stea1th
New member
Hey guys GREAT forum here, lots of valuable information, history and experiences. I live in AZ, looking to purchase my first EV to get Arizona’s AFV, a.k.a. “blue cloud”, license plate for carpool lane access. I have other ICE vehicle for weekends, long trips, etc. EV is additional vehicle for commuting. My commute distance is 15 miles each way. 2 miles flat surface streets + 11 miles freeway (AZ 101) + 2 miles flat surface streets. Rush hour traffic is making me C-R-A-Z-Y :evil: and can add 10-30 minutes to my otherwise 25 minute commute. Want to get advice on strategy for buying used, 2013-15, Leaf S. I tend to see 2 categories of Leaf's offered for sale here in AZ which I suspect are mostly vehicles coming off lease. There are those which have lived their whole life here in AZ, 25K-45K miles, 1-owner, 9-10 battery capacity bars showing on dash, maybe new tires, maybe new 12-volt battery. The other category are Leaf’s coming in from cooler climates, mostly the bay-area, 25K-45K miles, 1-owner, 11-12 battery capacity bars showing on dash, original tires, original 12-volt battery. Is the best strategy to go for a 9-bar AZ car with say 1/2 to 1/3 of its battery capacity warranty remaining (mileage or time) and HOPE to get a replacement lizard battery under warranty from Nissan --OR-- go for a 12-bar out-of-state car with the lowest mileage and no hope of getting a battery replacement from Nissan??? Prices seems to be about the same, sometimes AZ cars are less expensive. Complicating things is that dealers don’t want to provide recent battery health reports or copies of the Annual EV Battery Usage Reports which are required per the Leaf warranty information booklet in the MAINTENANCE, DATA ACCESS, AND RECORDS section or any kind of confirmation in writing or addendum in the sales contract that the battery capacity warranty is still valid. The typical response I get from dealers is that after dropping to 8-bars on the dash, Nissan needs to evaluate the battery to confirm there hasn’t been any ‘abuse’ and then decide IF they will repair, recondition or replace the battery. Nobody seems able to define what ‘abuse’ means in the context of making a battery replacement decision. Could use in hot AZ climate be ‘abuse’? Could previous owner driving 16K miles/year be ‘abuse’? What if previous owner got 1-stars on Nissan battery inspections or skipped the inspections altogether? Could there be other data lurking in the vehicle’s computers or maintenance records which Nissan could dig up, call ‘abuse’ and deny a battery warranty replacement claim? I even called Nissan’s 1-877-NO GAS EV hotline with some VINs and they could confirm warranty end dates over the phone but couldn’t provide me anything in writing that the battery capacity warranty was actually still valid. There seem to be many “if’s” and uncertainties with the battery capacity warranty… am I wrong about that?? Thanks for feedback on buying a used Leaf S in Arizona!!
p.s. I plan to use L1 charging from standard 120V outlet at home overnight. No EV charging available at work during the day, at least for now.
p.s. I plan to use L1 charging from standard 120V outlet at home overnight. No EV charging available at work during the day, at least for now.