AskingQuestions
Member
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2015
- Messages
- 18
Hello everyone.
I'm currently looking for a used 2013 Nissan Leaf.
The 2013 because of its faster onboard charger.
With a regular 7kW L2 J1772 charging station, to have the car from near-empty to near-full in 3h, instead of 6h or 7h, seems like such a big difference to me.
When one might be charging while shopping in a mall somewhere, or watching a movie, it's nice to have a full or nearly full charge again afterwards.
With a 3.6kW charger, in the same situation, one maybe would have only a half full battery and would have to kill several hours in order to have a full charge again. That's not nice, and so a 6.6kW charger is a must.
Also a must is a CHAdeMO quick charge port. To be stuck somewhere for hours because the battery is empty and the car can only charge with L2 J1772, not with CHAdeMO, that is not so nice.
But in that situation to be able to charge for 20 minutes with CHAdeMO and be nearly full again, in my view, that can make driving a Leaf much more practical.
When trying to find out what exact 2013 Leaf to look for, this webpage (clicking on "Specs") has been very useful:
http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/presskits/us-2013-nissan-leaf-press-kit#specs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
If it just came to wanting the 6.6kw onboard charger and CHAdeMO, then the "S" trim with the "Charge Package" would be good enough.
At the same time though, the S does not have cruise control, and for longer rides, cruise control makes driving much more comfortable.
Also, SV has the heat pump, that can save energy when it's cold outside.
Also, CarWings is nice. So now at least the "SV" trim line would be necessary, with the "LED Headlights + Quick Charge Port" option.
Looking for used 2013 Nissan Leafs with SV trim and LED & QC option, one difficulty is, that there's no way to reliably search for it, which cars have the LED & QC option, so it's a lot of work, and online most dealers don't mention it, which option packages the cars they offer have. So one has to call.
Some of them even don't know when being asked on the phone.
To top it off, some dealers, even write the wrong trim level into the offer.
Already saw several "SV"s, that actually turned out to be "S" trim level cars.
Trying to find out by looking at pictures, which trim and which options a certain car for sale has,
or trying to ask dealers for information, I came across the following questions:
1) is there any way to see, by looking at pictures, if the charge has Quick Charge (and subsequently 6.6kw onboard charger) or not?
So far, I'd say, there's no way to see if a car has QC, besides looking at the charge port itself.
2) what about the dark cloth interior? Of course there's the regular cloth interior of the S, but the SV has the "Partially recycled cloth seat fabric".
In the past (2011 and 2012), the partially recycling cloth seat fabric was always bright.
And the 2013 SV also has the bright recycled seat fabric, but did the 2013 SV also have dark recycled cloth seat fabric?
If yes, how can one distinguish it from the dark non-recycled cloth seat fabric of the S?
3) With 2013 Nissan Leafs, the battery capacity warranty should have no "BO133" issue anymore.
Any 2013 Nissan Leaf does have the 60month, 60,000mi battery capacity warranty.
Some 27,000mi 2013 Leafs on offer only show 10 capacity bars in the dashboard though.
Is it better to buy a 2013 Leaf with 10 bars, as then possibly it gets down to 8 bars still within the 60 months / 60,000mi, and one gets a new battery for free?
(Yes, it could also just be a battery with 9 bars, still so far all got a new battery)
Or is it better to buy a 2013 Leaf with 12 bars, even though it might be just shortly before going down to 11 bars, and possibly it might stay above 8 bars until 60 months / 60,000mi are over, and possibly drops down to 8 bars just after the 60 months / 60,000 miles, so one has to then live with a significantly limited range for years and years, in case one wants to keep the car for a long time? Or as an alternative, having to spend $6,000 on a new battery then?
I'm currently looking for a used 2013 Nissan Leaf.
The 2013 because of its faster onboard charger.
With a regular 7kW L2 J1772 charging station, to have the car from near-empty to near-full in 3h, instead of 6h or 7h, seems like such a big difference to me.
When one might be charging while shopping in a mall somewhere, or watching a movie, it's nice to have a full or nearly full charge again afterwards.
With a 3.6kW charger, in the same situation, one maybe would have only a half full battery and would have to kill several hours in order to have a full charge again. That's not nice, and so a 6.6kW charger is a must.
Also a must is a CHAdeMO quick charge port. To be stuck somewhere for hours because the battery is empty and the car can only charge with L2 J1772, not with CHAdeMO, that is not so nice.
But in that situation to be able to charge for 20 minutes with CHAdeMO and be nearly full again, in my view, that can make driving a Leaf much more practical.
When trying to find out what exact 2013 Leaf to look for, this webpage (clicking on "Specs") has been very useful:
http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/presskits/us-2013-nissan-leaf-press-kit#specs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
If it just came to wanting the 6.6kw onboard charger and CHAdeMO, then the "S" trim with the "Charge Package" would be good enough.
At the same time though, the S does not have cruise control, and for longer rides, cruise control makes driving much more comfortable.
Also, SV has the heat pump, that can save energy when it's cold outside.
Also, CarWings is nice. So now at least the "SV" trim line would be necessary, with the "LED Headlights + Quick Charge Port" option.
Looking for used 2013 Nissan Leafs with SV trim and LED & QC option, one difficulty is, that there's no way to reliably search for it, which cars have the LED & QC option, so it's a lot of work, and online most dealers don't mention it, which option packages the cars they offer have. So one has to call.
Some of them even don't know when being asked on the phone.
To top it off, some dealers, even write the wrong trim level into the offer.
Already saw several "SV"s, that actually turned out to be "S" trim level cars.
Trying to find out by looking at pictures, which trim and which options a certain car for sale has,
or trying to ask dealers for information, I came across the following questions:
1) is there any way to see, by looking at pictures, if the charge has Quick Charge (and subsequently 6.6kw onboard charger) or not?
So far, I'd say, there's no way to see if a car has QC, besides looking at the charge port itself.
2) what about the dark cloth interior? Of course there's the regular cloth interior of the S, but the SV has the "Partially recycled cloth seat fabric".
In the past (2011 and 2012), the partially recycling cloth seat fabric was always bright.
And the 2013 SV also has the bright recycled seat fabric, but did the 2013 SV also have dark recycled cloth seat fabric?
If yes, how can one distinguish it from the dark non-recycled cloth seat fabric of the S?
3) With 2013 Nissan Leafs, the battery capacity warranty should have no "BO133" issue anymore.
Any 2013 Nissan Leaf does have the 60month, 60,000mi battery capacity warranty.
Some 27,000mi 2013 Leafs on offer only show 10 capacity bars in the dashboard though.
Is it better to buy a 2013 Leaf with 10 bars, as then possibly it gets down to 8 bars still within the 60 months / 60,000mi, and one gets a new battery for free?
(Yes, it could also just be a battery with 9 bars, still so far all got a new battery)
Or is it better to buy a 2013 Leaf with 12 bars, even though it might be just shortly before going down to 11 bars, and possibly it might stay above 8 bars until 60 months / 60,000mi are over, and possibly drops down to 8 bars just after the 60 months / 60,000 miles, so one has to then live with a significantly limited range for years and years, in case one wants to keep the car for a long time? Or as an alternative, having to spend $6,000 on a new battery then?