Need Advice on buying this 2013 Leaf SV

[latitude500]

I've found a 2013 leaf that I believe to be a good deal, however I noticed that it already has 1 bar lost. And it does have some light paint damage that I could easily fix. So I'm thinking that it might be a good deal to pick up. However, how much range will that car have with one bar missing already, and is there a way to find out when or if the next bar will disappear.

The car is a little more then two hours away from where I live, and I do have spyleaf and a reader, so I could find out more informaiton about the battery come this weekend. Is it worth the drive? It has the fast charger L3, but it looks like it's missing the back up camera and really that isn't an issue with me. And it looks like the car has it's SD card so that's a good thing.

https://houston.craigslist.org/ctd/5167717594.html

http://www.deanmotorcars.com/web/used/Nissan-LEAF-2013-Houston-Texas/24138151/

I'm a little worried that it's a TRUCK dealership that is selling the car, but then again. I'm sure they don't know anything about this alien car they have setting on the lot.

Thank you for your help,

 

[Bob]

Answering two questions will help you decide.

1) Is a Leaf the right car for you? What kind of driving do you do? Do you need 60+ mile trips with highway miles or just a lot of short trips around town? Are there lots of chargers around your area, or must you go home after each trip to charge? A Leaf is fine for 60 miles on a full charge even after losing one bar, but using A/C will reduce range, high speed will reduce range, etc. Even if the car is good for 60 miles today, in a year, it will not give you as much, etc.

2) What is the temperature profile that this car experienced? The more hot weather, the more the battery will degrade prematurely. Houston can be a hot climate. That would concern me, although not as bad as southern California or Arizona. There is a battery temperature degradation model here, that has proven to be very accurate:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cWMq8jHlMBllcZXuhr7-S9kOQoeErY9EHb7JsnMLKGU/edit?pli=1#gid=1

I hope this helps.

Bob

 

[latitude500]

Thank you Bob for the reply.

So I live in Cedar Park Tx, and work in Austin Tx. I need about 40 miles a day, and half of that is highway. But yes Austin Tx is easily 100 degrees for three months out of the year. My work does have charging (240), and I have charging stations around my area, plus I'll be getting a 240 installed at the house too if I need it. so I'm thinking tha the car will work for me.

However, you touched on a solid response that I didn't think about. In a year / two I will have less range. And every year after that it will go down again and again. So I'm hoping to have 3m Christaline window tint installed to help with the over heating of the battery. I also plain to park the car in the garage at work and home when I'm not using it.

I'm not sure how to answer the second question, because I would be using Houston as my number even though I live in Cedar Park. And that number was a 1.195. So what does that number mean?

 

[LeftieBiker]

Another thing to consider: if this is a Leaf SV (as opposed to the base S model) it is the 'stripped' version, the fairly rare "base" SV. As such it lacks not just a backup camera, but the excellent 4 camera system that most of the SVs have, the Navigation system, and the very good Bose / XM stereo system. Resale value should be correspondingly lower. The S model lacks the cameras and Nav system as well, and has a more basic climate control and charge timer. Is that ok with you?

 

[RonDawg]

I've found a 2013 leaf that I believe to be a good deal, however I noticed that it already has 1 bar lost. And it does have some light paint damage that I could easily fix. So I'm thinking that it might be a good deal to pick up. However, how much range will that car have with one bar missing already, and is there a way to find out when or if the next bar will disappear.

The car is a little more then two hours away from where I live, and I do have spyleaf and a reader, so I could find out more informaiton about the battery come this weekend.

If you have LeafSpy and an OBDII adapter, that is all you need to use to get the actual remaining capacity. The first bar is worth 15%, and each subsequent bar is 6.25%. So an 11 bar car has between 78.75% and 85% capacity.

As far as range, Tony Williams compiled this range chart. It's for a brand new battery though: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=101293#p101293 The one for an 11 bar battery is here but may require a DropBox login: https://www.dropbox.com/s/sfufez3dcdvrvu9/LEAFrangeChartVersion7G82.pdf?dl=0

 

[keydiver]

My guess is that you will probably get close to 60 miles of range right now in mixed driving with the A/C on, but you can expect to have to charge at both ends of your commute after about a year of that. In your hot climate, the degradation is going to rapidly continue, but there's a good chance the car will qualify for a new battery under the 5 year/60,000 mile battery capacity warranty. You should probably have the VIN checked at your local Nissan dealership, to find out the in-service date, and to make sure there are no issues with it.
If you can guarantee access to charging at both ends of your commute, and you can deal will ever-dwindling range for the next 2 years, go for it. My suggestion if you do buy it: don't baby it. I doubt window tint is going to help, as the batteries are underneath the car, inches above the hot pavement. The faster you drive, and the more often you cycle the battery, the sooner you will get the new 2015 Lizard battery replacement.

 

[latitude500]

So I have an update on the car. I called a local dealership her with the VIN number and they told me that the battery capacity warranty is 60k, however there was a second warranty at 100k. However the guy didn't know much about the second warranty. Is this normal to have a battery warranty that lasts 100k. Is there another number I can call that might tell me more information?

 

[cwerdna]

So I have an update on the car. I called a local dealership her with the VIN number and they told me that the battery capacity warranty is 60k, however there was a second warranty at 100k. However the guy didn't know much about the second warranty. Is this normal to have a battery warranty that lasts 100k. Is there another number I can call that might tell me more information?

There is a 8 year/100K mile battery warranty on “defects and workmanship”, essentially functionality. Example: If a module fails or the car is unable to move due to battery prob or something is wrong inside the pack besides degradation.

See http://www.nissanusa.com/electric-cars/leaf/charging-range/battery/. You can download the warranty booklet at https://owners.nissanusa.com/nowners/navigation/manualsGuide.

 

[latitude500]

Thank you for that information, that cleared everything up.

I'm talking to the dealership now, and it looks like this might be a good car for me. I'm hoping to take a closer look at the car soon so I can pull some leafspy reports off it. Would you purchase this car for $10,500 walk out the door price. And I'll need to take care of tax and title fees.

Thank you again for the advice and knowledge.

 

[latitude500]

That graph was very helpful, but I need to make sure I'm reading this right. So if I'm traveling at 75mph with 11 bars on the car I can still go 72 miles give or take?

I've found a 2013 leaf that I believe to be a good deal, however I noticed that it already has 1 bar lost. And it does have some light paint damage that I could easily fix. So I'm thinking that it might be a good deal to pick up. However, how much range will that car have with one bar missing already, and is there a way to find out when or if the next bar will disappear.

The car is a little more then two hours away from where I live, and I do have spyleaf and a reader, so I could find out more informaiton about the battery come this weekend.

If you have LeafSpy and an OBDII adapter, that is all you need to use to get the actual remaining capacity. The first bar is worth 15%, and each subsequent bar is 6.25%. So an 11 bar car has between 78.75% and 85% capacity.

As far as range, Tony Williams compiled this range chart. It's for a brand new battery though: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=101293#p101293 The one for an 11 bar battery is here but may require a DropBox login: https://www.dropbox.com/s/sfufez3dcdvrvu9/LEAFrangeChartVersion7G82.pdf?dl=0

 

[keydiver]

75 mph is the far righthand column. So, a 1BAR loser fully charged driven at 75 mph is good for about 51 miles.

 

[DaveEV]

Keep in mind that is to empty as well. Generally you will want at least 5 miles of buffer, most are more comfortable with 10, so subtract that from the chart.