Purchase Consideration: 2012SL

Hi,

This is my first post to this forum, so thanks for your consideration.

I am requesting areas I should considering when considering to purchase the below car and would really appreciate your input:

Used 2012SL that has 28K miles, with 10 capacity bars remaining. I am trying to determine whether to buy based with the concern on the battery capacity loss. There is 22 months remaining and about 30K miles on the warranty. Car was driven in Austin, Texas and I'm in Houston Texas. I can purchase the car off lease at a significant reduction down to $7500.

I am trying to determine the likelihood of losing down to 8 bars before the warranty ends. My preference would be for this to happen and then receive a new battery replacement that would significantly extend the life of the car.

Thanks,
Marc

Please excuse the typos, getting late here.

Thanks,
Marc

You nee to get a leaf Spy reading of the pack, so you know if those 10 bars are ten "solid" bars, or 'nine and change.'

Take the VIN number to a Nissan Service Department and get a Service History printout for the vehicle. Have them check for the B0133 flag. Some 2011/12 owners opted out of the settlement and the vehicles don't qualify for the Battery Replacement Warranty. I would also suggest a CarFax report to check for accidents or other potential issues.

Thanks to both of you. Contacted Nissan LEAF consumer affairs and they have told me under the battery degradation warranty.

Found LeafSpy Pro for Apple app, so will do that asap and then check, what are the major numbers to verify the battery assessment?

Appreciate your help much,
Marc

mwilliams said:

Thanks to both of you. Contacted Nissan LEAF consumer affairs and they have told me under the battery degradation warranty.

Found LeafSpy Pro for Apple app, so will do that asap and then check, what are the major numbers to verify the battery assessment?

Appreciate your help much,
Marc

Click to expand...

Miles won't be an issue, open the driver door and look for the build date on the label there.

You'll have to drop 4 bars (to 8 remaining) before you hit 60 months to get a new free battery pack.

Assuming no wreck or cosmetic damage that sounds like a safe bet for TX.

Leafspy will show you SOH%, AHr, HX%

Loss of bar 10 - between 45.75 AHr and 48 AHr
Loss of bar 9 - between 41.75 AHr and 44 AHr

in essence you just want the bars to drop before the 60 months so lower is better for buying one in your situation. It'll be a hassle but assuming you can deal with the range limitation until it drops the 4th bar I'm not sure what you could see in leafspy that would make you avoid it.

baustin said:

Take the VIN number to a Nissan Service Department and get a Service History printout for the vehicle. Have them check for the B0133 flag. Some 2011/12 owners opted out of the settlement and the vehicles don't qualify for the Battery Replacement Warranty. I would also suggest a CarFax report to check for accidents or other potential issues.

Click to expand...

Is it correct that a previous owner "opting out" of a class action settlement can affect a new owner's ability to obtain a replacement battery? I understood that the policy of 5 years/60,000 miles/8 bars replacement was for any qualifying Leaf that had not been purposefully damaged or salvaged.

Thanks for the guidance! I've ordered the Bluetooth unit from Amazon and hope to nail down the bars measurement this next week.

It worked by contacting Nissan and providing the VIN, they were able to tell me that the vehicle was under the warranty and previous owner did not opt out.

baustin said:

Take the VIN number to a Nissan Service Department and get a Service History printout for the vehicle. Have them check for the B0133 flag. Some 2011/12 owners opted out of the settlement and the vehicles don't qualify for the Battery Replacement Warranty. I would also suggest a CarFax report to check for accidents or other potential issues.

Click to expand...

Does the settlement apply to the leased vehicles as well?

Leafer2012 said:

baustin said:

Take the VIN number to a Nissan Service Department and get a Service History printout for the vehicle. Have them check for the B0133 flag. Some 2011/12 owners opted out of the settlement and the vehicles don't qualify for the Battery Replacement Warranty. I would also suggest a CarFax report to check for accidents or other potential issues.

Click to expand...

Does the settlement apply to the leased vehicles as well?

Click to expand...

Yes, it applies to all 2011/12 Leafs. Although, I doubt that anyone leasing the vehicle would have opted out of the settlement. The battery warranty, as a result of the settlement, applies to the vehicle even if you are not the original owner.

baustin said:

Leafer2012 said:

baustin said:

Take the VIN number to a Nissan Service Department and get a Service History printout for the vehicle. Have them check for the B0133 flag. Some 2011/12 owners opted out of the settlement and the vehicles don't qualify for the Battery Replacement Warranty. I would also suggest a CarFax report to check for accidents or other potential issues.

Click to expand...

Does the settlement apply to the leased vehicles as well?

Click to expand...

Yes, it applies to all 2011/12 Leafs. Although, I doubt that anyone leasing the vehicle would have opted out of the settlement. The battery warranty, as a result of the settlement, applies to the vehicle even if you are not the original owner.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. I just submitted a post under the Battery Charge related thread to find out what the next step is when I lose the 4th bar which I anticipate to be soon.

baustin said:

Yes, it applies to all 2011/12 Leafs. Although, I doubt that anyone leasing the vehicle would have opted out of the settlement. The battery warranty, as a result of the settlement, applies to the vehicle even if you are not the original owner.

Click to expand...

It seems logical that a Leaf leasee would not be given the opportunity to opt out since the vehicle is technically owned by Nissan?? Anyone have experience in this?

Also, the question about every annual inspection being a requirement to qualify for a replacement at "eight bars" - does anyone have actual experience in this area - especially if the vehicle "passes" the inspection at the time of replacement??

mwilliams said:

Used 2012SL that has 28K miles, with 10 capacity bars remaining. I am trying to determine whether to buy based with the concern on the battery capacity loss. There is 22 months remaining and about 30K miles on the warranty. Car was driven in Austin, Texas and I'm in Houston Texas. I can purchase the car off lease at a significant reduction down to $7500.

I am trying to determine the likelihood of losing down to 8 bars before the warranty ends. My preference would be for this to happen and then receive a new battery replacement that would significantly extend the life of the car.

Click to expand...

Hello Marc, and good luck with the 2012SL if you decide to acquire.

I wish you well on getting the new vehicle and qualifying for a replacement battery. Since the vehicle has been in a hot area (not quite Phoenix, but Austin and Houston have their share of triple-digit temps too), the battery will likely deteriorate more quickly than in cooler climes.

As others suggest, the amazing app from turbo3 called "LeafSpyPro" is mandatory, perhaps for every LEAF owner at least.