Buying an Older Nissan Leaf
Discussion
I am going to have to start to drive to work soon (~15 miles round), so toying with the idea of a 2nd hand leaf as a run about. You seem to be able to get an older car (maybe 2011) quite cheap nowadays, so just wondering if anyone has experience of a Leaf of that age - specifically battery capacity and range?
Also I have seen some cars come with a battery condition report - is this a good idea and are they reliable?
Also I have seen some cars come with a battery condition report - is this a good idea and are they reliable?
look up leaf-spy software - gives a full report on the battery condition.
gen1 cars (pre 2013/beige seats/electric handbrake) do seem to have worse batteries than the later cars. iirc you have to have lost 15% before it shows up as a missing bar on the dashboard.
Beware that cheap gen2 cars may have battery leases.
Battery packs can be overhauled/repaired for around £1500+
Look on the leaf section of speakev forum
gen1 cars (pre 2013/beige seats/electric handbrake) do seem to have worse batteries than the later cars. iirc you have to have lost 15% before it shows up as a missing bar on the dashboard.
Beware that cheap gen2 cars may have battery leases.
Battery packs can be overhauled/repaired for around £1500+
Look on the leaf section of speakev forum
My brother just bought one - 2013 gen1 and got an excellent deal from Nissan - we'll probably do similar.
Deposit contribution, free home charger, 2 years servicing, 0% and 1 years warranty (he upped it to 3)
Most of the early ones have lost 1 bar of battery - irrespective of mileage. He has leaf spy and iirc he said the bottom bar is 15% so the other 11 are a bit under 8% each. (so he's lost one of these). He gets about 65/70 miles from full.
Deposit contribution, free home charger, 2 years servicing, 0% and 1 years warranty (he upped it to 3)
Most of the early ones have lost 1 bar of battery - irrespective of mileage. He has leaf spy and iirc he said the bottom bar is 15% so the other 11 are a bit under 8% each. (so he's lost one of these). He gets about 65/70 miles from full.
Avoid the gen 1's. You will get a higher mileage gen 2 for not much more than £7k. Anything you save on the purchase price of a gen1 will be lost when you come to sell. Most Leaf buyers are pretty switched on and want the gen2.
The gen 2 has over 100 improvements - some major such as the inverter and improved battery chemistry some minor such as a light next to the charge port so you can see what you are doing in the dark.
On these cold wet evenings you will be lucky to get much more than 40miles out of a gen 1. TIME and distance can really effect things. If your 15 mile commute takes an hour with the heating/wipers/radio on, throw in a few hills and a headwind and you will find its used a much higher % of battery than you expected.
While a gen1 may be enough for your standard usage its always worth having a little extra range for when things dont go to plan or you want to call in somewhere on the way home. You will also probably find the Leaf is the default family car as they are easier/cheaper and more pleasant to drive than you average ICE car. We have had an E39 530d and a Leaf for some time and the Leaf is our default choice for most trips.
Also avoid anything with a FLEX battery lease.
The gen 2 has over 100 improvements - some major such as the inverter and improved battery chemistry some minor such as a light next to the charge port so you can see what you are doing in the dark.
On these cold wet evenings you will be lucky to get much more than 40miles out of a gen 1. TIME and distance can really effect things. If your 15 mile commute takes an hour with the heating/wipers/radio on, throw in a few hills and a headwind and you will find its used a much higher % of battery than you expected.
While a gen1 may be enough for your standard usage its always worth having a little extra range for when things dont go to plan or you want to call in somewhere on the way home. You will also probably find the Leaf is the default family car as they are easier/cheaper and more pleasant to drive than you average ICE car. We have had an E39 530d and a Leaf for some time and the Leaf is our default choice for most trips.
Also avoid anything with a FLEX battery lease.
Get a Gen 2. 2013 cars are about £7K.
I have a 30 mile roundtrip commute which the car does easily. In the current cold weather it uses about 42 to 45% of the car's charge. In summer about 30%.
It's a hoot to drive and is saving me around £250 a month in fuel costs. I bought mine nearly new and even so it will have been a free in another two years. Yours could be free in just two years. What are you waiting for? As a business decision it's a no brainer. Free road tax, cheap insurance.
I have a 30 mile roundtrip commute which the car does easily. In the current cold weather it uses about 42 to 45% of the car's charge. In summer about 30%.
It's a hoot to drive and is saving me around £250 a month in fuel costs. I bought mine nearly new and even so it will have been a free in another two years. Yours could be free in just two years. What are you waiting for? As a business decision it's a no brainer. Free road tax, cheap insurance.
Don said:
Get a Gen 2. 2013 cars are about £7K.
I have a 30 mile roundtrip commute which the car does easily. In the current cold weather it uses about 42 to 45% of the car's charge. In summer about 30%.
It's a hoot to drive and is saving me around £250 a month in fuel costs. I bought mine nearly new and even so it will have been a free in another two years. Yours could be free in just two years. What are you waiting for? As a business decision it's a no brainer. Free road tax, cheap insurance.
They are actually going up in price at the moment! Prices on used 2nd gen cars have risen more than 10% since August. I have a 30 mile roundtrip commute which the car does easily. In the current cold weather it uses about 42 to 45% of the car's charge. In summer about 30%.
It's a hoot to drive and is saving me around £250 a month in fuel costs. I bought mine nearly new and even so it will have been a free in another two years. Yours could be free in just two years. What are you waiting for? As a business decision it's a no brainer. Free road tax, cheap insurance.
Difficult to give a % per mile as there are lots of factors. I have driven the same route and noticed as much as 30/40% difference in battery usage according to the weather. A cold/wet/windy evening can really effect the miles per kw.
ex1 said:
Avoid the gen 1's. You will get a higher mileage gen 2 for not much more than £7k. Anything you save on the purchase price of a gen1 will be lost when you come to sell. Most Leaf buyers are pretty switched on and want the gen2.
The gen 2 has over 100 improvements - some major such as the inverter and improved battery chemistry some minor such as a light next to the charge port so you can see what you are doing in the dark.
On these cold wet evenings you will be lucky to get much more than 40miles out of a gen 1. TIME and distance can really effect things. If your 15 mile commute takes an hour with the heating/wipers/radio on, throw in a few hills and a headwind and you will find its used a much higher % of battery than you expected.
While a gen1 may be enough for your standard usage its always worth having a little extra range for when things dont go to plan or you want to call in somewhere on the way home. You will also probably find the Leaf is the default family car as they are easier/cheaper and more pleasant to drive than you average ICE car. We have had an E39 530d and a Leaf for some time and the Leaf is our default choice for most trips.
Also avoid anything with a FLEX battery lease.
"Lucky to get much more than 40 miles out of a gen1" - not come across one with that poor a range....any links?The gen 2 has over 100 improvements - some major such as the inverter and improved battery chemistry some minor such as a light next to the charge port so you can see what you are doing in the dark.
On these cold wet evenings you will be lucky to get much more than 40miles out of a gen 1. TIME and distance can really effect things. If your 15 mile commute takes an hour with the heating/wipers/radio on, throw in a few hills and a headwind and you will find its used a much higher % of battery than you expected.
While a gen1 may be enough for your standard usage its always worth having a little extra range for when things dont go to plan or you want to call in somewhere on the way home. You will also probably find the Leaf is the default family car as they are easier/cheaper and more pleasant to drive than you average ICE car. We have had an E39 530d and a Leaf for some time and the Leaf is our default choice for most trips.
Also avoid anything with a FLEX battery lease.
I'd say gen1/gen2/30kWh will ALL be pretty much worthless if you're planning to keep it a few years!
danp said:
"Lucky to get much more than 40 miles out of a gen1" - not come across one with that poor a range....any links?
I'd say gen1/gen2/30kWh will ALL be pretty much worthless if you're planning to keep it a few years!
I owned a gen1 and have had 3 gen2's since.I'd say gen1/gen2/30kWh will ALL be pretty much worthless if you're planning to keep it a few years!
Gen 2's have risen 10% since the summer. Demand for used EV's will outstrip supply for the foreseeable future as people switch onto the benefits. I have seen used Leafs with 125k that have less than 20% battery degradation and are still on the same brake pads!
EV make are much better used proposition than any ICE car. Its only lack of education that causes anyone to think otherwise and there are a lot of manufactures preparing to spend huge amounts of money educating people.
Every car will be worthless at some point but longer term the residuals on EV will be no different or better than ICE.
Edited by ex1 on Monday 14th November 19:08
Don said:
Get a Gen 2. 2013 cars are about £7K.
I have a 30 mile roundtrip commute which the car does easily. In the current cold weather it uses about 42 to 45% of the car's charge. In summer about 30%.
It's a hoot to drive and is saving me around £250 a month in fuel costs. I bought mine nearly new and even so it will have been a free in another two years. Yours could be free in just two years. What are you waiting for? As a business decision it's a no brainer. Free road tax, cheap insurance.
How does it save £250 a month in fuel cost with a 30 mile commute?I have a 30 mile roundtrip commute which the car does easily. In the current cold weather it uses about 42 to 45% of the car's charge. In summer about 30%.
It's a hoot to drive and is saving me around £250 a month in fuel costs. I bought mine nearly new and even so it will have been a free in another two years. Yours could be free in just two years. What are you waiting for? As a business decision it's a no brainer. Free road tax, cheap insurance.
danp said:
My brother just bought one - 2013 gen1 and got an excellent deal from Nissan - we'll probably do similar.
Deposit contribution, free home charger, 2 years servicing, 0% and 1 years warranty (he upped it to 3)
Most of the early ones have lost 1 bar of battery - irrespective of mileage. He has leaf spy and iirc he said the bottom bar is 15% so the other 11 are a bit under 8% each. (so he's lost one of these). He gets about 65/70 miles from full.
I think what you mean is he is getting 65/70 miles MAX, on a nice day with no wind/hills/passengers, driving like Ms Daisy. Deposit contribution, free home charger, 2 years servicing, 0% and 1 years warranty (he upped it to 3)
Most of the early ones have lost 1 bar of battery - irrespective of mileage. He has leaf spy and iirc he said the bottom bar is 15% so the other 11 are a bit under 8% each. (so he's lost one of these). He gets about 65/70 miles from full.
Most days you wont get much more than 70 miles out of a two year old Gen2 with typical battery deg.
Trabi601 said:
How long before smart meters enable the government to raise ICE style duties against the electricity used for charging cars?
That's when the EV house of cards will come tumbling down.
They already have them. Mandatory smart meter was part of the home charger government grant. Interestingly they have recently removed it from the criteria so its no longer mandatory. That's when the EV house of cards will come tumbling down.
Do you own an EV? I find its just a better solution than ICE 95% of the time.
ex1 said:
Trabi601 said:
How long before smart meters enable the government to raise ICE style duties against the electricity used for charging cars?
That's when the EV house of cards will come tumbling down.
They already have them. Mandatory smart meter was part of the home charger government grant. Interestingly they have recently removed it from the criteria so its no longer mandatory. That's when the EV house of cards will come tumbling down.
Do you own an EV? I find its just a better solution than ICE 95% of the time.
EVs make sense whilst they attract subsidies and don't pay road fuel duties on electricity.
Take away those subsidies and they make very little sense at all.
95% of the time, I'd be stranded in the middle of the Severn Bridge if I had a Leaf. Even a Tesla would struggle to cope with my weekly routine, I'd be constantly suffering range anxiety and hoping nobody else was using the chargers!
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