Hello from the Netherlands! Buying a used LEAF, need advice.

Hello everyone! :mrgreen:

I'm about to embark on this wonderful adventure of electric driving and I've been searching for a source of information and experience on this topic.

This forum seems to be just what I've been looking for!

A brief introduction: I'm from Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Amsterdam is a city for walkers, cyclists, and people who travel by public transit. Its density and lack of abundant parking space makes it very unfriendly to regular cars. However, if you own or lease an electric car, you're suddenly treated as royalty over here, considering all the incentives the city is offering! I'd be happy to tell you more about that in another post, but first, if possible, I would like to ask my first few questions pertaining to the possible purchase of a used LEAF.

After having contemplated the purchase (or leasing) of a Nissan LEAF, I decided to check on-line for a used LEAF. I found one on-line, which is about a year old, with about 12000km (about 7500 miles) on the counter. It's a metallic blue one, and it has both a regular and a CHAdeMO fast-charge connector (I specifically asked the seller to check this, since I read something about some earlier LEAF models lacking fast-charge capability). The asking price is about 74% of what a brand new base model LEAF goes for around here. The seller told me that it was used as a demo test drive unit, and that it is in pristine condition. As far as the seller could tell me over the phone, this model appears to be lacking the optional solar panel on the spoiler.

So what do you think? Is 74% of the value of a new base model reasonable? Do you think I can (and should) haggle it down a bit? The seller has hinted that he is open to discussing the price, but I have no idea what maneuvering room I should realistically assume to have here. Also, to what extent do you recon the battery might have been degraded after 7500 miles, in the worst use case scenario? And are there perhaps also other things I need to consider when purchasing a used Nissan LEAF?

Yes, I know, I have so many questions at once in this first post, but this is quite purchase for me, and I'm not taking this lightly.

I'm going to meet the seller later this week, and any advice and knowledge that you can arm me with to get the best (of course mutually honest) deal out of it would really be appreciated!

Of course, there might already be topics open that discuss these very issues, and that I have overlooked. If so, by all means, point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance! I hope to meet some fun, interesting, and helpful people here.

when people post about something like this it is impossible to know what to tell them.
I mean, how much does 1k or 2k matter to you?
some people would rather spend the money, and some dont have it to spend even if they would.
There are allot of posts like this; well-meaning, but essentially leaving out the important details in terms of making a financial decision.
if you love the car, go buy it.
if you can afford a new one, why would you buy used?

the car sounds OK but used fairly allot for one year.. you need to find out the status of the battery in terms of storage capacity.
is it near normal?
etc.

and, do tell us if you are bucks up.
cause if you are, buy a new one.

Netherlands climate is quite mild. So, I'd think the battery should be fine. Ask the seller (is that a dealer ?) to confirm that battery capacity still shows 12 bars.

As to the price very difficult to tell. Do you get all the subsidies for this car as you would for a new car ? Then, it is probably a decent price.

I am a Dutch citizen too (Arnhem in the east) and I bought a new Leaf in March of this year.
In the Netherlands are no governmental susidies, but if you you drive your car for business you have a lot of financial advantages:

• - no tax accounting for private use of the car
  - discount of 36% environment investment (MIA)
  - advanced deprecation (VAMIL)

You should ask AgentschapNL if these advantages are also applicable for used cars.
I know in Amsterdam there is a subsidy from the community for EV-cars. Also you should ask of this subsidy is applicable for a used car.

When you make a testdrive: ask the dealer to charge the batteries of the car for 100%.
The first drop from 12 to 11 bar's should appear after minimal 10 km of driving (driving in town).

Very much succes and happy Leafing!

Hi there,

We have thousands of Leafs in Norway, and a few are imported from the USA. I don't know if that's where your seller is?

In that case, please be aware:

1) The GPS system will not work / difficult and expensive to upgrade.

2) The telematics system (switching charging and A/C on/off) will not work.

If your seller is selling a European spec car, this should be OK.

Happy Leafing!

Have you considered a Renault Zoe?

Hyperdrive said:

After having contemplated the purchase (or leasing) of a Nissan LEAF, I decided to check on-line for a used LEAF. I found one on-line, which is about a year old, with about 12000km (about 7500 miles) on the counter. It's a metallic blue one, and it has both a regular and a CHAdeMO fast-charge connector (I specifically asked the seller to check this, since I read something about some earlier LEAF models lacking fast-charge capability). The asking price is about 74% of what a brand new base model LEAF goes for around here. The seller told me that it was used as a demo test drive unit, and that it is in pristine condition. As far as the seller could tell me over the phone, this model appears to be lacking the optional solar panel on the spoiler.

Click to expand...

This is odd. I don't know if European Leafs are different, but in the USA, the L3 QC port is only available on the SL trim level and all SL's have the solar panel.

The lack of the solar panel is no big deal. It's mostly a gimmick and not, IMHO, worth the price. However, this seems to put the seller's overall description in doubt.

In any case, good luck to you.

Wow! First of all, thanks for all the quick replies and helpful suggestions so far, everyone.

Let me answer some questions and elaborate some things.

@thankyouOB: I have a reasonable income, but I wouldn't call myself "wealthy". A few thousand dollars or euros definitely matter to me (as I reckon it would for most of us). As a matter of fact, I wouldn't be able to put down the entire payment for even the used LEAF at once. I would have to either take out a loan for it (which my financial situation would easily allow), or choose to lease a new LEAF through my employer. I was considering this option, because buying a somewhat cheaper used LEAF might actual result in lower montly costs than leasing. Even if they were on par, the monthly payments would go towards owning the car (unlike when leasing). But throughout this forum I've been reading the reoccurring advice to lease the car due to uncertainties about the long term (battery) life. Perhaps this leasing would be better, safer, and more convenient after all… It definitely would be cheaper per month than paying off a brand new one.

@evnow and @kc1950: thanks both of you for the useful advice regarding the 12 bars! If I go ahead with meeting the dealer, I'll definitely check that and I'll ask him if I can take it out for a 15 minute trip to see how quickly it drops to 11 bars. I'll also check how purchasing a used LEAF would affect any of the currently available subsidies and incentives (such as for having a charger installed close to your home).

@Norway: No, I'm pretty sure it's a European model, since it was used as a demo (test drive) car before it reached a certain milage.

@Herm: The Renault Zoe? Interesting suggestion! It appears to have a considerably better range than the LEAF. At first I was concerned about it not having a quick-charge capability (which for me is going to be a must-have requirement for an electric car). But according to Wikipedia, the Zoe is going to ship with some kind of universal charge adapter called a "Chameleon", which supposedly will also work with CHAdeMO (Level 3) chargers. I'm going to do some more research on the car's specs and expected release date here. Even if I won't end up going for the Zoe, I could use the upcoming release of that car as leverage when negotiating the price. Thanks!

@DoxyLover: Yeah, apparently the CHAdeMO (L3) quick-charge port is standard in all European models. I believe it has something to do with Nissan's European strategy: they are investing heavily in pushing the CHAdeMO quick-charging standard, to the point that they have announced that they will completely fund the installation of several hundred quick-chargers in strategic locations throughout Europe. Japan has by far the most of such quick-charging stations, but my country is apparently a distant second at the moment. I actually passed and used several quick-charging stations when I went on a test drive with an electric car a few weeks ago. Since the situation is currently a lot different in North America, I can understand why Nissan made the quick-charge port optional there. I guess the reason why they made the solar panel for the auxiliary battery optional in my region is because of the (usually) mediocre weather and less sunshine, at least in the Northern parts of Europe. ;-) But like you said, it's not super-useful. If only it could somehow help charge the main battery or power the A/C, and thus extend the range a little bit. That would make it a lot more useful. Perhaps in a future model. ;-)

Man, I'm really having doubts about going ahead with the used car option. Maybe I should just play it safe and lease it through my employer instead, even though the car would not become my property in that case. Plus, the Renault Zoe does look enticing. Perhaps I'll wait for that…

By the way, does anybody know if the list price of a brand new LEAF is in any way negotiable with Nissan dealers? And if not the base model, than perhaps some of the options?

Thanks again! I'll keep you posted on my eventual decision. In the meantime, if anyone has any additional advice or information, I'm all ears.

When I bought my new Leaf there was no room for negotation.
Also not for the options.
There was also no possibility for exchange with a used car.
I think there is more room for negotiation when you buy a used Leaf.