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boo99

Member
Joined
May 10, 2014
Messages
9
Location
Southern OK
Hello there to all here!

Jef here.

First I have to say how great it was to find this site just 3 days ago. In those 3 days I have spent many many hours on here educating myself about the LEAF.

I cant believe how much I have learned so far in order to help me decide to get my first LEAF mainly ALL from this site. :D I will be using it to travel around but work from home so no real set pattern of miles driven. Usually I drive like 40 miles daily to the gym, stores. (have an Elantra ICE)


I just have questions (alot prob) that Im a bit confused over before I make my purchase of a used LEAF.

1. Ive been looking at pics on Ebay of those cars for sale, also on C List. Mainly looking at 2011/2012 of course with under 30K miles. I have educated myself about the PHX battery issue the the warranties but have a question about that later as well but...


Mostly all of these cars have missing battery bars. This concerns me. Some had 10 bars only with just 20K on them. Would this be considered NORMAL loss of capacity for a 2011/2012 car with only 20k miles?


What should I look for as acceptable in terms of the bars in these cars with this low mileage? How would I know which ones to avoid?

I just want a point or reference to go by to sort out the cars I wouldnt buy at all. One car had 10 bars and 10K, I emailed the owner...."Do you know that you are missing 2 capacity battery bars there"? He said he wasnt aware of that.

I ask all the owners to send pics of tht battery bars and temp. but again all have missing bars. :(


I called Nissan this AM and was told there isnt any standard to say when the bars will go away in correlation to the age and miles driven but they just said its a factor. (No kidding!)


2. Please confirm the warranties if I am correct:

2011/2012 have 8 yrs/100K on the battery for defects and for battery capacity issues these model years have a 60k/5 year warranty?

The 100.00 a month warranty which was announced but not yet available, is that going to be available for 2011/2012?


3. I want to buy on the west coast and bring back to the central USA. Comments on this 1200 mile trek? I read a lot about the charging stations, ChargePoint, QC option on the LEAF and its time. Campground charging etc.

Is it best to have it shipped, Im ready to be adventurous here!


4. Is the NEMA 10-30 receptacle OK to use?
I read somewhere on here that theres a problem possibly with the grounding? Then I read that they are ok. We have that type for an unused dryer.


5. Can things like wiper blades, bulbs be had like at a regular auto place like Auto Zone or even Wal-Mart of only thru Nissan.


6. Regarding the QC port, if there are pics with just the cover on it, does that mean theres the QC port present or will it just be empty when the cover is off it?


Thank you to all here for all the answers to the questions in advance if at all possible!

jeff
 
3. Have it shipped. Driving it back would be a huge exercise in frustration and stress.
5. The usual maintenance items can be purchased at your store like those listed. I believe the LED lights though cannot.

Have you looked at getting a new one possibly with a lease? It would probably be cheaper depending on your tax situation.
 
I can help you out with a few of these concerns since I'm currently leasing a 2012 SL Leaf.

Nissan is correct with their statement on the bars. There's alot of variables that can cause capacity loss such as heat, how long the battery sits at 100% SOC (state of Charge), how low the battery is drained as in past turtle mode. The only true way to really know the battery's current health is to use a device such as a Leafscan to see how far it's degraded and it's overall health.

The warranty info looks good 8 year/ 100k on defects, but not capacity and 5 year/ 60k on capacity. The way I understand the 5 year/60K capactiy warranty is that it will cover all Leafs as long as they are under 5 years or 60K miles regardless of what year the leaf is. Keep in mind that is from it's manufacturing date, not the date you purchase the car. Also the $100.00 per month plan would start after the 5 year/ 60K warranty expires if you choose to buy into it.

I would also not drive the car 1200 miles, Ship it for sure.

Yes a Nema 10-30 receptacle will work fine, it's two legs hot and one ground. The EVSE (The cord that comes with the car) is only rated for 120Volts unless you have it upgraded through EVSEUpgrade to handle 240Volts. Otherwise you would have to buy a wall mount EVSE Home station.

All I can say about the the Quick Charging port is look at the photos carefully to make sure the cover can be opened. The ones that don't have the QC port, there will still be a plug there to cover the hole which there is nothing there, but the ones that do have it, you should see a latch on the right side to open the cover to the port.

The front wiper blades can be bought through any store. The small wiper on the back window however is not in the big stores. I haven't had to change headlights yet so don't know about that.

The only last thing I would mention is I'm not sure where you live but if you live in the cold, you might want to look at the 2013's with the Heat Pump. They are more efficient and won't eat as much range in the cold. I can tell you I have cold experience and the 2011/2012's with the resistive heaters do take alot of power.

Hope I helped a little bit here.
 
With the number of miles you drive, add Winter weather, and owning a used Leaf becomes a Bad Idea. Lease a new SV. You can probably find a deal on a 2013. If you like that, buy a 2016 or 2017.
 
@mikeinDenver:

thanks for the reply, yea we thought about leasing but I kinda dont like the idea of that in one sense though I never leased a thing, however it would be more ideal starting newer for sure.

@CRLeafSL

Thanks for your time in your reply. It helps much. We live in rural OKC area, so driving the 1200 might not be good as you said, so shipping will be the option.
The winters arent so bad here but you do need heat on at times in the winters however I still have the Elantra. The summers can be very hot though.

So the LeafScan is the most accurate but I still can get an idea from the battery bars being gone, though right? I still dont know which one are norm for the battery bars being gone and their age but I think Im going about this wrong in the sense I am just going to look for the lowest mileage with the highest battery bars at a price we can deal with.

Thanks again, will look at the pics for the QC port.

I wish there were an abundance of LEAFS around here so I can SEE for myself the cars. I dont like to buy cars online without seeing them. I may just head to an area where there are many and look there instead of going to look just at one.

@LeftieBiker

It would only be 40 miles a day. Is that a lot per day? Thanks for your reply.

I am still not sure but I do want one. I really cant afford the Volt or Prius and I already have a car with gas so no need for another.


Thanks to all here. Without this site I would not have gained all this knowledge in the last days.

And I thoroughly GRILLED the Nissan agent who, after 4 tries, new what she was talking about. The others read from a script.
 
Hey Boo99. OKC area huh? I work with a guy from that area. Anyways yeah you can get an "idea" of capacity loss from the bars, however each bar represents a percentage of capacity left and you wouldn't know if its on the verge of losing another bar in a day or a year. Hope that makes sense.

40 miles per day in your climate should be fine for a while, but as the battery degrades your range will get smaller and smaller per charge where charging may be needed to make 40 miles in a day. Also makes a big difference if we are talking about highway miles or city miles. Unlike an ICE vehicle it's opposite in an electric. You will get more range at lower speeds so more range in the city versus the Highway.

I would say most bars left with the lowest mileage and lowest cost should be OK, just keep in mind we won't have any idea when that next bar is going to fall off without better data like the leafscan.
 
Jeff, sounds like you are taking the time to learn before you leap. Congrats! Now, be careful with purchasing a Leaf in your area, especially due to the heat. Read what some of your locals have done: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=9529&p=215722&hilit=+heat#p215722
I would lease in your situation (and I did buy, but in the cooler PNW). There may be a future "heat-resistant" battery, but you never know. Also, the 2014's (or 15's ....) may have a better battery, but we don't know because they haven't been time-tested yet. Finally, if you must buy, then one possibility is to purchase a 3-4 bar loser, with less than 50,000 miles and hope it loses another bar before passing the warranty. There have been several reporting battery replacements. Cars from TX, AZ would be good candidates, plus they are closer to you. Since Nissan announced the warranty, there has been very little additional information. In fact, I'm pretty sure nobody has taken the $100/mo replacement offer.
 
CRLeafSL said:
Also the $100.00 per month plan would start after the 5 year/ 60K warranty expires if you choose to buy into it.
The $100 per month plan has been scrapped after there was a huge uproar in the Leaf community. It's replacement, and the new Lizard Battery (TM) (AKA the "hot battery") are apparently coming in the next few months, or at least one of them is, according to a reliable source: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=11043&start=424" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
^^^
Really? Did I miss the announcement that it (http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=13331" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) was scrapped?

I didn't think that one meant the other wasn't coming. We'd heard about both all along...
 
cwerdna said:
^^^
Really? Did I miss the announcement that it (http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=13331" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) was scrapped?

I didn't think that one meant the other wasn't coming. We'd heard about both all along...
The $100 battery rental was scrapped, it is probably somewhere in the thread I referenced. Nissan probably didn't make an official announcement because they don't have a replacement for the rental plan ready. So yes, the Lizard Battery and some kind of battery replacement plan are coming, perhaps the latter will be to actually BUY a new Lizard Battery (which would be my preference). We will have to wait and see.
 
@CRLeafSL

Thanks again. Yes southern part of OKC in a smaller town.

I remember reading that it's better on the lower speeds than the highway which here is mainly what we use. I have an Elantra here over 200k and never issues because it's all highway which makes me wanna lease a LEAF over buying one older in addition to other reasons. (our temps here aren't going to be too battery friendly)

The entire concept of this car is so intriguing. It looks really great all around.

@Reddy
Thanks, probably will lease being that the area is hot and we can't buy a new one at this point.
I like though the idea of the 3-4 bar loser with low miles and under warranty!



Wow they scrapped the 100.00 plan already?

I just talked to Nissan this a.m.and they even sent me info about that coming replacement warranty. Guess they don't know.
 
boo99 said:
Wow they scrapped the 100.00 plan already?

I just talked to Nissan this a.m.and they even sent me info about that coming replacement warranty. Guess they don't know.
The replacement warranty is for the 5 year/60,000 mile warranty that the Leaf will have at least 9 capacity bars. The $100 battery maintenance plan was an option you could purchase at any time, get a new battery, and they would keep it at least 9 capacity bars while you were paying. It was nicknamed the Steal Your Battery (SYB) program, because if you took advantage of it and stopped paying Nissan would come and repo the battery from your car. Very unpopular with Leafers, Nissan went silent on it and was looking at other options. We don't know how much it has morphed or what it has changed into but apparently some kind of official announcement will be forthcoming over the next few months.
 
If you really want a used Leaf, that is on the market not because of recall, damage, hatred, etc., then wait a bit.
My calculations are that a whole bunch of Leafs (Leaves ?) will be coming off-lease from a lot of loving caring satisfied owners all over the country.

Again, with the purchase incentives, which vary by state, and the $7500 Fed Tax Credit, It's hard to pass on a new one.

But I'm hoping that those incentives will drive the used resale market down, combined with a glut off off-leases flooding in, so I can pick up a nice second leaf.

Good Luck
 
Just a plug (that's a joke son) from up north (KC) since we haven't heard from the other OK or TX leafers....

Almost 25k in 2 years and that includes 2 summers since end of year 2 is June 24. I still have all 12 capacity bars but I'm sniffing loss of the first and it looks like it will be right in line with Stoaty's excel chart.

Everything really depends on how bad the summers are. If we get a rash of stupid hot beyond normal then you could see faster than expected battery degradation. If you're on a short battery already like a 10 bar you've already lost ....hrmph...the wiki is telling me to up upgrade my php.... iirc you've already lost 15% of your range and putting that battery in a hot climate will accelerate the range loss.

As far as shipping from CA, definitely ship it but would it really get you that much of a better deal than buying locally? If you're looking for a range challenge driving then buy in DFW or up in KC. There are 3 OKC Nissan dealers listed on the Nissan site and a couple more in the surrounding area. But checking the local inventory Bob Howard Nissan has 5 Leafs and at least 1 of each model. Definitely do a test drive down there and check the differences.

Best of luck.
 
boo99 said:
Mostly all of these cars have missing battery bars. This concerns me. Some had 10 bars only with just 20K on them. Would this be considered NORMAL loss of capacity for a 2011/2012 car with only 20k miles?

3. I want to buy on the west coast and bring back to the central USA. Comments on this 1200 mile trek? I read a lot about the charging stations, ChargePoint, QC option on the LEAF and its time. Campground charging etc.

Is it best to have it shipped, Im ready to be adventurous here!

5. Can things like wiper blades, bulbs be had like at a regular auto place like Auto Zone or even Wal-Mart of only thru Nissan.
jeff

As far as the battery goes, it appears that location is critical. I live in a moderate climate. I have 39k miles and 12 bars.

Forget the 1200 mile trip. At best, it would be 6 grueling days IF there are chargers every 50 - 70 miles, which I doubt. I love my Leaf, but it is not for road trips.

I cannot buy wiper blades at any of the auto stores in my area, including the big chains. I had to buy them from the dealer. It is not just the Leaf, but all Nissan cars that have that style blade holder. That boggles my mind, I must be missing something.
 
Same kind of question every one or two weeks.
See my input and that from others to similar question from early May.
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=16641#p364941" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
Thanks all for the feedback and replies.


@ksnogas2112

Good to hear about your miles and 12 bars. There are no leafs (leaves?) for sale around here at all that we can afford. I checked those places you mentioned, thanks for looking.

Most are in TX (hot) and West Coast so will be tough unless I fly to west and look around.

I will just have to keep looking till I find one that suits me but these dealers insist loss of bars on their cars is normal even ones with 10K.

thanks for the insight.


@garymelora

thanks for your input. Our area here can be brutal in the summer with temps. 100s at times for days so a lease is sounding more and more like what we will do. Is a shame cause I really like this car and would love to have one. Prob. in the future all these issues will be resolved and be way better etc.

@TimLee

Thanks for the link!
 
Hey Garymelora, the blades I'm referring to aren't the same as the ones that the leaf comes stock with. They are just ordinary rain x type blades that don't have that fancy holder. The blade itself is the typical U shape arm that I've seen on many types of cars, but you have to replace the entire blade assembly, not just the wiper itself. The size of the blade isn't unique to the leaf, they are average sized blades.
 
mbender said:
killawatt said:
[...] leafs (leaves?) [...]
boo99 said:
[...] leafs (leaves?) [...]
Not much of "substance" to add (though I would also recommend leasing a 2013+ and/or shipping it the 1200 miles), but grammatically, I think LEAFs is proper, given that LEAF is technically an acronym (or even better, a bacronym). LOL.

thanks for the reply about the LEAFs ! We will lease if we can. The temps here concern me.
 
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