2012 vs 2015 Leaf - Debating on Purchase

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ETnSA

New member
Joined
Aug 14, 2018
Messages
3
Location
San Antonio, Texas
I test drove a 2012 Nissan Leaf this evening at a local Carmax and fell in love. The car had relatively low miles at about 37K and was priced at just under 10K. CarMax also has a 2015 leaf with only 19K miles for sale as well. This car is priced at 12600. This is my first foray into an all electric vehicle, so i didn't really know what to check or look for. I went in looking for an economical vehicle to get me to work and back and thats about it. I just stumbled onto the leaf idea and the more i think about it, the more I like it. I drive around 15 miles one way to work and we have EV charging stations at the office.

I intend to go back tomorrow and purchase, but I am undecided on which year model to buy.

Is it worth spending a few thousand more and getting a newer model? What should i be looking for when go back tomorrow? Are either one a good deal? Which is better?

Any advice would be fantastic. I am sure there are 100s of things i am not thinking about, so i want to make sure i am prepared.
 
It is a 2015 Leaf S. 19K miles for 12599.

I found a 2015 Leaf S at the Local Nissan place with 33K miles for 11500 I may go look at as well.

I think I'm going to rule out the 2012. Just seems like a risk with the battery.
 
Any advice would be fantastic. I am sure there are 100s of things i am not thinking about, so i want to make sure i am prepared.

Take a deep breath, wait a bit and spend the time to look through this Forum. At a minimum, you should check out the main battery's health with LeafSpy - this will give you a much better idea of whether or not this is a good price. The health of the main battery is critical to valuation.
 
ETnSA said:
It is a 2015 Leaf S. 19K miles for 12599.

I found a 2015 Leaf S at the Local Nissan place with 33K miles for 11500 I may go look at as well.

I think I'm going to rule out the 2012. Just seems like a risk with the battery.

The later cars have a much better heater/defrost system as well.

Is the 2012 cheap enough so you are paid to worry about the battery? I'm aware of a 4 bar loser 2011 from California sold in Washington. Asking price was $5k. New owner needs about 6 miles of range, should be good for that for a long time. Even in winter. Near Bellingham.

Where do you live? I have rather different advice for someone in Las Vegas than for someone in Bellingham. Please add it to your profile.

RE Leafspy: Useful tool, but only as good as the car's BMS estimates. Which are not that accurate. The reported capacity and health numbers can be impacted a lot by driving style and more by 10% or more.
 
I second the advice to read this forum for a while ... say, at least a month.
Try other threads from people thinking about a used LEAF.

I paid $8,300 for my car when it was under 3 years old and the battery was in excellent condition.
I tried to sell the car through local adverts in June (after 17 months ownership) and received one offer for $7000. The battery has 12/12 capacity bars.
 
SageBrush said:
I second the advice to read this forum for a while ... say, at least a month.
Try other threads from people thinking about a used LEAF.

I paid $8,300 for my car when it was under 3 years old and the battery was in excellent condition.

There is a wide range of personalities and opinions here, which requires some time and thought to sort out.

Used Leaf prices have risen with gasoline prices over the past year or so. Don't expect the kind of deals that people got last year.
 
Get a Carfax report for any LEAF you are considering and rule out any that originated in hot climates as heat kills the LEAF battery pack faster than anything else.

Also, you might get a better deal on a 2013 or 2014 but, like others stated, the condition of the battery pack is everything and you can really only assess that properly using a combination of LeafSpy and an extended road test (lots of threads on these forums on how to do that).

If you can find a 2013/2014 SV with the quick charge package, priced under $12k, that's what I would buy (assuming it's got a healthy battery pack).

Note that very few 2013s will still have 12/12 capacity bars, so make sure you checkout those with LeafSpy and a road test to rule out a BMS reset.
 
I second the advice to read this forum for a while ... say, at least a month.
Try other threads from people thinking about a used LEAF.

I paid $8,300 for my car when it was under 3 years old and the battery was in excellent condition.
I tried to sell the car through local adverts this June after 17 months ownership and received one offer for $7000. The battery has 12/12 capacity bars.
 
Thanks for all of the sound advice so far.

I have went ahead and ruled out the 12 and the 15 was already sold. I am on to look at others. I have a hold on a 2013 with 40K miles at a Nissan dealer in town. It is a fully loaded SV and has 11/12 bars on the battery left. Originated in San Diego CA and has only been in San Antonio for a few months.

They are asking 11k For it and I am going to look at it today. Seems like the price is a little high, but perhaps they will negotiate. They also have a 2015 with 5K miles on it for 14800. That price is a little more than I want to spend, but maybe its worth it?
 
ETnSA said:
Thanks for all of the sound advice so far.

I have went ahead and ruled out the 12 and the 15 was already sold. I am on to look at others. I have a hold on a 2013 with 40K miles at a Nissan dealer in town. It is a fully loaded SV and has 11/12 bars on the battery left. Originated in San Diego CA and has only been in San Antonio for a few months.

They are asking 11k For it and I am going to look at it today. Seems like the price is a little high, but perhaps they will negotiate. They also have a 2015 with 5K miles on it for 14800. That price is a little more than I want to spend, but maybe its worth it?

Make sure the build date (on the driver's side door sill sticker) is no earlier than April of 2013. The early 2013 Leafs have the same bad battery chemistry as the earlier years. As for 2013 vs 2015: unless it's a later build 2013 from a cool climate with all 12 bars vs a 2015 from Arizona with 11 bars, go for the 2015.
 
Phatcat73 said:
If you're looking at the 2015 at $15k consider the following:

+29,990 New 2018 S MSRP
-4,000 Typical Nissan discount/credits (probably much better)
-7500 Fed Tax Credit (assuming tax liability);
-2500 TX state EV credit https://electrek.co/2018/06/05/texas-electric-vehicle-incentives-tesla/
=$15,990

Really good idea!
Even if the battery wilts in the Texas sun the warranty will keep the car above ~ 27 kWh usable for at least 8 years.
 
I honestly don't understand why anyone living in Texas would even consider a Leaf, given how brutal summers are on the battery pack.

FWIW:

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/Used+Cars/Nissan/Leaf/San+Antonio+TX-78201?zip=78201&startYear=2013&endYear=2015&makeCodeList=NISSAN&searchRadius=200&modelCodeList=LEAF&listingTypes=USED%2CCERTIFIED&sortBy=derivedpriceASC&numRecords=25&firstRecord=0
 
Just keep tabs on Carmax listings until you find the one you want.

The lady who sold us our Leaf, told us about 50% of her Leaf sales got returned. I suspect many buy one and find the EV life and "range anxiety" weights on them, and they chicken out within the 5 day period.

So one you thought was sold, might be back on the lot next week.
 
You’re getting great advice here, and I concur that the most important consideration (assuming a clean CarFax) is battery state of health, something easily checked with LeafSpyPro. You do have that right? If not, get a license and download the app, with an appropriate OBDII adapter to go with. Take it to check any LEAF you might seriously consider.

That said, if the range of whatever battery is in the car exceeds your daily drive, the battery probably matters less. In any event, also consider the “bells and whistles” of the SV and SL trim levels vs. the S. The higher trim levels in most model years provide access to Nissan’s (albeit weak) telematics systems and the features they permit. Many of these models include the DC Quick Charging port...very useful if you’re near a dealership or other site that has this kind of fast charge capability. Earlier models included an electronic emergency brake, replaced in later models by a foot pedal. Fit & Finish is a topic you’ll see repeatedly in this forum and you should peruse those comments too if that’s a factor for you. 2011 and 2012 models were built in Japan; 2013 and after in Tennessee. The latter suffered some F&F issues, at least early on.

Good luck with you decision, and welcome to the community of LEAFers!
 
In any event, also consider the “bells and whistles” of the SV and SL trim levels vs. the S. The higher trim levels in most model years provide access to Nissan’s (albeit weak) telematics systems and the features they permit. Many of these models include the DC Quick Charging port...very useful if you’re near a dealership or other site that has this kind of fast charge capability.

I agree with this, but OTOH if you don't need or want extra features, they do tend to command a price premium, making a '15 S often the same price as a '13 SV or SL, and thus a better buy in that case. Remember though that the '13-'14 S doesn't have cruise control and it can't easily be added.
 
Hi Everyone
Just joined the forum and really enjoy reading all of the info here. I bought a 2015 Leaf SV about two months ago and my wife and I love it. There is so much to learn about it because where I live is in northern Missouri and you just don't see EV's here. The Leaf I bought come from Georgia and had 39000 miles on it with 12 bars. Give $11500.00 for it. The car is in very good shape and had just half dozen small hail dents on it.

Good thing about it all is last year I had a 16 KW solar array put in and I have been charging this car for 0 dollars. I kept my 2012 Impala just so we could go longer distances. But me and the wife are both retired and we don't do any traveling.

Thanks for having such a great forum, there sure is alot of knowledge here.

Butch
 
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