Just purchased a 2013 Leaf S, how did I do?

Hey All,

New to the forum and EV owning. We are dipping our toes into the EV land with a used leaf rather than a Tesla Model 3 or Chevy Bolt out of the gate. I didn't have an OBD reader or LeafSpy when I purchased the vehicle, but I took a chance because the purchase price seemed like a reasonable deal.

Can you tell me how I faired?

Here are the particulars:

• Purchase price $6500, taxes/registration added another $675
• 2013 Nissan LEAF S Cayenne Red w/ upgraded charging package and backup camera.
• Born on 11/24/2013
• Leased for 3 years in Georgia where the owner rear ended someone, but fixed up by the dealer. All the recommended maintenance done by the dealer. Returned to Nissan at 41.5K miles and then sold to the guy I bought it from. He drove it to 59K miles.
• Paint is in very good condition. The tires are odd though: 3 ECOPIA+ and 1 ECOPIA at between 5-6/32 inches.
• AHr 52.55
• SOH 80.35% 395.58V
• Hx 72.23%
• 34 QCs & 1912 L1/L2s
• min/avg/max 4.115 / 4.121 / 4.124 (9mV)
• SOC 97.2%
• 17.7 kWh 51.10 Ah 0Wh
• 228 GIDs (81.1%)

Thanks for any insight into our car!

You didn't actually say it, but I presume you have all 12 capacity bars. If so, you will likely lose the first bar any day now. So assuming it is a 1 bar loser and lived in a hot climate, I'd say you got a so-so deal. Not great, not terrible. First capacity bar usually is gone at 54AHr. If you have all 12 capacity bars, the numbers suggest BMS reset.

Oh, yes, it is at 11 capacity bars.

stjohnh said:

You didn't actually say it, but I presume you have all 12 capacity bars. If so, you will likely lose the first bar any day now. So assuming it is a 1 bar loser and lived in a hot climate, I'd say you got a so-so deal. Not great, not terrible. First capacity bar usually is gone at 54AHr. If you have all 12 capacity bars, the numbers suggest BMS reset.

Click to expand...

The OP never wrote that it had all 12 bars. It's a good enough deal for an 11 bar car.

stjohnh said:

You didn't actually say it, but I presume you have all 12 capacity bars. If so, you will likely lose the first bar any day now.

Click to expand...

From the SOH readings, there's no way that'd be a 12 bar car. It's an 11 bar car (as later stated) but will be a 10 bar car soon, I think.

Sounds like I private party sale.

stjohnh said:

You didn't actually say it, but I presume you have all 12 capacity bars. If so, you will likely lose the first bar any day now. So assuming it is a 1 bar loser and lived in a hot climate, I'd say you got a so-so deal. Not great, not terrible. First capacity bar usually is gone at 54AHr. If you have all 12 capacity bars, the numbers suggest BMS reset.

Click to expand...

The 51 Ahr reading tells you that no reset took place.

OP: About 20% of the new battery capacity is depleted. For now you have ~ a 50 mile range EV outside of winter, more if you are an efficient driver.

Whether that is a good deal depends on your anticipated use of the car. Depending on your climate expect to lose 3% a year in mild climates up to 10% a year in hot climates.

SageBrush said:

stjohnh said:

You didn't actually say it, but I presume you have all 12 capacity bars. If so, you will likely lose the first bar any day now. So assuming it is a 1 bar loser and lived in a hot climate, I'd say you got a so-so deal. Not great, not terrible. First capacity bar usually is gone at 54AHr. If you have all 12 capacity bars, the numbers suggest BMS reset.

Click to expand...

The 51 Ahr reading tells you that no reset took place.

Click to expand...

The AHr reading apparently gets reset if someone reset the car: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=489807#p489807.

However, the SOH reading seems plausible for that chemistry of battery, region and build month.

My 5/2013 built '13 is at SOH around 82.xx to 83.xx% and I bet my climate is milder. I'm past 63.5K miles now.

Yes, it was a private party sale. I was initially looking at a 2013 Nissan Leaf S from CarMax for $9000 that was born in February 2013 and decided to check out Craigslist just for comparison. The $6500 for what on the surface looked like a very similar car seemed like a good deal. I didn't have LeafSpy data for either one. I also looked at Carvana, but the 2013's were all closer to $10-11K so I dismissed those outright compared to the CarMax offer.

We are mostly wanting to use the car for my wife's 30 mile round-trip commute. Most of the time it is to a garage that has 8 free level 2 chargers and premo parking spots. It would be nice if it could safely do a 42 mile round trip to her further building that she'll have to do for a single month that does not have any EV charger spots. If it comes to it, I could swap cars with her for that month. We also want to use it for short 5 mile trips around the suburbs for groceries and such rather than using our Honda Fit for those.

We did notice that if we go 70 MPH on the highway that the range bombs down extremely quickly. Close to maybe 2 miles "eaten" for every mile actually driven.

How much actual range should we expect in the winter? Around 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Maryland is Miss Leafy's new home for what that is worth.

Thanks all!

Oh also, 1 more thing. When I 80% charge it, the Guess-O-Meter says 67-ish miles of range on eco-mode and around 87 at 100% charge. I assume those are just straight up wrong now that the battery has degraded to 80%? Is the 50 miles closer to our real world range with this car now?

Thanks!

The GOM bases its range estimate on the last few minutes of driving, and is usually wrong. 50 miles in Summer is about right, maybe a few less with heavy A/C use. Winter...no more than 30 miles in those temps, and likely less. She will need to bundle up and use the seat and wheel heater, with minimal heat for defrosting. And yes, speeds above 55-60mph kill range.

cwerdna said:

SageBrush said:

stjohnh said:

You didn't actually say it, but I presume you have all 12 capacity bars. If so, you will likely lose the first bar any day now. So assuming it is a 1 bar loser and lived in a hot climate, I'd say you got a so-so deal. Not great, not terrible. First capacity bar usually is gone at 54AHr. If you have all 12 capacity bars, the numbers suggest BMS reset.

Click to expand...

The 51 Ahr reading tells you that no reset took place.

Click to expand...

The AHr reading apparently gets reset if someone reset the car: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=489807#p489807.

Click to expand...

For sure; I meant that the Ahr value was not consistent with a reset.

OP: pay attention to the SoC, not the GOM.
In the winter charge up to 100% to offset the winter penalty. Whether you need to in milder climates mostly depends on driving efficiency.