Is a used Leaf a good purchase for a first vehicle for a high schooler?

I have thought for some time that while I am really frustrated with short-range BEVs, maybe one good use for them used could be as a sort of starter-vehicle for one's child. I don't have children, so this is a theoretical question for me, but I'm wondering if anyone here has any practical experience with this equation. Does the short range and the focus on driving at moderate speeds help curb any inclinations of younger drivers to drive too quickly.... does it help them make a better effort to drive safely?

I think so, for too many reasons to list.

Driving within the school district will end up being a few miles a day, and even if they have school related activities, the distance is still minimal.

I think it would be great for a high school kid! Low operating cost is a huge benefit (think used, or hand-me-down family car), including low "fuel" cost. In my case in 5 years when my oldest begins to drive this could work out well for our 2013 Leaf. The school is only a few blocks away, the community college is only about 5 miles away, any job he is likely to hold will be within a 5 (or less likely 10) mile radius. Sounds perfect for a older Leaf. I'll let you know for sure, in 5 years .

The power delivery of the car makes it a mixed bag for a kid. Too fast off the line to easily resist drag-racing, yet too slow for racing to 60MPH or higher against anything faster than a subcompact econocar. I suppose a parent could base the kid's allowance on how high the M/KWH average was, reset every week.

Yeah, I know. Allowances are so mid twentieth century...

Thanks for the quick responses.

Real life experience;
My high school aged Grandson recently purchased (OK - my Daughter purchased) a used civic for $10,000. He really liked my Leaf from a performance perspective, but the "style" was just too "embarrassing" (IMO) for him. The range was a consideration, but considered an advantage by his parents. If the Leaf had a "style" that was attractive to the younger crowd - maybe a different outcome.

Fun to watch the dynamics - his is the only car parked inside the garage and he comes over regularly to wash his car - spotless! His parents have a Prius and a Suburban - they use and abuse!

My high school daughter loves her little '12 Leaf SL, works perfect even though it's range is only ~60 miles(missing 2 bars). She's kind of a nerd so the techiness of a Leaf fits her well. Her friends like all the cool features her SL has like USB port and backup camera with parking bars not to mention heated seats front and rear and steering wheel. During her first week she did run into a close call(before getting LeafSpy and relying only on the GOM) but since then it's been working great for her. Her planned college is only about 15 miles one way so should be doable in basically all wx conditions as long as she starts out with a 100%(or actually ~92% currently) charge and a warm car at home.
As someone else mentioned, I wouldn't say a Leaf would be the best car for all high schoolers(think boys that would rather have a old junker Firebird, F150 or similar) but for probably the same type of subset around here who'd want a Leaf, IMO a 9 or 10 bar Leaf valued at <$8k would be a great car for some years to come. The only disadvantage I see is the high insurance cost, not so much for the basics but collision and comp are really through the roof IMO. I've been toying with cancelling all but the basics but would hate the idea if it got severely damaged or stole, even though we live in a pretty decent area and she does drive carefully.......it's just kind of a lot to risk.

I hate hypothetical questions, because any answers are also separated from reality. BUT since we are discussing it, my answer is yes and no.... Yes, it is the perfect car for any high school senior or college student to begin driving because at that time in their lives they don't have money for gas or repairs, and also keeps them from traveling too far from home.... But my second answer, is.. no. because the Leaf is a cutting edge car, and can still be considered a valuable asset, like any new car. I think any new driver needs to start on an older BOMB car for safety, and protection of the parent's assets.

I have a 2015 Leaf, my 18 y/o daugther is not touching that car because it is a $30k car that I am still paying off, and if she gets into a collision, there will be high dollar value of damage on my collision insurance.. Also, I have a Cadillac CTS which she will never touch until at least a year of driving safely.. I think we as parents are giving children (High schoolers?) too much too soon. And that is the parent talking...

powersurge said:

I hate hypothetical questions, because any answers are also separated from reality. BUT since we are discussing it, my answer is yes and no.... Yes, it is the perfect car for any high school senior or college student to begin driving because at that time in their lives they don't have money for gas or repairs, and also keeps them from traveling too far from home.... But my second answer, is.. no. because the Leaf is a cutting edge car, and can still be considered a valuable asset, like any new car. I think any new driver needs to start on an older BOMB car for safety, and protection of the parent's assets.

I have a 2015 Leaf, my 18 y/o daugther is not touching that car because it is a $30k car that I am still paying off, and if she gets into a collision, there will be high dollar value of damage on my collision insurance.. Also, I have a Cadillac CTS which she will never touch until at least a year of driving safely.. I think we as parents are giving children (High schoolers?) too much too soon. And that is the parent talking...

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My 2013 Leaf was $9500 when I bought it last year, so in a few years it will be a 4-5k car, which will be a reasonable risk for me.

Oh YES!!! When a used Leaf is worth $4-5000 bucks I will buy another just to have as an extra car!!

Our 2015 LEAF will be 10 years old in 2025 when our son is 16 and old enough to drive. If we still have the LEAF, which we hope to, I have already told him to expect the car to be his for high school and college...

Based on our current driving the car will only have around 40,000 miles total on it in 10 years time.

Coming up to the first year ownership mark next week we have driven it 3200 miles.

Seems like after 10 years of and 40K miles of use the battery might have 50-60% of the current range. That would be plenty for his needs and would get him anywhere around town and to/from school. Not sure how much the car would be worth selling it at that point anyway.

My kids are in college so the subject has been recently relevant to us. I wanted to do this (and the kids liked the idea), but biggest problem is charging. My car and my wife's are in the garage...and staying there. If I got one of my kids a LEAF, where would they charge it? The only possible place would be in my driveway, but I'm not going to hassle with them parked behind me all the time. It doesn't get any better when they move out and have to deal with rental units that probably don't have charging, either. Public charging just doesn't replace home charging.

Other than that it would be a great choice.

As always, it depends. If you are of the school that a kid needs to earn the money for his own car, then he gets to purchase whatever s/he wants. My kid will get an older pickup and learn to repair/maintain it so he is never at the mercy of a mechanic.

If you are going to buy them one, the only real advantage I see, is if they get pissed off and run away, they can only go about 50 miles.

My now 17 year old daughter is the primary driver on our 2015 Leaf S which we leased just before she turned 16. Part of the timing was to take advantage of the (now expired) GA tax credit which gave me what amounts to very close to a free car for 3 years. It has been a great car for her and she loves it. Her guy friends like to make fun of it but even they admit it is fun to drive, and her girl friends really like it. She has literally never filled a car with gas and says she doesn't want to, ever. She was the first kid at her high school with a Leaf but now there is another one.

When my lease is up in just over a year, if Nissan offers us a good buyout deal we will buy this Leaf for her. Otherwise we will likely replace it with a used Volt and my daughter will have to learn to pump gas, at least once a month or so.

Oh yes, I think teenagers would love the Leaf as their car... I own a total of 5 cars, and both of my teenage sons (13, 16) say that when they start driving, the want the Leaf. Why? "Free gas" they say!! and no oil to change and get dirty with!!

Both my kids (18 and 15) have learned to drive in my LEAF. They greatly prefer driving it to other cars we have because of how smooth, quiet and easy to drive it is. My (soon to be) 16 yo son, HATES driving my Mercedes roadster and will only agree to drive the LEAF - go figure.