What should I pay?

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eyemgh

Active member
Joined
Oct 26, 2017
Messages
33
Location
Ashland, OR
First post. Hello!

Like everyone, I'm looking to pay as little as possible for a perfect car. I'm wondering what's realistic.

My minimum requirements are SV or SL with quick charge/LED light package. I'd like Bose and leather, but neither are deal breakers that I'm willing to pay a bundle for. I'd prefer 35k miles or less, 11 or 12 bars. I'm in Southern Oregon, so delivery could be an issue. I-5 has a pretty robust fast charge network.

What can I expect to pay for such a beast? I can get a local dealer to buy one at auction for me in So Cal for a fee. Is the savings worth the risk of sight unseen? Anything else I need to know?

Thanks!
 
What model year(s) are acceptable?

Leather is only available on the '13+ SL trim. IIRC, '13 to '15 SL already include the equivalent of the quick charge + LED headlight package. Bose stereo is part of the premium package, which also adds the 4 camera around view monitor.
 
Your question sounds like a general question.... How much should I spend on a used car??? Unanswerable question.

The answer is... Your on your own. Do some research.. Look at a bunch, and buy one that fits you. You cannot expect us to give you prices on cars that are sight unseen, and prices vary in all different parts of the country.

Good luck in your search. Maybe narrow your question, and this forum can give you information......
 
Your best bet on price is a 'Base' SV without the Premium Package but with the charge package. They may be rare, but Premium is popular. Don't get one built before 4/2013.
 
I live in Ohio, so the market is completely different, but I picked up a 2014 SL (leather and LED standard) with premium package (bose and 360 camera) in April for 11k with 35k miles, just about to lose it's first bar. I thought it was a decent deal.
 
powersurge said:
Your question sounds like a general question.... How much should I spend on a used car??? Unanswerable question.

The answer is... Your on your own. Do some research.. Look at a bunch, and buy one that fits you. You cannot expect us to give you prices on cars that are sight unseen, and prices vary in all different parts of the country.

Good luck in your search. Maybe narrow your question, and this forum can give you information......

:roll: no need to be a dick about it. Maybe just don't reply next time.
 
pyromancy5 said:
powersurge said:
Your question sounds like a general question.... How much should I spend on a used car??? Unanswerable question.

The answer is... Your on your own. Do some research.. Look at a bunch, and buy one that fits you. You cannot expect us to give you prices on cars that are sight unseen, and prices vary in all different parts of the country.

Good luck in your search. Maybe narrow your question, and this forum can give you information......

:roll: no need to be a dick about it. Maybe just don't reply next time.

You find that harsh? You are new here. That was a mild rebuke based on your misperception that this forum will return better information than an extremely basic google search, like this:

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/l-Used-Nissan-Leaf-Portland-d2077_L28789
 
First of all, the "the don't be a dick" response wasn't mine. It's a public forum. I well know the limitations and don't take much personally. :)

My question, I think, is legit (or I wouldn't have asked it). I've looked up a bazillion searches. I know what dealers and individuals are ASKING. What I don't know is what they are GETTING. I've read multiple anecdotal posts of buyers picking up reasonable mileage '13s and '14s, both SV and SL under $8k. The current listings though are way higher than that, some over $15k. My question is pretty simple...what's a realistic selling price to try to negotiate to based on what is happening in the market?

Even more germane, because I can't search it (yet), I'm looking for current auction prices if any of you have experience going that route.

As for years, '13 or newer.

Thanks!
 
I paid $8300 for an Oct 2013 'Lizard battery' LEAF model 'S' with 22k miles, QC and back-up camera (an optional package) and battery with ~ 90% remaining capacity in January 2017 from N California.

If you are cash strapped, you may have to reconsider your LED requirement or accept a worse condition battery as a trade-off. Some people install after-market LED lights with varying success.
 
There’s a thread on this forum that lists recent auction prices, but I haven’t seen it updated in a while.

What a dealer or private party will take varies. You can use condition to bargain. How comfortable are you making lowball offers? 10% less is usually reasonable.
 
Lizard Battery...how does one know? It's something I've been searching Dr. Google for, but haven't found.

I just watched a YouTube video of a guy who bought a '13 SL with Premium for $7100. That's what really piqued my interest based on our current "needs." That seems like it's an outlier though.

There's a "14 S with $35k on the local Nissan lot for $8995. I'm sure they'd take $8k. I'd just rather not have an S.

As for negotiating, I'm pretty straight up about my intent.
 
I paid $8300 for an Oct 2013 'Lizard battery' LEAF model 'S' with 22k miles...


Just to avoid confusion: the pack was greatly improved in April of 2013, but we have no evidence that this improved pack is identical to the "Lizard pack" introduced (for one year plus part of 2016 for the S only, sadly) in 2015. There are now 4 generations of packs on the roads, from the fast-degrading 'Canary pack' used from 2011 through March of 2013, to the "pre-Lizard"?? pack made from April of 2013 through 2014 (with a few Lizards possibly being tested at the end of 2014) to the Lizard pack, to the disappointing 30kwh pack that seems to degrade as fast in heat as the 2011 pack.

Ok, I guess that isn't going to avoid much confusion, is it???
 
eyemgh said:
Lizard Battery...how does one know? It's something I've been searching Dr. Google for, but haven't found.
Leftie seems to have more granular information than I but manufacture date from 4/2013 or newer is reasonable.

----
So far as I know, auction purchases preclude a battery test. You might have a photo of the capacity bars but that is a crude meter. E.g., '12 bars' can be as low as ~ 85% remaining capacity in these '24 kwh' packs (and emerging information suggests as low as 80% remaining in the '30 kWh' packs.)
 
Well, I have a friend with access to So Cal auction results. Prices are up. Both Leafs and Fiat 500e are going for about $2k more than their lowest prices.
 
leaf prices seem to have bottomed out a bit and vary a good bit geographically, but you definitely want to check battery condition and not make any decisions before you know the SoH. i would not buy sight unseen, especially if the warranty on the car is on the latter side.

i'm in the northwest and bought my 2013 Leaf SL with premium package and 27k miles in February for 10k, the dealer had it listed for 12.9k. in southern oregon i'd expect you to get similar prices. My car came from California as a lease return.

Marko
 
eyemgh said:
I can get a local dealer to buy one at auction for me in So Cal for a fee. Is the savings worth the risk of sight unseen? Anything else I need to know?
I would not buy a So-Cal car at auction, but...

If you are devoted to the idea, you need to know two things. I assume that you can get the VIN before the auction? If so, get a CarFax report. My vague memory is that the real CarFax was slightly more detailed than the free ones I could find, and the details are important.

Thing One: How long between the manufacture date of the car and the date it was sold (i.e the date it had its title issued)? This is crucial, especially in summer. Dealers pretty much always keep unsold Leafs sitting around at 100% State-of-Charge. That is the kiss of death for the battery if the weather is warm and sunny, since the closed windows of the car cause a greenhouse effect that gets the battery (which is inside the car under the floorboards) even hotter. I wonder where it's often warm and sunny? :geek: Oh, yeah, So Cal! :mrgreen: So unless the car was built in fall or winter then sold promptly (a couple of months), or in summer and sold IMMEDIATELY, avoid it like the plague.

Thing Two: Try to figure out where the car lived. Probably, hopefully, it won't be too far from where it was bought or subsequently serviced. If that's somewhere inland and therefore hot, forget it. The battery is probably cooked. If you think it's likely to have been in a cooler area near the ocean, it might be worth the risk.
 
LeftieBiker said:
I paid $8300 for an Oct 2013 'Lizard battery' LEAF model 'S' with 22k miles...
Just to avoid confusion: the pack was greatly improved in April of 2013, but we have no evidence that this improved pack is identical to the "Lizard pack" introduced (for one year plus part of 2016 for the S only, sadly) in 2015. There are now 4 generations of packs on the roads, from the fast-degrading 'Canary pack' used from 2011 through March of 2013, to the "pre-Lizard"?? pack made from April of 2013 through 2014 (with a few Lizards possibly being tested at the end of 2014) to the Lizard pack...
I think there's enough evidence to suggest that the 4/2013+ '13 Leaf batteries are NOT identical to the "lizard" batteries that are in '15 Leafs (http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=17168) or that have been installed as new 24 kWh replacements since that announcement.

Example: GerryAZ in blazing hot Phoenix w/lizard battery still had 11 bars per http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=499072#p499072 amd http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=24433&p=508923&hilit=11+bars#p508923.

From another thread:
As I posted at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=24023&p=496269&hilit=phoenix+contrast#p496269 a pointer to http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=473995#p473995, this guy is in Phoenix.
elec7ric said:
I got my new 2013 SL (manufactured 5/2013 ) on 9/30/2013. Lost my first bar 5/2015, second bar 9/2015, third bar 5/2016 and forth bar 8/23/2016 (31,400 miles). First 21 months mostly charged L1/L2 to 80% (home and work). My drive was 55 miles round trip with about 75% highway. As capacity started to go away, I had to charge more often to 100%, however, I tried my best to keep it fully charged as little as possible (extreme Phoenix temperatures).
My 5/2013 built '13 that I bought used in July 2015 STILL has all 12 capacity bars and I'm past 49,2K miles. From Leaf Spy, I am getting close to losing 1 bar (SOH at around 86%, Hx at around 83.92%)

Some more background info at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=508974#p508974.
 
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