Hi everyone! This forum seems great and I’ve learned a lot already! This topic seems similar to my conundrum, so I thought I’d start here for a new version of this comparison.
To avoid tl;dr, here’s the basic question: Considering that I live in Tucson, have light driving needs, and want to buy a used Leaf, which sounds better: a 2011 with QC (so presumably a 2011 SL because of the QC) and with a battery replaced in 2017 for $6-7,000 (such as this one
https://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/cto/d/2011-nissan-leaf-with-new/6420700294.html), or a 2015 S with QC and 12 bars for $11-12,000 (such as this one
http://www.redrockautoaz.com/detail-2015-nissan-leaf-4dr_hatchback_s-used-17045022.html)?
For those interested in the long version: My beloved 2002 Subaru Impreza was recently totaled while parked at my house because a rabbit chewed through a ton of the engine wires. The car only had 160,000 miles! I was going to drive it for another 5-10 years! This should get you in the mindset of how I think about cars. I wasn’t planning on buying a new car now, so the difference of $5-6,000 in the cost of a used Leaf is significant.
I don’t have a daily driving commute (I bike and sometimes take the bus if it’s too hot), and I live in a central area of town where most things are very close by. Even when I had a car I frequently did grocery runs on my bike. I’m on the borderline for needing a car. However, I would like to have a car that would enable me to do errands in town quickly and with more hauling capacity than I have on my bike (and with A/C when it’s 115 outside!), and which I could drive several times a month on 50 mile RT adventures, and a few times a year to farther destinations (i.e. Phoenix – 115 miles one way, with an L3 charging point 65 miles into the trip and L2s along the way as well).
Tucson is hot. With any Leaf I get the battery is going to degrade regardless of how much or little I drive. Based on my driving habits, is it really worth it for me to spend the additional money for a newer model? In my situation, the cons for a 2011 with a new battery seem include the 3.3 kWh charger, the less efficient heater, lack of B-mode, and the trunk design; whereas the pluses for the 2015 S include the 6.6 kWh charger, a more efficient heater, availability of B-mode, better interior design, and more time left on the overall (non-battery) warranty. While the 6.6 kWh charger would be nice, the frequency with which I would need anything other than an overnight charge would be really rare (a handful of times each year), and having QC available on either car also makes this seem not so bad in the few instances when I would travel longer distances. Living in Tucson and mostly driving short distances makes the heater issues with the older model also seem less significant for me. Having B-mode would be useful for handful of times each year when I drive up and down our regional mountains, but this too would be really infrequent.
Am I missing something? It seems like the older model with the new battery (yes, I would get more details about the battery replacement and check it with LeafSpy, and yes, I would want to know more about the state of things like the tires and brakes, etc. before settling on a final price) would meet the needs of my situation while saving me $5,000+. I would spend the extra money if it seemed worthwhile, but I’m not certain that it is in this case.
Thanks to everyone who contributes to making this site a great resource!