which year is the best deal

Hi everyone,
I would like to buy a leaf as a second around town car.
I'm sure I drive less than 50 miles/day if even that.
That being said which year and price range gives me the best bang for the buck?
I was thinking a 2013 for about $7500.
But are the 2014 better? And I am not concerned about more range.
Is the 2012 0r 2011 adequat?
Maybe pay a lot less for an older higher mileage car with a few bars gone and get a new battery when the time comes?
What do you think.
Thank you all
Sincerely,
RT

I got a 2013 SV with all the features I wanted at around 10k recently. Any leaf from April 2013 and up should be good but the older the model year the more affordable. if yiu can get a 2015 used, those have the lizzard battery which is supposed to be more durable then older models. The 13s are probably still the most available right now.

The 2013 year came with many improvements, but mostly on SV's and SL's. Lets see here:

• All models
  • All Leafs have a portable "emergency" Level 1 EVSE that can take up to 21hours to fully charge the Leaf. For some people this is enough for their daily needs.
  • The CHAdeMO charger was optional on base models, so if you need CHAdeMO charging (30 minutes), be sure the LEAF you're looking at has one.
    • Requires access to a CHAdeMO charging station. This is not something you normally add to your home.
• 2011 and 2012
  • All came with a 3.3kW (7 hours) charger
    • Requires "20amp" or greater level 2 EVSE for full 3.3kW charging.
  • All came with terribly inefficient "liquid" resistance heater.
  • Worse years for battery degradation if you find one with the original battery (could have a replaced battery).
  • Did have the 80% charge feature to help prolong battery life.
  • Electric emergency brake which won't let off if you run out of battery (so much for pushing the car to a neighbor's house.)
• 2013
  • The April and later 2013's got a better battery.
  • From 2013 on you can still get a 3.3kW charger on the base model (S), but the 6.6kW charger (which takes 4 hours max) was also available, especially on the luxury models (SL and SV)
    • Requires "40amp" or greater EVSE for full 6.6kW charging. Many charging stations only offer "30amp" service.
  • The 2013's still all had the 80% charge feature.
  • From 2013 on, the SV's and SL's come with more efficient heat pump heater, and the base S's came with a better "dry" resistance heater.
• 2014
  • Same as 2013 except the 80% charge feature was removed in the USA. So this may degrade the battery a little faster.
• 2015
  • Same as 2014 except even better battery.
• 2016 and 2017
  • Luxury models get a bigger 30kWh battery. (I think after a certain date so do base models. ??)

Note too that the luxury levels S, SV and SL determine a lot of what's on the Leaf or not. For an example, the base level S, which was introduced in 2013, will be close to an original 2011 or 2012 model in terms of charging and heating. But the luxury SV's and SL's have gotten more stuff over the years (3.3kW to 6.6kW charger in 2013, resistance heater to heat pump heater in 2013 and 24kWh battery to 30kWh battery in 2016.) This is why when I went to buy my Leaf I could have gotten a 2015 S with only 4,000 miles on it for less than a 2013 SL with 40,000 miles on it at the same dealership. I went for the older SL because I figured I needed the faster charger and the heat pump heater.

PS. Anyone who knows more than I do please correct me if I'm wrong.

The S wasn't offered before 2013. It has resistance heat, but its direct to air heater is still much better than the old liquid to air heaters, in terms of speed heating and even overall energy use - it has a separate heater switch.

The OP needs to decide on how much range they need, because even below 50 miles, that matters. If it's 30 miles or less, then almost any Leaf will work. If more like 45 miles, then a Leaf made after April 2013 would be best - excepting an older Leaf with a new pack.

I agree with what both Issac and Leftie said and as Leftie alluded to, pre '13 Leafs have no way to turn off the heater, when running the fan. Pre '13 models also lack the very handy SOC% meter and only have the very inaccurate GOM(well and I guess the more accurate NAV distance circle).
I guess for short trips and if you got it for a screaming good deal a '12 might do but I'd really try and get a '13 or newer and if a S model preferably one that had the "charger" package(which on a '13 also includes the backup camera). Also with later S models you lose the rear seat heaters, I think that happened in '15?? Earlier?? S models also lack CC, if thats important to you, my '13S does NOT have cruise.

Great, great feedback! OK I think I will get a used 2013 made after april with the 6.6 charger.
Three questions if I may?:
1. How can I find out if the car is after april?
2. What should I pay? I know it depends mostly on mileage and battery degradation.
So between 20-30k miles?
30-40K miles?
3. How many bars should I be shopping for and how many miles and what is a good deal.
Thank you all very, very much.
I so much want to leave the ICE world at least with one of our cars. All electric is a new world for me.
Thanks again
RT

The build date is on the driver's side door still sticker. You still haven't told us what daily and what maximum range you definitely need. For more range look for a 12 bar Leaf, although it will likely be closer to 11, now. The best deals are on 10 bar 2013 Leafs, as they likely won't lose enough capacity to qualify for a new battery. Prices vary wildly by area and availability. I strongly suggest you use LeafSpy to determine remaining capacity. If not, assume one bar less than is showing.

Can you update your location info via your user name in the upper right > User Control Panel > Profile tab? That way, we don't need to ask in future posts/threads or do sleuthing to deduce it.

What are your daily driving needs in terms of miles? How much city vs. highway? Will you have the ability to charge at your work/destinations?

Yes I will update and thank you everyone again for sharing your knowledge. You are all very generous people.
I am living in Los Angeles. Daily range/day is under 40 miles. If i need to go further we can take the ICE.
Thanks
RT

You can get a great deal on a 10 bar Leaf, with about 40 miles of range in your climate. 11 bars would last you longer, though.

LeftieBiker said:

You can get a great deal on a 10 bar Leaf, with about 40 miles of range in your climate. 11 bars would last you longer, though.

Click to expand...

But we have no idea how much of the 40 miles is highway.

If driving in LA on the highway, when there's no traffic, people tend to drive very fast there. If one goes 70+ mph in the middle lane in a 55 mph zone, cars are still going by (and in some cases, zooming by) on both your left and right.

Yes I am learning that range is affected by many factors. Speed, weight, outside temp......
So I'll say 30 miles a day of city driving.
I'm leaning towards a 2013s with 20 or 11 bars.
Just wondering what I should consider a good deal.

It seems that there's a big difference in value if it has a 6.6kW charger or not. I've seen 3.3kW charging 2013's for under $5,000! But for what you're looking for it might be around $7,000 to $8,000. A base S model with the 6.6kW and CHAdeMO charging package might go for as low as $6,000 in some parts of the USA. That's probably a lowball guess.

I spent around $9,000, but my SL came with a bunch of stuff (that I probably didn't need) such as that surround view parking assist thing, BOSE stereo and 17" rims. But hey! The wife is happy! :mrgreen:

^^^
Yep. There's a huge price difference between a base S w/no package (cheapest possible Leaf) and say an SL w/premium package (most expensive possible). Also, CHAdeMO inlet adds a price premium.

Unless one is trying to win the "battery lottery", if going for a '13, I'd get a '13+ w/build month of 4/2013 or later. 12 bar ones shouldn't be impossible to find. My '13 built 5/2013 still has all 12 bars although it's creeping closer to losing one.

cwerdna said:

Yep. There's a huge price difference between a base S w/no package (cheapest possible Leaf) and say an SL w/premium package (most expensive possible). Also, CHAdeMO inlet adds a price premium.

Click to expand...

He said he was interested in 6.6kW charging.

trexmdr said:

Great, great feedback! OK I think I will get a used 2013 made after april with the 6.6 charger.

Click to expand...

It seems that even a jump from a 3.3kW 2013 S to a 6.6kW 2013 SV makes for a significant price difference. I'm not sure how the 2013 S with the 6.6kW charging package figures in though.

There are a lot of people that the 3.3kW charging is enough for them. but as for me it sure is nice to get 25miles per hour of charging instead of 12. But it seems to me that you are going to have to pay a significant price difference to get it.

cwerdna said:

LeftieBiker said:

You can get a great deal on a 10 bar Leaf, with about 40 miles of range in your climate. 11 bars would last you longer, though.

Click to expand...

But we have no idea how much of the 40 miles is highway.

If driving in LA on the highway, when there's no traffic, people tend to drive very fast there. If one goes 70+ mph in the middle lane in a 55 mph zone, cars are still going by (and in some cases, zooming by) on both your left and right.

Click to expand...

He (?) keeps saying that a lot of range isn't critical. Based on that I'm assuming it's more of an urban commute situation. Still, you could be right, and he could have no idea that a 10 bar Leaf won't do 40 miles at 80MPH. I'm going to cut back on replying to the same old questions, because I don't type well and it hurts my fingers to write a page every time. If I do write a Leaf Buying FAQ, with help from others here, we can just post the blasted url for that!

Speaking of which, feel free to bump the Tips & Tricks topic once a week.

Thanks everyone.
Yes this is for urban driving the kids around and very little highway driving.
I am going the get the basic s with the 3.3 and just plug it in at night.
And if I really like it I'll get a newer, long range loaded one and get rid or the ICE.
And yes a FAQ page would be so, so great.
Thanks again
RT

The 3.3kw charger is fine for overnight charging. It just leaves something to be desired when "opportunity charging" away from home. And if you plan on charging at 120 volts, all Leafs with the OEM charging cable charge at the same 12 amp rate anyway.

Get a 2013 SV + QC, no hesitation. I may be a little biased though

alozzy said:

Get a 2013 SV + QC, no hesitation. I may be a little biased though

Click to expand...

Yeah, I second that, but I am biased too (see my sig).

Really, don't fret too much over a thousand bucks either way--you're going to save that much in gasoline within a year or less. (Oh, you're in California? Within 9 months, then.) Get the stuff you need/want. You will appreciate faster charging, whether you think so now or not. I would advise a friend thus:

- absolutely nothing older than 4/2013
- absolutely get a 6.6kW (so SV or SL trim, which also gets you a better heater than the S)
- desirable to get the QC port, if there is one or more QC station within, say, 10 miles
- the 360 camera may sound like a frill but it's damned useful