Nissan Battery Replacement Program, Cost

[TimLee]

... but the concerns you list are present in EVERY used car so lets not make this EV specific

But Dave in the 5 year old near 100,000 mile vehicle that JP is discussing, in an ICE vehicle they are not of the same magnitude.

A repair or refurbish matching the vehicle market total price is fairly unique to the EV.

I was fortunate to have put enough usage on my 2011 LEAF to get Nissan to put in a new pack at 34,000 miles when it lost the fourth bar two weeks past five years.

But even with that it is extremely disposable in that it will need another new pack at 75,000 to 80,000 miles.

The Nissan LEAF is markedly more disposable than almost all moderate cost ICE vehicles.

NOTE: I still love the LEAF. But it is unfortunately disposable as JP stated. Still a great local neighborhood vehicle for a long time. But NOT for its original design intent.

[DaveinOlyWA]

yeah that sounds good but seeing a lot of used LEAFs with new packs that are not selling for a price high enough to account for the pack. so yeah, if its free, it works...

[GetOffYourGas]

yeah that sounds good but seeing a lot of used LEAFs with new packs that are not selling for a price high enough to account for the pack. so yeah, if its free, it works...

True. The uneven degradation and the lack of pro-rated warranty seems to be yet another market distortion.

[pweisel]

Another angle - sell the older Leaf for what ever you can get. Buy a newer used Leaf with the newer battery technology.

[ncscenic]

Decided to go ahead and purchase a new battery to be installed Thursday. Will be nice to have full range again. As expected, we lost our 4th bar sometime last week, well past the October 26th warranty period. Basically, though, for 6 grand, we'll have what we consider to be a "new" car. We'll see how this experiment goes. The only puzzlement might come if we have an accident, as the car only books for 5K or so.

[Reddy]

Decided to go ahead and purchase a new battery to be installed Thursday. Will be nice to have full range again. As expected, we lost our 4th bar sometime last week, well past the October 26th warranty period. Basically, though, for 6 grand, we'll have what we consider to be a "new" car. We'll see how this experiment goes. The only puzzlement might come if we have an accident, as the car only books for 5K or so.

No puzzlement needed. It's already happened and been reported here on MNL.com. Spoiler alert: Don't crash it. You won't have any significantly higher value or payout if totaled.

[GerryAZ]

Decided to go ahead and purchase a new battery to be installed Thursday. Will be nice to have full range again. As expected, we lost our 4th bar sometime last week, well past the October 26th warranty period. Basically, though, for 6 grand, we'll have what we consider to be a "new" car. We'll see how this experiment goes. The only puzzlement might come if we have an accident, as the car only books for 5K or so.

No puzzlement needed. It's already happened and been reported here on MNL.com. Spoiler alert: Don't crash it. You won't have any significantly higher value or payout if totaled.

If accident is other driver's fault, you can fight with their insurance company, show receipts, etc. to possibly get some reimbursement for your battery expense. There is little or no chance to recoup the full price paid. I argued with the adjuster for about a month after the other driver's insurance company declared my 2011 a total loss even though it was technically repairable (I drove it out of the intersection after the crash). I ultimately received some compensation for the fact that it was worth more than similar cars because the battery had been replaced by Nissan, but not enough to buy a truly comparable 2011.

Gerry

[ncscenic]

Thanks. Good to know.

[DaveinOlyWA]

This is something the insurance company simply isn't concerned with due to low number of replaced batteries. As more claims come in, they will develop a standard for it. On any claim there is a place to enter in any mods you have lost including price and date of install. in a replacement battery situation, you need to emphasize that you have a 2016 battery pack in an older car. You might not get the result you wanted but this is how you start the process of getting it later down the road.

[JPWhite]

This is something the insurance company simply isn't concerned with due to low number of replaced batteries. As more claims come in, they will develop a standard for it. On any claim there is a place to enter in any mods you have lost including price and date of install. in a replacement battery situation, you need to emphasize that you have a 2016 battery pack in an older car. You might not get the result you wanted but this is how you start the process of getting it later down the road.

The only way an insurance company will add a significant amount to compensate for a new battery is if the value of a used LEAF with a new battery pack is worth considerably more on the second hand car market. (currently that's not the case).

Insurance companies will only pay out what the car is worth. If the marketplace does not value a new pack very much the insurance will not pay out much more either.

It's not a question of establishing a new insurance standard, it's a question of real world value.

Be aware that replacing a worn battery is not considered a "mod" that adds value like say a premium sound system, it simply returns the cars battery to its original condition with the same range and charging characteristics when new. A 2016 battery does not add any extra range or otherwise improve the car. The 2016 battery simply wears out more slowly (or so we are lead to believe). Its like putting 60,000 mile tires on instead of 30,000 mile OEM tires. They cost more to buy, but add no extra value over the OEM tires.

The way I have seen insurance work is they start with what they consider to be the retail value of the car in excellent condition, then they start deducting for wear and tear. The best you can hope to get is the cars value in excellent condition.