Possible 2013 SL Purchase?

I'm looking for different opinions. I live in Atlanta GA and I currently have a 2015 LEAF S with the quick charge package. And we really like it but wish we had gotten a higher trim package than an S. When we drove it home we thought it had Carwings and the second day we had it we realized it didn't. Not having Carwings has been a disappointment because my wife wanted to know when it was done charging and have it preheat like a remote start, but we use the timer and live with it. We bought it last summer and my wife immediately started driving a 70 Mile round trip commute from our house in the far northeast suburbs to near downtown Atlanta. We were sold an 84 mile battery but not told that this is under optimal conditions only and on a new battery. While most of her commute is on the freeway I'd call it 60/40 freeway because of rush hour traffic but the cold kills it. She's been home with as little as 8%. After getting home on most days her battery normally has 15% to 20%. Since we got it I've learned more about the batteries and then I began to wonder if the purchase of our LEAF was indeed a smart decision.

Then we had a twist of fate. I wound up totaling my 2012 Jetta TDi in December and it was decided that I would start to drive the LEAF. My commute is even further, but I have a means of charging at work. My commute is more like 80/20 freeway driving and I drive 42 miles to work and 50 Miles home. (Daycare Stop) I have a 30 amp 208V outlet right by the back door of my work that I'm allowed to use for charging. I'm the only person using that outlet so I have no competion with other employees for it. I had the LEAF's EVSE upgraded and with a plug adapter I'm fully charged by 10AM. I can go out for lunch at noon, plug back in and be fully charged again by the time we get off at 3:30. I get home not being conservative at all with the throttle with about 35 percent. And my employer doesn't mind that I charge in the least and doesn't charge me for the use of the electricity. It was seeming like the LEAF makes more since for me than it did for her.

Even newer twist of fate. Last week my wife's work installed 2 Level two chargepoint chargers and opened up one 120V outlet. They said depending on demand they might even put more in after 6 months and they said that they will be free for at least the first 6 months. There are a ton of LEAFs around my wife's work so my concern at first was that someone would always be on it and she would never be able to get a charge. But then my wife explained they have a reservation system setup. They request use of a charger in up to 4 hour blocks on the company's intranet site and you can request recurring appointments so she created a 9 to noon appointment for the first 6 months. Yesterday she got home with 55% left.

With this information. I'm still in the market for a vehicle to replace my totaled commuter car. Up till 2 weeks ago I would not have considered a second LEAF but the level 2 charging at my wife's work is a game changer. Not to mention there are several Level 3 chargers along both our ways home in a pinch. I just woundn't want to make that a habit but if she ever got ICEd she has options. I've found a nice 2013 SL with all 12 battery bars Nissan Cerified Preowned with 11k miles for 15k out the door color and all the stuff I want. And I'm considering purchasing it. We already have a level 2 charger installed at home. I would just need to swap cars on the charger before bed. We still own a paid for 2000 Nissan Frontier and we own a 2013 VW Routan for when my family goes somewhere all together so we have ICE vehicles for longer trips than our commutes. If we ever forget to swap cars on the charger or the power goes out for some reason we still both have ICE vehicles we can drive. I figure the fuel savings alone is worth it and where else can I find a vehicle that is just as nicely equiped without a million miles on it? I know LEAFs depriciate pretty heavily which is why I'm not looking at a second new one but I plan to run these cars into the ground. Esspecially if our employers are covering half our fuel cost.

Thoughts?

It sounds like a pretty good deal. You would know more about how good the battery is in this used car if the dealer would allow you to drive until low battery warning off of a full charge. Otherwise you don't really know how much is left with 12 bars. Look up some threads on the leaf spy app to get more information.

$15k seems a little steep, but that could be regional. I wouldn't be so concerned about "Nissan Certified" as the battery warranty is no different, AFAIK. My 2013 SV w/37k mi was $9500, now that was a smoking deal, not common even around here... Anyway, sounds like a Leaf will be a great commuter for you. Good luck!

You might want to at least consider a used Volt instead, because of Winter range issues and battery degradation. You could drive all EV into work, and only use the ICE in Winter or when you have those extra stops.

Since both of you can charge at work, buying a Leaf makes perfect sense. 15K seems a little steep for a 2013 SL.

This thread can give you some idea of prices for 2013 models.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=19362&start=150#p448063

Also in the Atlanta area - Gwinnett County... just finished a two week search for a 2013 SL or SV because the 2013 S model didn't have the stuff I wanted. It was HARD to find a 2013 SL or SV in the price range I wanted. Seemed like they had been driven hard, too. Lots of miles.

Ended up getting a 2015 S - but with the Quick Charge package and the model year upgrades, I was very happy and got everything I wanted. It had just been on a one year lease and has 13400 miles. Paid $15,700 out the door. I think you should keep looking because I think you will find a better deal.

I don't have range issues because I work 10 miles from home. So I haven't even been charging every night.

A used leaf sounds like a no brainer here. We have two of them and it is really better to have two than just one. While one may happen to be depleted it seems the other one has miles yet to still do more chores. Somewhat swappable so to speak! One or the other always seems to be available for those extra miles. There is exponential value to having two (completely) electric vehicles. You will be able to sell at least one (maybe both) of your ice vehicles. I'm glad the infrastructure is improving in your area. You are lucky to have free charging at work. We have two 240V charge stations at home so we can plug in at an EV rate plan (more savings between 11 p.m. - 5 a.m.) provided by our local utility company. Good luck, let us know what you decide!

After some negation were down to 14K out the door including tax title and registration. I'm getting 0% financing with NMAC. With 3K down it's looking like my payment will be close to what I'm spending in fuel with my 2000 Frontier. I'm heading to the dealer tomorrow to look it over. But I can't see my ICE vehicles going anywhere for several years. I have 3 kids. They do squeeze in the back seat of the LEAF which is great for short trips. On work days I put my 10 year old son up front with me and my two younger girls in the back seat, but the van is important. We take it with the dogs and all 3 kids to my parents place in Chattanooga and any longer run like that. One weekend a month I go to FT Benning for drill with the National Guard so I can take my truck for that. And of course the intended purpose I bought my truck for which is home depot runs and my wife's shopping trips to IKEA. The LEAFs are truly awesome commuter cars and immediate area errand slash grocery store cars. But putting by 20% down and attempting to put extra on each payment I think I can stay ahead of depreciation in the event one of our situation changes and I need to ditch a LEAF. Especially since someone already took the drive off the lot hit like I'm doing with the 2015 S.

I bought it. It's sitting in my driveway. Now that I have 2 LEAFs does anytime anyone have a recommendation for a 1772 extension cable? I've seen a few of them out there. In the short term I'll just move the cars in the driveway.

Congratulations! You will be amazed at how little you will use your gas vehicles. I have a trailer hitch on one Leaf and it works great for towing a 5x10 trailer. I do have to use my Jeep Cherokee though for towing my boat to the lake or to tow my travel trailer. By the time you decide to ditch a leaf it might be for a 200+ mile used electric car, truck, or van. Than maybe you can ditch some of your ICE. Enjoy!

Why are you paying extra on a 0% loan? I have the same situation with a 0%. I normally pay off everything early including mortgages, but I could not see the reason with a 0%. Assuming I might need to quickly pay off loan, I have simply padded my savings. If I needed to cut the cord with Nissan, I would use that padding.

I was thinking I might want to stay ahead of the the sharp depreciation in the event my situation ever changes.

branflakes104 said:

I bought it. It's sitting in my driveway. Now that I have 2 LEAFs does anytime anyone have a recommendation for a 1772 extension cable? I've seen a few of them out there. In the short term I'll just move the cars in the driveway.

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Look into quickchargepower.com. They may have something, and if they don't they can make it special for you.

mjblazin said:

Why are you paying extra on a 0% loan? I have the same situation with a 0%. I normally pay off everything early including mortgages, but I could not see the reason with a 0%. Assuming I might need to quickly pay off loan, I have simply padded my savings. If I needed to cut the cord with Nissan, I would use that padding.

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Sounds like he is doing it for the same reason, if he needs to sell the car quickly he will be ahead and not be in a negative equity situation. For some people it's easier to go ahead and put money directly to that purpose, rather than risk spending the saved money for some other worthy reason, but leaving yourself in the bind you were trying to avoid. I know this because I am one of those people. If I were to set aside $3K as a buffer, there is NO way that some other need wouldn't surface begging me to dip into it.