Nissan Leaf - Thinking of buying

[TabbyCat]

Thinking of buying a Nissan Leaf used for $8,500-9,500ish - 2012 or 2013 with less than 30k miles, heated seats and nav (looking at several cars).

Others who have them, what do you think? Any advice on features to look for? Has your battery range stayed about the same or downgraded? Do you freeze in the winter (coldest would be 30s and 40s, mostly in 40s and 50s though).

I'm sure this has been discussed on here before, but search is not working for me for some reason.

[RelaxedGal]

I had a hard time with search, but I was able to find prior threads where I had commented on this topic,

Nissan Leaf--almost paying me to drive it
Nissan Leaf
Is the Nissan Leaf worth purchasing at this point?

As for battery degradation: I lost my first bar at 38,000 miles, the second bar at 50,000.  Still no worries with my commute (18 miles each way + errands = 40ish miles/day) except on very cold (near 0 F) days when I take the freeway (65 mph).  Speed kills range, and cold, and as I have a 2012 the resistance heater burns more juice than the heat exchanger on the 2013.  From what I can tell a 2013 SL or SV is a better choice than a 2012 SL or SV.  2013 S might also fit your needs and be cheaper, but does not come automatically with ChaDeMo.

Also of note: the telematics unit on these older ones uses the AT&T 2G network, which is going away 12/31/2016.  They haven't given me a price yet on replacing it with a 3G unit, but it's in the works.  You may not miss what you never had, but I like being able to interact with my car via my phone so I'll cough up. 

You may also find this thread useful, and the rest of the MyNissanLeaf forums.

[bmiles62]

Here is one more thread for you to check out. I am thinking about doing the same thing.

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/buying-a-nissan-leaf/

[CowboyAndIndian]

Here is one more thread for you to check out. I am thinking about doing the same thing.

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/buying-a-nissan-leaf/

+1

Sol is very good and analytical.

[Slow&Steady]

I thought about buying a Leaf recently and was looking at the same price range and year range as you.  I noticed that the Community College across the street from work put in charging stations that are free currently (they said they might cost in the future).  I have a 45 mile one-way commute (I know, not MMM approved) so a 90 mile round trip and figured I could park it over there at lunch or in the morning and get it re-charged. 

I drive a paid off 08 Prius and DH drives a paid off 06 Prius, our combined gas cost for the month is $250.  Assuming that I use $150 of that every month it will take 5 years for me to see a return on investment.  I personally feel like that is a long time for a used car.  Now when we need to replace a Prius I am sure we will be recalculating again.  The only reason I feel like the Leaf doesn't work for me now is because I am comparing it to a completely paid off car that I expect to get many more years and miles out of.  I am thinking when I compare 2 new (to me) cars I will get numbers that lean more towards the Leaf.   

[TabbyCat]

Thanks all!  I think we are ready to go for it. No incentive in WA unfortunately so used is a much better deal.

We narrowed it down to:
   - 2013 SV with nav but no rear camera. Fewer miles on it but not but much.
   - 2014 S, no nav, has rear camera. Few k more miles than the 2013 but close.

I like the 13 for the nav, husband likes the 14 for the more recent year.

[KarefulKactus15]

I like the newer model + backup camera. I mostly use my phone for NAV. I trust it more.

I want a nissan leaf, but I dont have a garage.   I wouldnt want a cords and stuff running through my yard or a giant fast charger.

[TabbyCat]

I think we're going for the 2013 actually - looks like it has the same battery technology as the '14 so which one is "better" is determined by mileage and the '13 is actually lower than the '14. The '13 SV has some features the '14 does not like a heat pump to heat the cabin more quickly and with less draw on the battery (good since the kid is in a car seat and doesn't benefit from the heated seats) and LED headlights which also draw less on the battery. There are so many options, I wish we had a few months to wait and look but we need a car within a few days so got to make a call.

[Mother Fussbudget]

It's funny... Pete (MMM) finally took the plunge and bought a used Leaf.  Saw it on his Twitter feed.
https://twitter.com/mrmoneymustache

[ketchup]

It's funny... Pete (MMM) finally took the plunge and bought a used Leaf.  Saw it on his Twitter feed.
https://twitter.com/mrmoneymustache

Does that mean his Scion is for sale now?

[RelaxedGal]

It's funny... Pete (MMM) finally took the plunge and bought a used Leaf.  Saw it on his Twitter feed.
https://twitter.com/mrmoneymustache

Does that mean his Scion is for sale now?

Yes!  2005 Scion xA, 85,000 miles, cleaned up and should be on Craigs List soon.

There's also a blog post forthcoming, and plans to have a page devoted to the stats.  Oh, and a solar-roofed parking area for charging it.

Yes I am a crazy stalker who had to scroll through his twitter feed a soon as I saw this.

[Marvel2017]

I leased a 2012 because it was only $200/mo for the top of the line model (lease takeover and the guy put money down on the lease to get the payment down) :)

But I hated that thing, I live where Nissan is HQ'd and there are chargers all over but the range on the 2012 just sucks. I always had to drive around freezing or burning up because using the AC/HEAT killed the battery, plus I was on the interstate a lot and that uses a lot of battery. Driving around city streets at 30mph maybe it's ok, but for highway driving it sucked.

I was lucky to get 55 miles per charge, plus the 2012 charges slower than the 2013up...lots of factors. I would not get an electric car unless it had an ACTUAL (not estimated by the manufacturer) of 100 miles per charge.