CR's 2013 "Would you buy your car again?" survey

[TomT]

The lease length is something of a mixed bag for me... At 48 months, I am going to not have much battery left at the end of the lease (assuming I don't make it to warranty swap first, which I might), and that is a downside... The upside is, had it been a three year lease (there were no two year leases back then), I would be looking at doing something next year when there will be fewer options than there will be at the same time in 2015...

If I had it to do all over again, I would look for a 24 month lease instead.

 

[PatricioEV]

I'd have to say it depends on how I interpret the question. If the question is, would I go back and change if I could, then the answer is no. This was the best EV I could BUY at the time I was able to get it.

If the question is would I buy another Nissan LEAF right now, then the answer would be... dunno. Sadly, it is still the best EV I can buy that seats 5 and is readily available in my area. There simply isn't a good alternative available in Texas between the LEAF and the Tesla, and I can't afford a Tesla. Even the near future doesn't hold a good alternative in my view as the i3 is a complete no-go for me for a number of reasons and the B-Klasse is still a dream outside of CARB states anytime soon.

So, I keep hoping they will come out with a replacement battery at a reasonable price should I ever need it. Or, I can go the route mentioned above and buy a totaled newer LEAF just for the battery. There are a LOT of cars I really like, but none of them are EVs! I won't drive an ICE unless I absolutely have to.

 

[thankyouOB]

My wife is the principle driver of our Leaf. I bought it for my 84-mile commute as a 100-mile car.

Ha-ha! Didn't work out! If they had said 73 miles I would have stayed away. This is Japanese style - never tell the truth or the whole truth. And apologize readily for misinforming you. How nice.

BS.

Nissan clearly said 100 mile in LA4 (city) cycle. They actually get more on that cycle. Apparently you didn't read beyond news headlines. Also, EPA 73 miles was available before you bought Leaf.

While battery degradation issues couldn't have been foreseen, anyone who says they bought Leaf looking at the "100 mile range" didn't do the due diligence.

it is good to separate the wheat from the other stuff.
that doesnt change the bait-and-switch on the battery part.

and to PatricioEV,
bravo to you in texas.

 

[Deleted member 770]

Less than 50 miles today to LBW and not even 3 yo. Purchase again.... are you kidding me.
If I end up with a better battery after a free warranty replacement I may change my story.
In the mean time the range is pathetic. Commute is 21 miles round trip but I really need a solid 90 to 140 miles.

Don't forget that Nissan's promise on the warranty battery replacement is to only get you back up to 9 bars. I wouldn't be surprised if they're quietly buying packs from wrecked LEAFs so that they'll have relatively good modules to swap into LEAFs which meet the warranty claim requirements. And then they'll swap just enough modules to get your pack back to 9 bars.

I think that based on Nissan's actions thus far, anyone hoping for a warranty swap to a brand new, hot-weather-tolerant battery is deluding themselves. But I sincerely hope that Nissan will make me eat my words.

As for me, even knowing what I know now, I'd probably still have bought (not leased, due to EV-1 fear) my LEAF in 2011. It's still working for my daily commute (though not so much for my after-work errands) and I'm saving $2-3,000 per year in gas via solar on the roof. I wanted to push the EV industry forward, even if it meant buying a first-generation vehicle.

Would I buy a LEAF again? Because of the competition, likely not until they come out with a 120-mile-range vehicle that won't decrease 10% each year. 2-3% would be reasonable.

On the other hand, if Nissan would offer 12-bar "refurbishment" for $3-4,000, I'd be much more inclined, especially when the hot-weather-tolerant pack becomes available.

Nissan, are you listening? :?:

 

[user 10599]

Thanks for the clarification on the question wording. Assuming 'had to do it all over again' means now because mine was stolen/crashed, then Yes, I absolutely would. In my view it is clearly the best ev available short of the Tesla but I'm not willing to pay the Tesla price.

My original thinking was in terms of when I anticipate next being in the market, which will be a few years down the road. In this scenario, I would seriously consider an updated Leaf vs. the B. If the updated Leaf can match the B's range and come in at the same price levels as present, it would be a very tough choice. If Nissan fails to bump up the range, it will be a simple choice.

I figure that anything available in 2015 is already known to be coming down the pipe and on display at auto shows. So I see nothing else of interest in this space other than the Leaf or the B.

 

[Bicster]

I bet a bunch of you would buy (lease) another LEAF if there weren't other affordable EV options. I know I'd lease a LEAF and stop fence-sitting if I didn't see better EVs coming soon.

Regarding the Benz B-Class EV, I don't see how it can possibly have greater than 10-15% more range than the LEAF. The cars are about the same size. If anything, the Benz probably has worse aerodynamics. This is assuming Benz sticks with the 28-kWh battery. Originally, they were touting 36-kWh, which would have been far more interesting. The best thing about that car will be the Tesla drivetrain, and the battery should fare much better than the LEAF with age & mileage.

 

[user 10599]

28-Kwh? I hadn't heard that. The latest I heard was the B would have a 35Kwh battery. That would definitely hurt as I would not want to pay another $10k for a car that doesn't have better range.

The latest I heard was a 115 mile range (LA auto show and the following article today at CNN.)
http://money.cnn.com/gallery/autos/2013/12/04/bmw-i3-mercedes-b-class-electric-cars/index.html?iid=HP_Highlight" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That would seem consistent with a 35KwH battery. Unless of course this is their equivalent to the 100 mile claim for the Leaf instead of the EPA range. If that is the case, then they are touting a 15% greater range which would be consistent with a 28kwh battery.

I will be very disappointed if the B doesn't have at least a 35Kwh battery. Perhaps 28 is base and 35 is an upgrade option? It is common industry practice to state the extremes, such as in brochure I have from the auto show touting that the Mustang has upto 625 hp and starts at $15k. Of course, the 625 hp version costs $50k, but that isn't discernable in the brochure.

If that is the case, then I'm guessing the mid $40k suggested price range won't include the upgrade.

I will have to wait and see. Fortunately, I'm very happy with my Leaf and can wait simi-patiently.

 

[Larry]

My Leaf is on lease expiring in January 2015.

Whether I keep the car or return it depends entirely on the situation at the time. Since my present lease calls for a buy-out of over $17,000, I don't see that as a viable option. If the current options apply at that time, I will explore possible purchase of a Volt. I very seldom exceed 40 miles in a day. If the Volt really provides that without fear of degradation, it would be a no-brainer. I could also sell my old Prius, even though it is old enough to be pretty cheap to own and drive maybe 150 miles a month.

My Leaf only has a little over 12,000 miles and I see no noticeable degradation (no lost bars). Even in my situation (mild VA climate), charging to 80% means I always hit LBW at about 50 miles. This actually happens very seldom, but the GOM usually indicates a range of about 50 miles or less.

I don't know what I'll do if Nissan offers me a much better buy-out, but I really don't expect them to do that. The uncertainty of the capacity of the battery and the lack of an option to buy a new, full-capacity battery, leave me pretty cold. I would really like to keep the car, but Nissan isn't making it an easy choice. If Nissan came up with a new model with a better battery guarantee (and range), I would certainly make that my most likely option.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Don't forget that Nissan's promise on the warranty battery replacement is to only get you back up to 9 bars. I wouldn't be surprised if they're quietly buying packs from wrecked LEAFs so that they'll have relatively good modules to swap into LEAFs which meet the warranty claim requirements. And then they'll swap just enough modules to get your pack back to 9 bars.

This may be a little pessimistic. With all the dire predictions of 'just enough' warranty refurbishing of batteries, they could utilize good used modules to bring the cars back to 10 bars (meaning at least 9+) and defuse the situation. It wouldn't cost them that much more and the publicity would sell more Leafs.

 

[xado1]

i would change my actual battery(100%health) for 5.000.-euro(6.750.-dollar) for a stronger battery,so nissan has one more to give for replacement.i guess a lot of owners would to this.