There seam to be no end of people who have a problem with their Leaf. Not surprising, as this is a forum to help those with a problem, but I would love to hear from those that the car is doing well and fitting their needs.
I had been interested in the Leaf and EV's in general since before they became mfg. Back in the '80s I donated some parts to a local collage group that was electrifying a Dodge van with help from the DOE. I recently saw that same van on Ebay, some 40 years on!
Not being one who buys new vehicles (I bought 1 in my life so far and ran it over 200K) I knew a new Leaf was not in my cards. In 2013 or so there was an EV day, near by and I went and rode in a few different cars and sat in just about all. I found the Leaf fit my large frame well and had good visibility. I went to the dealer and test drove a few (new and used) but they were out of my price range.
I was well aware of the shortcomings of the early electrics esp their range. I logged my trips and found that 98% or better were under 25 miles, more or less the perfect match for the early Leaf.
I have had several cars, and our "daily driver" is showing its age, it is currently 24 years old. Time had come to think about a replacement or retiring this for another daily driver.
I read though Lefty's "Before you buy a used Leaf" and learned that the newer "post 2013" had some improvements worth paying extra for. 2014's and 2015's were at the upper end of what I was willing to gamble on a car that has a limited market.
I found a very lightly used '15 with "horror of horrors" only 9 bars and upper 60's to low 70's on the GOM.
Test drove the car (private sale) and agreed on a price.
NO LEAFSPY, check, but I have been very happy ever since. I still haven't put a Leafspy on and unless there is a problem with the car, I see no reason to obsess over what it can and cannot tell me. Unless and until the car can no longer preform its function, I don't need to know what it says.
May be it is because I went in with realistic expectations on what the car can and can not do, but it has never let me down, even in -15F weather.
Yeah, I would love it if it could do the longer trips, all 2% of them, but I knew going in it would not.
I costs around $1.40 for our daily trips to town, down from over $3.00 for our econbox gasoline, and I can "fill it" at home!
Someday I may be faced with the choice of buying a replacement traction battery or moving on from the car, but today that day seams a long way off and I thought about and researched it before I bought. I know it will cost close to double what I paid for the car if I choose to replace with a 40Kwh pack. I could re-up with a "rebuilt" 24Kwh pack for about what I paid for the car. These were known's when I went looking to buy.
As I was buying an 8 year old car, I had no expectations that Nissan would cover anything, so no disappointment there.
Even before I bought, I wired in a 50 amp feed to my detached garage as I knew someday I would have some electric vehicle.
My used Leaf came with two EVSE's, the OEM 120 volt unit and an adjustable aftermarket unit. I have settled in to a 16 amp charge current for right around 2 hrs in the middle of the night. This keeps it near full every morning. As the weather moderates I may have to cut it back some more. My monthly electric has gone up around $35-40 a month, and my gasoline bill has all but disappeared. It has been months since I filled anything.
So lets hear others success stories!
I had been interested in the Leaf and EV's in general since before they became mfg. Back in the '80s I donated some parts to a local collage group that was electrifying a Dodge van with help from the DOE. I recently saw that same van on Ebay, some 40 years on!
Not being one who buys new vehicles (I bought 1 in my life so far and ran it over 200K) I knew a new Leaf was not in my cards. In 2013 or so there was an EV day, near by and I went and rode in a few different cars and sat in just about all. I found the Leaf fit my large frame well and had good visibility. I went to the dealer and test drove a few (new and used) but they were out of my price range.
I was well aware of the shortcomings of the early electrics esp their range. I logged my trips and found that 98% or better were under 25 miles, more or less the perfect match for the early Leaf.
I have had several cars, and our "daily driver" is showing its age, it is currently 24 years old. Time had come to think about a replacement or retiring this for another daily driver.
I read though Lefty's "Before you buy a used Leaf" and learned that the newer "post 2013" had some improvements worth paying extra for. 2014's and 2015's were at the upper end of what I was willing to gamble on a car that has a limited market.
I found a very lightly used '15 with "horror of horrors" only 9 bars and upper 60's to low 70's on the GOM.
Test drove the car (private sale) and agreed on a price.
NO LEAFSPY, check, but I have been very happy ever since. I still haven't put a Leafspy on and unless there is a problem with the car, I see no reason to obsess over what it can and cannot tell me. Unless and until the car can no longer preform its function, I don't need to know what it says.
May be it is because I went in with realistic expectations on what the car can and can not do, but it has never let me down, even in -15F weather.
Yeah, I would love it if it could do the longer trips, all 2% of them, but I knew going in it would not.
I costs around $1.40 for our daily trips to town, down from over $3.00 for our econbox gasoline, and I can "fill it" at home!
Someday I may be faced with the choice of buying a replacement traction battery or moving on from the car, but today that day seams a long way off and I thought about and researched it before I bought. I know it will cost close to double what I paid for the car if I choose to replace with a 40Kwh pack. I could re-up with a "rebuilt" 24Kwh pack for about what I paid for the car. These were known's when I went looking to buy.
As I was buying an 8 year old car, I had no expectations that Nissan would cover anything, so no disappointment there.
Even before I bought, I wired in a 50 amp feed to my detached garage as I knew someday I would have some electric vehicle.
My used Leaf came with two EVSE's, the OEM 120 volt unit and an adjustable aftermarket unit. I have settled in to a 16 amp charge current for right around 2 hrs in the middle of the night. This keeps it near full every morning. As the weather moderates I may have to cut it back some more. My monthly electric has gone up around $35-40 a month, and my gasoline bill has all but disappeared. It has been months since I filled anything.
So lets hear others success stories!