LEAF wreck. Oh, the horror!

[mwalsh]

Either way, can I still get a tail lamp?

 

[lspooz]

I'd like to buy a (right) headlight (dibs) if the price is right!

 

[rumpole]

Can you say, "cell phone involved" and distracted the driver?? I think so unless in heavy fog but, dang that is a big ass bus, how could you miss it with the yellow color. lol

Can you say "Distracted by Carwings?" I've been expecting an accident of this nature caused by someone looking at Carwings ever since I started driving my Leaf.

You really have to be careful. :|

 

[mark13]

I would love to buy this car also..Looking at the following here,maybe a cable channel (discovery)could sell the advertisement and show the auction on TV ..The half hour show could be composed of the what actually happened in the accident,the owners reason for lapse of judgment,the bus drivers feelings after being hit by a Leaf and then the start of the auction :lol:

 

[mitch672]

I would love to buy this car also..Looking at the following here,maybe a cable channel (discovery)could sell the advertisement and show the auction on TV ..The half hour show could be composed of the what actually happened in the accident,the owners reason for lapse of judgment,the bus drivers feelings after being hit by a Leaf and then the start of the auction :lol:

Now if it happened in Alaska, Discovery channel or A&E would be all over it, "Car Wars"

 

[Electric4Me]

If that Leaf goes up for auction, I'm definitely interested! Excellent research tool that way I can stop dismantling mine!

If anyone gets in contact with Robert Hill, Let him know he should choose the buyback option if it's reasonable, as I'll make it worth his while!

-Phil

With all Phil has done, and will do for the community, I vote to let him buy it. :lol:
He can part it out to us vultures as he sees fit!!

Can I get the driver's sun visor? I'd like to explore retrofitting it to slide...

 

[smkettner]

I will take the right rear tire and wheel for cheap.

 

[Ingineer]

Gary, maybe we can share it somehow. I'd definitely be happy to part out all the non-drivetrain stuff to MNL'ers in need.

-Phil

 

[LakeLeaf]

parts of this would be great for testing for the open CHAdeMO project

 

[garygid]

To interested parties:
I sent (what I believe is) Robert Hill's address to our "TonyWilliams".

DO NOT pester him for parts until AFTER "we" get the car.

There are at least 3 others who might be interested in getting the wreck, but bidding against each other, or ALL trying to contact Mr Hill is unlikely to be very fruitful.

If you are serious about helping BUY this vehicle, PM "TonyWilliams" and see how you can best work together. Maybe roughly 10% shares for $1000 each?

The first step will be to write to Mr Hill, ASAP, to get enough information to proceed. I do not have enough SPACE to be very helpful.

If Tony does not want to be the "captain" of this effort, then a new "Captain" can post here and folks can ... work together.

On your Mark, Get Set, GO!

 

[TonyWilliams]

I'm happy to lead the effort. If I do get it, I have no problem letting folks experiment on it, including Phil tearing it apart.

I hope that we can sell the boring parts (body, interior, etc) and keep the parts that seem to interest us the most. There's no advantage to a bidding war, but there will be other cars!

I want the battery, ultimately, after we've poked and prodded to our hearts content.

Edit: I'm in contact now with the car's new owner, the insurance company. Details to follow!

Edit2: there have been exactly 2 totaled LEAFs before this one, and they sold at auction for $16-17k. How much is this thing really worth to us?

The car will physically be at the auction lot on Monday.

 

[ttweed]

Edit2: there have been exactly 2 totaled LEAFs before this one, and they sold at auction for $16-17k.

Wow! :shock:
That means a totally wrecked Leaf right now is worth more at auction than the residual value of a 36,000-mile one in good condition coming off its lease in another 2 years (which as I remember is something like $15,500)? That seems really odd to me--an aberration in the current used parts market due to lack of availability? That value certainly can't be sustained over time. Are there any other wrecked new car models being sold at auction for 50% of MSRP?

TT

 

[evnow]

That means a totally wrecked Leaf right now is worth more at auction than the residual value of a 36,000-mile one in good condition coming off its lease in another 2 years (which as I remember is something like $15,500)? That seems really odd to me--an aberration in the current used parts market due to lack of availability? That value certainly can't be sustained over time. Are there any other wrecked new car models being sold at auction for 50% of MSRP?

Apparently some people (competitors ?) are interested in used batteries.

 

[TonyWilliams]

After we're done exploring, I think a dune buggy or Jeep rock-crawler type vehicle is perfect for a LEAF drive train. Easier to experiment on, too, with everything exposed.

 

[Ingineer]

$16k is too much. Someone buying it at that cost would likely be repairing it and selling.

The parts start to look attractive at about half that.

What do you think Tony?

-Phil

 

[Electric4Me]

After we're done exploring, I think a dune buggy or Jeep rock-crawler type vehicle is perfect for a LEAF drive train. Easier to experiment on, too, with everything exposed.

:lol:
That's a good idea. It's funny: I woke up this morning thinking "what would I do with this drivetrain in a project car?". My daughter and I have talked about doing a EV conversion for her... There will be many wrecked ones out there before she needs it though...

 

[ENIAC]

After we're done exploring, I think a dune buggy or Jeep rock-crawler type vehicle is perfect for a LEAF drive train. Easier to experiment on, too, with everything exposed.

With an extremely low reduction gear it would climb a tree. But what about the software? Would you swap out the controller and go with a 3rd party solution?

 

[Herm]

an 80kW inverter is not cheap, you really want to use the one that came with the Leaf.. the battery alone is easily worth $12K without too many miles

 

[TonyWilliams]

$16k is too much. Someone buying it at that cost would likely be repairing it and selling.

The parts start to look attractive at about half that.

What do you think Tony?

-Phil

I'm with you! Not gunna pay quite that much, so it will be interesting. If the Versa front clip is the same as the LEAF, I can see it fixed. If not, I don't see it being close to cost effective.

 

[TonyWilliams]

After we're done exploring, I think a dune buggy or Jeep rock-crawler type vehicle is perfect for a LEAF drive train. Easier to experiment on, too, with everything exposed.

With an extremely low reduction gear it would climb a tree. But what about the software? Would you swap out the controller and go with a 3rd party solution?

Well, my thinking would be trying to keep it stock Nissan as much as possible. Instant 200 ft/lbs of torque in a light enough package doesn't need too much help.