One step closer - Questions after researching

Here's post 2 with follow-ups from my research and an update on my commute situation.

I've landed a new job, which isn't either of the 2 I had planned on but I think the leaf still makes sense. My commute will be between 7.5 miles, all slow local roads with a good amount of traffic and stop signs/intersections and 10 miles with some highway but 4 miles of trafficy local roads.

Unlike my other 2 job prospects there won't be any free charging at work. (Although they are building a new parking garage so I'm hopeful they'll add some stations and offer them for free. It's a tech company that owns an organic farm, so I have reason to believe that it could happen).

Based on similar driving I know my main car will get around 13-14 MPG, using over a gallon of gas per day. Not a lot by most peoples' standards, but enough to start making sense.

That's the background of where I am now. There are 2 interesting 2015s at a local used dealer, an S and an SV with 12k and 16k miles. I think I'd rather just go for the S. I don't think they'll be fully charged when I go to see them so I want to make sure I understand how to correctly use Leafspy Pro to evaluate their batteries. From what I understand I divide the Ahr by the SoC to get the normalized battery capacity and I'm looking for close to 65 Ahr. Also I should look at the individual battery pack screen to see if any packs are very low. Correct?


Finally, any idea what a good final price on the S would be? I'm going to shoot for $9000 but I'm expecting to land at $9500.

If you put your location (eastern Mass, for those who wondered) in your profile, you will get better (tailored) advice.

A commute of up to 10 miles each way? No brainer, the Leaf can do it.

If your cost per kWh is around, oh, 12c (I don't really know), your effective cost per mile to drive the Leaf is 3c. At $2.00 a gallon, your gasser is costing around 15c a mile to run. Multiply the 12c/mile difference times (let's say) 30 miles a day times 30 days a month and you'd be saving around a hundred bucks a month in fuel alone.

That, my friend, will probably be at least half your car payment right there. Do it!

P.S. The prices you're citing look okay for a 2015 to me.

Cool, thanks. My gas cars need 91 or 93 so I'm looking at around $2.80/gallon right now. Unfortunately my electricity has a delivery charge that's actually higher than the generation charge, so I believe it's 24 or 25 cents per kwh. But I still figure $4/week for electricity (I haven't checked to see if I get lower rates overnight when I'd be charging) vs around $15 for gas. When you take into account the other chores I could use the leaf for we're looking at a good $50/month savings, which will pay for its insurance.

Ultimately I've decided that it only makes sense because I've wanted an electric car for environmental reasons for many years. There is some cost savings, so it does help offset my altruism.

I'll report back what I find on the battery and see if it's any good.

Get a Leaf or get a bicycle. I got both.

Definitely check into night electric prices.

If you're on the fence because of the economics of the decision, maybe consider looking at a 2013 S. They should be 2-3K less and basically be just as functional for your needs. Your commute is small enough that range will not be an issue. The 2013 models are all coming off lease so they seem to be the best bargain currently.

I think the original purpose of my post got lost a little - I just wanted to give some context around my questions. On the price I think I got that answered, also I checked carguru's price comparison chart and it looks like 9k is achievable but 9500 would be OK. Price-wise I'd rather have the new (and fresher) battery pack for a thousand or two more.

But my real question is how to interpret leafspy pro's output when the battery isn't fully charged. I've read 2 things so I want to understand how to evaluate the battery.

One thing said that the ahr reading at the top of screen 1 (with voltage display for each pack) estimates the pack at full charge.

Another thing said to multiply that number by the SoC.

Also, do I need to take the temperature into account? If I go check it out on Saturday it's going to be a high of 34 degrees.

Ahr, Hx, and SoH can all be measured at any state of charge. Not all of the numbers will be 100% accurate, but those three give the best representation of health. Ahr is 66/67 new and Hx and SoH are high 90s to 100%, sometimes even over 100%. A 2015 should be 62+AHrs at least or walk away.

Awesome! Thanks for that info! I'll report back on what I find.

OK so I checked it out and got leafspy details. The used car dealer won't go below 10500, which imho is 1000 too high despite the low miles.

Anything to be concerned about in this leafspy report? It was 24 degrees outside and the battery was only 20% charged.

LeafSpy report looks good. Over time, the numbers will bounce around a little, and for all intents and purposes that appears to be near new condition.

So I guess the question is: Is the battery and low mileage sufficient to justify the $10500 price tag, or will I find that another 2015 with maybe 15-18k will have every bit as good a battery, and maybe I can get it for $9500?

Nagorak said:

If you're on the fence because of the economics of the decision, maybe consider looking at a 2013 S. They should be 2-3K less and basically be just as functional for your needs. Your commute is small enough that range will not be an issue. The 2013 models are all coming off lease so they seem to be the best bargain currently.

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I'll second that. With your short commute you can even go with a 2011. I have a similar commute and expect my 2011 to last another 6 years, at least, maybe 10-15 years

Well, in the end I've decided the 2015 is worth it. It's only 2 years old (original dealer got it 12/14 and the lease started 1/2015), low mileage, perfect battery, and based on my canvasing of local dealers they have no clue how to price these things - another dealer who wouldn't negotiate unless I drove the hour and a half to them has 3 2015s available, one asking $9k and the other two for $10.5k. All have way more miles than the one I'm going to buy.

In the end I decided it wasn't worth losing what looks to be a fantastic specimen over $1000. And just the gas to go driving around the state over the next several months looking for another good, cheaper one will add up to a couple hundred dollars so... Forget that! And although I could get a 2012 for $5k and be able to make my current commute, you never know how long the current commute will last and I'd love to be able to keep this car for 10 years+.

The only other issue with it I noticed is that it had a lot of trouble detecting the key fob, but it looks like it's pretty common for those batteries to run low. The dealer said they'd replace it but I don't believe them so I'm bringing my own CR2032 for them to swap today before I buy it... Which should be in just a couple hours! I should be able to drive it home later on in the day assuming the snow stops.

Those numbers on the leafspy pretty much show a BRAND NEW battery. I have a 2015 S with a great battery and those numbers slightly better than mine...

RUN to the dealer and buy that car before it is gone!!! The price is not an issue... Even at $10K or $10.5K it is a bargain because you will have no issues with it for years.. People often buy by lowprice, and then they have unexpected issues that end up costing more than just buying a good item right off the bat...


Please let me know when you get it and we can discuss aspects of your new car!!!

Just completed the purchase! They're registering and charging it and I'll drive it home later on today. Yaaaay!

And we swapped the fob battery and that fixed its detection issues so that's all good.

I hope you received 2 key fobs--replacements are rather expensive. Enjoy your new ride!

Gerry

Nope just 1 fob... But from reviews of the dealer I knew that would happen. I've never lost a fob before so I don't expect it'll be a problem.

powagoat said:

Nope just 1 fob... But from reviews of the dealer I knew that would happen. I've never lost a fob before so I don't expect it'll be a problem.

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Don't wait to get a replacement fob. If something happens (loss or damage) to your only fob, you will be screwed. There is no way to operate the car with a physical key. If an extra $1000 isn't bothersome, neither wIll the $250-300 for a replacement fob with programming.

Congrats on the purchase.