Newbie looking to buy a used leaf

Hi! First : this forum has been very helpful! Thanks everyone for the good information!

I am in the market for a vehicle to drive to work. The commute is 30 miles round trip, about 80% freeway. There are a few 2011 leafs with 9 bars for $6k. My question is, will that car get me to work and back with range to spare? I usually cruise around 75 mph which I know will limit the range.

Thank you!

What is your location? In subzero weather, a 2011 Leaf with a non-degraded original battery might barely do 30 miles, much less one missing 3 bars. The 2011's are particularly vulnerable because the heated seats/steering wheel wasn't included until the following model year, so between that and the power hungry heater you'll be using up a lot of juice.

If you live in a hot environment, your 9-bar car may become a 5 bar car in just a couple more years. You may want to factor in a $5500 replacement battery into your cost if you live in a hot climate.

If you have the ability to charge at work (even at 120 volts) that will give you a bit more breathing room.

If you can, try to look for a late-production 2013; they should be coming off lease now. The 2013 and later SV and SL have a less power hungry hybrid heating system.

RonDawg said:

What is your location?

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Southern California, Inland empire (Riverside)

RonDawg said:

In subzero weather, a 2011 Leaf with a non-degraded original battery might barely do 30 miles, much less one missing 3 bars.

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Wow, this is way worse than I thought. A couple of sellers have claimed 60 miles. I wonder if they are crawling...

Subzero temperature is rare for riverside, so you don't need to worry about that. Can you charge at work? A 2013 battery does better in terms of degradation.

DanCar said:

Subzero temperature is rare for riverside, so you don't need to worry about that. Can you charge at work? A 2013 battery does better in terms of degradation.

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I can't charge at work, there are a couple of stations on the way through

Chadface said:

Hi! First : this forum has been very helpful! Thanks everyone for the good information!

I am in the market for a vehicle to drive to work. The commute is 30 miles round trip, about 80% freeway. There are a few 2011 leafs with 9 bars for $6k. My question is, will that car get me to work and back with range to spare? I usually cruise around 75 mph which I know will limit the range.

Thank you!

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you will be fine. besides you could always simply drive 65 and add several miles to your effective range.

DanCar said:

Subzero temperature is rare for riverside, so you don't need to worry about that. Can you charge at work? A 2013 battery does better in terms of degradation.

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Rare..... are we talking about C or F :lol: While I live nowhere near Riverside I do know where it is(sub of LA??) and I can't imagine it ever gets close to 0F, probably hardly ever 0C. Just a little ribbing DanCar, waking up to 35F this morning and 59F in the house your post gave me a chuckle :lol:
Truthfully for a 30 mile commute in SoCal even for a Leaf missing 3 bars I can't see you'll run into a problem. My '12 is missing 2 bars and I can get 60 miles at freeway speeds in the summer(at probably more like 65mph and not 75mph but maybe 50?? miles at 75mph) and 40 miles in the winter with mild heat use. Now I suppose being an '11 it will probably be too late for any warranty battery replacement(assuming the car wasn't originally sold at some much later date than it was made) but it might be worth looking into.
Your $6k price is about as low as it gets but for comparison I see quite a few '13S models in my market(basically all originally sold in CA) going for $6990. Now for $6990 it will probably be missing a bar or maybe even 2(not 3 like your '11) but being a '13 it will probably have almost a year left on the battery warranty and also have many features only added in the '13 model year, including better battery chemistry, SOC meter, ability to turn the heat off, heated seats all around and heated steering wheel. Being a S model it won't have the more efficient heat pump heater found on the SV and SL models post '12 but it will have the better quicker more efficient(than '12 and '11) air based heater.
If it were me your '11 would have to be closer to $5k to make it worth getting over a $7k '13 but the choice is yours, if the extra $1k is a deal breaker I personally think with your 30 mile commute you'll be OK, at least for a few years or more anyway.

I'm guessing that the original poster doesn't want to deal with the hassle of getting a battery replaced, so they need to look for a 2013 Leaf built 4/2013 or later. It can be missing one bar and still won't be likely to drop a second bar for a long time. The problem with two bar losers is they tend to lose a third bar, but don't necessarily lose that fourth while under the battery capacity warranty.

I would love to get a Leaf for $6k dollars... However your need to drive 75 mph is out of the question for an electric car. That car may work for 30 miles, but you have to resign yourself to lower speed and the possibility of needing a new battery in the near future to maintain the 30 mile round trip...

powersurge said:

I would love to get a Leaf for $6k dollars... However your need to drive 75 mph is out of the question for an electric car. That car may work for 30 miles, but you have to resign yourself to lower speed and the possibility of needing a new battery in the near future to maintain the 30 mile round trip...

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Someone should post a link to the Range Chart. I'm guessing that if the 75MPH is for 20 of the 30 miles, that it's possible, just not comfortable, for a 12 bar Leaf that's nearer to 11 bars.

For under 8k you can get a 12 bar 2013 made 4/13 or later that will be a much better value.

The off lease auction for Leafs is every Tuesday in Riverside. Find someone with a dealer license to bid on one for you.