2011 SV Demo - what to pay & another concern

[brg2290]

It's almost the end of the month. I hear better car deals can sometimes be had at month end as dealers try to meet certain sales goals. Near me there is a 2011 SV demo still for sale at the MSRP asking price of $33800.

1. What is a realistic best price offer for such a car? (i.e., would an offer of, say $30,000 have a chance? Lower? Higher?)

2. Any concerns about battery charge management for a car that's been sitting on the dealer lot for a number of months?

Thanks,
Gary

 

[EdmondLeaf]

I think 30K is fair, somewhere around this was accepted in DFW

 

[brg2290]

Thanks for this EdmondLeaf, it's good to have confirmation that someone's been down this road before and I'm at least in the ballpark.

Gary

 

[jeremyz]

I had a deal to buy a demo 2011 Leaf SV demo in Texas for $29,900. When it came for the transaction to happen, the dealer lost interest. I ended up buying a demo 2011 Leaf SL demo from S.C. for $29,900.

 

[GlennD]

Make sure that the demo has not been titled. That way as a new car you get the $7500 tax credit.

 

[EricBayArea]

See how long it has been a demo for. I test drove 2 different demos (from 2 different dealerships) prior to my order coming in. One was sitting on the L2 at 100% both times I came to see it. The other one was was around 40-60% both times I came to see it.

The reason I bring this up is, if you have a dealership that is plugging in their LEAF to 100% every time it comes back from a test drive, you may see some premature batter degradation. I say "may" because it is difficult to determine at this point.

One method would be if you can borrow someone's GID meter you can determine it's full GID reading, which will tell you the max capacity of the battery (out of 281 GIDs).

At the very least, I would request a battery test report test be run, which will give you the obligatory and nonsensical "x out of 5 star" rating. If you see a 4 star rating for something then I'd be worried.

You never mentioned how many miles the car has on it?

 

[smkettner]

How many miles? I might be looking for a battery capacity check or at least a GID #.
If the battery capacity was down 10% I would be looking for an additional 5% discount.

 

[brg2290]

Thanks for all the input! I'll pose these questions to the dealer today. I do know the car has not been titled, and is eligible for the tax credit.
Gary

 

[brg2290]

I had a deal to buy a demo 2011 Leaf SV demo in Texas for $29,900. When it came for the transaction to happen, the dealer lost interest. I ended up buying a demo 2011 Leaf SL demo from S.C. for $29,900.

Hi jeremyz. Was there any particular timing of this purchase, i.e. end of the month, or was it random?

 

[Herm]

This is almost a used car.. you should, unless you are in Washington or Maine, do a GID test after a full 100% charge.. I would not trust any tests from the dealership

Any Leaf with a degraded battery (missing a bar or two) will have a hard time when trade in time comes

 

[brg2290]

I am in Washington State. I've seen the recommendations for employing the GID meter, just not sure how to access one period, let alone quickly.

I did speak with a salesperson about the charging regimen employed by the dealership - he said they typically let it run down to ~30%, then L2 charge it back up to 100%. However, we did not talk about how long the car might sit before being driven after the full charge.

Gary

 

[Herm]

I am in Washington State. I've seen the recommendations for employing the GID meter, just not sure how to access one period, let alone quickly.

You are lucky with that nice cool weather.. the next two critical questions relate to how important long range is to you.. 1) how many miles do you drive in a year and 2) how far is your daily commute?

If your commute is 40 miles or less then go ahead and buy it, the car will be a rusted mess before the battery gives out.

Perhaps if you post the name of your city someone will help you out with a GID meter, or kill you! :shock:

 

[charlestonleafer]

I'm considering purchasing an orphaned 2012 that's been there since January. I ponder the same things about the battery. The dealer told me that I could probably get it for 2k off of MSRP.

 

[smkettner]

I'm considering purchasing an orphaned 2012 that's been there since January. I ponder the same things about the battery. The dealer told me that I could probably get it for 2k off of MSRP.

That might be good in your area. In CA a new non-demo can be had for $2K discount. Just saying I would push a little harder if they want to make a deal today.

 

[brg2290]

You are lucky with that nice cool weather.. the next two critical questions relate to how important long range is to you.. 1) how many miles do you drive in a year and 2) how far is your daily commute?

If your commute is 40 miles or less then go ahead and buy it, the car will be a rusted mess before the battery gives out.

Perhaps if you post the name of your city someone will help you out with a GID meter, or kill you! :shock:

Hi Herm.
I'm in Spokane, which is Eastern Washington, if anyone local reading this has access to a GID meter. If someone wants to kill me, I'm in Sitka, Alaska . The temperature swings here in Spokane are more severe than in the Seattle / coastal area. Average summer highs in the low 80's and average winter lows in the 20's. My commute is probably less than 10 miles / day (I'm biking when the weather cooperates.) My wife commutes 35 miles round trip M-F, mostly highway speeds. I also have a 50/50 city/highway drive of 70 miles round trip that I do 2 x per month. This is for weekend care of an elderly relative - we often go out to breakfast. My strategy may be to drive to my step mom's house, plug the Leaf in and take her Focus out for breakfast, then drive home in the Leaf after the opportunity charge.

Thoughts?

Thanks, Gary

 

[brg2290]

Found out two more additional pieces of information about the car today. The car has been in demo service 322 days as of today, and it has 335 miles on it.
Gary

 

[brg2290]

I had a deal to buy a demo 2011 Leaf SV demo in Texas for $29,900. When it came for the transaction to happen, the dealer lost interest. I ended up buying a demo 2011 Leaf SL demo from S.C. for $29,900.

Hi jeremyz,
Will you tell me a little more about the circumstances of the S.C. purchase? Was the dealer rural or urban? Did you have to trailer the car home? We're there any other factors you think were instrumental in your offer being accepted? PM me if you like.

Here is an update from my end. MSRP on the car I'm looking at is $33800. I made an offer of $29000 (dependent on verification of battery capacity) via the dealer website last night, and also alerted the salesperson I've been talking with that I did so. I received no response from the dealer today. So, this afternoon, I went to my credit union and came out with a check made out to the dealer for $29000 with the demo VIN printed on the check. When I walked into the dealership, I explained about the internet offer and lack of response. I displayed the check and told the employee I was ready to make good on my offer.

I was escorted to a cubicle, asked to reiterate my offer and provide contact info. The offer was taken away for evaluation, and upon return the salesperson provided me with a printout showing that - with tax and license, that the dealership would be losing $6464. I remarked that there shouldn't be any sales tax (for EV in WA. state). The salesperson went back to correct the error, and returned with a offer to sell at $32617. I countered that I was aware that the car has been in demo service for 10+ months. As I stood up to depart, the salesperson said he would present the offer higher up the management chain. When he returned, he said "I can promise that you will not receive a lower price from us". That price - $31500 (which includes estimated license and a "Documentary Fee). Not bad, but a fair bit above the $29000 offer, and also $1350 above the price paid by jeremyz for his SL.

I left saying that my offer will stand until the end of the month, and suggested at that time the dealership may be near some sales goals and my offer may look more attractive. Tonight, after doing a bit more reading on MNL, I became aware that the warranty began when the car was put into demo use 10+ months ago, with the diminished value of 85.5 months left. I'll be sure to mention that when my salesman makes his courtesy call tomorrow.

I welcome thoughts, strategies and / or other input.

Gary

 

[KJD]

Hi Herm.
I'm in Spokane, which is Eastern Washington, if anyone local reading this has access to a GID meter. If someone wants to kill me, I'm in Sitka, Alaska . The temperature swings here in Spokane are more severe than in the Seattle / coastal area. Average summer highs in the low 80's and average winter lows in the 20's. My commute is probably less than 10 miles / day (I'm biking when the weather cooperates.) My wife commutes 35 miles round trip M-F, mostly highway speeds. I also have a 50/50 city/highway drive of 70 miles round trip that I do 2 x per month. This is for weekend care of an elderly relative - we often go out to breakfast. My strategy may be to drive to my step mom's house, plug the Leaf in and take her Focus out for breakfast, then drive home in the Leaf after the opportunity charge.

Thoughts?

Thanks, Gary

You may want to avoid a 2011 if you have very many 20 degree days. The 2012 has a cold weather package with heated seats and steering wheel. This may sound trivial, but it really is a nice option on a cold day you will like it a lot.

The fact that this car sat on a dealer lot for 10 months could also be a problem if the car sat there at 100% state of charge. I would not touch this car without putting a GID meter on it first.

Any time after September the 2013 cars will start rolling off the lines. At that time your 2011 model is a 2 year old car. That is something to think about.

 

[brg2290]

KJD - great points. I'm in contact with a MNL forum member who has expressed a willingness to lend me his GID meter, and the offer was made subject to verifying battery capacity. And as you mention, the 2013 improvements, including a more efficient heating system, would make waiting an attractive alternative.
Gary