HEY!!! SELL YOUR LEAF! Temp price spike on used Leafs to end SOON!!!

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pointlomadave

Well-known member
Joined
May 6, 2013
Messages
85
So, I just sold my 2013 Leaf S a few weeks ago for $7k with 55k miles. I couldn't get anyone to come over and look at it 6 months earlier for $6k when it had 46k miles. A quick check on KBB confirmed that values were indeed up and still are after another check.. Seeing as u can't really buy a new Leaf right now, people can't cross shop a brand new Leaf with all the associated rebates with a used Leaf. Use that to your advantage! We bought a 2017 Leaf in March for $9300 + tax & fees (for a fully optioned Leaf S MSRP of $34k) post state and federal rebates.

The new 2018 Leaf being slightly cheaper and having more range could be the nail in the coffin for the used market four our cars.

Now, other consideration is that the GOP tax plan has a provision to end the Federal Tax rebate of $7500 for 2018 and later EV purchases. So, that could work in our favor for resale value...so stay abreast of that issue as changes/revisions are made to the law. I follow political stuff quite closely and the EV issue is far down the list of "reportable" and "news-worthy" info to most. So, you'll have to find the latest copy of the bill should it pass to determine your course of action.

If the GOP tax plan doesn't pass, the $7500 Fed rebate will remain and I'd say sell your Leaf ASAP while demand is high and prices have spiked several thousand dollars...and BEFORE 2018 Leafs hit lots!

Keep in mind...ANYONE who wants a Leaf right now MUST by USED! That will not be the case in just a month's time.

P.S. Further clouding the issue is that fact that 2016 and older Leafs will lose HOV (Carpool Lane) access in California in Jan 2019...a little less than 1 year away. 2017 and later EV's can extend that by 3-5 years and will be issued a new sticker. Also, the CA $2500 rebate is currently not funded meaning it is deterring people from new EV's even more so.

Discuss!
 
LeftieBiker said:
The last time I looked, last week, there were about 55 Leafs in stock at dealers.

This site shows that Leaf avail is rapidly dwindling. Will prob be only several dozen sold nationwide in November. We'll see in a few weeks. I'm sure most those are buried on Dealer lots somewhere obscure. And, loaded with a ton of dealer add ons like window etching, LoJack, etc.

55 Leafs avail is virtually 1 car per state...as good as sold out.

https://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/
 
When are the 2018 Leaf coming to the dealers in the US?
Would I be able to buy a 2013 leaf SV for $7000 when the 2018's come?
 
tesleaf said:
When are the 2018 Leaf coming to the dealers in the US?
Would I be able to buy a 2013 leaf SV for $7000 when the 2018's come?

Supposedly next month in December. And, what price u can get a used SV for depends not only on where u live, but if we lose the Federal $7500 rebate on new EV's starting in 2018 as currently proposed.
 
pointlomadave said:
LeftieBiker said:
The last time I looked, last week, there were about 55 Leafs in stock at dealers.

This site shows that Leaf avail is rapidly dwindling. Will prob be only several dozen sold nationwide in November. We'll see in a few weeks. I'm sure most those are buried on Dealer lots somewhere obscure. And, loaded with a ton of dealer add ons like window etching, LoJack, etc.

55 Leafs avail is virtually 1 car per state...as good as sold out.

https://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/

There are still 2017 Leafs left, and it's because they are not especially desired. Thus there will be no panicked buying of used Leafs when the last one (and they are standard packages, most without Premium) gets sold, probably in January or February. Your hyperbole isn't entirely wrong, but it is hyperbole.
 
LeftieBiker said:
pointlomadave said:
LeftieBiker said:
The last time I looked, last week, there were about 55 Leafs in stock at dealers.

This site shows that Leaf avail is rapidly dwindling. Will prob be only several dozen sold nationwide in November. We'll see in a few weeks. I'm sure most those are buried on Dealer lots somewhere obscure. And, loaded with a ton of dealer add ons like window etching, LoJack, etc.

55 Leafs avail is virtually 1 car per state...as good as sold out.

https://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/

There are still 2017 Leafs left, and it's because they are not especially desired. Thus there will be no panicked buying of used Leafs when the last one (and they are standard packages, most without Premium) gets sold, probably in January or February. Your hyperbole isn't entirely wrong, but it is hyperbole.

I'll humor you a bit, but I didn't say there would be "panicked buying" of used Leafs, but rather that used Leaf values have risen dramatically according to KBB values and that the rise in values may very well be only temporary.

Let's say I find one of these Leafs that are still out there and it is 800 miles away...How am I getting it home? Aside from being a former New/Used car salesman including at a Nissan Dealer in SoCal, I've personally bought over 50 vehicles both new and used and have never traveled more than 2 hours to buy one. Certainly not going to try and drive home a Leaf 800 or even 500 miles with a charging network that still doesn't exist. You still can't get to Vegas or Phoenix from SoCal in a Leaf unless you bring a generator and gas cans or ask some stranger to let you plug in on L1 in the middle of BFE for nearly an entire day. Heck, furthest I've driven in 80k miles among 3 different EV's is 140 miles from home. I don't expect a new EV buyer to set out across the great plains on a cross-continental journey with no charging options for a car in a color or option pkg they don't prefer...especially in CA right now when the state rebate is out of funding.

Most people who buy a used car look on Kelly Blue Book to find out what a car is worth and I'm telling now and you can check for yourself and see my "hyperbole" is reflected in the prices of use Leaf values according to their site, and in my very recent personal experience selling a very avg condition car with 55k miles & some notable cosmetic issues for $7k. For reference, a local independent used car dealership in town specializing in used Leafs a year ago was selling 2013 Leaf S quick charge cars (over 20 of them) with 30-35k miles for $6500-$7500 advertised price. Get that? A YEAR AGO and with 20-25K less miles and in much better condition than the Leaf I just sold.

Would you pay $18k for a used 2017 Leaf when you could get a new one for half that after rebates like I did? Of course not but new is not an option anymore. 55 vehicles remaining in the country of a limited range EV does not equate to "availability." Those remaining Leafs are going to have to rely on more local demand to move.

So many factors pushing prices up on our cars temporarily. My post is a PSA to those who have been thinking of selling to act fast. IF the House/Senate do succeed in taking away the Federal rebate for 2018 and beyond vehicles in little over a month, we'll see a more permanent hike in the prices of used Leafs and other EV's as the 2018 Leaf will NOT get the $7500 Federal Tax credit anymore. That means no more cheap lease deals on EVs...not like we've seen. Take $7500, divide by 36 and add to the car payment of the previous $199 Leaf lease special...see what I mean?

Especially for those in CA, let me reiterate reasons to sell NOW:

*Carpool sticker program ending in Jan 2019 and nobody knows about it...YET!!
*CA state rebate out of funds for all but low income buyers (below $33k annual for single person) and no guarantee of replenishment.
*Anyone wanting a low cost EV has VERY few options and now can no longer cross-shop with a previously heavily incentivized new Leaf.
*New gas tax in CA went active Nov 1st has created an artificial demand for those seeking to escape the tax hike. Gas up 40 cents in 2 weeks.
 
I will correct myself on one point: you are not claiming that panicked buying will happen; you are just trying to get people to do it. ;-) And given that you are in the business, now I have a better understanding why. The 55 Leafs, BTW, were within 500 miles of me, and dealers can and will trade for cars. Seriously, I understand that you want to let people know that you think that NOW is the time to buy. I'm just saying that maybe now "might be" the time to buy. All lower case.
 
As we are looking right now I can add that in North East Wisconsin there are no new Leaf's within 400 miles of us (none in Milwaukee, Minneapolis or Chicago). I talked to two dealers and both said they can't get a new 17's and I should wait for the 18's. I also did notice the price creep up on the used ones, but I hope to wait to see what happens with the 18's before moving on to a Bolt. We will be keeping our 13 for our soon to be driver...
 
LeftieBiker said:
I will correct myself on one point: you are not claiming that panicked buying will happen; you are just trying to get people to do it. ;-) And given that you are in the business, now I have a better understanding why. The 55 Leafs, BTW, were within 500 miles of me, and dealers can and will trade for cars. Seriously, I understand that you want to let people know that you think that NOW is the time to buy. I'm just saying that maybe now "might be" the time to buy. All lower case.

I haven't been in the car business in sales since 2001. And motorcycle sales since 2003, and what I do now is totally unrelated to the automotive industry...I just know the business. Which btw, dealers notoriously don't update their online inventory as even if they don't have the car anymore, they want you to call anyway so they can sell you something else. And you are correct, now definitely could be the time to buy something else, especially if we lose the Federal rebate starting Jan 1. Point being like I and another responder here have said and verified by KBB, prices are up for the first time EVER on used Leafs. If u were thinking about selling, now is a great time.

U obviously don't know how dealer trades work. Let me help you out. BOTH, and I mean BOTH dealers have to want to do the trade. It has to benefit both of them. Hard enough to do as dealers hate the process, and normally they will trade only with a dealer within a couple hour's drive and make the salesman do the driving. The 2 different owned Nissan Dealers in my town hate each other and refuse to do trades.
In the case of a Leaf, they're going to just send the buyer to the other dealer and in that case I refer back to my earlier point about long drives in an EV
 
BrockWI said:
As we are looking right now I can add that in North East Wisconsin there are no new Leaf's within 400 miles of us (none in Milwaukee, Minneapolis or Chicago). I talked to two dealers and both said they can't get a new 17's and I should wait for the 18's. I also did notice the price creep up on the used ones, but I hope to wait to see what happens with the 18's before moving on to a Bolt. We will be keeping our 13 for our soon to be driver...

I was saving our 2013 Leaf for our daughter but she refused to drive herself to school. So I sold it out from under her ungrateful self and gave her back her original teen car which was a 2002 Insight I had bought for her. Funny thing, right after I sold the Leaf she started warming up to driving. My threats to sell the car didn't make a difference but now she is complaining about driving the Insight. It is pretty archaic.
 
OP has good points and it seems to be true that used LEAF prices have gone up, at least in CA.

I'm not convinced that changes in the federal tax credit are going to affect the used LEAF market very much in 2018 because the supplemental 10-15k discount Nissan was offering on the 2017 models will not be in play.
People will not be comparing $7-$9k used LEAFS to $10k new LEAFS; the new LEAF will cost $20 - $25k even if the federal tax credit is retained.

Speaking only for myself,
I bought my used LEAF at a bargain price and I'm good until the car dies. The $1-2k possible jump in used prices is no where near enough to tempt me to putz around with selling my car, opening myself up to taxes and accelerated depreciation on a new(er) car, and paying higher insurance rates for the privilege. People who *want* to sell their cars regardless and are timing the market should be interested in OP's remarks.
 
^^^Very true Sagebrush. A new 2017 Leaf was highly discounted during the Spring and Summer of 2017. A new 2018 will not have such deep discounts at least not early on for sure. However, losing the Fed tax rebate can only help/not hurt the prices of used EV's.
 
pointlomadave said:
So, I just sold my 2013 Leaf S a few weeks ago for $7k with 55k miles. I couldn't get anyone to come over and look at it 6 months earlier for $6k when it had 46k miles. A quick check on KBB confirmed that values were indeed up and still are after another check.. Seeing as u can't really buy a new Leaf right now, people can't cross shop a brand new Leaf with all the associated rebates with a used Leaf. Use that to your advantage! We bought a 2017 Leaf in March for $9300 + tax & fees (for a fully optioned Leaf S MSRP of $34k) post state and federal rebates.

The new 2018 Leaf being slightly cheaper and having more range could be the nail in the coffin for the used market four our cars.

Now, other consideration is that the GOP tax plan has a provision to end the Federal Tax rebate of $7500 for 2018 and later EV purchases. So, that could work in our favor for resale value...so stay abreast of that issue as changes/revisions are made to the law. I follow political stuff quite closely and the EV issue is far down the list of "reportable" and "news-worthy" info to most. So, you'll have to find the latest copy of the bill should it pass to determine your course of action.

If the GOP tax plan doesn't pass, the $7500 Fed rebate will remain and I'd say sell your Leaf ASAP while demand is high and prices have spiked several thousand dollars...and BEFORE 2018 Leafs hit lots!

Keep in mind...ANYONE who wants a Leaf right now MUST by USED! That will not be the case in just a month's time.

P.S. Further clouding the issue is that fact that 2016 and older Leafs will lose HOV (Carpool Lane) access in California in Jan 2019...a little less than 1 year away. 2017 and later EV's can extend that by 3-5 years and will be issued a new sticker. Also, the CA $2500 rebate is currently not funded meaning it is deterring people from new EV's even more so.

Discuss!

Know a guy who bought a 2013 SL for $7500 in like April or May of this year. Same car is now worth $11,000. Aint that a kick! :)
 
pointlomadave said:
LeftieBiker said:
The last time I looked, last week, there were about 55 Leafs in stock at dealers.

This site shows that Leaf avail is rapidly dwindling. Will prob be only several dozen sold nationwide in November. We'll see in a few weeks. I'm sure most those are buried on Dealer lots somewhere obscure. And, loaded with a ton of dealer add ons like window etching, LoJack, etc.

55 Leafs avail is virtually 1 car per state...as good as sold out.

https://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/

As of this morning there are just over 500 2017's on the lot. Nissan is finally realizing that their timing sucks balls and is making rumblings about moving up the 2018 timetable...
 
U obviously don't know how dealer trades work. Let me help you out. BOTH, and I mean BOTH dealers have to want to do the trade. It has to benefit both of them. Hard enough to do as dealers hate the process, and normally they will trade only with a dealer within a couple hour's drive and make the salesman do the driving.

Anyone with a new '17 Leaf on their lot will be willing to give it up by now. Most dealers with a customer willing to buy or lease a '17 Leaf and nothing else will try to get it. It does depend on the dealer, but most areas have at least one dealer who will do it. I never worked in the retail car sales business, but I'm pretty familiar with it. But hey, this seems to be my day to get told off, so have at it!
 
All I know is that the supply of used Leafs to buy is much less now than it was 12-18 months ago and prices are higher. A year ago, our local dealerships usually had multiple used Leafs each for sale, and they stayed on their lots for a long time. Now, they have none. When I do a search on Autotrader and put in Nissan Leaf New or Used, any year, within 50 miles of central CT, which basically covers the state, I get 7 matches. 0 new, 7 used. If someone is looking for an affordable new or used Electric car in CT, what are the options? Tesla is not affordable. Bolt is not widely available. And now Leafs are not available. The simple law of supply and demand says that prices will go up, and they have.

One other thing. I guess in the states that have high tax incentives, it may be some of the same buyers in the market for either a new or used Leaf, but in a state like CT, the price difference between a new and used Electric car is very great. I don’t see the same people being in the market for both, so I’m not sure how much the availability of New Leafs will matter there, other than when they do become available, maybe many existing Leaf drivers may sell their old ones when they can get a new one.

Does anyone know about the sales figures and if there is any point in time coming up where there will be a spike of Leafs coming off lease?
 
When I do a search on Autotrader and put in Nissan Leaf New or Used, any year, within 50 miles of central CT, which basically covers the state, I get 7 matches. 0 new, 7 used. If someone is looking for an affordable new or used Electric car in CT, what are the options?

Try putting in 100 miles instead of 50, and plan on driving slow and recharging for a few hours. I'd also get 0 new Leafs if I put in 50 miles.
 
Ok, I'll bite. Anybody want a single owner, 9-bar, 2011 SL with 42,000 mi? I'll let it go cheap for $15,000. Perfect condition, well, except a few dings.
 
Any new information on when the 2018s should be widely available? I tried a google search and all I found was information from September. If I understand correctly, initial supplies of EV cars usually go to CA and the other EV friendly states. Does anyone think that this will cause a significant number of used Leafs to come on the market?
 
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