Looking to buy a used Leaf in the next month or so

95% of my driving is to and from work and that's only 3 miles from home. Speed limit is 30 MPH and at work they have chargers for electric cars. My wife has a nice SUV for road trips and i feel like i'm a great candidate for an electric car. The Leaf looks like a great start and with prices what they are now a good deal. I'm seeing lots of 2014 and 2015 models on Carvana around 9 K to 11 K. Most of the killer prices are on the S model. I really don't care about navigation system (I've got a smart phone) and think leather is over rated for car seats.
Questions here : What big advantage do the higher end models have ? I've been told that all Leafs have 100K mile warranty on the battery. Is that still good if i don't buy it new ? Any other first time used buyer advice ?

Thanks in advance.

I wouldn't buy one without the quick charge port. Today you might be driving 3 miles but in the future when L3 chargers are more prevalent it would be nice to not be limited.

I also wouldn't buy a car with halogen headlights anymore.

Cool factors are the 360d cameras which make a nice top down view as well as from all 4 sides. Very convenient.

If you live in a place where white stuff falls from the sky about this time of the year then you will want to get the next level up that has a heatpump and not just the resistive heater.

If your priority is low price, you are a good candidate to buy a 2011 to 3/2013 Leaf with two capacity bars lost. These cars are worth less because of the reduced range and unlikelihood of qualifying for a free replacement pack under Nissan's parameters. If you want to keep the car for 10 years, look for one with no more than one bar lost (11 left). If you give us more info on your climate and needs/wants, we can be more specific.

2k1Toaster said:

I wouldn't buy one without the quick charge port. Today you might be driving 3 miles but in the future when L3 chargers are more prevalent it would be nice to not be limited.

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For a guy who's total commute is 3 miles and wants to save $, a QC port is not a priority; neither is number of capacity bars lost. That may not be what we would tell the 'average' used Leaf buyer, but this guy is obviously not average (and why he asked the question).

For a guy who's total commute is 3 miles and wants to save $, a QC port is not a priority; neither is number of capacity bars lost. That may not be what we would tell the 'average' used Leaf buyer, but this guy is obviously not average (and why he asked the question).

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I agree on the QC port, and on not needing a lot of range. There may be a little more competition for 8 and 9 bar Leafs than for 10 bar cars, though, which is why I suggested 10. And if long-term ownership of the car is a priority, then a Leaf that has lost only one bar over the years will probably still be drive-able in 10 years.

I was fortunate to pick up a 12 bar 2014 S with 16,000 miles on it in the 9K price range. The deal maker was that it did have the 400V DC quick charge port and blue tooth along with being Right for Florida White with cloth interior. The backup cam was a nice to have feature at first however I am slowly beginning to feel its gaining importance as time passes and I become more accustomed to using it. My cell phone does GPS just fine for those rare occasions that I am driving somewhere that I am not that familiar with in what is basically a local area commuter car.

Here in Tampa Bay we are fortunate to have a Hybrid dealer who is very passionate about the cars and cherry picks them from the former lease vehicle auctions. He uses Leaf Spy to verify the cars before he bids on them.

If your commute is less than 15 miles each way and there is free charging at work then its a no brainer. Get a low mileage former lease Leaf S and its just fine especially if you live in an area where you really won't be needing heat for the commute except for a few moments to clear the windshield on a cool morning.

If you don't like halogen headlights that is about a $50 problem with the S and unlike the factory LED Lights which still use halogen for the high beams the H13 LED kit will give both high and low beams in LED on the Leaf S.

One factor worth considering that we haven't mentioned is also related to the heater. Pre-2013 Leafs use a fluid-based heating system that takes a long time to warm up. If you want heat on that 3 mile commute, make sure you are willing to preheat a pre-'13 Leaf or use just the seat and wheel heaters (though these will be missing on some 2011 cars). The 2013 and later Leafs, both the S's resistance-only and SV/L hybrid heatpump/resistance heaters, use an air-based resistance heater that heats quickly and will be warming you within 45 seconds. There were a significant number of heater failures in the '13 Leaf, though, especially in S models, IIRC, so make sure the heat on any prospective Leaf actually works before buying it.

Even though your commute is short you may find that with the economy of the electric Leaf you may start doing more of your local errands with it. I racked up almost 100 miles last Friday evening on my way home from work taking my daughter car shopping and running errands even though my commute is only around 12 miles.

The instant heat in the 2014 S is great when you want to defog the front windshield and makes it so you only have to run it for a minute or so a time. When you need the heat only to clear the windows but AC immediately afterwards the electric heat and straight cool AC can be a benefit.

RockyNv said:

If you don't like halogen headlights that is about a $50 problem with the S and unlike the factory LED Lights which still use halogen for the high beams the H13 LED kit will give both high and low beams in LED on the Leaf S.

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I am in the exact same situation as the original poster. Very short commute and free 240 charging at work. I currently have a 2015 SV on extended test drive for a few days. I was very surprised to find that this car has halogen headlights....and was almost a deal breaker for me.

Thanks for your post....I didn't know the bulbs could be switched out. One step closer to buying the Leaf!

Wow, what a lot of great help ! As requested, further information about myself, I live in Nashville, TN, not far from where the LEAF batteries are made. Our winters consist of 6-8 weeks of consistent below freezing mornings, with about 20 days a year max when the temp does not rise above freezing. Snow is not common, usually thaws in a couple of days. My drive to work is 3 miles each way. Many days, I drive home for lunch. The commute is all neighborhood until the last 1/2 mile with speed limit of 30 mph. I am 61 years old and my wife has a nice SUV for road trips, so we've got that covered. I live about 5 miles from downtown. 99 % of my daily driving needs are within 30 miles of home.

mattadata said:

RockyNv said:

If you don't like halogen headlights that is about a $50 problem with the S and unlike the factory LED Lights which still use halogen for the high beams the H13 LED kit will give both high and low beams in LED on the Leaf S.

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I am in the exact same situation as the original poster. Very short commute and free 240 charging at work. I currently have a 2015 SV on extended test drive for a few days. I was very surprised to find that this car has halogen headlights....and was almost a deal breaker for me.

Thanks for your post....I didn't know the bulbs could be switched out. One step closer to buying the Leaf!

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A number of folks have indicated that the standard halogen H13 lamp assembly with a H13 LED conversion kit works out better for them than the OEM LED headlamps which have an LED Low beam only and a separate halogen high beam.

The main problem with the 2011-2016 leaf's headlights is the design of the reflectors. The high beams are "terrible" in OEM configuration, "almost as bad" with brighter halogen bulbs, and "a bit better" with LED bulbs.

LeftieBiker said:

The main problem with the 2011-2016 leaf's headlights is the design of the reflectors. The high beams are "terrible" in OEM configuration, "almost as bad" with brighter halogen bulbs, and "a bit better" with LED bulbs.

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Are you talking the OEM Two Lamp LED housings that have the halogen high beam and separate LED low beam or the H13 Hi/Low Halogen housing? From reading all the banter on the topic I got the impression that you may be better off saving your money and skipping the factory very expensive OEM LED housings and installing a H13 single bulb Hi/Low kit in the standard Non-LED housing.

I find the standard H13 Halogen quite acceptable and nowhere near as offensive as the insane lamps many folks are putting in their cars to blind drivers even when on the low beam. On a dark night those insanely bright lamps can cause a whiteout situation for other drivers putting everyone at risk. Many may find if they became good citizens and obeyed the posted speed limits and slowed down when visibility was poor as stipulated by law that they would not be under the false impression that they really "need" the super bright lights.

I have an S Leaf, and it has everything I could want. Any of the other trims are just candy that people can say "they have". Especially on a short commute, there are no extras that you could want.. You are a perfect S candidate.

I drive 70 miles daily, and have everything I could want. Even the less efficient heater works fine, with ok power use. My headlights are as good as any other car. Where, anywhere, have you heard of people complaining about the shape of a car headlight... I have navigation on my phone, my steel tires are actually LIGHTER than the upgraded alloys, and who cares about a 4x camera (its just a toy). My opinion, Get the best condition battery S leaf you can, and you will be happy for many years...

The halogen Low beams on the Leaf are fine, and what I mainly use. The High beams, though, are terribly weak. They are improved by the aftermarket LED kit, but the beam pattern still isn't great. I just used Philips X-Treme Power halogens. They are plug & play, but only improve the High beam a little. You can only tell the difference on dark roads.

I bought a 2013 S a few weeks ago, and I regret not researching that the S trim does not have cruise control. Not sure when they added it to S trims, but I do think you really want it for a car you want to drive 60mph on the freeway. This will be a great car for your commute.

The lack of cruise control saved me from leasing an S (which wouldn't have had enough range in Winter for my commute). They added it to the S in 2015, I believe.

LeftieBiker said:

The halogen Low beams on the Leaf are fine, and what I mainly use. The High beams, though, are terribly weak. They are improved by the aftermarket LED kit, but the beam pattern still isn't great. I just used Philips X-Treme Power halogens. They are plug & play, but only improve the High beam a little. You can only tell the difference on dark roads.

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I used the Xtravision which are just a moderate upgrade without going too insane on one vehicle for the low beams and the heat buildup inside the lamp housing badly damaged the upper part of the plastic mirrors behind the bulbs. That is why if one is really bent on upgrading I would say to get the moderately bright LED H13 kits that aren't insanely bright and will run much cooler than even the OEM halogens. The Leafs with a separate high beam bulb according to the owners manual on my 2014 are the ones with the OEM LED headlamp option while those with the halogen low beam use a single H13 Hi/Low bulb so if you upgrade the high beam you are also upgrading the low. Based on past experience with other vehicles over time the hotter higher powered halogens can cause costly damage to the reflectors inside the lamp housing when used on the low beams. I am not sure if I'd want to roll that dice on the Leaf considering the cost of replacing the lamp housings.

If you are patient, you can find great deals on used leafs out there. My wife had a 2011 leaf which was down to 8 bars (77,000 miles). She loved the car, but was wanting more range. I had decided to go ahead and purchase the new battery at about 6800$ because the car was still like new and drove like new. Then I started looking at the possibility of buying a newer leaf with a full 12 bars. I looked at a number of the "s" models and was not impressed with the feel of the cars, also, I hate to say it, but the Japanese made 2011 we had, seemed to be better quality! I ended up finding a a 2012 with the winter package and a brand new lizard pack battery in it for $7000. The end of the story is a happy wife who can drive her leaf all day long. Only problem is she liked her blue color better than her red 2012!

Do you think there is a market for your 2011 with 8 bars? Just curious what my exit strategy will be if/when I get to that stage.