Used Nissan Leaf >2012

Hi all,

I started looking at Nissan Leaf as an option for car for my spouse. I already own an 2011 Altima 4-door.
I don't want to invest in a new electric car. Instead, I'd like to buy a used one for less than 10000$. I 've been exploring various sites that seem to offer a used Nissan Leaf 2013 for a range of 8500-11000$. I am assuming these cars would by now be in the used-car market having gone through 3 or more years of lease-usage.

I understand with a used electric, I am risking the possibility of a poorer battery performance but even 80% of battery(approx 64 miles of advertised 86 miles) seems like a good deal for me. I will use it to commute to work approx 20-22 miles a day and be able to use the HOV lane. I don't expect to use it otherwise.

Some points that are in my mind right now.
- If I do have to replace the battery, it's going to cost about 5000-6000$
- My plan is to use it for 5-6 years and then sell/trade in. I am assuming I will atleast be able to trade-in/sell for a value of 2000-4000$, depending on whether I've installed a new battery.
- I don't need to spend any money for charging as my apartment offers it for free.
- I live in San Jose, so not too concerned about the impact of weather on the performance(maybe wrong about this one)

Would like to hear your thoughts on some of these and any other points to consider.
Thanks for your time!

First and foremost, make sure that you can, at the very least, read the capacity indicator on the dash. There are both wide white (red at the bottom) "fuel" bars and much smaller capacity bars the same colors right next to them. This will at least tell you very roughly how much range the car has, assuming they haven't been reset to hide capacity loss. You also should really, really, get the LeafSpy app and a suitable Bluetooth OBDII diagnostic port reader to let you use the app. This will tell you the battery's actual capacity (a little more difficult if the computer has been reset, but still possible) and health. If you don't use LeafSpy, then assume that the car's actual capacity is one bar less than is showing, because of the way the gauge works: it will still read 12 bars with a 14% capacity loss (86%), then drop to 11 when it reaches about 84.9% capacity.

Second, I would avoid any 2013 Leaf built before April 2013. The build date info is on the driver's door jamb sticker. Leafs made January through March of 2013 used the 2011-2012 battery chemistry and the packs degrade much more quickly and easily, especially in heat.

You sound like a perfect candidate for a Leaf. Getting leafspy is a good idea for peace of mind, but if you really only need 20-22 miles of range, then you have a lot of room to spare in even a beat-down battery. You can get extremely good deals on 2013 leafs right now. Near me (in MN) there are some 2013 S models for sale that are $7000-8000. Go for it!