Buy used 2013 leaf priced at $6000.00?

I've been interested in purchasing an electric car for a while now but been waiting for a good deal. I recently found a 2013 Leaf SV with close to 27K miles listed by a private seller for $6000.00. I ran a free vin report and no accidents have been reported for this car. A picture of the odometer shows 12 lines, will be testing with Leaf Spy. There's not a lot of info in the listing but once I go see it this is what I'll be looking for:

Test battery capacity
Test electric windows and mirrors
Make sure AC works
Check 6.6 kWh charger
Check for ChadeMo quick charging port
Check for missing SD
2 key FOBS
LED headlights (I think these are only installed on SL models)
Navigation System
Backup camera

Are there any other important things I should be looking for?

The only thing that bothers me is that according to the free vin report, this vehicle was manufactured on November of 2012. I've seen several threads advising to get cars manufactured after April of 2013. Should I be worried about this? What type of warranty would I have on this type of car? Since 5 years have passed since it was manufactured, if the battery goes bad I would not qualify for a free replacement right?

Sounds like you got most of it. Also, if located in a hot area, then it's likely that the battery has already been replaced under warranty. If so, then you've got a really good deal. If not, then, well, you're stuck with a lousy, old battery that might have been reset, and will likely show 8 bars within a year of purchase. Good luck.

Can you update your location info via your user name in the upper right > User Control Panel > Profile tab? That way, we don't need to ask in future posts/threads or do sleuthing to deduce it.

What are your daily driving needs in terms of miles? How much city vs. highway? Will you have the ability to charge at your work/destinations?

sod2189 said:

I've been interested in purchasing an electric car for a while now but been waiting for a good deal. I recently found a 2013 Leaf SV with close to 27K miles listed by a private seller for $6000.00. I ran a free vin report and no accidents have been reported for this car. A picture of the odometer shows 12 lines, will be testing with Leaf Spy. There's not a lot of info in the listing but once I go see it this is what I'll be looking for:

Test battery capacity
Test electric windows and mirrors
Make sure AC works
Check 6.6 kWh charger
Check for ChadeMo quick charging port
Check for missing SD
2 key FOBS
LED headlights (I think these are only installed on SL models)
Navigation System
Backup camera

Are there any other important things I should be looking for?

The only thing that bothers me is that according to the free vin report, this vehicle was manufactured on November of 2012. I've seen several threads advising to get cars manufactured after April of 2013. Should I be worried about this? What type of warranty would I have on this type of car? Since 5 years have passed since it was manufactured, if the battery goes bad I would not qualify for a free replacement right?

Click to expand...

First off, charging rate is measured in kW, not kWh. On-board charger will either be 6.x or 3.x kW, NOT kWh.

That's a very unusual supposed manufacture date for a '13. I can't think of hearing one that early. I was at http://sfbayleafs.org/past-events/2013/01/2013-leaf-bay-area-reveal/ in Jan 2013 when '13 Leafs weren't even on sale yet. That Nissan corporate guy brought a pre-production '13 which had some problems like a front passenger door that wouldn't open. Unfortunately, I forgot to make a note of of its build month.

You sure it isn't a '12? If the VIN starts with a J it was made in Japan. '13+ Leafs for the US market aren't built in Japan and don't have VINs starting with J.

Regardless of where it was built, it if is on the original HV battery then it has a lousy chemistry. If so, unless it resided in a very cool climate, I find it unlikely that something with that build month on the lousy chemistry would still have 12 capacity bars.

"LED headlights (I think these are only installed on SL models)" is incorrect. On '13 SV, you could get LED headlights as part of the LED Headlights + Quick Charge Port package. I used to lease a '13 SV with both the premium and LED Headlights + Quick Charge Port package. I now only have a '13 w/premium. Please see Specs tab of https://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/presskits/us-2013-nissan-leaf-press-kit.

I don't know how you're going to be able to "test battery capacity". The car could be reset http://daveinolywa.blogspot.com/2014/11/buyers-beware-this-is-must-read.html. Read posts by AntronX in the thread at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=22646&p=471172&hilit=reset#p471172. His car was reset.

It is important to know where (how hot/how cold) it resided to see if the capacity bars visible and Leaf Spy SOH and Hx values make sense. The capacity bars are the thinnest bars all the way on the right. http://www.electricvehiclewiki.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Scott_3_bars_s.jpg is an example of a fully charged 3 capacity bar loser.

You can d/l the warranty booklet from https://owners.nissanusa.com/nowners/navigation/manualsGuide. Your battery capacity warranty will be long over as will the 3 year/36K basic warranty and 5 year/60K EV system/powertrain warranty. There still is an 8 year/100K HV battery defects warranty but that does NOT cover gradual capacity loss.

I would look at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=26662 and https://www.facebook.com/notes/seattle-nissan-leaf-owners/a-guide-for-buying-a-used-leaf/1100737373291032/.

I would stay away from it unless you can verify that it is a 2013 made 5/13 or later. Earlier cars have the bad batteries of the 2011 and 2012 models. You can tell if it is a 2013 or later at a glance, since the 2011 and 2012 models have the small turn signal lights mounted on the side of the car just in front of the front doors. A 2013 made in May 13 or later may very well still have 12 bars if it was mostly in a cool location.

My wife's 2013 SV still has 12 bars at 50k miles. Only resided in SF Bay area, one of the cooler parts.

I would stay away from it unless you can verify that it is a 2013 made 5/13 or later.

Click to expand...

That should read 4/2013 or later. We have never seen an April 2013 build with the old chemistry.

OP, I'll bump up and link my used Leaf buying guide.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=26662

Thank you all for your responses, they have been immensely helpful.

@Reddy Live in Southern California. :S
@stjohnh Nice tip about the turning lights! I will definitely be looking for batteries after that date.
@LeftieBiker Thank you! This is very informative, I really appreciate it.

cwerdna said:

Can you update your location info via your user name in the upper right > User Control Panel > Profile tab? That way, we don't need to ask in future posts/threads or do sleuthing to deduce it.

What are your daily driving needs in terms of miles? How much city vs. highway? Will you have the ability to charge at your work/destinations?

First off, charging rate is measured in kW, not kWh. On-board charger will either be 6.x or 3.x kW, NOT kWh.

That's a very unusual supposed manufacture date for a '13. I can't think of hearing one that early. I was at http://sfbayleafs.org/past-events/2013/01/2013-leaf-bay-area-reveal/ in Jan 2013 when '13 Leafs weren't even on sale yet. That Nissan corporate guy brought a pre-production '13 which had some problems like a front passenger door that wouldn't open. Unfortunately, I forgot to make a note of of its build month.

You sure it isn't a '12? If the VIN starts with a J it was made in Japan. '13+ Leafs for the US market aren't built in Japan and don't have VINs starting with J.

Regardless of where it was built, it if is on the original HV battery then it has a lousy chemistry. If so, unless it resided in a very cool climate, I find it unlikely that something with that build month on the lousy chemistry would still have 12 capacity bars.

"LED headlights (I think these are only installed on SL models)" is incorrect. On '13 SV, you could get LED headlights as part of the LED Headlights + Quick Charge Port package. I used to lease a '13 SV with both the premium and LED Headlights + Quick Charge Port package. I now only have a '13 w/premium. Please see Specs tab of https://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/presskits/us-2013-nissan-leaf-press-kit.

I don't know how you're going to be able to "test battery capacity". The car could be reset http://daveinolywa.blogspot.com/2014/11/buyers-beware-this-is-must-read.html. Read posts by AntronX in the thread at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=22646&p=471172&hilit=reset#p471172. His car was reset.

It is important to know where (how hot/how cold) it resided to see if the capacity bars visible and Leaf Spy SOH and Hx values make sense. The capacity bars are the thinnest bars all the way on the right. http://www.electricvehiclewiki.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Scott_3_bars_s.jpg is an example of a fully charged 3 capacity bar loser.

You can d/l the warranty booklet from https://owners.nissanusa.com/nowners/navigation/manualsGuide. Your battery capacity warranty will be long over as will the 3 year/36K basic warranty and 5 year/60K EV system/powertrain warranty. There still is an 8 year/100K HV battery defects warranty but that does NOT cover gradual capacity loss.

I would look at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=26662 and https://www.facebook.com/notes/seattle-nissan-leaf-owners/a-guide-for-buying-a-used-leaf/1100737373291032/.

Click to expand...

Just updated my location. Thanks for the tip.

I currently drive about 15 miles one way to work, I would say 13 of those are on the freeway. We have charging stations at work and plenty on my way home.

Thank you for the clarification on kW vs kWh.

Unless I'm misunderstanding the VIN report from vehiclehistory.com, it was manufactured in 2012 in Smyrna, Tennessee.

Ah! Thank you for breaking down the different packages.

Yeah, I've read a lot about batteries being reset by dealers. I just purchased a OBDII reader and will use it Leaf Spy to check SOH and Hx values. Thank you for letting me know which are the capacity bars! I thought they were the ones to the left of the ones you mentioned! Now this car doesn't seem like such a great deal AT ALL. It has 7 bars at 27k miles. It was probably sitting at the dealers for a long time and/or the California sun got to it.

Whats considered a battery defect?

Thanks for the correction re 5/13 vs 4/13 manufacturing dates.

I drove an April 2013 build for 5 years, and the car was great. Still had 12 bars (barely) when I turned her in last April.

A car manufactured in 2012 in Smyrna is either some sort of pre-production Gen 1.2 Leaf or a vehicle history error. We saw exactly the same thing here this year on a history report, but I don't remember what the actual situation turned out to be. In any case you don't want a Leaf built before April of 2013 unless it has a new 2015 battery.

Regarding capacity bars, make sure you count all the thinnest bars on the right, including the red ones.