Considering a 2015 Leaf S

[jamin594]

I stumbled across a low mileage (73K) one for $4,500 + tax out the door which seems like a good deal on this car. I am a Tesla driver and thought I might pick this up for my GF to commute from her job (24 miles round trip) and around town. She has an ICE vehicle she can use for longer drives. We have the ability to charge at home but it would be limited to L1 charging (unless I don't need to charge my Tesla then she could use L2). We've also examined ChargePoint locations and there are several free L2 stations close by. We live in the Denver metro area so temperatures do drop but it's usually not too cold. GIven my experience with my Tesla I see no reason this vehicle couldn't meet her daily driving needs most of the time.

About the car: It's a 2015 Leaf S. It has 11 bars on the battery health. I believe this means it has 85% of its initial capacity available. Meaning roughly 70 miles. It has been upgraded with the fast charging option and include the 6.6kWh charger as well (at least it shows the 6kWh estimate in the charging display). Vehicle is clean, drives good, no problems that I have observed with it. But I am not a Leaf owner so I am not familiar with any issues they may have. It's my understanding the batter is 24kWh in capacity and is a newer generation chemistry from what was used with the 2011 / 2012 model years. Not sure if it has the navigation.

Overall it seems like a solid car which is in great condition. Only problem is neither of us need this vehicle, it would be more of a fun thing (she likes how smooth EVs are). I am trying to get the dealer to let me take it for an overnight test drive (i.e. pick it up today and drop it off on Monday [dealers are closed on Sundays in CO]). The goal of doing so would be to see if the range is sufficient for some of the driving she wants to do, check out the free public charging locations, and see how long it takes to charge overnight at L1 speeds.

What are everyone's thoughts on the price, use case, test drive I wish to perform, and any special things to check or know before making a decision? Would a PPI be wise, especially on an EV which doesn't have nearly as many parts to break?

Any help would be appreciated...trying to make a decision by Monday.

 

[Dooglas]

If the vehicle meets your girlfriend's needs, the price and condition seem right. A Leaf Spy assesment of battery condition is always helpful. My only other comment is that I have found remote charging at public stations is usually a royal PITA. Isn't it practical to share L2 charging at home as needed?

 

[cornbinder89]

That does sound good, but I don't think you can count on the 70 mile range however. A good long test drive noting the SOC and how quickly it falls, would be good.
Depends on how much you drive in a day. Mine does fine on 16 amps for about two hrs, or would do fine on the 120 volt trickle charge overnight. I need about 7.5 Kwh of power for my daily needs, how I end up with that amount is something I can adjust. If you know what your daily needs are you can figure out if you need a level 2 or not.

 

[jamin594]

If the vehicle meets your girlfriend's needs, the price and condition seem right. A Leaf Spy assesment of battery condition is always helpful. My only other comment is that I have found remote charging at public stations is usually a royal PITA. Isn't it practical to share L2 charging at home as needed?

We're trying to determine if it meets her needs through an extended test drive but the dealer doesn't seem interested in allowing us to do so. Therefore we can only perform a paper analysis.

I've heard stories of public charging problems. It would be something we'd like to investigate in the event she may want to use it. We're not as interested in the DC fast charging as the L2 charging. In fact the free charges are 6.6kWh (they say 6.6kWh on the ChargePoint web site but I wouldn't be surprised if they're actually 7.2kWh which is what I have in my garage) chargers so a perfect match to the Leaf.

Using the L2 outlet would be possible most of the time, especially when it's cold outside (using shore power to supplement the precondition of the cabin is better done on L2 than L1). But we'd like to also test if L1 would be sufficient to replenish what she uses every day driving to and from work.

 

[jamin594]

That does sound good, but I don't think you can count on the 70 mile range however. A good long test drive noting the SOC and how quickly it falls, would be good.

The dealer said they could let us test it for a few hours but, IMO, that won't be sufficient because if we take it on a long drive we'll need to recharge it. Since I don't have access to a Leaf compatible L2 EVSE (I only have my Tesla EVSE) I'd be stuck recharging it with the L1 EVSE. Which means I'd spend more time charging it than test driving it.

Depends on how much you drive in a day. Mine does fine on 16 amps for about two hrs, or would do fine on the 120 volt trickle charge overnight. I need about 7.5 Kwh of power for my daily needs, how I end up with that amount is something I can adjust. If you know what your daily needs are you can figure out if you need a level 2 or not.

On paper L1 should suffice for her daily driving needs. But I've found L2 to be preferable due to cabin precondition during the winter plus those times where you don't want to wait 8 hours to replenish what was consumed.

 

[Drew21]

If you're looking for a second EV for local driving/commuting, I don't think you're going to do better than this one.

You mentioned that you also have an ICE vehicle, so in some sense you have a backup plan for "those times when you don't want to wait 8 hours to replenish what was consumed."

We've had a 2014 SV with 11 bars for about 2.5 years. We started with 61,xxx miles and just passed 77K. Three or four days/week my wife uses the Leaf to commute 32-33 miles roundtrip. She has free L2 charging at her work. On top of her commute, we use the Leaf for 95% of our local driving and reserve our ICE vehicle for long trips. We only have L1 at home and have had no issues with charging at home whenever we need to (e.g., add the necessary charge for the Monday commute after a weekend of local driving).

As far as the test drive goes, if you drive for an hour on the normal routes your GF drives for her commute, you should get a good estimate of expected range (miles driven / % charge consumed). Even if you add a significant margin for winter conditions, I think you'll see that this car should work for her usage.

Don't most dealerships have chargers now? Seems like they should be willing to let you charge the car back up there after your drive.

 

[cornbinder89]

The dealer said they could let us test it for a few hours but, IMO, that won't be sufficient because if we take it on a long drive we'll need to recharge it. Since I don't have access to a Leaf compatible L2 EVSE (I only have my Tesla EVSE) I'd be stuck recharging it with the L1 EVSE. Which means I'd spend more time charging it than test driving it.



On paper L1 should suffice for her daily driving needs. But I've found L2 to be preferable due to cabin precondition during the winter plus those times where you don't want to wait 8 hours to replenish what was consumed.

I would tell the dealer I wanted to do a test drive and expect the car to be fully charged when I got to the dealer, then "a few hours" should be more than enough time to drive long enough to see what kind of range it has and how it reacts to highway speeds/loads.
If it croaks while on the test drive, well you got your answer! Bring your cell phone!

 

[jamin594]

At this time the deal is on hold as the dealer has not permitted me to perform the extended test drive I've requested. Perhaps in a week or two when the car is still sitting on the lot they may be willing to but I am not holding my breath.

As for having their own charger they may but part of my desire to take it for an extended test drive is to see how it will work day to day. On paper things look good. But sometimes what looks good can be problematic. Problems which don't appear until you've lived with a vehicle for a few days.

 

[Chad E. Mo]

I'd spend the 20 bux on LeafSpy Pro and hammer the car up some long big hills to see if any cells sag under the load.

https://mynissanleaf.com/threads/battery-percentage-drops-erratically-on-acceleration.34742/

 

[Dooglas]

At this time the deal is on hold as the dealer has not permitted me to perform the extended test drive I've requested. Perhaps in a week or two when the car is still sitting on the lot they may be willing to but I am not holding my breath.

I don't understand what you would find out about the vehicle, beyond taking it fully charged and driving through a discharge cycle - something readily done in an afternoon. Doing the same thing 2 or 5 times would seem to only confirm what you already observed. IMO trying to simulate how the vehicle would be used over a period of several days by replicating that on a weekend is not going to tell you any more about the condition of the battery and its performance.

 

[DunanyDon]

I stumbled across a low mileage (73K) one for $4,500 + tax out the door which seems like a good deal on this car. I am a Tesla driver and thought I might pick this up for my GF to commute from her job (24 miles round trip) and around town. She has an ICE vehicle she can use for longer drives. We have the ability to charge at home but it would be limited to L1 charging (unless I don't need to charge my Tesla then she could use L2). We've also examined ChargePoint locations and there are several free L2 stations close by. We live in the Denver metro area so temperatures do drop but it's usually not too cold. GIven my experience with my Tesla I see no reason this vehicle couldn't meet her daily driving needs most of the time.

About the car: It's a 2015 Leaf S. It has 11 bars on the battery health. I believe this means it has 85% of its initial capacity available. Meaning roughly 70 miles. It has been upgraded with the fast charging option and include the 6.6kWh charger as well (at least it shows the 6kWh estimate in the charging display). Vehicle is clean, drives good, no problems that I have observed with it. But I am not a Leaf owner so I am not familiar with any issues they may have. It's my understanding the batter is 24kWh in capacity and is a newer generation chemistry from what was used with the 2011 / 2012 model years. Not sure if it has the navigation.

Overall it seems like a solid car which is in great condition. Only problem is neither of us need this vehicle, it would be more of a fun thing (she likes how smooth EVs are). I am trying to get the dealer to let me take it for an overnight test drive (i.e. pick it up today and drop it off on Monday [dealers are closed on Sundays in CO]). The goal of doing so would be to see if the range is sufficient for some of the driving she wants to do, check out the free public charging locations, and see how long it takes to charge overnight at L1 speeds.

What are everyone's thoughts on the price, use case, test drive I wish to perform, and any special things to check or know before making a decision? Would a PPI be wise, especially on an EV which doesn't have nearly as many parts to break?

Any help would be appreciated...trying to make a decision by Monday.

Jump on this without hesitation. I have a 2015 Leaf S with 85k and 10 bars that I bought used in 2020. I have been delighted with it and, other than regular maintenance, I have changed only the rear shocks and two light bulbs. One of the shocks made a slight ticking noise over small bumps, but still worked fine.

11 bars means the state of health (SOH) of the battery is between 77.3 and 85 percent, excellent for a 9-year-old Leaf. I lost my second bar just recently so my SOH is currently sitting at 76.7% (I use Leaf Spy Pro).

Summer range should be about 70 miles, but fast highway driving kills range very quickly, as does any temperature below 40 °F. I have found my range is cut in half when it is very cold (below 10 °F).

For a 24 mile daily round trip, the L1 charger should easily give a full charge overnight. With an L2 charger, my 24 kWh battery charges fully in under 3 hours. We also have a Kia Niro EV and have had no problems keeping both cars charged with a single L2 charger.

The 2015 Leaf S does not have navigation, but for short trips, who needs it? My favorite feature is the preheating of the cabin. You set your morning departure time time and when you get in the car, it is nice and toasty. Also, this gets rid of any frost or light snow on the windows (never any scraping!). The car must be plugged in overnight for this feature to work.

Buying this car should be a no-brainer. The gas savings alone could pay for the car in only a couple of years.

 

[cornbinder89]

I can see wanting the L-2 to be dedicated to one vehicle that you can plug it in and let the timer charge at night and not have to swap between vehicles. At ~25 mile per day, the L-1 would charge that fine in several hours, 7.8 Kwh is likely the max it would take depending on how much heat/ac was used, and that could easily be handled in 7-8 hr on the 120 volt plug. 5 1/2 hr would be enough.
It is roughly how I use my Leaf, and I aim for around 7 Kwh/night for my recharge regimen.

 

[jmbaldwin]

I agree that this seems like an easy decision. It is a great price for a great car! I have a 2015 Leaf S with 62K miles and 10 bars remaining. My daily commute is 40 miles RT (on the highway) and then I will run some errands or drive a carpool in the evening. The car has been trouble free and I haven't really noticed that much degradation in the range. The only maintenance I have done is new tires. I charge it on a Level 2 at my house overnight (with Leaf's charging timer). My favorite features of this car are the heated steering wheel and just the overall smoothness of driving it, and the ease of maneuvering it around city streets and parking lots. The only downside I think is the cheap hubcaps they put on the 2015 S model. I have a few places where pieces have cracked off.

 

[jamin594]

I'd spend the 20 bux on LeafSpy Pro and hammer the car up some long big hills to see if any cells sag under the load.

https://mynissanleaf.com/threads/battery-percentage-drops-erratically-on-acceleration.34742/

I see there are three versions of LeafSpy: Free, LeafSpy, and LeafSpy Pro (the latter being the only option for iOS). I read that LeafSpy is intended for 2011 - 2017, is that the one I should go with? Or does LeafSpy Pro also work with the first generation?

I will also need to buy a BT ODB-II dongle. The recommended one is $29 from Amazon. It seems this can be used with any ODB-II vehicle so it wouldn't be restricted to just this application.

 

[murrayc]

I stumbled across a low mileage (73K) one for $4,500 + tax out the door which seems like a good deal on this car. I am a Tesla driver and thought I might pick this up for my GF to commute from her job (24 miles round trip) and around town. She has an ICE vehicle she can use for longer drives. We have the ability to charge at home but it would be limited to L1 charging (unless I don't need to charge my Tesla then she could use L2). We've also examined ChargePoint locations and there are several free L2 stations close by. We live in the Denver metro area so temperatures do drop but it's usually not too cold. GIven my experience with my Tesla I see no reason this vehicle couldn't meet her daily driving needs most of the time.

About the car: It's a 2015 Leaf S. It has 11 bars on the battery health. I believe this means it has 85% of its initial capacity available. Meaning roughly 70 miles. It has been upgraded with the fast charging option and include the 6.6kWh charger as well (at least it shows the 6kWh estimate in the charging display). Vehicle is clean, drives good, no problems that I have observed with it. But I am not a Leaf owner so I am not familiar with any issues they may have. It's my understanding the batter is 24kWh in capacity and is a newer generation chemistry from what was used with the 2011 / 2012 model years. Not sure if it has the navigation.

Overall it seems like a solid car which is in great condition. Only problem is neither of us need this vehicle, it would be more of a fun thing (she likes how smooth EVs are). I am trying to get the dealer to let me take it for an overnight test drive (i.e. pick it up today and drop it off on Monday [dealers are closed on Sundays in CO]). The goal of doing so would be to see if the range is sufficient for some of the driving she wants to do, check out the free public charging locations, and see how long it takes to charge overnight at L1 speeds.

What are everyone's thoughts on the price, use case, test drive I wish to perform, and any special things to check or know before making a decision? Would a PPI be wise, especially on an EV which doesn't have nearly as many parts to break?

Any help would be appreciated...trying to make a decision by Monday.

I’m in LA, just sold my 2017 leaf back to Nissan (for the full sale price) because of battery degradation. We recently bought a Tesla and love it but I’m looking for a car exactly like that. So yes, I would buy it in a heartbeat. That’s a very good deal and it’s really a good car.

 

[jamin594]

I don't understand what you would find out about the vehicle, beyond taking it fully charged and driving through a discharge cycle - something readily done in an afternoon. Doing the same thing 2 or 5 times would seem to only confirm what you already observed. IMO trying to simulate how the vehicle would be used over a period of several days by replicating that on a weekend is not going to tell you any more about the condition of the battery and its performance.

Unfortunately they won't allow me sufficient time to perform a full discharge drive. I could easily do a complete discharge in the time they offered to let me test drive it. The problem is I would have to recharge it...which would easily exceed the couple of hours they offered to let me test drive it.

Chad E. Mo (love that nick) recommended I take it up a hill to test the battery strength. I think that's a great suggestion. But doing so means a 30 mile trip (one way) from the dealer. That's pushing the range which means I would need to stop and recharge somewhere. Unless I could find a fast charger I am looking at at least an hour to bring it to a level where I wouldn't be concerned about running out of charge. This assume ideal driving conditions to get the 70 mile range this one is capable of. Given the short range of this car one needs to factor in charging time unless one goes for a short test drive (which we've already done).

I've also learned that when one first starts driving an EV they are more focused on the range then where they can go. Once they become comfortable with it they know where they can go without issue. This is a reason I would like to try a trip to her work, then a trip to her moms place (which, mileage wise, would exceed the range so a recharge is a must).

I am aware that this car should easily be able to perform a round trip to and from work, even in colder weather. But I would like to know what the actual range impact is and not guess. IMO there's little risk to doing so. I've had dealers allow me overnight test drives on several vehicles. Since they're not open on Sundays that wouldn't be a big risk for them (not that it seems anyone has shown interest in the car as it's been on their lot for 67 days). But then maybe they don't want me to do such a test and discover it's not something I want based on such a test.

 

[jamin594]

I can see wanting the L-2 to be dedicated to one vehicle that you can plug it in and let the timer charge at night and not have to swap between vehicles. At ~25 mile per day, the L-1 would charge that fine in several hours, 7.8 Kwh is likely the max it would take depending on how much heat/ac was used, and that could easily be handled in 7-8 hr on the 120 volt plug. 5 1/2 hr would be enough.
It is roughly how I use my Leaf, and I aim for around 7 Kwh/night for my recharge regimen.

It's not so much that the L2 would be dedicated to the Tesla. It's just that I would rather not have to unplug the Tesla EVSE and then plug in the Leaf EVSE and then have to plug the Tesla EVSE in when I need to charge the Tesla (as a reference the Tesla sees maybe 7-8 miles a day on a regular basis . Given it has a 173 mile range @ 50% charge (where I leave it unless I am going on a long trip) it would take about two weeks before I would need to recharge it . But, if the L1 works, I wouldn't have to worry about it. The Leaf can use the L1 most of the time and I can leave the Tesla plugged into the 240 vot outlet.

 

[Drew21]

Regarding unplugging and switching the L2 chargers, if you normally go "about two weeks" before you need to recharge the Tesla, whereas you might want to recharge a Leaf every day or two based on a 24 mile roundtrip commute, I'm confused about the issue you're having here? You have the Leaf plugged into L2 for a week or so of daily use, then you charge the Tesla, then the Tesla doesn't need the charger for another week or more, freeing it up for the Leaf again, right?

We don't leave our L1 charger plugged into the wall when it's not being used, so we have to plug and then unplug it each time we want to use it. We're still hanging in there after 2.5 years of this heavy burden.

 

[jamin594]

Regarding unplugging and switching the L2 chargers, if you normally go "about two weeks" before you need to recharge the Tesla, whereas you might want to recharge a Leaf every day or two based on a 24 mile roundtrip commute, I'm confused about the issue you're having here? You have the Leaf plugged into L2 for a week or so of daily use, then you charge the Tesla, then the Tesla doesn't need the charger for another week or more, freeing it up for the Leaf again, right?

We don't leave our L1 charger plugged into the wall when it's not being used, so we have to plug and then unplug it each time we want to use it. We're still hanging in there after 2.5 years of this heavy burden.

The "issue" is I would like to see how what charging is like on L1. The test I outlined is how I would feel comfortable evaluating the Leaf based on our needs. We don't need this car, the intent of buying it would be to see how well an EV would fit her lifestyle. She's perfectly content with her ICE car and if the Leaf doesn't add much value then, despite it being a good price, it's not something to buy.

 

[cornbinder89]

Well, I think there are several people who can answer that for you. I used L-1 when I 1st got mine for a few days until the 14-50 to 6-50 adapter arrived. My usage is about 25 miles a day. Only takes a few hours at 120 volt to recharge, less than 5.
I have the level 2 so use it, but don't "have to".