Looking for Leaf - Opinion about SOH

I've been looking for a 13+ SL Leaf, and since there are really none around me, I'm looking at having one shipped from Platt Auto in Oregon to me in central Illinois. (I really wish there were some decent choices around me...) Here are the stats that I have from 2 I am looking at:

2013 / 16,xxx miles / 91% SOH / 2 Quick Charges / Owned in Vancouver, WA
2013 / 12,xxx miles / 89% SOH / 2 Quick Charges / Owned in Wilsonville, OR

Is the SOH low for miles and location?

Also, what is the chance of New 2015 Leaf's sitting on dealer lots for over a year having a healthy battery? There are 2 dealers within 90 minutes of me that each have a new 2015 SV.

Thanks in advance for the advice...

My car sat for 9 months and I have had it for 8 more months. Today I saw 97% SOH, 56 QC at 7100 miles.

My 2013 SV has 89% SOH, or had that last Fall, with 12k on the odometer then.

Out of the two, my preference would be for the one from WA. Ask for the date of manufacture off the door post label. I would avoid anything made prior to 4/13 (evidence indicates those are using the same battery chemistry as the 2012's).

I just bought a 2013 SV with the premium package from Platt. 17xxx miles, 96% SOH, 3 QC, and 21.2 kWh and it appears it was from Eugene, Oregon. Took it up the Columbia River Gorge yesterday and this morning had a 97% SOH, 4 QC, 21.5 kWh. It apparently, had been sitting awhile at Platt. I'm more than happy about it and dealing with Greg and his assistant Ray Blackburn. I was given free reign to check the vehicles out using my LeafSpy Pro. I found this Leaf had a better SOH than one that was more expensive and less miles.

Also, when Greg couldn't come up with the second key he showed up with a check to pay to have one made.

The SV's battery capacity is supposed to be the same as my leased 2012 SL, but I was able to get from Vancouver to Hood River with 24 miles left on the GOM. On the 2012 when new, I would do the same trip slower and would get into Hood River with about 8 miles left. I'm pretty happy with the dealership and the car. I would let them know what you are looking for and why and I'm sure they would do their best to help. They are about overflowing with off lease Leafs.

Doesn't 89% SOH seem low for the amount of miles and location driven?

jsdugan said:

Doesn't 89% SOH seem low for the amount of miles and location driven?

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Heat and time degrade the battery. If it got very hot there just a few times, but for several days and nights at a time, not really. I live in a climate very much like a lot of Canada, but the first Summer I had my Leaf was very hot. It was 93F when I first drove the car home, and we had 10+ days over 90F...

jsdugan said:

Doesn't 89% SOH seem low for the amount of miles and location driven?

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Up here (Vancouver/Portland) time is the biggest factor, I think. My 2013 has 85% SOH, but 43k miles and just lost its first bar. So no 89% doesn't seem low to me for a 2013.

jsdugan said:

I've been looking for a 13+ SL Leaf, and since there are really none around me, I'm looking at having one shipped from Platt Auto in Oregon to me in central Illinois. (I really wish there were some decent choices around me...) Here are the stats that I have from 2 I am looking at:

2013 / 16,xxx miles / 91% SOH / 2 Quick Charges / Owned in Vancouver, WA
2013 / 12,xxx miles / 89% SOH / 2 Quick Charges / Owned in Wilsonville, OR

Is the SOH low for miles and location?

Also, what is the chance of New 2015 Leaf's sitting on dealer lots for over a year having a healthy battery? There are 2 dealers within 90 minutes of me that each have a new 2015 SV.

Thanks in advance for the advice...

Click to expand...

Those two cars seem like they are basically a wash. Miles, location, and SOH are close enough that I wouldn't care. SOH can even change slightly over the course of the year so a 1 or 2% difference is basically none in my book. 10% battery loss on a 3 year old car doesn't seem terrible even for the PNW. You would probably have another year or two before the first bar disappeared. I'd pick the one with the color you like or the better physical condition if it were me.

As far as 2015's that have sat on the lot go, I bought a 2015 S in Nov 2015 that had sat on the lot for 9 months including a hot Virginia summer (highs 80 - 90 degrees for most of June, July, and August with occasional spells in the mid 90s). All indications were that the dealer left it fully charged, it was rarely driven, and it sat in the sun all day (everything you are not supposed to do).

When I got the car it had
98% SOH
61 aHr
2 QCs
8 L1/L2
22 miles

I checked leafspy this morning
100% SOH
63 aHr
37 QCs
230 L1/L2 charges
6473 miles

For what it is worth I use mine daily, QC multiple times per week, charge it to 100% on a timer overnight, and top it off if I'm out and charging is available... my battery has gotten better since I bought it according to leafspy. There don't seem to be any real negative impacts of it sitting on the lot that long or my frequent QC's. Maybe I'm an unusual case or maybe the 2015 batteries are better somehow, hard to say.

New or used really depends on what your needs are and what you want to do with the car. I would think that if you qualify for the full federal tax credit you should pay no more than $16k - $17k net for a 2015 SV still on the lot, maybe less. I paid $15k net for a 2015 S (with charge package) and that was 6 months ago. Values have gone down since then.

Also, there is a guy in the Chicago area that is an independent dealer who sells them. Maybe you guys can work something out where he gets you a car at auction... see the thread below for info.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=21692

Thanks golf cart. Message me if you are looking to get a car. I am in Chicago and can help

Golfcart - Thanks for all the information. I did not know I have a potential option in Chicago. Thanks a bunch!!!

jsdugan said:

I've been looking for a 13+ SL Leaf, and since there are really none around me, I'm looking at having one shipped from Platt Auto in Oregon to me in central Illinois. (I really wish there were some decent choices around me...)
...

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Just bought a 2013 SL. From Platt Auto. I am very happy with the car. Be careful about the details with Platt. I had to go back 2 times to get the title right.

Platt is a small operation and they are verry under staffed.

2013 Nissan Leaf - Lease return.
Purchased 15,829 miles, 04/06/2016
Carfax says it was purchased in Walnut Creek, CA, and registered in San Jose, CA.

I am in Santa Rosa, CA, 50 miles north of San Francisco.

LeafSpy Lite:
2016-04-08 11:26:03
AHr=54.71 SOH=83% 396.41V
Hx=80.35%
odo=15,890 miles 35QCs & 382 L1/L2s

2016-05-09 15:56:00
AHr=53.63 SOH=82% 382.53V
Hx=77.14%
odo=16,642 miles 35QCs & 456 L1/L2s

^^^
ClarD: That’s pretty bad. On that car, what was the original in-service date? What was the build month (on the driver’s side door sticker)? I suspect it was prior to 4/2013.

cwerdna said:

^^^
ClarD: That’s pretty bad. On that car, what was the original in-service date? What was the build month (on the driver’s side door sticker)? I suspect it was prior to 4/2013.

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Yes. Twenty Monopoly Dollars says that this is a "Canary Pack." I'm still wondering if these early 2013 packs got shipped from Japan to help jump-start production in Tennessee, or if they started building them here with the older chemistry, then changed for April 2013.