Buying a Used Nissan Leaf
105 – What should you look for when buying a second hand Nissan Leaf? As I am going through the same process and have three years of experience owning one I though I’d share with you the main points I consider when looking at the classified ads and on a test drive. Hopefully this will be of some help?
If you already own an EV and can add to my list then please comment below.
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shiny plastic + sunshine = terrible glare
The shiny plastic will get scratched easily if you use a microfibre cloth you donk! Microfibre is aggressive so will scratch you want a soft towel and a cleaning product
Great post mate !
Hi
Please try this. At speeds over 55MPH leave ECO off. You will get much better MPA ( Miles per Amp)
Great video. Good looking “Leaf”.
Those EV cars are the worse to buy used because when you get out of warranty parts and repair will cost you more than a brand new one????
Hi! Thank you for a very interesting and "direct to point" video! If I buy Leaf Spy and a cable with plug for my Iphone, will it be enough to see a full picture about car electronics and battery? By the way, what is the name of that cable/adapter which I need to buy from Amazon to be able to use Leaf Spy on my phone? I called Nissan service and they said that they can do full inspection and diagnostics for $137. T
the longest "Journey" I take is about 30. miles.
Thank you, you taught me a lot. Gorgeous scenery too. Much appreciated, friend ??
@EV Opinion, did you wave hello to that Nissan Leaf that last you?
Have you considered a Kona EV?? That seems like a good option for long travel. Cheers from Arizona USA.
Hi, I have 2013 Nissan leaf. My battery having 8 bar. I want to replace. Is it any one know new battery 40 kw h fit in 2313 Nissan leaf or not?
I would only buy a 6.6 kw ac charger car and one with the battery included… rental batteries are a big rip off. Plus the bose radio is fun !
I bought a 2012 Leaf with 61,000 miles and 8 battery bars for $5k in May 2018. My commute is only 13 miles and I can get about approximately 50 miles on a full charge in warm weather. I'm debating putting a new battery in it, or maybe waiting until they make the refurbed batteries available.
I didn't notice my driver door squeak on my Leaf until I started using it for rideshare, then I took the door panel off to investigate, but I didn't put any shims or tape. It still squeaks unless I press on the door panel. When the Model 3 arrived, I sold the Leaf to a relative, so I'll have to silence it if they notice.
With those ranges, don’t do it !
Nissan just jacked the price of the 24kwh battery to 7500 usd effectively abandoning the gen 1 24kwh owners as the cost of the battery is now as high or higher than the car itself is worth. Nissan at a time when 24kwh batteries should be dropping increases the price to the point that all gen 1 24kwh cars will be going straight to the salvage yards when the battery needs replacement. This is unbelievable. Nissan has no credibility now in the EV market at all. Gen 1 owners are left with cars with no value. One of the reasons for buying a Gen 1 Leaf was Nissan's commitment to owners by offering a battery replacement and foolishly I expected those prices to drop over time. Not jump 2k usd. Nissan has now proven they are not committed to owners and are only reinforcing the negative opinions that people have about EV's when a battery will relegate a car to the scrap heap and the company won't support it. I can no longer recommend the Nissan Leaf to anyone unless they reverse course and are going to support their customers with affordable battery replacement options. Buyer beware.
For a second EV not doing huge miles then a 22KW Zoe with a leased battery is a possibility
I checked that out and there are lots of 2015 models which have finished their pcp (presumably) and although there is a monthly cost £49 you don't need to worry so much about the battery on an older one because it's not yours 🙂
All credit to Nick raimo for his video on the subject
John
This is a great video! Good information for a wanna be ev driver. Now I know what to look for in the future ?
Hi
To me the Tekna you have might be an expensive buy after the PCP, but you know its been really well looked after
But I say that because I don't know how Guaranteed minimum value works at the end of a PCP lease or whether the lease company would still inspect the car and possibly expect it to be restored to perfect before valuation and selling it to you
I'm sure you know all this stuff Ryan
Maybe you could do a follow up video ?
By the by at 100% charge it feels like B mode isn't working until you get down to about 95% charge and there is somewhere for regen to go so you might see that on test drive 🙂
I3 Rex good second car.
Did you wave hello to a Leaf going the other way? That's awesome!
Eco for my leaf just changes the throttle to linear… I still have full power. When it is off eco, and you hold it half throttle, it will wind up the output like a "power band" a gas engine has. Also, under that hood, your charger exists too.. as for the 2011 and 2012 it the charger is in the rear behind seats. Also, the 11 and 12s we're less efficient according to EPA with 34kwh per 100 miles vs 2013 and newer ones were 29kwh per 100 miles. This was a good video overall! Thanks for posting it 🙂
Hello ,, there is any explanations in English where I can look for about Nissan Leaf `?
Hi
Can anyone please send me the link of the right obd reader for leaf spy to check when looking at used leads? 24kwh car. Probably 2013?
Great informative video , I live in the USA and plan to buy a years Leaf hopefully end of the year or next spring. Question, do you have an SL(they call it something different in the UK) Model with the Bose sub? I’m curious to see how good it sounds and whether or not it’s worth finding a Leaf with one.
I like your drone camera work. Do you have a video about drones and filming? If not, would you consider making a video about drones? Thanks for the videos.
Fantastic stuff. Thanks for sharing your wisdom and experience.
Great video! Having just bought a used Nissan Leaf – the only thing I would add is to make sure you get at least the EVSE charging cable (for anyone who doesn't know, that's the one that plugs into a 13A socket). I think most leafs come with a Type-1 to Type-2 cable also, but this isn't a guarantee. It's something you may never need, but if you're getting it from a dealer and it doesn't come with it, it's a ~£200 cable, so worth trying to negotiate its inclusion before you do a deal.
Where were you when I impulse-bought my 2015 24kWh Leave in November last year? Ha ha. Great information that I really would have liked to have in my possession then. Shared out.
I'm the opposite of you – love the look of the front (much better than the Leaf 2.0 in my opinion) hate the rear end.
Thanks for this. My Type R's days are numbered and will probably be going for a 30kwh Leaf in the next few months. Had 2 Zoe's before, but prefer the build quality of a Nissan to a Renault.
Thank you for another very informative video. I have one question. I have seen different adverts for used leafs. Some say battery owned and some say battery leased. Which in your opinion would be the better option .
Great video, just bought a used tekna and all very good advice that rings true. the road down to abbotsbury you shot there is probably my favourite local road with a view. Keep up the good work.
you should wait til the 60kWh battery as it supposedly going to have a active cooling for the battery just considering the current issues around the charging issues on the new 40kWh model. If you do go for the 60kWh model look forward to a full review when you get it. 🙂
Do you think Nissan in the future will sell owners of 2nd hand Leafs a new battery with better cell technology perhaps even as will be the case with all EVs eventually the SOC won't cut it for any sort of commuting or driving needs. I'd never trust the GOM as Bjorn calls it when he's test driven any EV particularly the Leaf though, the Leaf Spy you mention is far more accurate.
Really informative video. I've also spent an inordinate amount of time looking at used Leafs. The 30kwh version would work better for me but there seems to be reports of high degradation rates on these batteries. Apparently Nissan have been made aware so it'll be interesting to see how they respond. The fall back position is a new Zoe which may give me greater peace of mind but Renault have pushed the prices up and the build quality does not appear to be as good.
A great video, thanks for putting together and it's one I'll be sharing. I guess the two points which jumped out were 1) a bit move emphasis on the impact of the weather/driving conditions on the range. If you're looking at a used car in March you may get a very different view on it than if you tested in July. 2) LeafSpy is very good but there's a risk of being overloaded with the numbers. My SoH seems to be behaving a bit odd at the moment, being around 96% last week and suddenly without warning is at 90%. Car is driving fine and (with the warmer weather this week) range is typical summer range (just under 1% per mile driven on 24kWh). I know it states the number of rapid and L1/L2 charges to the battery but wouldn't really know what is good/bad/indifferent on that front. Definitely the 12-bar test and look at the SoH for a sense check with the age and mileage of vehicle.