the extremely low price point?

Thanks for reading this and responding!

 

[LeftieBiker]

Build month only matters if it's a 2013.

Batteries can last for many years, but they deteriorate in hot climates.

The 8 year battery warranty is for defects only. The capacity warranty is for 5 years from the in-service date.

New batteries are about $6k installed.

It takes roughly 21 hours, and about 22-25kwh, to charge a completely depleted battery on 120 volts. More typical recharge times for your daily trips are about 16-18 hours.

If the Leafs are all the S model, heat will consume too much power in Winter. You want an SV or SL, because they have heatpumps. Even they will use gobs of power below about 25F.

 

[garsh]

My daily commute is 24 miles round trip, and I also have a part-time job which I go to at least twice a week, which is about 45 miles round trip

Does that mean that there are some days where you need to drive 70 miles without a convenient opportunity to charge (that is, no charging stations at work)?

If that's the case, I would suggest passing on the Leaf.

I have a 60-mile round-trip daily commute in Pittsburgh, so we have similar weather. My 2012 with 76,000 miles was able to make that round trip until this winter. I used to charge only at work, but now I have to charge at home for a bit to make it back to work the next day.

 

[maurinsky]

Does that mean that there are some days where you need to drive 70 miles without a convenient opportunity to charge (that is, no charging stations at work)

First of all I'm not really sure how long it takes to charge. I've read a lot of different numbers on that front. I have a good chunk of time between when my regular job ends and my part-time job begins - it's not a longer trip, but a new trip.

But there are two charging stations that are a short walk from my job.

In order to understand if this might be a good value for me, I need to understand what it costs to run the vehicle. I know the maintenance is much more limited, and that when the battery needs to be replaced, it's basically like buying another used car (from my not making a ton of money perspective). I have a colleague at work who has a Leaf, a longer commute (probably double mine) and he loves it. I calculated how much my maintenance cost in the 5 years I've owned my Toyota Corolla, and it probably is about the same cost as the battery.

But if I had a Leaf, is the maintenance so limited that no matter how many miles there are, as long as you replace the battery when it's required, you can keep running the vehicle? In that case, buying a new used car equivalent every 5-8 years seems more reasonable.

 

[maurinsky]

No offense, but search this site and the internet for your answers... It is called doing research..

I did search and I kept getting this screen:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/search.php?keywords=battery+charge+time&fid%5B0%5D=6

For a variety of different attempts to search for the information I was looking for.

 

[GerryAZ]

It will take about 5 hours to fully charge a 24 kWh LEAF battery on L2 (240 or 208 volts nominal) if the car has a 6 kW onboard charger. It will take about 8 hours if the car has a 3.3 kW charger. It will take about 24 hours to charge on L1 (120 volts). It will take about 50 minutes to charge using a DCQC. Unless someone has really low daily driving mileage needs, I will not recommend an electric vehicle to someone who cannot have an L2 charging unit installed at home. In your case, you really should have L2 charging at home.

Gerry

 

[rcm4453]

Charging at 120V is totally doable if you charge at 16A instead of only 12A. I charge at 16A and it makes a big difference. I have a 13.5 hour charge window every night and I have always come out to a full charge when leaving for work, and I've run the battery down pretty low a few times already. Obviously level 2 240V is better/faster but 120V 16A is working fine for me right now plus there is a DCFC withing a mile from me if I'm in a pinch. Oh and I have the 30kwh battery and still no problem.

 

[LeftieBiker]

When I had a 43 mile commute in cold weather, and got home with charge at about 10 -17%, it took less than 20 hours to recharge on 12 amp L-1.

 

[GerryAZ]

The charging times I posted previously were based upon charging after driving several miles beyond very low battery warning (VLBW) with a battery that still has nearly full capacity.. Obviously, charging times will be less if the battery is deteriorated or is not deeply discharged. I have been driving about 60 miles per charge lately and it takes about 4 hours to fully charge (L2 with 30-ampere EVSE and 6 kW onboard charger). The energy from the wall is about 20 kWh.

Gerry

 

[Reddy]

Lots of great advice above. For cost, estimate about 3 mi/KWh in winter, maybe 4-5 in summer(speed depending). Multiple mileage by $/KWh and divide by 3-5 mi/KWh and you should get a rough cost. If you need to charge during the day, I would definitely get the 6.6 KW charger and Quick Charge Chademo so that you can top up during breaks. However, for less than 40 mi, overnight charging will be fine. For those longer 75 mi days, you'll probably need to top up, especially in winter. If can't get a new 2017 with the larger battery due to cost, I would go with the youngest battery and make sure to confirm with LeafSpy app. The battery health does not always correlate with mileage or age since the battery could have been replaced or the car auctioned from AZ temperature Hell)

 

[bongo2]

Searching this forum is very difficult especially about battery questions.

6. What kind of adjustments did you make to your driving habits when you got a Leaf?

Largest adjustment is that you need to always be conscious of your range and driving needs for the next day. If you have a day where weather is very bad and/or you are going somewhere out of your way then you need a backup car or a plan for charging during the day. On your 24 mile days you might not want to fully charge as you will be using the top 20-30% or so each day which is supposed to be bad for the battery.

7. Should I be worried about the extremely low price point?

Probably not. Used leafs are cheap and the prices vary quite a bit. People here have mentioned prices in the 6's, and I just bought one for $8,000.