Thinking about buying a used Leaf

[SageBrush]

Moral of the story: the battery bar meter is inadequate information to secure the best deal and perhaps to even know if the car meets the use requirements. A smart LEAF purchase demands knowing the battery capacity of the car, and an informed use case that estimates the battery degradation rate.

This is why LEAFs depreciate so fast: Uninformed buyers are a setup for disappointment.

Than you for your reply. It was really helpful, now I am going to wait for the odb2 bluetooth (for leaf spy) before going for the test drive.
What is the number (Ahr?) that I should be getting to know if the battery is in a decent shape?
Thanks!

Read this:
http://www.wind-works.org/cms/index.php?id=350&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=3887&cHash=0c4d4be8e984be6345356511f9d73202

Here are the LEAFspy data for the car I am buying for reference. You can tell from the Hx and SOH that the battery is in very close to near condition

 

[SageBrush]

placeholder ...

 

[MMatt30]

I live over in SC and just recently purchased a used Leaf from BMVW in Union City, GA. Go check those guys out. They have the largest inventory I've seen and pretty good prices.

After just a week or so in i'm very pleased with my car. I generally drive less than 20 miles a day, so even some pretty serious battery degradation isn't going to be much of an issue for me.

As far as charging goes the 120 V charger is very slow, adding about 4 miles of range for each hour of charge. You also need to have a dedicated grounded outlet. My old 1953 era house this was an issue, but I knew that going in. Sounds like you are OK in that dept.

I also added a 240V 50A outlet and a Juicebox EVSE, that will charge my max 6.6KW, and add about 25 miles of range per hour of charging. If you rely on the 120V charger you're going to be out of luck for a while if say you run your car down early on a Saturday morning. That being said a lot of people use the 120V charger and get along just fine. If you could top off at work or something you would be in even better shape. I have access to an outlet at work and am able to do that.

This quote is very true, there is a ton of information here and on other sites to help you out as well.

In the end you will be a statistician, a chemical engineer, an economist, a pseudo cartographer, a pessimist and an optimist.

Good luck!

Sent you a private message. Could you please check your inbox?

 

[btomescu]

Moral of the story: the battery bar meter is inadequate information to secure the best deal and perhaps to even know if the car meets the use requirements. A smart LEAF purchase demands knowing the battery capacity of the car, and an informed use case that estimates the battery degradation rate.

This is why LEAFs depreciate so fast: Uninformed buyers are a setup for disappointment.

Than you for your reply. It was really helpful, now I am going to wait for the odb2 bluetooth (for leaf spy) before going for the test drive.
What is the number (Ahr?) that I should be getting to know if the battery is in a decent shape?
Thanks!

Read this:
http://www.wind-works.org/cms/index.php?id=350&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=3887&cHash=0c4d4be8e984be6345356511f9d73202

Here are the LEAFspy data for the car I am buying for reference. You can tell from the Hx and SOH that the battery is in very close to near condition

Thank you very much for the information that you've shared, it is truly useful to me as I'm going to test drive the car.

 

[aerisyn]

I bought a used 2012 SL back this past November about 2 weeks before Thanksgiving. It had lost one bar on it's capacity. My round trip to work is 40 miles. I have used Climate Control to preheat the cabin most of the time. 6 of the 40 miles is up and down the mountain. I live in rural Northeast AL. No EVSE on the trip or at work. I trickle charge at home to 100% every night. I am on a 20 AMP circuit. Generally have between 20-30 miles left on the range when I get home, depending on how I have drove. I also use the Steering Wheel heater and Heated Driver seat if the temp drops around 40-45 degrees. I have seen when it's a colder day (25-40 degrees), I lose about 5 miles on overall range. I bought mine from CarMax with around 28k miles for under 10k. Still has a bit of time on the battery warranty left. I currently have around 30,300 miles. I have only done one (1) L2 charge at a Cracker Barrel we had went to eat at. I plugged in around 22 miles until empty. Stayed on charge for just over 2 hours (it was crowded that day), and when we left, I had around 66 miles until empty.

 

[magico13]

Hijacking this since I don't want to bombard the forum with "should I buy a leaf" threads (but I'll happily make my own if it's preferred).

I'm considering buying a used Leaf sometime in the next 6 months or so and want to get your general opinion on it. Currently I drive a 2002 Honda Civic LX with about 64,000 miles on it (not 164k, just 64k, bought it summer of 2013 with 36k), which gets about 35 mpg. I want to get a newer car and I want my next car to be an EV, not a hybrid of any sort.

My commute is 36 miles round trip all highway at 65mph (with an average of 60 on the way home with traffic), I almost never deviate from that trip, and I don't drive that much during the weekends (maybe half that much). I live in Northern Ohio so cold and snow are concerns (winters are generally around 20 to 30F, but drop as low as -10 on rare days). I have an attached garage that the car would be kept in and can easily add a Level 2 charger. No charging at work, not even L1 (I might try to get them to install some L1 spots when they expand our building, but expect that to not happen). The wife's family lives 50 miles away down the turnpike (70mph). We'd probably take her car, but I could QC once there or pay to them to install a NEMA 14-50 and use a portable L2 EVSE.

I'm looking at a 2013 or later SV or SL primarily. However I can get a 2015 S for <$9000 nearby with 22k miles (no QC sadly, but I wouldn't use it often anyway so its not a huge loss). We've got a 2012 Rav4 that my wife drives so we've got a car for longer trips. I worry about the cold a bit so I was considering having the wife drive the Leaf on really cold days and I take her car since her commute is shorter. I know the S has the less efficient heater, hence me primarily looking at SVs and SLs but do you think the heater would be fine for this commute?

I plan on having the car a minimum of 3 years but maybe not more than 5 unless the wife really likes the Leaf and we get rid of her Rav4. I have a Model 3 reservation that I probably won't keep (I can't justify spending 40k on a car in the next year or two), and will probably get a used model 3 after the first leases are up.

We also just bought a house so our reserves are pretty dried up from the down payment on that and my credit is about to tank because of the loan.

The wife wants me to wait until 2018 but I'm impatient and will probably spring on something in the next 6 months (or less...). I'm just curious what your thoughts are about my situation and if a Leaf would work for me (especially if you think an S will be sufficient with the cold for the miles I'm going).

 

[SageBrush]

Hijacking this since I don't want to bombard the forum with "should I buy a leaf" threads (but I'll happily make my own if it's preferred).

I'm considering buying a used Leaf sometime in the next 6 months or so and want to get your general opinion on it. Currently I drive a 2002 Honda Civic LX with about 64,000 miles on it (not 164k, just 64k, bought it summer of 2013 with 36k), which gets about 35 mpg. I want to get a newer car and I want my next car to be an EV, not a hybrid of any sort.

My commute is 36 miles round trip all highway at 65mph (with an average of 60 on the way home with traffic), I almost never deviate from that trip, and I don't drive that much during the weekends (maybe half that much). I live in Northern Ohio so cold and snow are concerns (winters are generally around 20 to 30F, but drop as low as -10 on rare days). I have an attached garage that the car would be kept in and can easily add a Level 2 charger. No charging at work, not even L1 (I might try to get them to install some L1 spots when they expand our building, but expect that to not happen). The wife's family lives 50 miles away down the turnpike (70mph). We'd probably take her car, but I could QC once there or pay to them to install a NEMA 14-50 and use a portable L2 EVSE.

I'm looking at a 2013 or later SV or SL primarily. However I can get a 2015 S for <$9000 nearby with 22k miles (no QC sadly, but I wouldn't use it often anyway so its not a huge loss). We've got a 2012 Rav4 that my wife drives so we've got a car for longer trips. I worry about the cold a bit so I was considering having the wife drive the Leaf on really cold days and I take her car since her commute is shorter. I know the S has the less efficient heater, hence me primarily looking at SVs and SLs but do you think the heater would be fine for this commute?

I plan on having the car a minimum of 3 years but maybe not more than 5 unless the wife really likes the Leaf and we get rid of her Rav4. I have a Model 3 reservation that I probably won't keep (I can't justify spending 40k on a car in the next year or two), and will probably get a used model 3 after the first leases are up.

We also just bought a house so our reserves are pretty dried up from the down payment on that and my credit is about to tank because of the loan.

The wife wants me to wait until 2018 but I'm impatient and will probably spring on something in the next 6 months (or less...). I'm just curious what your thoughts are about my situation and if a Leaf would work for me (especially if you think an S will be sufficient with the cold for the miles I'm going).

I resemble your remarks
I just paid for my used 2013 LEAF this morning and awaiting shipment from California.
Particularly regarding the M3 reservation

I think a LEAF would work really well for you, but read the earlier posts to be clued in to using LEAFspy on any used car you are thinking of purchasing. And consider charging the car outside during the hot months to give the battery some ventilation.

 

[magico13]

I resemble your remarks
I just paid for my used 2013 LEAF this morning and awaiting shipment from California.
Particularly regarding the M3 reservation

I think a LEAF would work really well for you, but read the earlier posts to be clued in to using LEAFspy on any used car you are thinking of purchasing. And consider charging the car outside during the hot months to give the battery some ventilation.

Are dealers OK with you running LEAFspy on a car you're test driving? I've looked into LEAFspy already a bit and have one of the recommended OB2 scanners saved on Amazon. I'll look into some other posts on LEAFspy on here since they probably answer that question

 

[SageBrush]

I resemble your remarks
I just paid for my used 2013 LEAF this morning and awaiting shipment from California.
Particularly regarding the M3 reservation

I think a LEAF would work really well for you, but read the earlier posts to be clued in to using LEAFspy on any used car you are thinking of purchasing. And consider charging the car outside during the hot months to give the battery some ventilation.

Are dealers OK with you running LEAFspy on a car you're test driving? I've looked into LEAFspy already a bit and have one of the recommended OB2 scanners saved on Amazon. I'll look into some other posts on LEAFspy on here since they probably answer that question

I'm sure it varies by dealer, but that was actually my main reason for choosing my broker -- he offered LEAFspy upfront.

I figured that any broker that open with car data is the person I want to deal with in a blind transaction.

 

[SageBrush]

Hijacking this since I don't want to bombard the forum with "should I buy a leaf" threads (but I'll happily make my own if it's preferred).

I'm considering buying a used Leaf sometime in the next 6 months or so and want to get your general opinion on it. Currently I drive a 2002 Honda Civic LX with about 64,000 miles on it (not 164k, just 64k, bought it summer of 2013 with 36k), which gets about 35 mpg. I want to get a newer car and I want my next car to be an EV, not a hybrid of any sort.

My commute is 36 miles round trip all highway at 65mph (with an average of 60 on the way home with traffic), I almost never deviate from that trip, and I don't drive that much during the weekends (maybe half that much). I live in Northern Ohio so cold and snow are concerns (winters are generally around 20 to 30F, but drop as low as -10 on rare days). I have an attached garage that the car would be kept in and can easily add a Level 2 charger. No charging at work, not even L1 (I might try to get them to install some L1 spots when they expand our building, but expect that to not happen). The wife's family lives 50 miles away down the turnpike (70mph). We'd probably take her car, but I could QC once there or pay to them to install a NEMA 14-50 and use a portable L2 EVSE.

I'm looking at a 2013 or later SV or SL primarily. However I can get a 2015 S for <$9000 nearby with 22k miles (no QC sadly, but I wouldn't use it often anyway so its not a huge loss). We've got a 2012 Rav4 that my wife drives so we've got a car for longer trips. I worry about the cold a bit so I was considering having the wife drive the Leaf on really cold days and I take her car since her commute is shorter. I know the S has the less efficient heater, hence me primarily looking at SVs and SLs but do you think the heater would be fine for this commute?

I plan on having the car a minimum of 3 years but maybe not more than 5 unless the wife really likes the Leaf and we get rid of her Rav4. I have a Model 3 reservation that I probably won't keep (I can't justify spending 40k on a car in the next year or two), and will probably get a used model 3 after the first leases are up.

We also just bought a house so our reserves are pretty dried up from the down payment on that and my credit is about to tank because of the loan.

The wife wants me to wait until 2018 but I'm impatient and will probably spring on something in the next 6 months (or less...). I'm just curious what your thoughts are about my situation and if a Leaf would work for me (especially if you think an S will be sufficient with the cold for the miles I'm going).

I resemble your remarks

I just paid for my used 2013 LEAF this morning and awaiting shipment from California.
Particularly regarding the M3 reservation

I think a LEAF would work really well for you, but read the earlier posts to be clued in to using LEAFspy on any used car you are thinking of purchasing. And consider charging the car outside during the hot months to give the battery some ventilation.

 

[SageBrush]

Hijacking this since I don't want to bombard the forum with "should I buy a leaf" threads (but I'll happily make my own if it's preferred).

I'm considering buying a used Leaf sometime in the next 6 months or so and want to get your general opinion on it. Currently I drive a 2002 Honda Civic LX with about 64,000 miles on it (not 164k, just 64k, bought it summer of 2013 with 36k), which gets about 35 mpg. I want to get a newer car and I want my next car to be an EV, not a hybrid of any sort.

My commute is 36 miles round trip all highway at 65mph (with an average of 60 on the way home with traffic), I almost never deviate from that trip, and I don't drive that much during the weekends (maybe half that much). I live in Northern Ohio so cold and snow are concerns (winters are generally around 20 to 30F, but drop as low as -10 on rare days). I have an attached garage that the car would be kept in and can easily add a Level 2 charger. No charging at work, not even L1 (I might try to get them to install some L1 spots when they expand our building, but expect that to not happen). The wife's family lives 50 miles away down the turnpike (70mph). We'd probably take her car, but I could QC once there or pay to them to install a NEMA 14-50 and use a portable L2 EVSE.

I'm looking at a 2013 or later SV or SL primarily. However I can get a 2015 S for <$9000 nearby with 22k miles (no QC sadly, but I wouldn't use it often anyway so its not a huge loss). We've got a 2012 Rav4 that my wife drives so we've got a car for longer trips. I worry about the cold a bit so I was considering having the wife drive the Leaf on really cold days and I take her car since her commute is shorter. I know the S has the less efficient heater, hence me primarily looking at SVs and SLs but do you think the heater would be fine for this commute?

I plan on having the car a minimum of 3 years but maybe not more than 5 unless the wife really likes the Leaf and we get rid of her Rav4. I have a Model 3 reservation that I probably won't keep (I can't justify spending 40k on a car in the next year or two), and will probably get a used model 3 after the first leases are up.

We also just bought a house so our reserves are pretty dried up from the down payment on that and my credit is about to tank because of the loan.

The wife wants me to wait until 2018 but I'm impatient and will probably spring on something in the next 6 months (or less...). I'm just curious what your thoughts are about my situation and if a Leaf would work for me (especially if you think an S will be sufficient with the cold for the miles I'm going).

I resemble your remarks

I just paid for my used 2013 LEAF this morning and awaiting shipment from California.
Particularly regarding the M3 reservation

I think a LEAF would work really well for you, but read the earlier posts to be clued in to using LEAFspy on any used car you are thinking of purchasing. And consider charging the car outside during the hot months to give the battery some ventilation.

 

[jjeff]

Hijacking this since I don't want to bombard the forum with "should I buy a leaf" threads (but I'll happily make my own if it's preferred).

I'm considering buying a used Leaf sometime in the next 6 months or so and want to get your general opinion on it. Currently I drive a 2002 Honda Civic LX with about 64,000 miles on it (not 164k, just 64k, bought it summer of 2013 with 36k), which gets about 35 mpg. I want to get a newer car and I want my next car to be an EV, not a hybrid of any sort.

My commute is 36 miles round trip all highway at 65mph (with an average of 60 on the way home with traffic), I almost never deviate from that trip, and I don't drive that much during the weekends (maybe half that much). I live in Northern Ohio so cold and snow are concerns (winters are generally around 20 to 30F, but drop as low as -10 on rare days). I have an attached garage that the car would be kept in and can easily add a Level 2 charger. No charging at work, not even L1 (I might try to get them to install some L1 spots when they expand our building, but expect that to not happen). The wife's family lives 50 miles away down the turnpike (70mph). We'd probably take her car, but I could QC once there or pay to them to install a NEMA 14-50 and use a portable L2 EVSE.

I'm looking at a 2013 or later SV or SL primarily. However I can get a 2015 S for <$9000 nearby with 22k miles (no QC sadly, but I wouldn't use it often anyway so its not a huge loss). We've got a 2012 Rav4 that my wife drives so we've got a car for longer trips. I worry about the cold a bit so I was considering having the wife drive the Leaf on really cold days and I take her car since her commute is shorter. I know the S has the less efficient heater, hence me primarily looking at SVs and SLs but do you think the heater would be fine for this commute?

I plan on having the car a minimum of 3 years but maybe not more than 5 unless the wife really likes the Leaf and we get rid of her Rav4. I have a Model 3 reservation that I probably won't keep (I can't justify spending 40k on a car in the next year or two), and will probably get a used model 3 after the first leases are up.

We also just bought a house so our reserves are pretty dried up from the down payment on that and my credit is about to tank because of the loan.

The wife wants me to wait until 2018 but I'm impatient and will probably spring on something in the next 6 months (or less...). I'm just curious what your thoughts are about my situation and if a Leaf would work for me (especially if you think an S will be sufficient with the cold for the miles I'm going).

Running my heater on my '13S basically all the way and starting with 100% SOC, missing no bars, I can get about 60 miles of mostly 60-70mph freeway driving in the teens to 20s temp. Even in sub zero temps I don't think I've ever seen less than 40 miles which would just barely cover your commute.
Your 50 mile 70mph trip would be fine in the summer and seasons where you don't need to use the heater much but you'd need ~4hrs to fully recharge to get back home and that would be with a 6.6kw Leaf and EVSE. Note with the S model you need to have the QC port to get the upgraded charger, otherwise expect almost 1/2 speed L2 recharges.
For future proofing you'd really be a good candidate for the 30kw battery pack but my '13 is ~3yrs old and like I said I wouldn't have a problem doing what your want, that is unless the temps are sub zero and you like to run the heater a lot, oh and a strong(20-30mph) can also kill range much faster than expected.
The more efficient heat-pump heater does help in moderate(20+) temps but not when it's really cold and you'd really need the savings, IOW I personally wouldn't be afraid of a S model.

 

[Reddy]

I'm considering buying a used Leaf sometime in the next 6 months or so and want to get your general opinion on it. Currently I drive a 2002 Honda Civic LX with about 64,000 miles on it (not 164k, just 64k, bought it summer of 2013 with 36k), which gets about 35 mpg. I want to get a newer car and I want my next car to be an EV, not a hybrid of any sort.

As much as advocate for driving electric, in your case I recommend that you wait until you've save up $10,000 for the purchase. With a higher mpg vehicle, presumably paid off, you're probably spending $3/day for gas. The Leaf, even used, won't save you that much money. In a couple of years, there will be 30 KWh Leafs coming off of lease and 200 mi EVs will be routine. The prices of the used Leafs will be even better than now. Save some dough, wait just a bit, save until you can pay cash. Your spouse and bank account will greatly appreciate it. Perhaps by then you'll even be able to pick up a used 200 mi EV for $15k. FYI, delayed gratification in childhood is a good predictor of success later in life. I think it follows into adulthood. In my case, I waited 20 YEARS for my first EV and paid cash since I'd been saving $50/week the whole time in anticipation. Good luck on your decision.

 

[tattoogunman]

I'm in the same boat as I already drive a car that gets around 36mpg (Fiat 500), but I'm thinking about going electric. The only two I'm really looking at are the Leaf and the Volt and quite frankly, given all of the horror stories I see on this site, I'm really finding it hard to justify a Leaf. If I can possibly get into a new one on a Lease, I might give it a try. Otherwise, I'll probably get a Volt as they seem to be rock solid reliable for the vast majority of the owners I've talked to via another discussion board. It's really a shame that Nissan hasn't taken care of these problems given how long the Leaf has been for sale, or have they finally solved the battery degradation issue with the last models? I'm in Texas, so I will absolutely be using AC during the summer, but can live without heat in what passes for the winter here

 

[LeftieBiker]

Just keep in mind that the Gen 2 Volt is having reliability issues, apparently serious ones.

 

[tattoogunman]

Just keep in mind that the Gen 2 Volt is having reliability issues, apparently serious ones.

When did the Gen 2 models start? I just found a '15 S for sale locally for $11K with 18K miles on it. However, as I said earlier, I'm probably taking this car off my consideration list.