Nissan LEAF - General

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38 posts

Geek

#2197369 13-Mar-2019 15:49

Delphinus:

Elliemay:

If we all waited for the latest and greatest to arrive we would never purchase anything........and there is currently an exemption from Road User Charges. That may not exist in 3 years time, but what is certain is it does exist now. And if we all bought cars based on some expected resale value in some predetermined time frame, we would be best buying collectibles only.

As for RUC, for someone travelling the average 12,000kms a year, that's $816 a year (in saving). Not a lot. Long term (accounting for the cost of vehicles, their currently development pace, depreciation etc) that's a drop in the pond.

And spend only $233.77 in electrical 'fuel' over that 12,000km, as opposed to $1948.80 in a petrol driven vehicle.

KrazyKid

1238 posts

Uber Geek

#2197370 13-Mar-2019 15:50

Delphinus:

tripper1000:

My honest 2 cents worth: Take a couple for decent test drives before you buy. Even think about renting one for a week from Blue Cars etc so you can experience it without time and sales pressure.

If you are a bit of a geek or a greenie, then go for it. If you are doing it to save money and are worried about depreciation, then the cheapest car is the one that has already depreciated, which is probably your current car or a $1,000 banger.

1000x this.

Drive a few and make sure you're going to like it. The EV market is going to change dramatically over the next few years with things like the Peugeot e-208, Seat el-Born, VW ID, Tesla Model Y, and who knows what else. I feel like the price of an old leaf will plummet once these hit the market (and Kona/eNiro's filter down to second hand).

Personally if you wanted your next car to last 5-10 years, I'd keep the BMW (if it's still running OK) and replace it with one of the above in 2022.

Not so sure those old leafs will plummet that much in the next 5 years. Yes they will depreciate, but those 2nd hand New EVs start at $70,000 - how much to you expect them to depreciate in 5 years. Surely you will be still paying $40,000+ for them. Compare it to a leaf at $15-20,000 now and it's clear you are looking in a different price bracket.
Add to it 5 years of saving in petrol costs etc and a Leaf starts to look good. I reckon I am saving $1500 a year with my Leaf and I am going only 10,000 Km/year.

I have read that the % battery loss after the initial 3 years is around 2-3%. If that is true in 5 years I will have saved $7500 and lost say 15% of my range. For me that is fine.
The greenie argument is also a good one. Help the environment and yourself.

If you are a 2 car family then I think it is very hard to look past a EV for at least one car.

Take one for test drive.

SaltyNZ

8218 posts

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#2197371 13-Mar-2019 15:51

wellygary:

I'll tell you now, Unless the price of petrol or ICE vehicles double, re imposing RUC on EVs will kill the EV market in NZ Stone Dead...

it will not happen,.....

I didn't pay 4x as much for my current car as I did for my previous car just because it allowed me to temporarily avoid a small tax, you know.

iPad Pro 11" + iPhone 15 Pro Max + 2degrees 4tw!

These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

Elliemay

38 posts

Geek

#2197376 13-Mar-2019 15:51

SaltyNZ:

In an ideal world I would have waited another couple of years myself, but my old car died and I needed to replace it. For me, buying an EV was not solely about cheap running costs or having a cool new technology. It's about doing the right thing, and EVs are the right thing. Doing the right thing does cost money, sometimes.

But having said that, it doesn't matter what car you buy, it's going to lose half it's value the second they hand you the keys. A car is not an investment in which you ever expect to come out ahead. It's a thing you have because you have to have one. So I bought a short-range EV because it will be able handle 99% of my driving even at about 75% health - which should be 3-4 years from now - and by that time I expect the battery replacement issues should have solutions. And if not, I can still either trade the car in, hand it down to the kids for their first car or my wife who commutes half the distance ...

If I just wanted a cheap car I would not have bought an EV. I wanted to stop burning poison. That's why I bought an EV.

Exactly.

wellygary

8312 posts

Uber Geek

#2197383 13-Mar-2019 16:07

SaltyNZ:

I didn't pay 4x as much for my current car as I did for my previous car just because it allowed me to temporarily avoid a small tax, you know.

No. but the best way to mass adoption is to make something that is better the cheaper option....

Delphinus

611 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2197384 13-Mar-2019 16:07

SaltyNZ:

If I just wanted a cheap car I would not have bought an EV. I wanted to stop burning poison. That's why I bought an EV.

Don't get me wrong, I love EV's and I'm stoked that people like you use them. I will definitely get one myself in the next few years, but personally I cannot justify the cost of replacing my fully operational 07 Mazda 3 with the current options on the market. Environmentally I'm probably better off keeping the current car rather than supporting the manufacturing of a new vehicle.

And they all drive so so differently. If how a car drives is important to you, you need to test drive a range of them IMHO.

KrazyKid

1238 posts

Uber Geek

#2197389 13-Mar-2019 16:09

tripper1000:

If you buy one, your first purchase after that should be one of those lithium jump start packs - I never used my jump start pack on my own car until I bought the Leaf, now I use it every 2 months as regular as clockwork.

@tripper1000 - surprised you need to use one every 2 months, I assume the 12V battery is on the way out. Saying that I am looking at getting a lithium jump start pack. Since yours has been well tested :) - what model do you have?

Thanks

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MarkH67

517 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2197392 13-Mar-2019 16:13

I'm not opposed to paying RUC on my car, BUT - no RUC means my investment in the EV is paying for itself noticeably faster.

My current EV is a commuter only, I'd love a 'do everything' car like the Kona with its great range - if only it wasn't over $70k for one of them. My next car will have more than 400km range, which will make it convenient for all driving. I'll save money for the next 4 or 5 years by driving my Leaf to work and back, by the time it has had 6 years of commuting (4.5 years to go) I will have saved ~15k - this means that selling it for next to nothing won't be a big deal.

My maths: Bought my Leaf for $21k, save $15k over 6 years. If I sell for $2k then with the 15k saved I'm 21-17=$4k out of pocket. I think that any fossil fuel burner would have lost more than $4k in value between 2 years old & 8 years old. So yeah, I couldn't care less if the value of my car plummets, I'm still better off with my Leaf than if I'd bought a similar age/mileage fossil fuel burner.

In 4 or 5 years time it should be no problem to get a 2-year old car with over 400km range, adaptive cruise control, 360° camera, at least 200HP, etc. Considering the Hyundai Kona EV has pretty much everything I want in the next car, how easy will it be to find what I want in a 2021 or 2022 car? I've already set myself the necessary savings goals so that I'll be able to afford a 2-year-old car in 2023/2024 with plenty of money left in the bank after the purchase.

The bottom line is that I'd be worse off just waiting for my next car if I hadn't bought the Leaf in the meantime, I'm saving plenty of money on my 70km/day commute, making it well worth owning an EV as a commuter car.

Elliemay

38 posts

Geek

#2197655 14-Mar-2019 07:49

MarkH67:

I'm not opposed to paying RUC on my car, BUT - no RUC means my investment in the EV is paying for itself noticeably faster.

My current EV is a commuter only, I'd love a 'do everything' car like the Kona with its great range - if only it wasn't over $70k for one of them. My next car will have more than 400km range, which will make it convenient for all driving. I'll save money for the next 4 or 5 years by driving my Leaf to work and back, by the time it has had 6 years of commuting (4.5 years to go) I will have saved ~15k - this means that selling it for next to nothing won't be a big deal.

My maths: Bought my Leaf for $21k, save $15k over 6 years. If I sell for $2k then with the 15k saved I'm 21-17=$4k out of pocket. I think that any fossil fuel burner would have lost more than $4k in value between 2 years old & 8 years old. So yeah, I couldn't care less if the value of my car plummets, I'm still better off with my Leaf than if I'd bought a similar age/mileage fossil fuel burner.

In 4 or 5 years time it should be no problem to get a 2-year old car with over 400km range, adaptive cruise control, 360° camera, at least 200HP, etc. Considering the Hyundai Kona EV has pretty much everything I want in the next car, how easy will it be to find what I want in a 2021 or 2022 car? I've already set myself the necessary savings goals so that I'll be able to afford a 2-year-old car in 2023/2024 with plenty of money left in the bank after the purchase.

The bottom line is that I'd be worse off just waiting for my next car if I hadn't bought the Leaf in the meantime, I'm saving plenty of money on my 70km/day commute, making it well worth owning an EV as a commuter car.

That's the way to think!

Elliemay

38 posts

Geek

#2197656 14-Mar-2019 07:51

KrazyKid:

tripper1000:

If you buy one, your first purchase after that should be one of those lithium jump start packs - I never used my jump start pack on my own car until I bought the Leaf, now I use it every 2 months as regular as clockwork.

@tripper1000 - surprised you need to use one every 2 months, I assume the 12V battery is on the way out. Saying that I am looking at getting a lithium jump start pack. Since yours has been well tested :) - what model do you have?

Thanks

I would like to know too please.

Jezzza234

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2197734 14-Mar-2019 09:44

GizTec:

kelly42:

Jezzza234:

I tried to find an answer to this but it's hard since its a single thread with numerous posts. I just bought a 2018 Nissan Leaf (UK spec, N-Connecta). Very happy with it but wondered about getting the GPS to work for NZ. I was surprised that even with Apple CarPlay it still thought it was in the UK. Funnily enough while connected even my iPhone insists it's in the UK!

I've seen Nissan Leaf 2018's being sold saying they have working NZ GPS, and one even had a photo of it working with Apple Maps in NZ. Anyone have advice for this please? Do I need to replace any hardware or can it be done with a software update? Can I even do it on the SD card supplied or does it need to go to a Nissan Dealership?

I've seen the same behaviour on my 2018 UK Leaf from Mercury Drive. It's magnified in my house because I use Android Auto flawlessly, which reads from the phone GPS, and my other half has an iPhone and basically never connects to use CarPlay for this reason. Disconcerting to have correct driving directions on the iOS device get ignored as soon as the cable is plugged in, after which the car thinks it is still in the UK.

I hadn't yet seen the 2018s being sold with NZ GPS so that's a good find and heartening to hear. Let us know how you get on...I'm sure there must be a solution that doesn't involve disassembly.

Have you tried unplugging the GPS antenna and disconnecting the battery for 30 mins?

I wondered about it too, but when I looked in to how to get access to it, I found I basically have to open up a lot of the interior of the car before I can even get access to the back of the infotainment system. Since the car is brand new, I'm very concerned about damaging at all by doing that. I was really hoping for a solution that didn't involve doing that, but yes, it's possible if I disconnect it that it might then force it to use the phone GPS. Of course, even that may not work though.

tripper1000

1617 posts

Uber Geek

#2197929 14-Mar-2019 12:26

Elliemay:
KrazyKid:
tripper1000:

If you buy one, your first purchase after that should be one of those lithium jump start packs - I never used my jump start pack on my own car until I bought the Leaf, now I use it every 2 months as regular as clockwork.

@tripper1000 - surprised you need to use one every 2 months, I assume the 12V battery is on the way out. Saying that I am looking at getting a lithium jump start pack. Since yours has been well tested :) - what model do you have?

Thanks

I would like to know too please.

@Elliemay @KrazyKid

My jump start pack is just Chinesium one, nothing special. TBH I don't think it is important to have a highly spec'd jump pack because the Leaf needs way less current to start than an ICE. Occasionally the battery is 1/2 flat which causes heaps of errors that prevent it from starting even with the jump pack, so I also carry a 10mm spanner to momentarily disconnect the battery to clear the errors.

I have taken the car in to the batter shop twice and their computerised tester says the battery is tip-top, still producing next to 100% of the rated CCA's etc. I can see on Leaf Spy that the car is charging it up to 14.4 volts. I can leave it un-driven for 2 weeks over Christmas and it's not a problem, but then in 8 hours while its in the work car-park it can go totally flat. They're notorious for it, particularly in the USA. Mine is a JDM car with a USA head deck so I some times wonder if the Head Deck has something to do with it. From what I've read, it is probably some of the computers not going into sleep mode, but staying awake and waiting to send data to Nissan.

Elliemay

38 posts

Geek

#2197931 14-Mar-2019 12:29

tripper1000:

Elliemay:
KrazyKid:
tripper1000:

If you buy one, your first purchase after that should be one of those lithium jump start packs - I never used my jump start pack on my own car until I bought the Leaf, now I use it every 2 months as regular as clockwork.

@tripper1000 - surprised you need to use one every 2 months, I assume the 12V battery is on the way out. Saying that I am looking at getting a lithium jump start pack. Since yours has been well tested :) - what model do you have?

Thanks

I would like to know too please.

@Elliemay @KrazyKid

My jump start pack is just Chinesium one, nothing special. TBH I don't think it is important to have a highly spec'd jump pack because the Leaf needs way less current to start than an ICE. Occasionally the battery is 1/2 flat which causes heaps of errors that prevent it from starting even with the jump pack, so I also carry a 10mm spanner to momentarily disconnect the battery to clear the errors.

I have taken the car in to the batter shop twice and their computerised tester says the battery is tip-top, still producing next to 100% of the rated CCA's etc. I can see on Leaf Spy that the car is charging it up to 14.4 volts. I can leave it un-driven for 2 weeks over Christmas and it's not a problem, but then in 8 hours while its in the work car-park it can go totally flat. They're notorious for it, particularly in the USA. Mine is a JDM car with a USA head deck so I some times wonder if the Head Deck has something to do with it. From what I've read, it is probably some of the computers not going into sleep mode, but staying awake and waiting to send data to Nissan.

Thanks @tripper1000

happyfunball

287 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2197932 14-Mar-2019 12:30

tripper1000:

I have taken the car in to the batter shop twice and their computerised tester says the battery is tip-top, still producing next to 100% of the rated CCA's etc. I can see on Leaf Spy that the car is charging it up to 14.4 volts. I can leave it un-driven for 2 weeks over Christmas and it's not a problem, but then in 8 hours while its in the work car-park it can go totally flat. They're notorious for it, particularly in the USA. Mine is a JDM car with a USA head deck so I some times wonder if the Head Deck has something to do with it. From what I've read, it is probably some of the computers not going into sleep mode, but staying awake and waiting to send data to Nissan.

What year is your LEAF? A dealer told me this was a problem with older models but not 2015+.

SaltyNZ

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#2197933 14-Mar-2019 12:32

tripper1000:

From what I've read, it is probably some of the computers not going into sleep mode, but staying awake and waiting to send data to Nissan.

Yes, that's my understanding as well: US telematics is the culprit.

iPad Pro 11" + iPhone 15 Pro Max + 2degrees 4tw!

These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

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