DD used Leaf, am I crazy?

"comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer" (00cyclonefan) 11/13/2016 at 21:11 • Filed to: None

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I’ve read the articles on how cheap used Leafs (Leaves???) are, and I’d consider it. First, I differentiate between task driving and pleasure driving, so I could see myself having an appliance type vehicle to buzz back and forth to work, and something else fun...in fact, I already have the first, I have a rental spec 2005 focus that I’m still driving because it hasn’t given me a reason to get rid of it (yet....but I’m always keeping my eyes open in case something goes kablooey) In honesty, if I had to pick one do-everything vehicle, it’d probably be a Colorado/Canyon or Taco (bring back a good Ranger, please?), but for 10K, I could swing a Leaf and push the truck down the road a few years, then keep both. Use the Leaf as a commuting appliance, and do fun things with the truck.

What am I missing? I mean, obviously, a battery pack going bad is a gamble, but even at 6K, it wouldn’t be the end of the world for me. What else is there with these things, are they turds? Also, how well does the heater work in cold midwest winters? TIA, brown volvo wagon for your time:

WRXforScience > comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer 11/13/2016 at 21:23

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I have a co-worker who got one for his daughter. They like it so much that it has become the preferred family vehicle for everything except long distance road trips (their SUV broke down over the summer during their only long distance trip, so maybe the leaf would have been better).

They are cheap and make great commuter cars. Go for it.

shop-teacher > comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer 11/13/2016 at 21:25

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It’s an intriguing question, for which I don’t have the answer. The heater does drain the battery though, so I question their ability to winter. Although my commute is like 4-1/2 miles, so it would probably be fine. If it was your only vehicle, I’d spend a bit more and get a Volt. Sure it’s electric only range is much shorter, but it’s got an engine so it can definitely winter. Plus, I’ve never spoken to an owner of a Volt who wasn’t happy with it.

comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer > shop-teacher 11/13/2016 at 21:42

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Guess I should have specified...my minimum daily commute (total for both ways) would be 32-ish miles. I hadn’t really looked at the volt, which also makes me think of the C-MAX.

MyJeepGetsStuckInTheSnow > comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer 11/13/2016 at 21:49

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There is a really cheap one at my local Carmax. I’m strongly considering it. If I can convince them to let me charge it at work for free I’m sold.

deekster_caddy > comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer 11/13/2016 at 22:05

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I have a ‘13 Volt. It’s amazing. AMA

jimz > comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer 11/13/2016 at 22:16

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I spent some time driving a ‘16 Volt. though admittedly during the summer, the 50 mile EV range estimates were accurate.

E92M3 > comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer 11/13/2016 at 23:11

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I’ve toyed with the idea too. What scared me away is the cost to replace the battery. $6k buys a lot of gas. If it cost $10k to buy the car, and another $6k in 2 years when the battery fails, then I start thinking of cars in that price range that would be fun to drive instead.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer 11/13/2016 at 23:20

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I’ve thought about the same thing, once I finish my current loans off. I think it makes a perfect daily as long as you are adding it to other paid off cars and are keeping that battery replacement cost in mind. The reasons they are cheap used is that the battery only lasts a few years and most people in the market for used cars probably looking for something more versatile. Also the interior is pretty basic (though the SL trim is nice enough). A coworker of mine had one for a few years back around 2011-2013 while waiting for his Model S to be built and loved it. TL;DR not crazy, go for it.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com 11/13/2016 at 23:28

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Also wanted to add that Nissan was offering crazy 24 month leases on these a few years ago when gas was still in the $3-4 range (like $99/month in some places). Now that those are coming off lease when gas is cheaper the market is probably flooded.

bhtooefr > E92M3 11/13/2016 at 23:33

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Keep in mind that battery failure is gradual, not sudden, and battery condition is noted on the instrument cluster. And, you can get a Leaf for a lot less than $10k nowadays.

Oh, and if the battery degrades far enough - below 9 (out of 12) bars - within 5 years/60,000 miles, Nissan will replace the battery under warranty. So, on used ones, an already failed battery may actually be good.

bhtooefr > comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer 11/14/2016 at 00:29

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Make sure to get at least a model year 2013, and at least SV trim. Older years, and the base S trim, get a resistive heater by default, which will kill your range in winter. The 2013+ SV and SL have a heat pump, which is more efficient.

http://insideevs.com/used-nissan-leaf-buying-guide/ is worth looking through.

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer 11/14/2016 at 04:04

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I’d say go for it. Even if the battery only sees you through another 3 years you’ll probably save the battery price in gas and service costs: they’re really cheap to run even apart from gas because there’s damn all moving parts and they don’t go thru brake pads etc. my 2012's been trouble free, and I’ve I’ve never had it serviced in the 2 years I’ve owned it, once I looked in the manual and found the service procedure is basically ”look underneath and see if anything’s dropped off”

Plus they’re a really nice commuting appliance: spacious, quiet, good ride, fast off the line.

Range should be ok for a 32 mile commute even if it’s lost a bar. The biggest thing that impacts range is speed: you’ll get much further on Suburban streets than at freeway speeds. I find heater on full blast takes about 15% off the range - more if you’re in slow traffic since heating’s time dependent not distance dependent. It’s not a great heater, but being able to preheat the car off mains power on a timer is a nice perk - no more freezing while the car warms up.

Mercedes Streeter > comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer 11/14/2016 at 07:05

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I’d almost get any other cheap EV. The Leaf has steeply depreciated because Nissan couldn’t figure out how to make a battery that’s reliable. So unlike other EVs in which you could drive and forget, a battery replacement is always on the cards with a used one.

Depending on mileage, a used Leaf only has 80-90% of its battery remaining, so think about that too.