Nissan LEAF - General

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NZSpides

155 posts

Master Geek

#3320706 15-Dec-2024 11:32

That’s what the car is worth to a dealer, which doesn’t reflect what it’s worth to you.
The leaf represents reliable transportation to me that I am comfortable spending money to extend its useful life to me.
How many people out there would swap out a motor in an ice car without beating an eye? To me it’s the same thing. Ok it’s significantly more money, but find me an EV I can buy for $15k that has a range of 420km?

In that deal I get brand new batteries with 100% health (I’ve already done a swap with a 85% health battery and to be honest, it wasn’t worth it. )

I’m getting close to retirement so I don’t se the value in buying a new EV to get the same range and battery. The car will end up being given to my kids if they want it (they learned to drive in it).

So it’s not just an argument for the fiscal value for the car.

I’m pretty much set on doing the swap. In my situation it makes sense over spending $30-40k on a new car ( which was what I was planning to do next year anyway).

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gzt

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#3320774 15-Dec-2024 13:40

Batman: me and my mate went to 2 different dealers with our 2015 24kWh leaf with SOH 80% and asked what the buy or trade in value of our cars are (Dec 2024). mine has 35,000kms, his had 68,000kms.

both dealers said $1500. i checked on FB Leaf page and a couple of other people around the country have said the same.

You're experienced enough to know the trade-in price paid is almost entirely dependent on what you're trading up to and how much the particular dealer values your continued business.

I'd also say those cars are crossing the 10 year mark which is a well known psychological barrier for dealership small car sales. It's not the same as value in the wider secondhand car market.

That price is likely to be related to the dealer trade portal.

jarledb

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#3320849 15-Dec-2024 16:40

NZSpides:

I’m pretty much set on doing the swap. In my situation it makes sense over spending $30-40k on a new car ( which was what I was planning to do next year anyway).

You have a 12 year old car that you are going to put $15,000 into for a new battery.

That feels more like a sunk cost fallacy to me.

That car will have other problems down the road that will probably see you ending up with a nice working battery and a broken down car that you can't use.

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HarmLessSolutions

956 posts

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#3320850 15-Dec-2024 16:51

jarledb:

NZSpides:

I’m pretty much set on doing the swap. In my situation it makes sense over spending $30-40k on a new car ( which was what I was planning to do next year anyway).

You have a 12 year old car that you are going to put $15,000 into for a new battery.

That feels more like a sunk cost fallacy to me.

That car will have other problems down the road that will probably see you ending up with a nice working battery and a broken down car that you can't use.

Insurability would also be a consideration I suspect. How is your insurer going to react to you requesting a $15K increase in agreed value?

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gzt

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#3320854 15-Dec-2024 17:08

I haven't tried it. I don't think my insurer would be a problem. They ask for any additional modified parts, they ask questions to make sure those parts were professionally installed, they ask questions about parts to ensure the unique parts don't increase the theft and accident risk, and then they agree a value. Seems pretty straightforward.

Cybnate

71 posts

Master Geek

#3320859 15-Dec-2024 17:36

jarledb:

You have a 12 year old car that you are going to put $15,000 into for a new battery.

That feels more like a sunk cost fallacy to me.

That car will have other problems down the road that will probably see you ending up with a nice working battery and a broken down car that you can't use.

It is pretty much uncharted territory on what breaks next in a Leaf (or any electric car) once you have swapped the battery. There aren't that many Leafs on the road post 12 years because of the battery degradation.
What breaks might be just small stuff and nothing really expensive?

jarledb

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#3320861 15-Dec-2024 17:46

Cybnate:

What breaks might be just small stuff and nothing really expensive?

Sure, but in general cars have various problem creep up as you drive them.

Obvious things like suspension and brakes, things rusting to bits etc.

With an EV, the question is also what happens to the drive unit when it gets really old.

That said. Adding $15,000 for the new battery is not likely to add $15,000 to the value of the car if you turn around and try to sell it again.

natols

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3320864 15-Dec-2024 18:08

I'm getting the impression resale value isn't a priority here, but keeping the one car for as long as possible.

Having just gone through the exercise of replacing one, I'd suggest the next most expensive failure you will likely experience in a 2012 Leaf is the on-board charger in the back. The later AZE0 models are better with the OBC integrated with the inverter at the front.

John225

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3321559 17-Dec-2024 11:17

NZSpides: That’s what the car is worth to a dealer, which doesn’t reflect what it’s worth to you.
The leaf represents reliable transportation to me that I am comfortable spending money to extend its useful life to me.
How many people out there would swap out a motor in an ice car without beating an eye? To me it’s the same thing. Ok it’s significantly more money, but find me an EV I can buy for $15k that has a range of 420km?

In that deal I get brand new batteries with 100% health (I’ve already done a swap with a 85% health battery and to be honest, it wasn’t worth it. )

I’m getting close to retirement so I don’t se the value in buying a new EV to get the same range and battery. The car will end up being given to my kids if they want it (they learned to drive in it).

So it’s not just an argument for the fiscal value for the car.

I’m pretty much set on doing the swap. In my situation it makes sense over spending $30-40k on a new car ( which was what I was planning to do next year anyway).

The value in an EV should be different to an ICE car. If you look at its value as transportation it is linked to the battery. The utility of the extra range and how long you can continue to use it before it must be replaced are a function primarily of the battery condition and size. People are probably looking at its value as a status symbol or fashion item and seeing big negatives there. These are products of consumer culture. It's difficult to see past the skin. The environmental credentials of an EV would increase considerably with a battery replacement. A lot of the entrained energy that went into producing it would not be scrapped for another cycle of battery life.

The ICE vehicles value as transportation going forward (all else being equal) is linked primarily to the condition of its engine which is very much dependent on how much work it has done and the proxy for that is how far the vehicle has traveled.

Things breakdown over time and with use. The chronological age and the milage of the car will catch up to it eventually. 25 years or more seals will be drying out, boots cracking, and grease separating, sort of thing. An EV has less of this stuff to fail. Electronics age as well, but this is fairly unknown in an EV. It's not unusual to have 40 or 50 year old stuff still work in consumer electronics.

Cybnate

71 posts

Master Geek

#3374181 17-May-2025 17:38

Have been looking to upgrade my UK Leaf2016 30kW/ 6.6Kw charger with Android Carplay and NZ maps.
So I already have the english interface having the UK version, but not any NZ maps, Carplay or working Nissan Connect.

Googling around I found references to Xanavi SD cards which could make this happen. However you would loose the battery charger timer (and CD player), which I really do need having a fixed wall outlet on 7kW without any timer.

Is there anything else available under the $500 bracket which would meet my requirements for Android Carplay and keeping my timer for 2016 Leaf?

Batman

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#3374187 17-May-2025 18:27

John225:

The ICE vehicles value as transportation going forward (all else being equal) is linked primarily to the condition of its engine which is very much dependent on how much work it has done and the proxy for that is how far the vehicle has traveled.

Things breakdown over time and with use. The chronological age and the milage of the car will catch up to it eventually. 25 years or more seals will be drying out, boots cracking, and grease separating, sort of thing. An EV has less of this stuff to fail. Electronics age as well, but this is fairly unknown in an EV. It's not unusual to have 40 or 50 year old stuff still work in consumer electronics.

You forgot the battery. Maybe it will last 40-50 years, maybe it won't.

John225

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3374624 19-May-2025 12:42

Batman:

You forgot the battery. Maybe it will last 40-50 years, maybe it won't.

The guy I was responding to was replacing his battery, so my comment was regarding the rest of the car not including the battery. I have a 10-year-old leaf. SOH peak this summer was just below 75%. Its degrading about 1.7% per year. End of life will I think be somewhere between 50-60%, so it could last another 10 years if trends continue and will probably have over 200,000 km on it by then. Longevity depends not only on its chronological age but also how it's used. At 50% SOH not only will its range have deteriorated to about 60km max, but it becomes vulnerable to random cell failures which would brick the car.

RUKI

1402 posts

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#3376550 25-May-2025 16:37

FYI:

Case # 875 (random number, as I worked on hundreds of Leafs) Leaf 30kWh UK Specs with TPMS. One of the sensors failed. TPMS orange warning light is ON (aka mad jelly fish) Leaf failed WOF. Owner in no mood to pay for TPMS sensor replacement. Fixed: 10 minutes, a bit of magic with my special tools and the TPMS light is permanently OFF. No dismantling required. Back up saved, can be restored back.

Case # 876 (random number). Leaf 30kWh JDM with FEB (front Emergency Brake). FEB is based on the front facing radar system. Failed in that car. Owner was quoted tons of money to fix. Not keen. WOF - failed because of the orange warning light, which stays permanently ON and FEB cannot be turned OFF via menu (via square buttons on the right). Fixed - 10 minutes with my magic tools and the light is permanently OFF. No dismantling required. Back up saved, can be restored back.

P.S. have solutions for SUZUKI, Lexus, Toyota & Hyundai Ioniq TPMS Light OFF.

Toyota / Lexus Hybrid and EV Battery Expert Battery Test & Repair

Scott3

3945 posts

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#3379295 30-May-2025 18:43

Leaf values had dropped a lot over the last year, which makes them more appealing for the right use case.

24kWh AZE0 (First gen, post refresh), 2014 Autech like mine is now asking $4250:
https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/nissan/leaf/listing/5332847100

40kWh leaf's asking under $11k (and I there was one last week asking under $10k):
https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/nissan/leaf/listing/5332847100

62kWh leaf's asking under $20k (+595 ORC in this example)
https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/nissan/leaf/listing/5283916337

And CCS2 - CHAdeMO adaptors, while still expensive have dropped from the $2k they once were:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006850346893.html

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