I bought a 2011 in 2018 for $5500 and put a used battery in it a year later, have had it for 6 years, and have done some maintenance: New Shocks, fixing a water leak (from a prior owner accident), changed reduction gear oil, brake fluid, new tires, alignment.
Overall it's cost me around $1200/yr so far BEFORE gas savings. Since it's saved me around $600/yr in gas, it's a $600/yr car that's been fun to drive. Range has been a bit of an issue--while it meets most of our range needs, there's some anxiety when you pull in at home with only 3 miles left. My wife often doesn't use it for trips that it could EASILY make because she's afraid she'll be stranded.
I just bought a used 2017 for $5300. I plan to do it all over again--but this time with a 40 kWh battery.
I'm happy with both purchases, but I would NEVER buy a new Leaf. It's just not worth the money. Nissan has utterly let their customers down: Early battery failures right out of warranty, reasonable battery replacement costs, refusing to sell battery upgrades, no 4G TCU, lack of rapid charging (CHADEMO is dead), and horribly unreliable carwings.
A few of these things, especially for the early adopters, and I would have a totally different outlook. Heck, if they just offered all Leaf owners the ability to purchase 40kWh batteries at cost, I think I'd have a totally different outlook.
So yes, I love my car--I just got another. I'm super happy with it, but I encourage everyone I know to buy a bolt instead.