Help! Used 2012 vs 2013

Hello forum! New member here looking into the Nissan Leaf and getting pretty serious about buying used. The two Leaf's I found are:

2012 SL $9995
28k miles
Nav card verified
Not sure about available bars at the moment...
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2013 SV $12999
10k miles
Nav card verified
Bose
All 12 bars on the far right are present

I'm trying to decide which is the better route. There is a TON of information I've been trying to absorb on the forum but hoping someone can help guide me on this decision. I read the 2011/2012 were "better" build quality than the 2013. The 2013 has the Bose system which seems appealing but not sure if it's that big of a difference over the stock audio system. In terms of longevity the 2013 with less miles seems to maybe be a better choice?

What I'm trying to do with the car - I have 40 mile round trip commute to work. Some days I must travel to customer locations for a longer trip but I have access to free charging in quite a few locations. I have a gas vehicle that is a lease but I've put way too many miles on and must buy a secondary vehicle and feel like a Leaf would be a good vehicle to go with. Since this is a secondary vehicle I'm trying to keep the price low. I feel like both are a good deal... Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Do you live in a relatively warm climate (SoCal, Florida) or one that regularly gets below freezing in the winter? If it's the latter, a 2013 SV or SL (NOT the Leaf S) will most definitely benefit you due to the presence of a less-power-hungry hybrid heater. Pre-2013 cars, and the Leaf S, all use a resistive heater which sucks down a lot of energy, and in really cold areas some folks have had trouble getting 40 miles out of a single charge during the winter especially if they drive at freeway speeds. 2013 and later cars also have a switch to shut off the heater (though you can do a DIY mod on the older cars to allow this).

The Japanese built 2011's and 2012's anecdotally do seem to have higher build quality than especially the early-production 2013's. The older cars make more use of aluminum panels as well. But the 2013's do have a slightly bigger trunk (mostly negated by the Bose subwoofer in your example) and anecdotally are not suffering as much heat-related capacity degradation as the older cars.

Before you buy any used Leaf, get yourself an OBDII adapter and a smartphone app like LeafSpy or LeafStat to measure the actual degradation. Unscrupulous dealers have been known to reset the computer to (temporarily) display 12 bars regardless of actual degradation, so do not rely on this without verifying with a battery app.

Thanks for the reply RonDawg! I'm in the middle TN area so I experience all the seasons but winter isn't very long or harsh and summer is less than 100F. Most of my driving will be on highway. I had no idea that dealers could reset the computer...it's shady things like that which is why I told myself I would never buy a used car again (yet here I am). Any recommendations on the OBD adapter?

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.

They both seem a little pricey but I don't know the market situation in your area. Does the '13 have the CHAdeMO inlet? The '12 SL would since it was a forced standard feature on that year and trim.

Below give you context on why I say they're pricey:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=429492#p429492 - passed on that car
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=430825#p430825

In my market, I would COMPLETELY pass on the '12. The '13 SV and SL are superior cars (e.g. hybrid heat pump heater, available Bose stereo, 6.x kW on-board charger, dedicated heater off button, available Around View Monitor, etc.) See http://sfbayleafs.org/news/2013/01/2013-nissan-leaf-product-highlights/ and http://sfbayleafs.org/commentary/2013/09/2013-vs-2011-nissan-leaf-whats-new-whats-gone-whats-changed/

For the '13 SV, even if it has CHAdeMO inlet, it's priced probably $1K or more too high. It does have surprisingly low miles though. If it has no CHAdeMO, it's probably $2K too high.

mdonan90 said:

Any recommendations on the OBD adapter?

Click to expand...

It would depend on whether you will be using an Apple device or an Android one with the adapter. With Apple you'll need to use one that transmits via WiFi, and not Bluetooth. For Android I think Bluetooth will work. I have an Apple iPhone so this is what I used: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B3K2X4M?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00

Check the LeafSpy threads for more details.

cwerdna said:

In my market, I would COMPLETELY pass on the '12. The '13 SV and SL are superior cars (e.g. hybrid heat pump heater, available Bose stereo, 6.x kW on-board charger, dedicated heater off button, available Around View Monitor, etc.) See http://sfbayleafs.org/news/2013/01/2013-nissan-leaf-product-highlights/ and http://sfbayleafs.org/commentary/2013/09/2013-vs-2011-nissan-leaf-whats-new-whats-gone-whats-changed/

For the '13 SV, even if it has CHAdeMO inlet, it's priced probably $1K or more too high. It does have surprisingly low miles though. If it has no CHAdeMO, it's probably $2K too high.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I believe with LED lighting/fogs that the CHAdeMO is included per this link http://insideevs.com/2013-nissan-leaf-overview-and-specifications under options and packages.

I'll verify tomorrow when I go to look at it. After further investigation I found auction numbers on a different post that should have me more prepared for negotiation. Looking at the Carfax I know they purchased at auction plus they've had the car on the lot for at least 30 days so I'm going to try and shoot for 10k as the price.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=19362&start=80 - Auction numbers from OrientExpress in another thread.

mdonan90 said:

cwerdna said:

In my market, I would COMPLETELY pass on the '12. The '13 SV and SL are superior cars (e.g. hybrid heat pump heater, available Bose stereo, 6.x kW on-board charger, dedicated heater off button, available Around View Monitor, etc.) See http://sfbayleafs.org/news/2013/01/2013-nissan-leaf-product-highlights/ and http://sfbayleafs.org/commentary/2013/09/2013-vs-2011-nissan-leaf-whats-new-whats-gone-whats-changed/

For the '13 SV, even if it has CHAdeMO inlet, it's priced probably $1K or more too high. It does have surprisingly low miles though. If it has no CHAdeMO, it's probably $2K too high.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I believe with LED lighting/fogs that the CHAdeMO is included per this link http://insideevs.com/2013-nissan-leaf-overview-and-specifications under options and packages.

Click to expand...

On the '13 SV, you can get it 4 ways:
- no packages
- premium package only (Around View Monitor (4 cameras w/virtual overhead view) + Bose stereo)
- Quick Charge (CHAdeMO inlet) + LED headlight package - also comes w/fog lights and auto on/off headlighgts
- BOTH packages.

My '13 Leaf SV leased car that I returned at end of lease had both packages. The used replacement '13 SV I bought ONLY has premium. I certainly didn't want one WITHOUT premium nor was I willing to pay the (significant) extra $ for the QC + LED package. So, I wouldn't get a car w/both.

RonDawg said:

I have an Apple iPhone so this is what I used: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B3K2X4M?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00

Click to expand...

Thanks I just ordered it.

cwerdna said:

mdonan90 said:

cwerdna said:

In my market, I would COMPLETELY pass on the '12. The '13 SV and SL are superior cars (e.g. hybrid heat pump heater, available Bose stereo, 6.x kW on-board charger, dedicated heater off button, available Around View Monitor, etc.) See http://sfbayleafs.org/news/2013/01/2013-nissan-leaf-product-highlights/ and http://sfbayleafs.org/commentary/2013/09/2013-vs-2011-nissan-leaf-whats-new-whats-gone-whats-changed/

For the '13 SV, even if it has CHAdeMO inlet, it's priced probably $1K or more too high. It does have surprisingly low miles though. If it has no CHAdeMO, it's probably $2K too high.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I believe with LED lighting/fogs that the CHAdeMO is included per this link http://insideevs.com/2013-nissan-leaf-overview-and-specifications under options and packages.

Click to expand...

On the '13 SV, you can get it 4 ways:
- no packages
- premium package only (Around View Monitor (4 cameras w/virtual overhead view) + Bose stereo)
- Quick Charge (CHAdeMO inlet) + LED headlight package - also comes w/fog lights and auto on/off headlighgts
- BOTH packages.

My '13 Leaf SV lease that I returned at end of lease had both packages. The used replacement '13 SV I bought ONLY has premium. I certainly didn't want one WITHOUT premium nor was I willing to pay the (significant) extra $ for the QC + LED package. So, I wouldn't get a car w/both.

Click to expand...

Sounds like this car has both with the Bose stereo and the LED lighting. At the chance of sounding ignorant I'm going to ask this question anyways...The CHAdeMO inlet is the port on the left when you lift the charging door, correct? So as long as there is an inlet then the car is QC enabled? If it didn't have QC then nothing but a blank plate would be there?

On a side note this car appears to have the Around View as there is a camera on the front of the vehicle.

mdonan90 said:

Sounds like this car has both with the Bose stereo and the LED lighting. At the chance of sounding ignorant I'm going to ask this question anyways...The CHAdeMO inlet is the port on the left when you lift the charging door, correct? So as long as there is an inlet then the car is QC enabled? If it didn't have QC then nothing but a blank plate would be there?

On a side note this car appears to have the Around View as there is a camera on the front of the vehicle.

Click to expand...

Yes, CHAdeMO inlet is on the left side, under a door. You can see it at http://sfbayleafs.org/commentary/2013/09/2013-vs-2011-nissan-leaf-whats-new-whats-gone-whats-changed/ under "Charging port hatch with remote keyfob release and light, option to lock the plug in place."

Yes, if the car doesn't have CHAdeMO inlet, there's basically just an outline (for lack of a better word, it's just not totally smooth) on the left side but no CHAdeMO inlet nor a door covering it.

On a car w/CHAdeMO, make sure you close the left door covering that port before trying to close the larger flap/door covering both ports. If you don't, the large door won't close and you could break the CHAdeMO cover.

Yes, the front camera is under the Nissan hamburger logo. The rear's visible from most pics of the rear. The 2 side cameras are under the mirrors.

cwerdna said:

mdonan90 said:

Sounds like this car has both with the Bose stereo and the LED lighting. At the chance of sounding ignorant I'm going to ask this question anyways...The CHAdeMO inlet is the port on the left when you lift the charging door, correct? So as long as there is an inlet then the car is QC enabled? If it didn't have QC then nothing but a blank plate would be there?

On a side note this car appears to have the Around View as there is a camera on the front of the vehicle.

Click to expand...

Yes, CHAdeMO inlet is on the left side, under a door. You can see it at http://sfbayleafs.org/commentary/2013/09/2013-vs-2011-nissan-leaf-whats-new-whats-gone-whats-changed/ under "Charging port hatch with remote keyfob release and light, option to lock the plug in place."

Yes, if the car doesn't have CHAdeMO inlet, there's basically just an outline on the left side but no CHAdeMO inlet nor a door covering it.

On a car w/CHAdeMO, make sure you close the left door covering that port before trying to close the larger flap/door covering both ports. If you don't, the large door won't close and you could break the CHAdeMO cover.

Yes, the front camera is under the Nissan hamburger logo. The rear's visible from most pics of the rear. The 2 side cameras are under the mirrors.

Click to expand...

Thanks for all the help I really appreciate it!