Help me decide on best value Leaf

Hi,
I've learned a ton from reading this forum and all the buying tips. I'm a bit overwhelmed with options and would appreciate some advice from you all.

The Leaf will be our second car and in general our daily driving doesn't exceed 25 miles. About twice a month I drive 110 miles round trip.

I live in Northern Virginia right outside of D.C. There are plenty of Chademo chargers where I could charge at the halfway point of my 110mile round trip.

In my research, I've decided I want the at '13+ SV at a minimum because I want quick charge and the heat pump.

I plan on keeping the Leaf at least until I get my Model 3, I'm about 250,000th in line so I think I'll be keeping it for at least 3 years given Elon's historic timeliness.

My metric is lowest overall cost of ownership, though reducing range anxiety by getting a '16 30kwh model is appealing to me and my wife.

Based on my reading here I have a Leafspy compatible ODB2 reader arriving soon.

I've found the following deals and would very much appreciate your take on the following options:

1. 2013 SV with 18k miles, 12 bars, local: $8000... asking the seller the manufacture date but won't buy if it's an early '13.
2. 2015 SV with 23k miles, 12 bars, local: $10500.
3. 2016 SL new and eligible for tax rebate of which I can fully utilize. 16 miles. It's not local and would require $400 in shipping to get it to me. I think I can buy it for $22k. I live in Va so there are no state rebates.

Which do you think will have the lowest cost to ownership assuming I keep it for 3 years?

-Jim

Lowest cost would be the 2013. Best able to make that 110 mile trip would be the 2016, which will also have QC standard. You'll have to choose which you want more: lower cost, or adequate range.

I'd also vote for the '13(particularly if it's a April or later build date). No chance of ever making your 110 mile trip without a charge, maybe with the '16 but unless you just don't want to charge half way, the '13 would be way cheaper. With a 12 bar '13 you should be able to make 60 miles or more in all but below 20s temps, closer to 70 in the summer. With a good choice of L3 stations and decent L2 on both ends, you shouldn't have a problem. You could also use L3s at your destination, just thinking L2s might be cheaper if you have the 3-4hrs it would take to recharge to 100% with a 30a L2.

Agreed. The 2013. I went after the same question.

Ended up making a decision on a 2013 SV with Quick charge and Premium packages. Both options were non-negotiable in my book. I ended up with an 11/2013 build for ~$8300 out the door

Thanks for your fast reply. I didn't realize that the '13 SV could "not" have the QC option... after looking at the photos it appears the model I'm looking at doesn't have QC... bumer. Thanks for saving me the trip down to go look at it!

I looked around some more and the best deal I can find on a '13 with QC is $9800... at that point I'd rather go with the '15 I think.

-Jim

You should also make the investment in a ODB2 Bluetooth dongle and Leaf Spy, so you can check the exact SOH and AHr values before buying any Leaf. Critically important...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01LNJ77YI/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488746222&sr=8-1-fkmr1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=konnwei+odb2+bluetooth+elm

That's the one the Leaf Spy developer recommends and the same one I bought.

You might not make it one charge unless you can manage to go more than halfway on that 110 mile trip. Winter range can be a killer. you don't get it often but when I lived in the area, there was snow every year.

As for going for cheap? New LEAFs are cheap but I wouldn't purchase if I were you considering your plans.
Lease a 2017 and in 3 years when the lease ends, you should be just around the corner from getting your T3 but more importantly, if something should change, you are very likely in a position to possibly buy out the LEAF on a discounted residual.

Thanks folks. I really appreciate the help.

In my searching I found a dealer with a bunch of in-stock Leaf's at slightly higher prices than are trending on eBay, but I can go and hook up LeafSpy to them all and that's worth a premium to me. My LeafSpy adapter comes in on Tuesday so on Wednesday, I'll come back and report on what I pick up

-Jim

Thanks again folks. I ended up with a '14S with QC and 92% SOH for $8500 out the door. I'm pretty happy with the deal and after having driven it 70 miles home, it's a ball to drive.

-Jim