Nissan Battery Replacement Program, Cost

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JPWhite said:
I got an itemized list of parts and installation fees/taxes etc.

See https://jpwhitenissanleaf.com/2016/...-miles-for-an-electric-vehicle-is-phenomenal/

It's not an easy decision. Interesting others are being coached into a finance deal on the new battery. I was asked by customer relations rep if I wanted to be transferred to the dealer and that I should ask for the finance manager. Maybe Nissan thinks we don't have the money.

I can find $6,000 myself, that not the issue, the issue is, is it worth it?

A friend at church just had an experience with an older car that reinforces my trepidation at sinking $6,000 into a car that is worth at most $7,000. He had an old junker, put new struts, four new tires, alignment and sundry other items into an old Malibu. Paid $1,600 for it all on Wednesday and on Friday was hit from behind, pushed into a trailer hitch in front and the car is totalled. He just lost $1,600 having the benefit of his expenditure for less than 48 hours.

Putting $6,000 into a car that barely worth that much if totalled is rolling the dice so to speak.

I'm going to keep QC'ing my old LEAF to and from work until it hits 100,000 miles (about 4 months away) on the miniscule chance that the battery may fail and be covered under the warranty after all. Once I hit 100,000 miles I am left holding the baby for sure with no hope of assistance from Nissan, that's when I decide what to do. My workplace moves closer to home in October and they appear to be accommodating EV's. I might just be able to keep it going on the old battery until the Bolt comes to Tennessee, which I guess will be spring next year.

Add to all this that there are rumors Nissan may selling their battery operations http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nissan-battery-stakesale-idUSKCN10H05J old batteries may not be available for the original LEAF's much longer.

2011/12 customers have been abandoned by Nissan, next Nissan may abandon the 2011/12 cars altogether. They are hardly going to retrofit an LG pack or whatever into a 2011/12 Leaf.

Welcome to the era of the disposable ($33,160) car.
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you need to check with your insurance company on that. Mine has the option for you to list any recent improvements and expenditures. now how they treat the battery replacement is anyone's guess. if they are progressive, they will understand the increase in value. if they are not... well then, its not like you don't have options
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
you need to check with your insurance company on that. Mine has the option for you to list any recent improvements and expenditures. now how they treat the battery replacement is anyone's guess. if they are progressive, they will understand the increase in value. if they are not... well then, its not like you don't have options
Click to expand...

An insurance company will not pay over top dollar for any car regardless of what repairs you have made (it's not like I'm adding a sound system).

Edmunds.com values my car in 'outstanding condition' as $7,816 dealer retail price. That's as much as I'm likely to get. Average condition which is a reasonable assessment with a weak battery it retails at $5,460.

If I'm a good negotiator I could get $2,400 more from insurance if I'm unfortunate enough to have it totalled shortly after replacing the battery.

Trade-in value in average condition is $3,455.

Another factor to consider is that after spending $6,000 on a new battery, say the inverter or motor takes a dump. I'm out of drivetrain warranty in 4 months I'd be motivated to spend another sizable chunk of money to preserve my $6,000 investment.

I was also hopeful that a price drop in replacement batteries might come about given the manufacturing cost reductions, if they are going to sell their battery plants, old battery replacements won't come cheap anytime soon. I get the feeling Nissan are cutting their loses in the US with the LEAF , not marketing the car much and focusing on Europe and Asia where the car is doing better.
 
JPWhite said:
DaveinOlyWA said:
you need to check with your insurance company on that. Mine has the option for you to list any recent improvements and expenditures. now how they treat the battery replacement is anyone's guess. if they are progressive, they will understand the increase in value. if they are not... well then, its not like you don't have options
Click to expand...

An insurance company will not pay over top dollar for any car regardless of what repairs you have made (it's not like I'm adding a sound system).

Edmunds.com values my car in 'outstanding condition' as $7,816 dealer retail price. That's as much as I'm likely to get. Average condition which is a reasonable assessment with a weak battery it retails at $5,460.

If I'm a good negotiator I could get $2,400 more from insurance if I'm unfortunate enough to have it totalled shortly after replacing the battery.

Trade-in value in average condition is $3,455.

Another factor to consider is that after spending $6,000 on a new battery, say the inverter or motor takes a dump. I'm out of drivetrain warranty in 4 months I'd be motivated to spend another sizable chunk of money to preserve my $6,000 investment.

I was also hopeful that a price drop in replacement batteries might come about given the manufacturing cost reductions, if they are going to sell their battery plants, old battery replacements won't come cheap anytime soon. I get the feeling Nissan are cutting their loses in the US with the LEAF , not marketing the car much and focusing on Europe and Asia where the car is doing better.
Click to expand...

when my car was totaled I had the option to list any recent improvements (I didn't) so who knows? but the concerns you list are present in EVERY used car so lets not make this EV specific
 
JPWhite said:
I got an itemized list of parts and installation fees/taxes etc.

See https://jpwhitenissanleaf.com/2016/...-miles-for-an-electric-vehicle-is-phenomenal/...
Click to expand...
It looks like there is no core charge listed on that estimate.

Did you ask if you could keep your OE pack, and at what cost, if any?

="JPWhite"

...Welcome to the era of the disposable ($33,160) car
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Did you actuality pay anywhere near that price, net incentives?

I only paid ~$20k for my 2011, net (+~$1k more in phantom sales tax).

And I expect to recoup a significant chunk of $ when I sell it, whatever number of capacity bars are shown on the dash...
 
Yeah, $6k is just about impossible to justify on a car that's only worth $6k. How many more years might one expect to get out of the car with a new battery? Personally, I'd have a hard time justifying more than $3k - $4k max.

An alternative route that might get you in for less is to find a car that either just had it's battery replaced, has already lost 4 bars, or has lost fewer bars but still has enough time on the warranty to get you to battery replacement.

If you can sell your LEAF for $6k and buy the other LEAF for $9-10k, then you can get a slightly newer LEAF and hopefully a new battery for half the cost.
 
JPWhite said:
DaveinOlyWA said:
you need to check with your insurance company on that. Mine has the option for you to list any recent improvements and expenditures. now how they treat the battery replacement is anyone's guess. if they are progressive, they will understand the increase in value. if they are not... well then, its not like you don't have options
Click to expand...

An insurance company will not pay over top dollar for any car regardless of what repairs you have made (it's not like I'm adding a sound system).

Edmunds.com values my car in 'outstanding condition' as $7,816 dealer retail price. That's as much as I'm likely to get. Average condition which is a reasonable assessment with a weak battery it retails at $5,460.

If I'm a good negotiator I could get $2,400 more from insurance if I'm unfortunate enough to have it totalled shortly after replacing the battery.

Trade-in value in average condition is $3,455.

Another factor to consider is that after spending $6,000 on a new battery, say the inverter or motor takes a dump. I'm out of drivetrain warranty in 4 months I'd be motivated to spend another sizable chunk of money to preserve my $6,000 investment.

I was also hopeful that a price drop in replacement batteries might come about given the manufacturing cost reductions, if they are going to sell their battery plants, old battery replacements won't come cheap anytime soon. I get the feeling Nissan are cutting their loses in the US with the LEAF , not marketing the car much and focusing on Europe and Asia where the car is doing better.
Click to expand...
If insurance is really a concern, you could get a stated value policy, like a lot of collector type vehicles. As stated, these types of concerns are not EV specific. For example, a new tranny for an ICE can easily be $3-5k to have installed, etc...
 
You may be able to save 15% off that battery replacement, up to a max of $500...

http://www.costcoauto.com/parts_and_service/default.aspx

Costco works with local dealers of all types of cars to offer a 15% discount on parts and service. Go to the page above and type in your zip code and fill out the page to indicate you own a Nissan LEAF. They'll identify a local Nissan dealer who is participating in the program for 15% off parts and service ($500 max).

Hopefully, it'll be a close-by dealer that you might have used anyways...It works for other types of service and other brands of cars as well...

Randy
 
Randy said:
You may be able to save 15% off that battery replacement, up to a max of $500...

http://www.costcoauto.com/parts_and_service/default.aspx

Costco works with local dealers of all types of cars to offer a 15% discount on parts and service. Go to the page above and type in your zip code and fill out the page to indicate you own a Nissan LEAF. They'll identify a local Nissan dealer who is participating in the program for 15% off parts and service ($500 max).

Hopefully, it'll be a close-by dealer that you might have used anyways...It works for other types of service and other brands of cars as well...

Randy
Click to expand...
I just printed the coupon for my dealer but notice it expires in about 3 weeks. I wonder if it's a one shot deal or if I can print another a few months from now.
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
... but the concerns you list are present in EVERY used car so lets not make this EV specific
Click to expand...
But Dave in the 5 year old near 100,000 mile vehicle that JP is discussing, in an ICE vehicle they are not of the same magnitude.

A repair or refurbish matching the vehicle market total price is fairly unique to the EV.

I was fortunate to have put enough usage on my 2011 LEAF to get Nissan to put in a new pack at 34,000 miles when it lost the fourth bar two weeks past five years.

But even with that it is extremely disposable in that it will need another new pack at 75,000 to 80,000 miles.

The Nissan LEAF is markedly more disposable than almost all moderate cost ICE vehicles.

NOTE: I still love the LEAF. But it is unfortunately disposable as JP stated. Still a great local neighborhood vehicle for a long time. But NOT for its original design intent.
 
yeah that sounds good but seeing a lot of used LEAFs with new packs that are not selling for a price high enough to account for the pack. so yeah, if its free, it works...
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
yeah that sounds good but seeing a lot of used LEAFs with new packs that are not selling for a price high enough to account for the pack. so yeah, if its free, it works...
Click to expand...

True. The uneven degradation and the lack of pro-rated warranty seems to be yet another market distortion.
 
Another angle - sell the older Leaf for what ever you can get. Buy a newer used Leaf with the newer battery technology.
 
Decided to go ahead and purchase a new battery to be installed Thursday. Will be nice to have full range again. As expected, we lost our 4th bar sometime last week, well past the October 26th warranty period. Basically, though, for 6 grand, we'll have what we consider to be a "new" car. We'll see how this experiment goes. The only puzzlement might come if we have an accident, as the car only books for 5K or so.
 
ncscenic said:
Decided to go ahead and purchase a new battery to be installed Thursday. Will be nice to have full range again. As expected, we lost our 4th bar sometime last week, well past the October 26th warranty period. Basically, though, for 6 grand, we'll have what we consider to be a "new" car. We'll see how this experiment goes. The only puzzlement might come if we have an accident, as the car only books for 5K or so.
Click to expand...
No puzzlement needed. It's already happened and been reported here on MNL.com. Spoiler alert: Don't crash it. You won't have any significantly higher value or payout if totaled.
 
Reddy said:
ncscenic said:
Decided to go ahead and purchase a new battery to be installed Thursday. Will be nice to have full range again. As expected, we lost our 4th bar sometime last week, well past the October 26th warranty period. Basically, though, for 6 grand, we'll have what we consider to be a "new" car. We'll see how this experiment goes. The only puzzlement might come if we have an accident, as the car only books for 5K or so.
Click to expand...
No puzzlement needed. It's already happened and been reported here on MNL.com. Spoiler alert: Don't crash it. You won't have any significantly higher value or payout if totaled.
Click to expand...

If accident is other driver's fault, you can fight with their insurance company, show receipts, etc. to possibly get some reimbursement for your battery expense. There is little or no chance to recoup the full price paid. I argued with the adjuster for about a month after the other driver's insurance company declared my 2011 a total loss even though it was technically repairable (I drove it out of the intersection after the crash). I ultimately received some compensation for the fact that it was worth more than similar cars because the battery had been replaced by Nissan, but not enough to buy a truly comparable 2011.

Gerry
 
This is something the insurance company simply isn't concerned with due to low number of replaced batteries. As more claims come in, they will develop a standard for it. On any claim there is a place to enter in any mods you have lost including price and date of install. in a replacement battery situation, you need to emphasize that you have a 2016 battery pack in an older car. You might not get the result you wanted but this is how you start the process of getting it later down the road.
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
This is something the insurance company simply isn't concerned with due to low number of replaced batteries. As more claims come in, they will develop a standard for it. On any claim there is a place to enter in any mods you have lost including price and date of install. in a replacement battery situation, you need to emphasize that you have a 2016 battery pack in an older car. You might not get the result you wanted but this is how you start the process of getting it later down the road.
Click to expand...

The only way an insurance company will add a significant amount to compensate for a new battery is if the value of a used LEAF with a new battery pack is worth considerably more on the second hand car market. (currently that's not the case).

Insurance companies will only pay out what the car is worth. If the marketplace does not value a new pack very much the insurance will not pay out much more either.

It's not a question of establishing a new insurance standard, it's a question of real world value.

Be aware that replacing a worn battery is not considered a "mod" that adds value like say a premium sound system, it simply returns the cars battery to its original condition with the same range and charging characteristics when new. A 2016 battery does not add any extra range or otherwise improve the car. The 2016 battery simply wears out more slowly (or so we are lead to believe). Its like putting 60,000 mile tires on instead of 30,000 mile OEM tires. They cost more to buy, but add no extra value over the OEM tires.

The way I have seen insurance work is they start with what they consider to be the retail value of the car in excellent condition, then they start deducting for wear and tear. The best you can hope to get is the cars value in excellent condition.
 

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