About to buy a 2013 S--what should I beware of?

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tomchaps

Member
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
Messages
7
I've been lurking here for years now, but am finally on the verge of jumping into the world of EVs. I have a near ideal situation for one--I drive about 8-9 miles each way a day (in the hills, stop and go), and now have a garage where I can charge it. (And will likely get rooftop solar soon, too.)

The car I'm looking at is a 2013 S model. Reading through the forums, I think I've checked everything I can short of getting a Leaf Spy dongle and running diagnostics on the battery.

It was built 8/2013, so that means it has the better battery, right? The car has 38000 miles, and still has the full 12 bars, and showed an 80 mile range at 96%. The seller just bought it a few months ago, but drives almost 100 miles a day, and it didn't fit his needs. (In other words, I don't think he's the kind of guy who could do the battery bar reset trick some dealers can do.)

Is it unusual for a 2013 with 38,000 miles to still have all 12 bars? He didn't know if the battery had been replaced--he bought it from a dealer.

It doesn't have navigation, but it has the heated seats and the quick charge port. If it has the quick charge port, that means that it can charge at 6.6, right? (I also counted three orange cables in the engine compartment.)

I'll run the VIN to make sure it hasn't been in an accident or anything, but: what else should I look for? It only has one key, which is $300 I'll have to spend. Anything else?

Finally, I'm hoping $7,000 is fair (but a good deal) for a 12-bar 2013 S Leaf with the quick charge port. Right?

Thanks! I'm excited!
 
tomchaps said:
It was built 8/2013, so that means it has the better battery, right? The car has 38000 miles, and still has the full 12 bars, and showed an 80 mile range at 96%.

Where do you live at Tomchaps? Not exactly, but close enough so we have a clue as to climate. Please click on the upper right of the screen on your username, and then select profile, then scroll down to location, and put something useful there. I'm "near Seattle".


tomchaps said:
Is it unusual for a 2013 with 38,000 miles to still have all 12 bars?

Not in a mild climate. My January 2014 (in a mild climate) with 45,000 miles has 12 bars, and LeafSpy suggests will not lose a bar until maybe 2020 or 2021. The 2015 and later battery pack is better still.
 
Okay, I always bring a used car I'm about to buy to a mechanic to look over, before finalizing the purchase. Does this make sense for a Leaf? Should I bring it to a Nissan dealer, or how do I find someone who knows about EVs?

I figure most mechanics won't know what to look for...
 
It didn't look like you got a lot of good responses...so.
The only thing I would do when buying a used Leaf is run some sort of battery capacity check (LeafSpy, etc.). However, with a commute as short as yours I doubt range will ever be an issue. The only known problems with (older) Leafs are the (resistive) heater unit, which I believe is all an "S" model has. Just turn it on and see if it blows warm air.
 
Yeah, that guide was very helpful for me. Thanks.

An update: I just ran the CarFax report, and it was in an accident in February (not a salvage accident, but something to the left and front end). I was sold three weeks ago at a dealer's auction to the guy I'm buying it from, who doesn't know anything about the accident.

So I'm DEFINITELY bringing it to a shop to be checked out before I buy it. They do a battery check there (the kind needed for the Nissan battery warranty).

Fingers crossed...
 
just bought leaf middle package 10 bars full 70 miles on guesstometer on full charge. I travel 14 miles between 40-55 mph with it one way, I come home under 25 guesomiles on the meter every day, with 9 plus hour charge on the 110 trickle charge to recover. Yesterday I took a 55 min drive from my country home to PDX 34. miles. It was scarey,

I wouldn't believe anything the guy selling it to you is telling you. He might be lying about his commute as the reason why he is selling it. He might also be an unlicensed dealer buying and selling cars for a profit (lying)

I purchased from private party, they had owned for 3 years, from 30k to the 64k. there is slight body damage on front fender and shopping cart dings on driver side. I got it under 5k. PDX I got it because I wanted to try the EV and 70 miles sounded like maybe 2 days of driving and an easy reach of the big city with maybe a stop at a 240 charger for a bit before returning, but yesterday I couldnt find a charger near the Dr office, and I charged for 20 min, then an hour, then had to take another break when i got 3/4 way home and was under 2 bars and 10 miles left. .

read everything about the reach of the car, I didn't I thought 70 miles was 70 miles.
 
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