Why still go for an battery upgrade?

[Oostenrijker]

Thanks to Tesla, shaking up the EV market: I'm sure the value of my used Nissan Leaf dropped with several € 1000 in a month. However the same is true for 62kWh Leaf's.

So I just did a search on a Dutch used car website: the cheapest 62kWh I could find was € € 22.400 totally. Muxsan in the Netherlands charges € 10.490 for a 40kWh pack. And € 15.490 for a 62kWh pack!

Doesn't this hurt a lot for all the people who went ahead, and had a battery extender placed? One of these battery extenders, recently caught fire in the Netherlands. I wouldn't even consider it, but also the investment is a lot. A 22kWh extender sets you back €10.990 and you will have to deal, with a company who is know of providing bad aftersales ( see Google reviews).

Now I won't go ahead and waste my money: I just have mine 40kWh Tekna for 4 months, and still have some issues to solve with Nissan dealership I bought it from. Believe me: Dutch people are sloppy, can't even replace a windshield properly. And they damaged my car interior in the process.... so that's the source of my frustration.

And I hadn't bought it in the first place, if they told me it was involved in an accident. By putting green license plates, they covered up the damaged license plate. Ah well.... since sometimes the range isn't enough, it got me thinking to change to a 62kWh on some point.

Now obviously isn't the right time: unless I would get a good deal, which is unlikely now that the value of our Leaf's dropped so much. But still € 22.000 for a 62kWh Leaf? Ofcourse I won't buy a N Connecta, it should be a Tekna atleast!

Or perhaps an 3 Zero limited edition: but I guess, the longer I wait, the cheaper they get. I just also found a 3 Zero limited edition for € 21950 totally. And obviously, I won't make the same mistake again to buy a Leaf without checking Leafspy.

But my point being is: buying an 62kWh Leaf second hand, is cheaper than investing in a battery extender. Or replacing the battery, and that aren't even new ones. Those batteries come from Leaf's involved in accidents for example. Because Nissan doesn't sell any of these batteries, to third parties like Muxsan.

 

[feet]

Liking the rant, Oostenrijker

 

[Billabob1234]

I’ll second your rant! My 2015 has degraded to the point where in the winter time I’m getting range anxiety. If I forget to plug it in, or if something goes wrong with charging I won’t have enough juice to do my commute the next day. So I’m starting to look at either replacing the car or replacing the battery pack. Pack replacement prices are insane! $6k for a used 24kwh pack installed that is probably no better than the one I have. $11k if I want to get a used 40kwh pack installed. Trying to find one on eBay seems like very slim pickings and upwards of $8-10k anyway.

Doing a brief search, I see low mile 40kwh Leafs starting at $13k. Like you said, seems like a better deal to just buy a new (used) Leaf…. Or consider this EV foray a fun experiment and go back to ICE for a few years.

 

[TobyHolland]

Thanks to Tesla, shaking up the EV market: I'm sure the value of my used Nissan Leaf dropped with several € 1000 in a month. However the same is true for 62kWh Leaf's.

So I just did a search on a Dutch used car website: the cheapest 62kWh I could find was € € 22.400 totally. Muxsan in the Netherlands charges € 10.490 for a 40kWh pack. And € 15.490 for a 62kWh pack!

Doesn't this hurt a lot for all the people who went ahead, and had a battery extender placed? One of these battery extenders, recently caught fire in the Netherlands. I wouldn't even consider it, but also the investment is a lot. A 22kWh extender sets you back €10.990 and you will have to deal, with a company who is know of providing bad aftersales ( see Google reviews).

Now I won't go ahead and waste my money: I just have mine 40kWh Tekna for 4 months, and still have some issues to solve with Nissan dealership I bought it from. Believe me: Dutch people are sloppy, can't even replace a windshield properly. And they damaged my car interior in the process.... so that's the source of my frustration.

And I hadn't bought it in the first place, if they told me it was involved in an accident. By putting green license plates, they covered up the damaged license plate. Ah well.... since sometimes the range isn't enough, it got me thinking to change to a 62kWh on some point.

Now obviously isn't the right time: unless I would get a good deal, which is unlikely now that the value of our Leaf's dropped so much. But still € 22.000 for a 62kWh Leaf? Ofcourse I won't buy a N Connecta, it should be a Tekna atleast!

Or perhaps an 3 Zero limited edition: but I guess, the longer I wait, the cheaper they get. I just also found a 3 Zero limited edition for € 21950 totally. And obviously, I won't make the same mistake again to buy a Leaf without checking Leafspy.

But my point being is: buying an 62kWh Leaf second hand, is cheaper than investing in a battery extender. Or replacing the battery, and that aren't even new ones. Those batteries come from Leaf's involved in accidents for example. Because Nissan doesn't sell any of these batteries, to third parties like Muxsan.

I charge 13000EURO for the 63kwh upgrade, less the value in the old pack - so its often under 1000EUROS total #MnMSzerviz. Nissan Leaf Battery Swap / Upgrade Europe or DIY | Jákfa

 

[Dooglas]

I am now driving my 3rd LEAF. I first leased a '13 (attractive lease incentive). Enjoyed the vehicle and when the 3 year lease expired, I leased a '16 30 kwh (again attractive lease terms). I bought that one at the end of lease. My total dollar investment in the 2nd vehicle was just over $16K so no argument about price. Fast forward a bit more than 6 years. Was thinking about an upgrade or maybe a Bolt. This past summer, I came upon a very lightly used '19 SL plus (with just over 500 miles on the clock!). Bought it for just over $20K. It has every extra Nissan ever put on a LEAF and the range of a LEAF plus is a revelation for a long time LEAF owner. I am greatly enjoying the new (to me) vehicle. I suppose the good deal is a function of the LEAF being phased out, the lack of thermal battery management (not really much concern to me in a decidedly temperate climate), the fact that ChaDeMo is getting scarce on the ground (again not much concern to me as I charge in my garage overnight), and many new EVs coming into the marketplace. Whatever the reasons the EV gods smiled on me, I am satisfied and happily drive on.

 

[tkmaurice]

I imported a second hand 2011 Nissan Leaf in 2014 in Mauritius, with 9500km on the clock, drove it to 70,000km until 2021, when I replaced the old 24KWh with a second hand 30KWh battery from Norway, and got it fixed with a Canbus from Dala (Finland). But even in Mauritius, my range has dropped now to a meagre 150Km. So I imported a new 40KWh from China, which was put into an original Leaf casing and tested and sent (but with BYD cells). Together with a local workshop with some experience with Leafs, I am struggling now for half a year to get this battery pack working, still failing. Dala does not provide any advice anymore, as he only deals with original Nissan battery packs. Is there anybody out there who could provide some guidance or advice? Thanks

 

[Bombastinator2]

I imported a second hand 2011 Nissan Leaf in 2014 in Mauritius, with 9500km on the clock, drove it to 70,000km until 2021, when I replaced the old 24KWh with a second hand 30KWh battery from Norway, and got it fixed with a Canbus from Dala (Finland). But even in Mauritius, my range has dropped now to a meagre 150Km. So I imported a new 40KWh from China, which was put into an original Leaf casing and tested and sent (but with BYD cells). Together with a local workshop with some experience with Leafs, I am struggling now for half a year to get this battery pack working, still failing. Dala does not provide any advice anymore, as he only deals with original Nissan battery packs. Is there anybody out there who could provide some guidance or advice? Thanks

Just to be clear… you bought batteries from China and are surprised they are failing…. Were these 18650s? Have you looked to see if any of these batteries are filled with say…. Sand? I understand oil based clay also happens. China often has issues with genuine stuff when precious metals (in this case lithium) are involved. They’re a bit famous about older types of batteries. I can show you pics of all of those if you’d like. My favorite is an 18650 that has a cigalike battery running through its center so it actually registers as a real battery. Most of the battery is bubble wrap of course. Also a lot of their brass has toxic levels of lead in it. You can tell from the fanlike sheen.

 

[Astral]

I imported a second hand 2011 Nissan Leaf in 2014 in Mauritius, with 9500km on the clock, drove it to 70,000km until 2021, when I replaced the old 24KWh with a second hand 30KWh battery from Norway, and got it fixed with a Canbus from Dala (Finland). But even in Mauritius, my range has dropped now to a meagre 150Km. So I imported a new 40KWh from China, which was put into an original Leaf casing and tested and sent (but with BYD cells). Together with a local workshop with some experience with Leafs, I am struggling now for half a year to get this battery pack working, still failing. Dala does not provide any advice anymore, as he only deals with original Nissan battery packs. Is there anybody out there who could provide some guidance or advice? Thanks

Really sorry for your experience. What about the company that sold you the battery pack from China, are they liable at all? Do they not offer any support?

 

[Bombastinator2]

Forcing liability on Chinese companies has been difficult to impossible at some points though it may be better lately. It depends on a bunch of weird factors I don’t understand.