HELP: I'm buying a 2015 LEAF SL today: premium or no premium?

[hmmwv]

Glad to hear you became another Seattle Leaf owner!

You got a great deal, about the same price as I paid for my certified preowned '13 SL + Premium. Commenting on the premium package, I can care less about the Bose sound system as road noise will kill any sound quality advantage anyway, but the around view camera is something I can no longer live without. I agree with Arlington's comment above, if your normal driving doesn't involve any tight parking spaces then it's no biggie, but if you are, it's a must for cars like the Leaf with long front and back overhangs.

 

[Jefe]

Hello! Need some advice on buying a used leaf. I went to carmax and they have a 2013 Leaf S w/ QC but no cruise control ($12,000.00 & 23k miles odometer). Dash shows 100% full charge with all 12 battery bars and good for 83 miles. Temperature here is about 50F outside. I have an OBDII adapter and planning to use the Leaf Spy lite to check the battery condition as suggested from others but don't know as to what values (SOC,AHR,GIDS, etc.) to look for to know if the battery is still good. Is this price too much for a used 2013 leaf S w/ QC and worth the $12k? Any advice please. Thanks

You are always going to pay a premium at Carmax. It comes with "assurance" that they have given it a "xx-point inspection" blah blah. And you can return it (theoretically) within 3 days. But you could probably find that same car elsewhere for $3-4K less.

I think Carmax will show you the Carfax report. Check that before anything and if it came from a hot climate, run. If it came from a cold northern climate, move to step 2.

With LeafSpy, the first panel will show you the SOH. If the battery hits 85% on the SOH, it will drop a bar. My 2013 SV that I just got has a 99% SOH.

I would also look at the number of QCs to the number of L1/L2 charges (also on the first screen of LeafSpy). Excessive QCs could have a negative impact on the battery, especially if done in the heat.

 

[gkl888]

Hello! Need some advice on buying a used leaf. I went to carmax and they have a 2013 Leaf S w/ QC but no cruise control ($12,000.00 & 23k miles odometer). Dash shows 100% full charge with all 12 battery bars and good for 83 miles. Temperature here is about 50F outside. I have an OBDII adapter and planning to use the Leaf Spy lite to check the battery condition as suggested from others but don't know as to what values (SOC,AHR,GIDS, etc.) to look for to know if the battery is still good. Is this price too much for a used 2013 leaf S w/ QC and worth the $12k? Any advice please. Thanks

You are always going to pay a premium at Carmax. It comes with "assurance" that they have given it a "xx-point inspection" blah blah. And you can return it (theoretically) within 3 days. But you could probably find that same car elsewhere for $3-4K less.

I think Carmax will show you the Carfax report. Check that before anything and if it came from a hot climate, run. If it came from a cold northern climate, move to step 2.

With LeafSpy, the first panel will show you the SOH. If the battery hits 85% on the SOH, it will drop a bar. My 2013 SV that I just got has a 99% SOH.

I would also look at the number of QCs to the number of L1/L2 charges (also on the first screen of LeafSpy). Excessive QCs could have a negative impact on the battery, especially if done in the heat.

Just came from Carmax. I have the stats from leafspy 2013 Leaf S w QC. It says SOH is 89%, AHr=58.59, Hx=88.94%, QC=2, L1/L2=1123. When I turn on the car the dash shows 100% charge but leaf spy is only showing 96.6S% SOC. Don't know why.

 

[gkl888]

Hello! Need some advice on buying a used leaf. I went to carmax and they have a 2013 Leaf S w/ QC but no cruise control ($12,000.00 & 23k miles odometer). Dash shows 100% full charge with all 12 battery bars and good for 83 miles. Temperature here is about 50F outside. I have an OBDII adapter and planning to use the Leaf Spy lite to check the battery condition as suggested from others but don't know as to what values (SOC,AHR,GIDS, etc.) to look for to know if the battery is still good. Is this price too much for a used 2013 leaf S w/ QC and worth the $12k? Any advice please. Thanks

You are always going to pay a premium at Carmax. It comes with "assurance" that they have given it a "xx-point inspection" blah blah. And you can return it (theoretically) within 3 days. But you could probably find that same car elsewhere for $3-4K less.

I think Carmax will show you the Carfax report. Check that before anything and if it came from a hot climate, run. If it came from a cold northern climate, move to step 2.

With LeafSpy, the first panel will show you the SOH. If the battery hits 85% on the SOH, it will drop a bar. My 2013 SV that I just got has a 99% SOH.

I would also look at the number of QCs to the number of L1/L2 charges (also on the first screen of LeafSpy). Excessive QCs could have a negative impact on the battery, especially if done in the heat.

Did you buy used 2013?

 

[Jefe]

Just came from Carmax. I have the stats from leafspy 2013 Leaf S w QC. It says SOH is 89%, AHr=58.59, Hx=88.94%, QC=2, L1/L2=1123. When I turn on the car the dash shows 100% charge but leaf spy is only showing 96.6S% SOC. Don't know why.

It's not uncommon for the dash to show a very different percentage from LeafSpy, and the dash is usually higher.

Yes, I bought a used 2013 SV just a few weekends ago. It was off lease from Illinois (remember climate is important) and only had 14880 miles on it.

My Leafspy readings are as such:

AHr = 65.34
SOH= 99%
Hx = 99.87%
QCs = 0 (Mine doesn't have QC)
L1/L2 = 573


Mine was above average, I think. the condition was impeccable inside. I looked at one at Carmax and was shocked that it was out on the lot in the condition it was in.

I would recommend looking for an SV or SL. Here's why: From a current market perspective, you are not going to pay that much more. But someone who bought or leased it new paid quite a bit more for an SV than an S. This might be too much generalization, but I think that type of person might be much more likely to baby it. The S's were leased really cheap and many people just considered it something they would drive the hell out of for the next 2 years and turn it in.

The one you are looking at has been charged twice as many times as mine. The battery capacity is getting low, it probably is just months away from dropping a bar (next summer?).