Need Advice, Looking at Used 2013 SL

Hello All,

I previously leased a 2012 SL which I turned in after 39 months, 37k miles. My parents loved my car and would like a plug-in as a second car, preferably something cheap. I found a Used 2013 SL with only 170 miles being advertised at the same dealership where I first got my Leaf, and I'm thinking about going over there to take a look at it. My questions for everyone:

• The car appears from the photos to have the Premium package, because it has the around-view camera, and I think I can see the Bose thing in the trunk. Is there anything else this car might be missing, or is it top of the line? I assume it must have CHAdeMO and the 6.0kW OBC.
• What features will this car not have compared to a 2015? I know about the Lizard battery, and I know that the 2013 has "Long Life Mode" whereas the 2015 doesn't. What else am I missing?
• I'm going to bring LeafSpy along with me, what metrics should I focus most on? What did max gids go up to for a 2013?
• The photos of the car clearly show "NO SD CARD" on the center console. I've already asked the dealer to clarify the story there by phone, and I have stated that I refuse to go look at the car until they confirm that this will be rectified.
• The photos also show 12 (small) bars and 47 mi range with 7/12 charge bars illuminated.
• CarFax shows the car was originally from NY, with the listed DMV location being one that is very close to me, so I assume the car is local to my area. Based on how my 2012's battery did in my climate, that's a big plus to me.
• CarFax also says the car was on a personal lease for 5 months, but it looks like the dealership has had this car for over a year now. Any guesses as to what the story is here? The low mileage is strange to me. Maybe a dealership employee leased it and never drove it?
• Finally, the most important piece, price. Up until a few days ago, the dealer's website was listing the car at $23,995, but it was just dropped down to $13,995. Sounds like a great deal to me, but I want to make sure my parents aren't being ripped off.

Thoughts? Thanks!

It likely will all come down to the battery pack. The car sounds like a great deal unless the pack is seriously degraded, but if your parents want it for short trips only, even that may not matter much. So check out the health of the pack, and if it's about to lose a bar, offer them a bit less. If there are serious issues with the pack like bad cells, pass.

Only 170 miles is strange. Since it has apparently been leased and titled (considered sold), it will not qualify for the Federal tax credit. Find out what the in service date is and ask the dealer to confirm that all warranties are intact (along with expiration dates of the various warranties). As with any used car, look for accident damage. Being in an accident with a long wait for parts and repairs could explain the low mileage. Make sure all accessories are included (tire repair kit, 120-volt EVSE, etc.).

LeftieBiker has some good points about checking the battery.

Gerry

The biggest difference between this and a similarly equipped 2015 would be the battery and the inclusion of Long Life Mode on the older car.

Regarding the SD card error, if you do get the car make sure you get it in writing that they will fix this issue by a certain time frame. If it isn't in writing, it was never promised. They may not promise anything until it's time to sign the documents though.

I've never heard of a 5 month long "personal lease." It could be a repo, and/or the dealership was using it as a loaner car, or it was leased to a dealership employee. If it was a loaner car, it may not have to be disclosed as such depending on your state's laws. It could also have been damaged in transit or storage and nobody wanted to buy it, so they titled it and were going to use it for themselves but for some reason never did.

NYLEAF said:

[*]I'm going to bring LeafSpy along with me, what metrics should I focus most on? What did max gids go up to for a 2013?

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The key parameter is Ahr, i.e. with that indicated low mileage the Ahr should be about 60 (270-280 GIDs)

First off, I was wrong when I first wrote that CarFax shows the vehicle being a former lease, I must have been looking at a different car when I saw that.

I went to look at this car tonight, and I believe that this car is being used as "bait" in a bait and switch scam. I made an appointment last week for 6pm tonight, and I showed up on time to see the car. When I arrived, a salesman sat me down, asked which car I was interested in. I was a bit annoyed that I actually had to go on my own phone and search their website for the stock number, considering that I made an appointment specifically to see this car. After I gave him the stock number, he left the desk for a minute to find out about the car, and came back with the news that the car was actually about to be sold to someone else! He pointed to a female salesperson that was on her way out to the parking lot with keys in her hand, and said that she had a customer who was 30 minutes away and had already made a deposit on the car. How convenient!

He began to tell me about the other similarly priced Leafs they have in stock (2013 S & SVs with much higher mileage, and a few 2012 SL's that are basically identical to the car I just turned in last month). I said no, I only came for this specific car, and even though someone is coming to buy it, I'd still like to take a look at it. I was skeptical that the car even existed at this point. He took me out to the parking lot, with the door being held open for us by the female sales person, who was now on her cell phone. She began to tell my salesman how she was on the phone with Geico, as the buyer had given her authorization to get insurance set up for the car. It just reeked of poor acting to me.

I got to sit in the car for a minute, plugged in my LeafSpy (257 gids at 12 bars, 64.xx AHR, 98% SOH), and that was it. The female sales person then came over and drove the car to the other side of the building, presumably to be prepped for sale. My salesman continued to try and show me the other Leafs that I wasn't interested in, and then mentioned that if I REALLY want the Black SL, I'd have to make an offer that was higher than what the buyer was buying it for. I was just like "Excuse me? You're offering to sell a car out from under a customer that has already made a deposit if I bid higher than him?". I decided to get the hell out of there. When I got back to my car, parked on the other side of the building, I found the female sales person just sitting in the black Leaf. Nothing was being done to the car, no buyer in sight.

For reference, the listing for this car: http://www.nissanofgardencity.com/used-Brooklyn-2013-Nissan-LEAF-SL-1N4AZ0CP6DC413960" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and the CarFax: http://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory/p/Report.cfx?vin=1N4AZ0CP6DC413960&partner=DON_0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'd come back in a couple of days to see if it was really sold. And if it wasn't as you suspect, tell them they should give you a further discount for lying to your face.

NYLEAF said:

[*]CarFax also says the car was on a personal lease for 5 months, but it looks like the dealership has had this car for over a year now. Any guesses as to what the story is here? The low mileage is strange to me. Maybe a dealership employee leased it and never drove it?

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Thanks for the carfax report. I don't think the car ever left the dealer lot. The most logical explanation to me would be that the car was sold to Nissan Finance then temporary leased to dealership. This occurred just when 2014 model was coming out and I figure the purpose is to claim the $7500 federal credit for themselves before depreciation gets worse.

This is definitely bait and switch.

So far it is not a total loss, at least you have confirmed the features and battery condition of the car.

I would have your parents make an offer. Have them text or email the dealer for the best price for the car to be driven off TODAY! Best time to do this is on the last weekend of the month.

If they replied to come down and take a look then it is likely that they are not interested in selling this car right now.

Then I would have 2 choices, either walk away or offer the $13,995 as is. I cannot make this decision for you.

The advantage of email and text is that you would have the dealer put the price down in writing.

Should the dealer accepts the offer, you can accompany your parents to the dealership and say that the buyer has changes and has become you.

So give a shot and use your parents phone or email. Let us know what happened and good luck. Don't walk into the dealership without a price in writing.

I forgot to mention that when I did get to take a look at the car, there appeared to be some sort of condensation behind the main dashboard glass, which made me concerned that perhaps the car had some sort of water damage, or at the very least was not well made. With that knowledge, I don't think I'd want to buy the car.

I should note that the dealership sent me an automated e-mail today letting me know that the car I am interested in is still available. Sure enough, when I visit their website, it appears exactly as before. I'm convinced that they were trying to pull a bait and switch on me.

I forgot to mention that when I did get to take a look at the car, there appeared to be some sort of condensation behind the main dashboard glass, which made me concerned that perhaps the car had some sort of water damage, or at the very least was not well made. With that knowledge, I don't think I'd want to buy the car.

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It could be something as simple as the Recirculate control being left engaged. Nissan dealership people seem to know less about the Leaf than the average person walking in off the street. ;-) I'm guessing, though, they intend to keep that Bait & Switch Special as long as they can.

To be honest, unless it's that unbeatable of a deal even after all the games, I wouldn't give a dime to someone who had the gall to play that sort of game. I had to get up and walk out as I was signing the paperwork on one LEAF I was *this* close to buying, because the dealer started trying to pull a fast one on me at the last minute. I found a better one a week later and never looked back.

Unfortunately, that is the nature of the business. Dealer's goal is to squeeze every penny out of you until they are convinced they can't get more out of you.

There are lots of information on the web on how to play this game.