May 28th I purchased a used 2011 Leaf with 61,000 miles and 10 battery bars for $8000. My reasoning was/is that I'm replacing a 2005 base Focus with no air conditioning that I only use for commuting back an forth to work. A 32 mile round trip of 90% two lane 55mph highway, and 10% city streets. I can charge at work and at home both on 110. So far range is 68-55ish miles on the guess-o-meter. It's an SL, and so far I'm loving it. Oh, and the car is absolutely spotless, it looks brand new and drives great. So, am I nuts?
Am I crazy?
- Thread starter bhinesley
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speedski97
Well-known member
you made a smart buy. it should give you good service used like that. enjoy your new car.
As long as you figure out your actual range, and don't rely on the GOM, it sounds like the car should be fine for you. Remember, if you run low on juice, it's faster to slow down than to go fast and then stop to recharge.
user 10599
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Sounds like it will work well for you. Congrats.
One thing to be aware of - from many posts on this site, when it gets cold, using the heater will cut the range down quite a bit.
But with charging available at both ends of the commute, you should have no problems for quite a while.
One thing to be aware of - from many posts on this site, when it gets cold, using the heater will cut the range down quite a bit.
But with charging available at both ends of the commute, you should have no problems for quite a while.
cwerdna
Well-known member
Agree the above. Unfortunately, I feel the OP overpaid though.DarthPuppy said:
That was my first thought, but if it's an SL with the heated seat/wheel option (or in a warm climate where those aren't needed) $8k isn't a bad price to pay for a little luxury EV that's very quick on city streets, as long as the range will be adequate for a few years.
LeftieBiker said:
I'm not sure if the 2011 SL's came with heated seats/steering wheel as an option. I could swear that didn't show up until MY 2012.
Also, the 2011-2012 SL's aren't really much more "luxurious" than the SV's. Leather was not included on any Leaf trim level prior to 2013. The extra $2k upcharge got you auto on/off headlights, fog lamps, regular backup camera, solar panel on the rear spoiler, rear cargo cover, and QC port (which was not available at all on any pre-2013 SV). 2011-2012 SL buyers got the same light colored/easily dirtied interior fabric and "spray-on" carpet as the SV model, and except for the fog lamps, solar panel, and backup camera look identical from the outside as it also shared the SV's 16" alloys.
As far as price, for a grand more there's a CarMax (so not the greatest price) would be willing to sell you a 2012 SL (which does have seat/steering wheel heaters) with 41k on the odometer, though I don't know how many bars its down: https://www.carmax.com/cars/nissan/leaf/2012/13145927
redLEAF
Well-known member
RonDawg said:
This is easy enough to check as you'll see a switch for the heated steering wheel to the left of the driver and two down on the console for the heated front seats (as well as on the passenger side seat inside towards the driver for the rear seat); there were CWP on some late '11 demo's at some dealers; I drove one while we were waiting for ours to be delivered; actually the most important thing on this package is the battery heater for extreme low temps to keep it from freezing. I have however seen used '11's on some non-Nissan lots out in the Midwest that don't have the CWP; unless you're only going to drive it in fair weather, I'd avoid it. The CWP is the main reason the car wasn't available in the 4-season states until Nissan was ready. It also helps keep the range adequate so you don't have to run the heating system as much.
cwerdna
Well-known member
Uh oh. Do you have Leaf Spy and so get the AHr, SOH and Hx values? Perhaps the BMS on your car has been reset and you're own your way to losing another bar or two in the next few weeks...bhinesley said:
BTW, part of why I feel like you overpaid is because of my own saga:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=430552#p430552
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=430825#p430825
and my responses to http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=435921#p435921 as to why I didn't feel an '11 with a new battery (replaced under capacity warranty) was worth $8,990.
The aforementioned '13 I bought still has all 12 capacity bars and under 36K miles. The 3 year/36K basic warranty runs out in under 2 weeks now. I expect to lose my 1st capacity bar before this summer's over.
jkline
Well-known member
Yah, I think you overpaid, but considering your gas savings and driving comfort, I wouldn't batch your head against a wall. I had a choice of a 2012 SL and SV that were almost identical in every way but color and body condition. Dealer was firm on both at $9k. I decided I could live without the upgrades and chose the base model. I have seat and steering wheel heaters. Also, missing one bar with 80% SOH. 22k miles.
Get Leafspy. I just did, and it has helped remove alot of range anxiety.
Get Leafspy. I just did, and it has helped remove alot of range anxiety.
My bad, I still have ten bars. I probably could have gotten it a bit cheaper, but there aren't a whole lot in my area, and nothing was this clean either, seriously, it looks brand new, inside & out. There is a learning curve as far as driving style goes, but I'm enjoying the challenges. It is a Zen like experience, nice and relaxing!
tattoogunman
Well-known member
There is a 2011 Leaf at a dealer that I used to work at that I may go check out tomorrow. It's got 52156 miles on it and they want around $7600 for it - what do you guys think? From what I can tell in the online pics, it still has eight bars showing for the battery and it is an SL model - FYI.
tattoogunman said:
It depends upon where you are located and how much range you need. Although it has miles left before 60,000 it may be out of time for the capacity warranty. It would be reasonable to buy if you can get a replacement battery under the capacity warranty. If not, you need to be satisfied with 40-mile range in the summer because the 5th bar may drop soon. High ambient temperature is really detrimental to 2011 and 2012 batteries. Also, the cabin heater takes a lot of power on 2011 and 2012 LEAFs so your range in the winter could be much lower.
I won't comment on price because that really depends upon on availability of used LEAFs in your area. Some on the forum think everything is overpriced because they live in areas with a glut of used EVs.
Gerry
tattoogunman
Well-known member
GerryAZ said:
Texas heat is where I live, so I know that is an issue. There are some better alternatives for sale in my area, they are just a bit out of what I could probably realistically afford.
