Total cost of Ownership of Used 2013-17 Nissan Leaf

I have seen some total cost of ownership blogs where people bought a new Nissan leaf and 5 years latter analyzed how much it costs to own.
Generally due to depreciated the Total cost of ownership is not that great

Has anyone done a write up of the same nature but with a used leaf 13-17.
I think for many the cost per year would be around $1000 which is pretty good.
Those with leafs what are you spending per year on electricity, maintenance and replacement parts like new tires? As well as overhead costs like property taxes, road taxes for some states, and insurance?

I have never heard of a car with a yearly total cost of $1000. My estimate for my Leaf 2015:

Depreciation: $1000-1500
Tax: $200
Insurance: $450
Electricity: $350
Tires/Service/Repairs: $350

In total: $2350-2850

Hard to imagine that depreciation is only $1500 per year- this would mean that your 2015 is worth $6K less than you paid for it. Might be, if the incentives are factored in (which will only be true as long as there are incentives, then the REAL depreciation will be apparent). The 2019 Plus'
s will need to be selling for close to $18K in 4 years, and if Nissan sells enough cars to lose the Fed credit of $7500 that number will need to be more like $25K.....

dmacarthur said:

Hard to imagine that depreciation is only $1500 per year- this would mean that your 2015 is worth $6K less than you paid for it. Might be, if the incentives are factored in (which will only be true as long as there are incentives, then the REAL depreciation will be apparent). The 2019 Plus'
s will need to be selling for close to $18K in 4 years, and if Nissan sells enough cars to lose the Fed credit of $7500 that number will need to be more like $25K.....

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That is NOT how depreciation works. Its not a set cost per year. In the 4th year, $1500 is quite viable. In the first year; make it $5,000. Depending on how depreciation is figured, the first year could be significantly higher. Is it from MSRP or the actual price paid?

Correct that depreciation happens faster in the first years, but the average is still going to be, I believe, higher than $1500 per year since Year One already accounts, using $5K, for more than three years at $1500. Price paid less current value divided by years owned is yearly depreciation.

You're missing the point. If you buy a used Leaf, all of that rapid depreciation from the first two years has already happened, so during the time that *you* own it $1500 per year is totally reasonable.

Astros said:

You're missing the point. If you buy a used Leaf, all of that rapid depreciation from the first two years has already happened, so during the time that *you* own it $1500 per year is totally reasonable.

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If used cars will be used in the TCO mix, than the value of the car needs to be negated. It would only including cost to drive and maintain. This is true with any used vehicle since the launching point includes too many variables.

But for new LEAFs, I need to see a better breakdown. These random figures for maintenance, etc. is also quite variable as there is wide divide on what maintenance is regularly done and by who. I change my own cabin filter and am still working with my $35 investment from 2014. I rotate my own tires although that is something many get done for free. I get that some won't do anything with their car while others will go well beyond the basic DIY. Breaking these expenses down allows each of us to determine what does and does not apply to our own circumstances.

I never believe in these analyses.... When you are driving the car for practically free, and with no maintenance, it is pointless to start wondering "what will it cost per year?" - - a lot less than a gas powered car.... Especially if you buy the car used. After that, any numbers you get are irrelevant...

Rules of Thumb-
- It will cost more than you think
- It will be worth less than you think
- It will take longer than you think
- It will be more of a headache than you think....

Great rules of thumb Powrsurge! Here we pay .17 per kWh and in the winter average about 3.5 m/kWh. Cost to drive 100 miles: $4.85. With gas at 2.50, this is the equivalent of driving ICE getting 51 mpg. Our tdis reliably got 45 mpg, often using biodiesel, and lasted hundreds of thousands of miles. We also bought only used, and they never actually deprecated much..... So the leaf is not a quantum leap forward in per mile costs. It is, however, less polluting both in particulates and CO2 and we want to support the companies actively pursuing this technology.

dmacarthur said:

Great rules of thumb Powrsurge! Here we pay .17 per kWh and in the winter average about 3.5 m/kWh. Cost to drive 100 miles: $4.85. With gas at 2.50, this is the equivalent of driving ICE getting 51 mpg. Our tdis reliably got 45 mpg, often using biodiesel, and lasted hundreds of thousands of miles. We also bought only used, and they never actually deprecated much..... So the leaf is not a quantum leap forward in per mile costs. It is, however, less polluting both in particulates and CO2 and we want to support the companies actively pursuing this technology.

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ummm, close but not quite. Your efficiency from the wall is not 100%. Depending on charging speed, it will be between 85 to 90% if using 240 volts.

Where do you live that you are paying $2.50 for gas? As far as TDI's "almost" matching cost. I think we now have to look at annual maintenance costs. From there you will need binoculars if you want to see where the TDI is in the race.

DaveinOlyWA said:

Where do you live that you are paying $2.50 for gas?

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It's below $2.50/gal in numerous states per https://gasprices.aaa.com/, just not mine.

+1 to powersurge on the rules of thumb.

Reminds me of ridin', wreckin' and repairin' motorsickles where we substitused the word "she" for "it".

Despite Colorado’s push for electric cars, some depreciate by as much as 70% over five years
Technology advancing at such rapid pace, some models get old fast

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https://www.denverpost.com/2018/10/11/electric-car-depreciation/

cwerdna said:

DaveinOlyWA said:

Where do you live that you are paying $2.50 for gas?

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It's below $2.50/gal in numerous states per https://gasprices.aaa.com/, just not mine.

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Glad to see the oil industry is alive and well...

^^^
Indeed. I was in the Houston area a few months ago, gas prices were quite cheap vs. Nor Cal gas prices. On TCF, I wrote "Gas is sure cheap over there. I didn't even look but it seems like the cheapest I saw back then was $2.06/gal. Everywhere else, it was maybe $2.15 to $2.25/gal?" As I expected, I saw lots of large pickup trucks (near or at BRoD class) and quite a few BRoD class SUVs. I don't recall seeing many EVs at all. I know I definitely saw a Model S charging at Johnson Space Center. That might've been the only one.

https://gasprices.aaa.com/?state=TX currently says $2.224 average for Houston whereas https://gasprices.aaa.com/?state=CA says $3.527 for San Jose.

I know this is just wishful thinking at this point, but I've often fantasized about what "winning" would look like for EVs - at least, at the turning of the tide. We'd like to see demand for gasoline plummet, right? And what would its price do in response?

Levenkay said:

I know this is just wishful thinking at this point, but I've often fantasized about what "winning" would look like for EVs - at least, at the turning of the tide. We'd like to see demand for gasoline plummet, right? And what would its price do in response?

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I'd bet that the price of hay plummeted when horses went out. As did the price of horses.

Cities would be the first place where it would become apparent to everyone. Gas stations in cities are marginal businesses. Cut out some of their business, they would start to close, making driving a gasoline car in the city less convenient, leading to more EVs. Sure, falling wholesale gasoline prices might slow this some, as the retail price might not change as much, improving margins. And higher rents for properties with charging would also slow it down.

Rural areas would be the last.

WetEV said:

Levenkay said:

I know this is just wishful thinking at this point, but I've often fantasized about what "winning" would look like for EVs - at least, at the turning of the tide. We'd like to see demand for gasoline plummet, right? And what would its price do in response?

Click to expand...

I'd bet that the price of hay plummeted when horses went out. As did the price of horses.

Cities would be the first place where it would become apparent to everyone. Gas stations in cities are marginal businesses. Cut out some of their business, they would start to close, making driving a gasoline car in the city less convenient, leading to more EVs. Sure, falling wholesale gasoline prices might slow this some, as the retail price might not change as much, improving margins. And higher rents for properties with charging would also slow it down.

Rural areas would be the last.

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Many of them would just re-role themselves as charging or H2 fuel stations. After all, gas station profits aren't in selling gas, they're in convenience store sales. The profit on gas sales is very low, typically less than 2%, and often negative. Counter-intuitively, gas stations tend to do better when gas prices are low, because then drivers don't shop around for the lowest priced station, they just use the most convenient one.

https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=30611&p=575656#p575656

I know the thread says 2013-17 leafs, but ours is a 2012 so it's close!
purchased close to 4 years ago for 7000$ vehicle had close to 63,000 miles on it as far as deprecation goes it was pretty much deprecated out!
the only service on the car in almost 50,000 miles was a change of the gearbox oil which I did myself at a cost of about 10$ below is a list of our expenses on the vehicle over the past years:

2 sets of wiper blades 25$
3-4 gallons of windshield washer fluid 10$
1 rear wiper blade 12$
1 set (4) tires $400
new floor mats 15$

license fees- 1st 2 years 50 each, last 2 years 150$ each total 400$
insurance 310$ per year (we do not carry collision or comp. on the car)1240$
electricity- aprox 11,000 kw (my wife averages between 4.7 to 5.1 miles/kw) 1200$ (now for the best part her boss lets her charge at work so 3/4 of the power she uses he pays for so our out of pocket for power over the last 4 years has been a little over 300$)

That's about it. I honestly cannot remember any other expenses for this car. It has been great. Recently I purchased another 2012 sv identical to my wife's car except it only had 28,000 miles on it and it had an 8 bar battery. I paid Nissan close to 800 bucks to swap the 12 bar battery out of her old car which had nearly 111,000 miles on it. I had mentioned getting her a 2018 leaf with the 40kw pack and she wouldn't hear of it. She liked her 2012 too much to part with it she said! So now she has an almost new vehicle mileage wise with a full cap. battery pack and no payment. I have a happy wife!