Hey guys!
My parents have had a 2013 SL since new and they love their car so much that we're looking at purchasing a used LEAF for ourselves. We're planning to purchase from Motorize here in Victoria, BC as they seem to be the trusted guys in our region.
The 2012 SL is on the lot and (most likely) about $1K cheaper than the 2013 S that they would have to 'special order' (they import the LEAFS from Seattle and Portland). We're not TOO concerned about the reduced charge rate as our daily driving would be 20-30 miles. My biggest concern is battery longevity considering that from what I've read 2013 is the beginning of the better battery (my parents 2013 has almost 80,000km (50,000 miles) and has ~97% SOH.
What are your experienced thoughts of the difference between the two model years? We're planning to use the car for at least 5 years and it would be our primary/only car (we both have subsidized transit passes from work/school as well).
Here is where things get wonky. As part of discussions, they have given us the 2012 SL to test drive for a few days. When I picked up the car, it was about half charged (7/12 bars) the battery capacity was showing all 12 bars. We drove it till the GOM was reporting 15km and there was only 1 bar left of charge. Curiously, the low battery warning never came on, and when I plugged it into an L3, the charger reported the battery was actually at 24%.
Later that night, after spending the afternoon charging on an L2 (which said it was still charging when I unplugged it), the dash reported a full 12/12 bars charge and the GOM was at 112km. We drove about 15km and the charge was showing 10/12 bars with 99km on the GOM. There I plugged it into an L2 (wanted to see if the charger worked) but was puzzled that the 2nd light was flashing instead of the 3rd as one would expect with 10/12 bars of charge. I unplugged the car a minute later and upon booting up, the range showed 8/12 bars but the GOM was still showing 99km.
Any ideas what is going on here? I have heard of less scrupulous dealers resetting the units to show a full capacity despite the battery being less than so, but I don't get that vibe from these Motorize guys. I inquired about a LEAF that had 6 months ago and they were very upfront about the car and told me right away that the SOH of the battery was only 76% or so. I've also heard of them using LeafSpy to show customers the state of the batteries their purchasing.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Alex
My parents have had a 2013 SL since new and they love their car so much that we're looking at purchasing a used LEAF for ourselves. We're planning to purchase from Motorize here in Victoria, BC as they seem to be the trusted guys in our region.
The 2012 SL is on the lot and (most likely) about $1K cheaper than the 2013 S that they would have to 'special order' (they import the LEAFS from Seattle and Portland). We're not TOO concerned about the reduced charge rate as our daily driving would be 20-30 miles. My biggest concern is battery longevity considering that from what I've read 2013 is the beginning of the better battery (my parents 2013 has almost 80,000km (50,000 miles) and has ~97% SOH.
What are your experienced thoughts of the difference between the two model years? We're planning to use the car for at least 5 years and it would be our primary/only car (we both have subsidized transit passes from work/school as well).
Here is where things get wonky. As part of discussions, they have given us the 2012 SL to test drive for a few days. When I picked up the car, it was about half charged (7/12 bars) the battery capacity was showing all 12 bars. We drove it till the GOM was reporting 15km and there was only 1 bar left of charge. Curiously, the low battery warning never came on, and when I plugged it into an L3, the charger reported the battery was actually at 24%.
Later that night, after spending the afternoon charging on an L2 (which said it was still charging when I unplugged it), the dash reported a full 12/12 bars charge and the GOM was at 112km. We drove about 15km and the charge was showing 10/12 bars with 99km on the GOM. There I plugged it into an L2 (wanted to see if the charger worked) but was puzzled that the 2nd light was flashing instead of the 3rd as one would expect with 10/12 bars of charge. I unplugged the car a minute later and upon booting up, the range showed 8/12 bars but the GOM was still showing 99km.
Any ideas what is going on here? I have heard of less scrupulous dealers resetting the units to show a full capacity despite the battery being less than so, but I don't get that vibe from these Motorize guys. I inquired about a LEAF that had 6 months ago and they were very upfront about the car and told me right away that the SOH of the battery was only 76% or so. I've also heard of them using LeafSpy to show customers the state of the batteries their purchasing.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Alex