Less than one day until Carvana brings a Leaf

[ByeFO]

Tomorrow morning Carvana will be bringing a (possibly mine if I keep it) 2013 Leaf SV.

I have my Leaf Spy and the needed adapter/dongle and I will be cramming tonight to understand how to use it when the car arrives tomorrow. (If you have a link to a favorite beginner's guide to Leaf Spy Pro to evaluate a prospective Leaf, please let me know.)

The car has 22K miles, was used in Florida.

I need it for 44 total commuting miles per day with up to 40 of those miles being highway (65mph).

I am trying to figure out the mileage charts (viewtopic.php?p=101293)

What do you think is the minimum SOH I should look for to have the car work for this commute for the next 3 years? 4 years?

Also, I am going to have my favorite ICE mechanic look it over for signs of unreported accidents, frame damage, flood damage, etc...) Are there any other things I should have him check before my trial week is up?

Thanks!

[baustin]

I would think you need a SOH of at least 85% for it to meet your needs. Freeway speeds drain the battery much quicker that lower speed driving. Since it is coming from Florida, the odds of a high SOH % are not in your favor. If the Leaf was manufactured before April 2013, there is the possibility of a main battery replacement under warranty. But, there is only one summer left, and the bars don't drop as fast in northern climates.

[BuckMkII]

Did you find this method yet?
viewtopic.php?f=23&t=20676&start=20#p494600

It was recommended to me in this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=23983&p=495077#p495077

To try this, you need to go on a fairly long test drive. Clear the trip computer and the Energy History on the Leaf's displays, so you can use those as a backup or sanity check. Turn the car off completely then back on. This should reset the Trip information on LeafSpy (found in Summary screen: keep touching the text box just above the left end of the colorful SOC/GIDs/DTE display across the middle of the window until you have cycled to the Trip-Miles-mi/kWh display to find this). If the Trip data says 0.0 miles, note the SOC% on the car's display and take a screenshot of the LeafSpy "summary" screen (and all the others, just to be completist).

Then start driving 10-20 miles and try NOT to use regeneration: Turn Eco mode off, drive in D not B mode, and avoid braking, so the energy all comes from the battery *once* and isn't recycled into the battery then taken out again. Don't freak out about a little regen, just try not to do a lot of it. Driving on a freeway in cruise control at a little less than the speed of other traffic (so you don't have to brake or lift off the "gas" pedal) would be ideal. Then stop and record the SOC, the miles and the mi/kWh shown for the Trip in LeafSpy (and all the other screens with screenshots, just to be sure), and the SOC, mileage and miles/kWh shown on the car's display. They should be close but may not agree exactly.

Now you can calculate the battery capacity: Divide the miles by the miles/kWh. That gives the number of kWH used in your drive. Then, subtract the ending SOC expressed as a decimal (i.e. 0.534, not 53.4%) from the starting SOC. Divide the calculated kWh by the difference in the SOCs and you should get a number around 20. That's your total calculated usable battery capacity in kWh. If it's < 18 that might be bad news.

Multiply that number by the mi/kWh you expect for your commute (about 5 in the city, about 4 at freeway speed, as shown across the top of the range chart) and you get your miles of range. Better add 10 or 20% for comfort, if possible Then multiply that range requirement by how much you expect your battery to degrade in the number of years you need the car to last (say, to 80% of it's current capacity, i.e. 0.80; I'm just making that number up...hopefully that would take quite a few years. 3? 5? 8? I have no idea, but probably not 8 years!) and see if that meets your needs

[rmay635703]

I guess I don't understand why anyone would use Carvana

Different strokes for different folks I suppose.

Good Luck

[powersurge]

Sounds like this person is having the car delivered after buying it sight-unseen? I am sure that they will not allow the potential buyer to go on a "long drive"... A 2013 car is 5 years old, and one cannot assume that a Florida car will have a strong battery... Sounds like a case of "buyer beware"...

[ByeFO]

Leaf Spy plugged into car without any real driving yet.
It appears to be at SOH 82%. It is at 11 bars. Is this enough? See my first post.

Thank you!

[ByeFO]

Sounds like this person is having the car delivered after buying it sight-unseen? I am sure that they will not allow the potential buyer to go on a "long drive"... A 2013 car is 5 years old, and one cannot assume that a Florida car will have a strong battery... Sounds like a case of "buyer beware"...

I have a week to return for full refund.

[ByeFO]

Leaf Spy plugged into car without any real driving yet.
It appears to be at SOH 82%. It is at 11 bars.

Thank you!

[magico13]

You haven't mentioned what you're paying for it. you might be able to find a better deal locally, though that would require interacting with dealerships.

In the winter that might not be enough without charging at work. If you can convince them to allow you to even plug into a regular L1 then that would be sufficient to last you the whole time you're looking at, otherwise winters are gonna be tough. Philadelphia has a lot of charging infrastructure according to https://www.plugshare.com/#, so you may be able to rely on public chargers in the winter.

You should try out your commute and report back how low it is afterward. Start at 100% just to be sure. Maybe take screenshots of your leafspy data before you leave, when you get to work, and when you get home. Winter can reduce range by 30% or more depending on wind, snow, temperature, and heater usage. My commute of 37 miles (35 highway) in my 93% SOH 2015 uses anywhere between 50% and 75% of my battery depending on weather (approximately 10 to 15 kwh)

[ByeFO]

You haven't mentioned what you're paying for it. you might be able to find a better deal locally, though that would require interacting with dealerships.

It is $10,750 which for my area is pretty good. Folks in some parts of the country can find much better deals, but I have been searching within 200 miles since March and it is easy to find used "S" for less or newer SV or SL for much more money. The dealers are crazy what they want for one. [/quote]

In the winter that might not be enough without charging at work. If you can convince them to allow you to even plug into a regular L1 then that would be sufficient to last you the whole time you're looking at, otherwise winters are gonna be tough. Philadelphia has a lot of charging infrastructure according to https://www.plugshare.com/#, so you may be able to rely on public chargers in the winter.

I'm pretty sure I can run a heavy duty extension cord out the back door of the shopping center where my business is located for trickle charge. However, it means the car will be out in the sun. I will have to park away from the building in morning for shade, though I can move close to the building for shade in late afternoon and then try to run an extension out the back door.

You should try out your commute and report back how low it is afterward. Start at 100% just to be sure. Maybe take screenshots of your leafspy data before you leave, when you get to work, and when you get home. Winter can reduce range by 30% or more depending on wind, snow, temperature, and heater usage. My commute of 37 miles (35 highway) in my 93% SOH 2015 uses anywhere between 50% and 75% of my battery depending on weather (approximately 10 to 15 kwh)

I just plugged it in to try to bring the charge back up to 100% before I leave for work. I just had installed a Clipper Creek HCS-50P this morning.