Best route to acquire a Leaf?

eBay, Craigslist, dealer?

Looking to pick one up for around $5k. Wouldn't mind light body damage at all if the price was 2, 3, or 4K. Or even high miles if it was reflected in the upfront cost.

Also best means to unload my current 43k mile 2016 NV1500.

Please see http://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=531676#p531676 and answer the applicable questions here, besides updating your profile.

Leaf may be unsuitable. For $5K or so, you'll probably only be able to get an '11 or '12 Leaf which has crap in terms of degradation rate batteries. If you're in a mild climate and the car resided in a mild climate and your range needs are modest, then it might be ok.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/seattle-nissan-leaf-owners/a-guide-for-buying-a-used-leaf/1100737373291032/ may help.

Nissan dealers have a high markup.

Based on your budget, your chances of picking up a LEAF are almost zero. Anything you do find won't be worth purchasing. I would either up my budget, or not buy an EV as the LEAF is about as cheap as it gets...

BTW, a few years ago, a MNLer in a remote part of CA tried to sell his 8 bar '11 Leaf for $4500. He got no takers:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=454921#p454921
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=8802&p=475234#p475234

Its battery was probably down between 35 and 45% in capacity. New 24 kWh Leaf reads about 281 gids on a full charge. http://www.electricvehiclewiki.com/Battery#Battery_Capacity_Behavior is a chart that was in the '11 service manual but was removed from later ones, for unknown reasons.

Used Leaf prices have actually gone vs. when I got my current one in July 2015.

Using autotrader, which is how I found my Leaf, and setting a 200 mile radius around a randomly picked OK city zip code, I found most of the good options are more like $9-12K. If you find the right car at the right price, it might be worth the trip and either tow it back home on a trailer or figure out the charging hops needed with plugshare.

I would use this as an around town car with a mix of city/highway use and never more then 50 miles a day and could charge at my destinations.

Currently looking at wrecked salvage models. Battery replacement costs are putting a dampener on this though regardless of how cheap the vehicle. Even if the vehicle was FREE a battery at 9k is a deal breaker.

MNL user 'mux', who is based in the Netherlands I believe, has developed a battery extender that allows you to put additional new batteries in the trunk of the car. I think he is planning to sell these commercially in the EU but may also make parts of the design available here in the US. The project is just past the proto-typing stages so contact him or search for posts here to get more information.

The point is, there are probably quite a few Leaf's with degraded batteries in your part of the world or in Texas. You should be able to find one for cheap and then add a battery extender for much less than the $8500 for a new pack. This would allow you to get a Leaf with a decent range for a cheaper price. Or just buy a 6/7/8 bar Leaf for cheap if you can live with the reduced range.