EV mileage when buying - low or high best?

[danp]

Hoping to buy an EV in the not too distant future, probably an iMiev(/ion/c1)/Leaf.

Most are on low miles but noticed a Leaf advertised with over 70k on it - not seen one with anything like that many miles previously!

In general do you think that higher miles would be good or bad on an EV? Are batteries more likely to deteriorate with infrequent or a high number of charges do you think? (with cars of a similar age)

Thx, dan

[DSLiverpool]

danp said:

noticed a Leaf advertised with over 70k on it -

I saw that and was very impressed - 2011 car and 70k - I cannot imagine how they have done that - 23k a year, 2k a month 63 miles a day - every day.

That car has been charged and drained every day virtually - amazing.

[danp]

DSLiverpool said:

I saw that and was very impressed - 2011 car and 70k - I cannot imagine how they have done that - 23k a year, 2k a month 63 miles a day - every day.

That car has been charged and drained every day virtually - amazing.

80/90 mile round trip commute plus weekend stuff for 3 years or suchlike I guess!

Ideal car to do it in, wonder what it has needed under warranty.

[c2mike]

danp said:

80/90 mile round trip commute plus weekend stuff for 3 years or suchlike I guess!

Ideal car to do it in, wonder what it has needed under warranty.

Don't buy a Leaf for an 80 mile round trip commute unless you have charging at work. 50 - 60 miles would be more realistic and allow for unplanned detours, etc.

As for high miles, my 2011 Leaf has 48k and the battery is fine. In general low miles will be better (re-charging does reduce capacity over time), but other factors like battery temperature (high is bad) will have more impact. I'm sure Nissan can test the battery.

[isleofthorns]

my 2012 is only on 17k, after two years.... I'm hoping that battery longevity stand the test of time, as our actual mileage is less than we first anticipated, and it's going to be a number of years before we get anywhere near 70k!