Nissan LEAF - General

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168 posts

Master Geek

#2614342 1-Dec-2020 20:20

I think 2013 onwards and with the best battery SoH you can find in your price range. Age and mileage really come second to SoH with the Leaf IMHO.

I got mine at 11 bars and around 80-81% SoH, had it for a year lost 1 bar and dropped to 77% but actually really didn't notice much difference in range or daily usage. Was still managing my fornitely 90km round trip about the same.

If you can afford it though a 2016 or newer with the 30kwh battery is a thought, with 77-80% SoH they are still as good as a 24kwh leaf with 100% health.

I enjoyed my 12 months with a leaf, but I've sold it and gone back to a hybrid. I'm waiting for the day when an electric car with at least 200-250 km range can be found second hand in the $15K-$20K range before I try again. 100km is perfectly fine around town for my daily use but it's not enough for other things I like to do on occasion. Meanwhile my toyota corolla axio hybrid is on track to do 800km on it's first tank of petrol since I bought it, really not such a bad compromise so far.

ANglEAUT

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#2614347 1-Dec-2020 20:33

Dugimodo: ...

On the bright side there's a christchurch outfit https://evsenhanced.com/services/hv-battery-swaps-and-upgrades/ that does battery replacements and upgrades using recovered batteries from wrecked leafs.

...

There also is iTech Automotive in Auckland: https://hybridbatteries.co.nz/nissan-leaf/

I laugh that they are willing to quote you on a Nissan Leaf Hybrid battery: https://hybridbatteries.co.nz/product/nissan-leaf-hybrid-battery/

Sent a contact request over the weekend, but no response yet.

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ANglEAUT

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#2614348 1-Dec-2020 20:35

morrisk:

Not sure why nobody seems to factor in the no emissions benefit when talking about EVs. Climate change is here and costing us considerable money e.g. Napier this week - yet we are still just thinking about how much we personally might save or not or whether we may find it inconvenient not to be able to travel 500km without stopping. So yes there are some differences between EVs and ICEs but the no emission one (and I am talking about over the whole cycle of production, to use, to end life) seems to be me to the one that we need to be putting the most value on.

Because you can't quantify it so easily in a spreadsheet?
Because the benefit if 20+ years in the future instead of now?

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morrisk

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#2614376 1-Dec-2020 21:25

I guess my grandchildren will appreciate the benefit even if it isn't easy to quantify in a spreadsheet.

smac

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#2614391 1-Dec-2020 22:01

Well in the short term you can focus on the immediate benefits: my commute is $2 a day instead of $10, and no more oil/filter/service every 6 months. Just tyres & brakes (which barely get used). That is the main reason I went Leaf rather than hybrid.

Scott3

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#2614393 1-Dec-2020 22:16

ANglEAUT:

morrisk:

Not sure why nobody seems to factor in the no emissions benefit when talking about EVs. Climate change is here and costing us considerable money e.g. Napier this week - yet we are still just thinking about how much we personally might save or not or whether we may find it inconvenient not to be able to travel 500km without stopping. So yes there are some differences between EVs and ICEs but the no emission one (and I am talking about over the whole cycle of production, to use, to end life) seems to be me to the one that we need to be putting the most value on.

Because you can't quantify it so easily in a spreadsheet?
Because the benefit if 20+ years in the future instead of now?

Tragity of the commons.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons

mrdrifter

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#2614403 1-Dec-2020 22:58

Dugimodo:
I think 2013 onwards and with the best battery SoH you can find in your price range. Age and mileage really come second to SoH with the Leaf IMHO.

I got mine at 11 bars and around 80-81% SoH, had it for a year lost 1 bar and dropped to 77% but actually really didn't notice much difference in range or daily usage. Was still managing my fornitely 90km round trip about the same.

If you can afford it though a 2016 or newer with the 30kwh battery is a thought, with 77-80% SoH they are still as good as a 24kwh leaf with 100% health.

I enjoyed my 12 months with a leaf, but I've sold it and gone back to a hybrid. I'm waiting for the day when an electric car with at least 200-250 km range can be found second hand in the $15K-$20K range before I try again. 100km is perfectly fine around town for my daily use but it's not enough for other things I like to do on occasion. Meanwhile my toyota corolla axio hybrid is on track to do 800km on it's first tank of petrol since I bought it, really not such a bad compromise so far.

Thanks for the detail. I had been thinking the same thing around the 30KW option as there are a few 2016 available, although not all the sellers make it clear which spec and air bags are available.

Is the rust around the suspension struts a big issue, a few we looked at seemed to be pretty bad, really poor design.

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Scott3

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#2614407 1-Dec-2020 23:38

mrdrifter:

We've reached the point where we need another vehicle as we head different directions during the weekend for kids sport etc... I've read nearly all the pages in this thread over the years so pretty comfortable with what I'm looking at battery/SOH/KMs wise. But I'm just looking for recommendations on what model/year we should be looking for, currently my thinking is a 2014/15 X or G, or should I look at something 15/16/17? Many of the newer years seems to have quite a few quick charges on them. I'm in Wellington but am happy to purchase wherever if it's the right value.

A lot of will come down to what your needs / desires are.

2014/2015 X/G is a good spot to be looking at in my eyes. Mid cycle update (AZE0) with bigger boot etc got most 2013 model year cars. By 2014 I think most / all cars have got the new battery chemistry, so 2014/2015 will be the cheapest cars with this. Note the dramatically higher decay on 2013 and prior cars on the below.

https://flipthefleet.org/resources/benchmark-your-leaf-before-buying/

Avoiding S trim means you get the nicer looking dashboard, B mode, heat-pump, climate control. Only reason you would want the S trim (other than price) is if you plan to upgrade the audio system, and want one where the heater controls aren't integrated with the head unit. This has changed with in recent years with English conversion services for head units. Prior to that S trim was quite sought after.

Big difference in the few years after 2015 is the availability of the 30kWh battery (option I think). You will need to decide if you need this range. 30kWh cars command quite a price preimum. Other than that I think the infotainment changed between carwings and nissan connect, and some options improved a litte. Also batteries on 2014+ cars decay at about 3.5% a year, so a younger car means healthier battery in general. In my eyes not really worth the extra money unless you want 30kWh.

In terms of options the below are desirable:

Heat pump, B mode, nicer dashboard (standard excl S trim)
Side airbags (fairly rare on AZE1 cars)
Reverse camera (common)
Cruise control (common)
LED Low bean headlights (note Halogen headlights are quite yellow due to relatively low operating voltage in the leaf. Apparently the high beams are better on the none LED option).
Parcel tray (can buy for cira $150)
Solar spoiler (personally I don't think it adds value)
Bose audio / 360 degree camera (fairly rare on 2014 / 2014)

With regards to wheels, there are 16" steel, 16" alloy, and 17" alloy. Mostly aesthetics, but 16" options get slightly better range, and the tires are cheaper. Tires on 17's are slightly wider, and about 8mm taller (but with about 5mm less sidewall), so should handle a touch better and give a touch more ground clearance.

Watch out for non S cars that have had the head unit swapped - loose climate timers etc, and ability to see what you are doing with climate control.

Watch out for the Ex aussie cars. Cira 2013/2014, but were built in 2011, and sat on an aussie wharf for a couple of years. These have a factory fitted spare, may have a battery warranty, but are the ZE0 pre refresh model.

Ex uk cars (normally top "Tekna" spec) are quite desirable. Loaded with features like bose audio, leather seats, side airbags. Also get stronger steel in doors, and a 6.6kW AC charger which didn't seem to be offered in japan leaf's.

Charge cords are worth quite a bit, so add value to the car. Cira $600 for an wall socket type charge cords. Cira $270 for a type 1 to type 2 charge cord.

We recently purchased a 2014 Au tech (Think G, but might be X) with 77000km and over 1000 fast charges. Battery on 75% SOH. In the bottom 5 percentile of battery health for a 2014.

My partner only really drives to about 5 different places, all within 7km of home, and we have a second car in the household, so range was not super important to us. Had been shopping for 2011 leaf's, but worked out the seat height adjustment had more travel in the AZE0 leaf's (post mid cycle refresh).

Had decided that aesthetically we had a strong preference for Black with the Blue Autech wheels, so not that many cars to pick from, and by accepting a tired battery we were able to get it for the money we were willing to spend.

Hope is that without lots of fast charging battery decay will slow to about 3% a year. Car has been in NZ over a year, the positive glow on battery health from the fast charging should be gone hopefully.

Car does look better than standard leaf's, but not sure if the Autech front bumper is a good idea. Have scraped it on the ground bad enough to pop out the side twice in a couple of weeks :(.

I had to give up the LED headlights I wanted, and the Bose audio, plus had to spend a bit of money converting the head unit to english, getting a parcel tray etc. But I am quite happy with the outcome.

[edit] With regards to some of the the nicer 2016 / 2017 leaf's, they seem to be asking in $25k+. I don't really see the value in this, given new shape 40kWh leaf's start at $35k. Also other options with proper battery cooling like the i3, Ioniq are not that fare away pricewise.

mrdrifter

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#2614504 2-Dec-2020 08:24

Yeah I'm not in a super rush so won't be running out and spending 25k, as you say - there isn't much of a jump between that and something with the newer cooling tech etc...

Aesthetically most of them look almost the same to me so that is a little further down the decision tree.

I had noticed the 2013/14 models that appeared to be built on a 2011 type chassis with the lump under the back seats, I was pretty much avoiding these as I wanted to ensure it was a model with the newer chemistry batteries.

Our driving profile for this would be very similar with a reasonably standard set of destinations for kids and sports etc... We will still have the other vehicle for any longer trips Nd when we need to go in opposite directions.

Scott3

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#2614573 2-Dec-2020 09:54

If you are willing to accept a 6 (out of 12) bar battery, you can get the car for very cheap ($7k), making it relatively easy to pay off in fuel savings. The below one is fairly well specified too.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/nissan/listing/2885020853

Otherwise you will be looking at spending cira $13k to get a 2014+ with a 10 or 11 bar battery (75 - 80% SOH):

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/nissan/listing/2661597727

A 2014+ car with a healthy battery will have many more years service in it (dropping at around 3 % points a year), where the 6 bar battery one will likely continue to drop at 5 % points SOH per year.

Need to budget for english conversions, charge cords, parcel trays etc if you need them and the cars don't include. (plus ORC if a fresh import)

Some people have strong feelings on interior colour. Black is seen as more desirable. We didn't care, but ended up with black. Our car has the premium soft touch fabric seats, nice, but generate a lot of static when you get out of the car.

Obraik

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#2614587 2-Dec-2020 10:25

mrdrifter: Yeah I'm not in a super rush so won't be running out and spending 25k, as you say - there isn't much of a jump between that and something with the newer cooling tech etc...

Aesthetically most of them look almost the same to me so that is a little further down the decision tree.

I had noticed the 2013/14 models that appeared to be built on a 2011 type chassis with the lump under the back seats, I was pretty much avoiding these as I wanted to ensure it was a model with the newer chemistry batteries.

Our driving profile for this would be very similar with a reasonably standard set of destinations for kids and sports etc... We will still have the other vehicle for any longer trips Nd when we need to go in opposite directions.

Yeah, if you're spending 25k go with a BMW i3 instead (assuming its not too small for your needs)

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mrdrifter

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#2614907 2-Dec-2020 18:22

Thanks for all the feedback, it definitely helps when looking at options, and good to know that my thinking was on the right track. I've been adding things to my watchlist from TradeMe and also going through the ev dealer sites to try set baseline pricing expectations.
I'm leaning towards the 2014/15 models. Am I right that the headunit can be converted in these as swapping out loses climate control?

nofam

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#2614910 2-Dec-2020 18:50

mrdrifter: Thanks for all the feedback, it definitely helps when looking at options, and good to know that my thinking was on the right track. I've been adding things to my watchlist from TradeMe and also going through the ev dealer sites to try set baseline pricing expectations.
I'm leaning towards the 2014/15 models. Am I right that the headunit can be converted in these as swapping out loses climate control?

Yeah, headunit conversion is pretty straightforward, but is around $500. I had it done, and had the physical button stickers replaced with English too, but once you get bluetooth set up and your charging timer schedule in palce you really don't need to touch the settings, and you could accomplish it with the Japanese headunit using google translate on your phone, or following one of the many vids that step you through it.

MarkH67

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Ultimate Geek

#2614912 2-Dec-2020 19:04

My 2015 that I bought around 3 1/2 years ago with 12 bars now has 10 bars, but still does fine with no problems getting to work & back (72km mostly open road) with ~30-35% battery remaining. I've probably saved ~$9k on fuel & servicing costs so far - compared to a similar sized petrol car. I'm not really that enamoured with the long trip ability of a car with such a short range (not a problem for anyone with a 2nd car to handle those longer trips) but my Leaf is definitely worth owning for the work commute alone.

My work commute is Morrinsville-Cambridge-Morrinsville, but the car works great also for a trip over to Hamilton or Matamata as they are a similar distance. I've driven over to Hamilton to buy something from PBTech or to take my eScooter for a ride along the Waikato river path.

For anyone that needs a vehicle to commute around any of NZs cities (Auckland, Hamilton, Chistchurch or Dunedin especially) I think that a 2014 or 2015 Leaf would be a very good choice.

mrdrifter

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#2614921 2-Dec-2020 19:44

I believe this is the s spec model, but it seems quite a good price as an example - https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/nissan/leaf/listing/2884614097

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