Nubo said:downeykp said:The mistake that many of us made was thinking this could be a car that would last many years as a very usable vehicle and at the end of the day would provide a lot of value. But, $8000 for a battery in a $2000 vehicle!
My 2011 has 7 bars left and only has 34K mi. It would scare me to think what it is worth.
The wrong way to evaluate, imho. It's not a matter of whether the new battery price is justified by the market value of the car (with worn-out battery). It's whether or not the new battery (which should give much better service than the original) is worth the price. The vehicle itself is basically already fully depreciated. You've already taken that hit.
With 34K mi, it's safe to say the vehicle itself can provide many more years and miles of service. So factor the $8000 over the miles/years you could expect the newly refurbished vehicle to provide service.
bradleydad said:Then, consider how cheaply you can buy a used Leaf. I paid $8.000 for my 2015 with about 30,000 miles. It looks and drives like a new car.
A very important point for OP to consider. The LEAF battery problems were factored into the price of the used car. In effect you were already compensated for those shortcomings when purchasing the used vehicle.
I find it interesting about how everyones memory about what was said by Nissan before launch. They really put in the spotlight the mileage figures that the Leaf would get. They did talk about real world mileage but it was more of an afterthought. They also talked about not doing a lot of dc fast charges because of what it might due to the batteries. They did not talk about how horrible the heater was. The stupid solar panel that did nothing. I was stupid enough to think that this car would be something to drive into the ground like all of the cars I have bought. For this reason I bought it.
Many of us here knew what we were getting into and were hoping that Nissan would take care of us as early adopters. Thats us. What about the people (the bulk of the buyers) who were not glued to this site gleaning everything about this car? They are the real losers. They just took it for granted that all would be well.
Electric vehicles obviously have limitations. Long commutes, battery degradation, long summer vacations would be the biggest problems. Even the longest range Tesla's have some of these same limitations.
Don't get me wrong the 7 bar car that I own as long as it does not go down to less than 40 mi. range will suit my needs to go into town a couple times a week. Being retired makes this possible. If I had to commute I would not feel this way.