Bad news if you own your LEAF

[essaunders]

Doesn't matter to me. The money is gone, and more has been earned to replace it. I have a car that should run well for some time. What it is worth isn't that important to me. What would be a huge downer was if it stopped running, and I'd have to part with way too much more money to make it work again. I know people immediately think, battery. But I can still use the car with half of the battery capacity. Might be nice to find a cheap used one. Something to tear apart and play with.

exactly. the price I paid on my leaf is less than an 'equivalent' new car +$10K for an ev conversion and is a way better can than I could have built. I figure I'll drive the car for at least 2 redesign periods and don't count on getting any real residual value at sale/trade-in.

 

[camasleaf]

How does RavEV value holds after more than a decade?

 

[abasile]

Doesn't matter to me. The money is gone, and more has been earned to replace it.

I'm with you there. It's not costing me much out of pocket to keep the car, just insurance and registration, and less maintenance than an ICE. And I'm not planning to sell.

I told my wife that I wouldn't mind holding on to our early 2011 LEAF for many, many years, partly for its historical significance in the EV movement. (I still want a Tesla, though!)

 

[thankyouOB]

the 2011 early-build pre-tsunami leaf is a classic. on the west coast, it will wear particularly well.

 

[braineo]

Do anyone have the last 5 digits of the VIN numbers just before the tsunami?

 

[smkettner]

Do anyone have the last 5 digits of the VIN numbers just before the tsunami?

Mine is pre-tsunami at 2148. I would guess not more than 1000 more were built/delivered before the tsunami.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

What make a pre-tsunami car better? (or a "classic")

 

[apvbguy]

What make a pre-tsunami car better? (or a "classic")

it's not radioactive?

 

[Stanton]

What make a pre-tsunami car better? (or a "classic")

Good question, and if I THINK I know the answer, it would seem that the main benefits extend post-tsunami, as long as it wasn't part of the batch "stuck at the dock" for an extended period of time in Long Beach.

 

[hill]

The holy grail would be to pick one up for a song that is just under 5 years old, then have it lose its fourth bar just in time to get the battery replaced under the warranty with improved chemistry.

Right :lol:
I'm soooo very positive Nissan is hard at work developing a new chemistry that'll just plop right into my 3yr old Leaf. That fantasy is as wonderful as when Nissan suggested that our legacy Leafs will accept the newer 6kW on board charger. "Just plop one of those in too!!" Right. Suddenly I'm reminded of a famous W.C. Fields quote.
.

 

[reeler]

So I guess we should start seeing $5K prices soon. I have three kids that will be driving soon. PM me and I will give anyone $5K for theirs.

 

[ksnogas2112]

The holy grail would be to pick one up for a song that is just under 5 years old, then have it lose its fourth bar just in time to get the battery replaced under the warranty with improved chemistry.

Right :lol:
I'm soooo very positive Nissan is hard at work developing a new chemistry that'll just plop right into my 3yr old Leaf. That fantasy is as wonderful as when Nissan suggested that our legacy Leafs will accept the newer 6kW on board charger. "Just plop one of those in too!!" Right. Suddenly I'm reminded of a famous W.C. Fields quote.
.

Not remembering the WC Fields but certainly remembering the PT Barnum misquote.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

The holy grail would be to pick one up for a song that is just under 5 years old, then have it lose its fourth bar just in time to get the battery replaced under the warranty with improved chemistry.

Right :lol:
I'm soooo very positive Nissan is hard at work developing a new chemistry that'll just plop right into my 3yr old Leaf. That fantasy is as wonderful as when Nissan suggested that our legacy Leafs will accept the newer 6kW on board charger. "Just plop one of those in too!!" Right. Suddenly I'm reminded of a famous W.C. Fields quote.
.

I was referring to the battery with the higher heat resistance. The fantasy doesn't seem too far out of reach.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

What make a pre-tsunami car better? (or a "classic")

it's not radioactive?

I was thought about asking that but figured it was too soon.

 

[apvbguy]

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1089421_residual-values-on-battery-electric-cars-kbb-is-not-optimistic" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Low resale values are likely to result in low residual values used in future lease calculations/pricing. The cheap ev leases could dry up, unless mfrs are making the losses back on various other credits and mandates.

 

[abasile]

What make a pre-tsunami car better? (or a "classic")

By itself, I'm not sure that pre-tsunami or post-tsunami is such a big distinction. However, it is a nice feeling to be the original owner of roughly the 500th LEAF sold (through a fluke, I might add, as a Nissan glitch turned me into a "line jumper"). For all of the complaints I've had, I'm still very happy that Nissan chose to get behind EVs.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I then asked one of the sales people if they were having trouble getting rid of Leaf lease returns.

I doubt seriously if they have had any yet. Unless I am mistaken, there were no two-year leases on 2011 cars, and only a couple were sold or leased in December 2010.

Ray

we have had more than a handful of owners who traded in to lease cars. others who terminated leases VERY early to re lease another to trade up, refresh the battery, etc... so ya, there are used LEAFs out there.

 

[ttweed]

The holy grail would be to pick one up for a song that is just under 5 years old, then have it lose its fourth bar just in time to get the battery replaced under the warranty with improved chemistry.

Right :lol:
I'm soooo very positive Nissan is hard at work developing a new chemistry that'll just plop right into my 3yr old Leaf. That fantasy is as wonderful as when Nissan suggested that our legacy Leafs will accept the newer 6kW on board charger. "Just plop one of those in too!!" Right. Suddenly I'm reminded of a famous W.C. Fields quote.

Not remembering the WC Fields but certainly remembering the PT Barnum misquote.

I think the "Never give a sucker an even break" quote attributed to W.C. Fields is where he was going with that...

TT

 

[lemketron]

So I guess we should start seeing $5K prices soon. I have three kids that will be driving soon. PM me and I will give anyone $5K for theirs.

Heh... For $5K, I'd be tempted to buy a second LEAF and let people rent it on GetAround. I've already made more than that renting my previous car, a 1997 CRV with 100K miles. Plus my wife could drive it instead of her minivan, and I also have a daughter who can't wait to drive a LEAF (though she does have to wait a few more years).