Nissan Leaf - what should I buy?

[dandarc]

Now that we've moved back to Florida, it is becoming clear to me that we could make use of a 2nd vehicle. The stuff we do is spread out enough that our one-car setup with occasional Lyfts to fill in the gaps is not going to work very well. Lyft and Uber aren't nearly as convenient here, and are actually more expensive than in California. We don't need a ton of range - just to run across town when needed. Maybe 15 miles in a typical day.

So I'm looking at used Leaf's. Not sure what combination of age and price works the best. Options I'm seeing include:

2011 with 7-8 bars = $4200-4500
2012 with 8 bars = $5300 - 6000
2015 with 12 bars = $9500

I'm tempted to go with the cheapest - will meet range needs presently, but I'm not sure what to expect in terms of future degradation - maybe the 2015 is worth it? Looking for advice.

[Dave1442397]

From what I've been hearing about Leaf batteries, I personally wouldn't buy a Leaf, period.

I'd much rather buy a Prius, in which battery replacement is actually a fairly easy DIY job.

[dandarc]

From what I've been hearing about Leaf batteries, I personally wouldn't buy a Leaf, period.

I'd much rather buy a Prius, in which battery replacement is actually a fairly easy DIY job.

Did I ever tell you about what happened to our 2010 Prius? The parts alone were going to be $2500.

[nereo]

Curious why not a used Volt?  Your daily mileage requirements puts you firmly within the electric range of a Volt, and it has much better thermal regulation than the Leaf.

[dandarc]

Volt's seem to start at $9800 around here - was hoping to spend half that. We had a Prius for 8 years. Was very good. Then within the last year required an engine gasket replacement to the tune of $1700 and then would have needed a new brake booster - $2500 for the parts, with labor north of $3K - those hybrid system parts are not cheap. We decided to just say enough is enough on that one. Which is a shame - 8 months later I received a notice from Toyota that they were covering the problem under warranty, so we'd have gotten our money back. Really should call and try to get a check out of them on that I guess - definitely affected the trade value adversely.

Basically, I'm not real keen on another hybrid.

Honestly I really should see if I can get an e-scooter that will be good in the rain. "Financial Freedom through Badassity", right? I kind of hate riding bikes, but it seems like an e-scooter would extend my personal range enough to get to all my regular activities quickly enough - everything is within a 5 mile radius or so of the house. Or maybe a street-legal golf cart.

[thd7t]

I bought a 2012 Leaf at about your price range with 9 bars in January.  I suggest looking at the difference in the model years.  I think there's some difference between each of the first few years including overall battery capacity and quality, drive modes and a few other things.  I use mine in a similar way to how you describe and it's good for that amount of use.  However, if you can make the e-scooter idea work (and be safe and comfortable) it might be a good idea for you.