Boy are WE are in for TROUBLE when our Warranty runs Out!

[dvlax40]

TBH guys, i bet my bottom dollar that in Japan there are part numbers for these cars. I do believe they are keeping replacements close to the chest and will eventually release them.

one of the biggest issue im guessing is scarcity of parts as they ramp up production. remember this is a low QTY car so they are not yet at a point which parts production is outpacing car production IE, every part they make is going into a car.

As economies of scale improve and more people move out of warranties, they will make parts available. Otherwise they would stop making money longterm on these cars.

 

[KillaWhat]

All the more reason to stick to leases until this stuff is ironed out.

No way I want to be dependent on finding spare parts in junk yards. That might work in CA but not here.

I’ve heard a lot of valid points.

Yes, an extended warranty would probably solve MY problems and concerns.
And yes, Leasing will probably solve YOUR problems.

But, unlike some other a-hole companies, Nissan is not going to crush and dispose of your car at the end of the Lease.

The metal of a car company is not discovered in the first couple years.
It’s discovered at 10 or so years.

I’m old enough to remember all the fashionable hot mom’s driving their Peugeot 505 station Wagons and wild looking Citroën DS’s, and all the cool kids driving their Fiat 128’s and little Renault 5’s.

See any of those around? There were millions of them.
How long did Fiat have to wait to re-enter the US Market? (Not long enough!)

My point, however, is this.

Say 12 years from now, an 18 year old girl is going to get her first job, and fondly remembering her childhood rides in their Family Nissan Leaf, is going to purchase your now 14 year old lease return and try, like most of us did with those first cars, desperately to keep them on the road.

Not unless you can order parts.
If they don't have part numbers: no parts.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

But, unlike some other a-hole companies, Nissan is not going to crush and dispose of your car at the end of the Lease.

That was an option when you had like 1100 or so cars to contend with. 25-50k cars and you'd need one hell of a crusher.

The metal of a car company is not discovered in the first couple years.
It’s discovered at 10 or so years.

mettle?

How long did Fiat have to wait to re-enter the US Market? (Not long enough!)

Long enough for a new generation to come along that doesn't remember what a POS that brand represented so Don Draper can spin it into something cool.

My point, however, is this.

Say 12 years from now, an 18 year old girl is going to get her first job, and fondly remembering her childhood rides in their Family Nissan Leaf, is going to purchase your now 14 year old lease return and try, like most of us did with those first cars, desperately to keep them on the road.

Not unless you can order parts.
If they don't have part numbers: no parts.

The Leaf is no corolla, either in number or complexity. The latter is produced in huge numbers with relatively simple parts. It's a profitable business to sell after market water pumps, motor mounts, etc for a high volume car like that. It will be interesting to see what Nissan does to make parts available in the future. Given the high voltages maybe they don't want to encourage any shade tree mechanics.

 

[cwerdna]

TBH guys, i bet my bottom dollar that in Japan there are part numbers for these cars. I do believe they are keeping replacements close to the chest and will eventually release them.

Yeah. I'm sure Nissan must have part numbers internally for everything that goes into a Leaf, at least for each part/assembly they assemble/produce themselves. For assemblies/units that they buy from a supplier, I'd expect a part # for that assembly/component.

I'd guess that they're not releasing numbers at the level of granularity to dealers/service depts. As for whether or not they'll eventually release them, I don't know.

 

[Volusiano]

My brother bought an extended warranty for his Mini Cooper and just recently something went wrong and they had to clean the valve intakes and fuel system. They told him it wouldn't be covered by the extended warranty to his big surprise. He asked why not, and they said it'is because the extended warranty only covers repair/replacement but not cleaning. He think it should be covered as a repair, but they said not, it's not repair, it's just cleaning. But if you don't clean now, it's break eventually and he'll be faced with a big repair bill.

Now take your pick, do the "cleaning" out of your own pocket (to the tune of $1400) now to avoid a big future repair bill, or wait until it breaks and hope to god you haven't just passed your extended warranty period!

 

[KillaWhat]

mettle?

Pun. Too subtle?

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

My brother bought an extended warranty for his Mini Cooper...

At the end of the day, all cars are evil.

 

[teichholtz]

Lots of interesting points in this thread. I'm an older guy who keeps cars till they are dead dead, not just dead, but really dead. I have driven more cars to the boneyard than most people own in their lifetimes. I always buy used (new for the wife though) and run up to 250,000 or so for the last few used Volvos.

My 2013 Leaf SL? Leased. $200 a month and in two years or three I'll hand it back. I'm not worried about battery life or extended warranties. For a guy who mostly has been buying 8 to 10 year old cars for $1200 to $2000 cash this is a new world for me. But the gas savings are paying close to 50% of the lease and I get my electricity for free (so far anyway).

I'm really curious as to what will happen in two and three years as all the leases run out. Nissan is really pushing these leases and there will be tons of returned cars.

To the person talking about extended warranties. If the warranty is purchased from the dealer and is a manufacturer warranty it will be a better value than the the third parties who sell the worthless ones.

 

[cwerdna]

^^^
Yeah, I agree. There will be a ton of lease returns. To me, that means there will be a pretty large supply of used ones and perhaps some will be sent over to Norway (wild guess) or other EV friendly countries.

My biggest concerns w/owning a Leaf would be: unknown resale value due to battery degradation, possibly depressed resale value if affordable, significantly longer range BEVs come out (a Leaf w/a degraded battery might not be worth much), unknown battery replacement cost (we should know this in <3 weeks ), the OBC failing (seems pricey) and unknown cost if the heater fails.

If I were buy for some reason, I'd probably end up buying an extended warranty and make sure the OBC and heater are covered.

 

[mwalsh]

To the person talking about extended warranties. If the warranty is purchased from the dealer and is a manufacturer warranty it will be a better value than the the third parties who sell the worthless ones.

The same dealer/manufacturer warranties are available on the Internet at significant savings over the dealer price.

 

[apvbguy]

To the person talking about extended warranties. If the warranty is purchased from the dealer and is a manufacturer warranty it will be a better value than the the third parties who sell the worthless ones.

The same dealer/manufacturer warranties are available on the Internet at significant savings over the dealer price.

for giggles can you post a site that offers one for a LEAF?

 

[smkettner]

I am assuming many of the parts may not be available separate because Nissan does not manufacture them but just buys the complete component.

Inverter gasket? You will need to cut your own out of similar base material. But how well does it need to seal anyway?

 

[QueenBee]

I am assuming many of the parts may not be available separate because Nissan does not manufacture them but just buys the complete component.

Inverter gasket? You will need to cut your own out of similar base material. But how well does it need to seal anyway?

But that doesn't mean Nissan couldn't also buy and stock individual components. It's all about how they are planning on servicing the car. If they don't want the techs tearing apart and inverter and want them to just replace the entire unit then the part they stock is going to be the whole unit.

 

[ydnas7]

There will be plenty of salvage yard parts if the new parts are too crazy.

just like the Prius, airbag goes off in crash, otherwise good vehicle goes to wreckers

I would add however, 350volt DC components like capacitors and batteries carry a deadly safety risk that ICE mechanics would not be suitable to handle (let alone DIY)

When 48volt systems get into auto expect a bloom of DIY even greater than plain ICE, but these 350 volt systems, lock down.

 

[smkettner]

Professional dismantlers will ship what is needed to your mechanic.

 

[Valdemar]

The good news is that all big bill electronic items are covered by the 5yr/60000 mile powertrain warranty, and extended warranties are not that expensive too. Beyond that can be a problem, but if you factor in all savings on gas over that period of time buying a costly replacement part may not be too bad. I'm more worried about level of battery degradation over long term ownership.

 

[brettcgb]

I am assuming many of the parts may not be available separate because Nissan does not manufacture them but just buys the complete component.

But that doesn't mean Nissan couldn't also buy and stock individual components. It's all about how they are planning on servicing the car. If they don't want the techs tearing apart and inverter and want them to just replace the entire unit then the part they stock is going to be the whole unit.

If I were designing the car, I definitely wouldn't want local techs inside the inverter. The techs know how to replace the stereo if it fails, but not how to repair it - same for the inverter, charger and BMS. They simply aren't trained to understand complex electronics without a troubleshooting path. And these inverters haven't been around long enough yet to know what possible failures will be, or to prove that they don't have some hidden real-world, age related design issues.

During the warranty period (and for some time afterwards), I'm willing to bet that the designers will want to inspect every failure. They would swap a new inverter in place of a failure for free during the warranty, and probably offer a healthy core credit towards a refurbished inverter afterwards. Failed inverters are likely to go back to the factory for failure analysis and possible refurbishment with design tweaks.

I think we're all driving beta prototypes. Very nicely done, but still very much prototypes. We'll be looking at very different vehicles in five to eight years.

 

[mwalsh]

for giggles can you post a site that offers one for a LEAF?

Nissan Santa Rosa seems to get a fair number of nods on other Nissan Forums:

http://nissansantarosaservicecontracts.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

But we've had discussion on this issue before, and a number of sites were referenced in that thread. Use the search and take a look (I don't have time right now to search for you).

 

[garygid]

How about some good links to genuine Nissan Extended Warranty info?

Aren't some parts of the 2011 LEAF on 3-year warranty?

Almost any non-warranty repair would seem likely to cost more
than the (roughly $1600) cost of the extended warranty, right?

I would really appreciate some experienced wisdom in this area, please.

 

[garygid]

Here is one thread on the Extended Warranty, from about a year go:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=9438" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Seems to say that the dealer cost for the 8-year 100k mile $0 deductible
Gold Plus (apparently the most and best that Nissan offers for a "new"
LEAF) was about $1450, plus $100 if you are over 12 months or 12k miles.
The "new" apparently applies under 36 months and 36k miles.

I guess that I will have to contact some dealers.