Buying a LEAF for use in country without Nissan service

[spooky]

Not so long ago the idea of buying fully electric car has got me. I started to check auctions and reading this forum to see problems and advantages of Nissan Lean.
And just wanted to hear some thoughts of active Leaf owners:
:?: - whether this car is reliable enough to be used without proper Nissan service cause we have no electric cars in Ukraine and think in near future will not have at least for 10 years I think; I think that transmission motor and batteries are the things I should worry about. All other things could be repaired as usually or could be ordered via internet.
:?: - is there a way to check/erase/edit computer errors of Leaf not using official Nissan Consult or may be there is some cheaper analogs of this program like DataScan or something; To be able to make diagnostic of the car systems myself.
:?: - regarding battery degradation I understood I should look for a car as new as possible with short millage or I can be guided only by millage? For example 2013 with 30k miles Leaf is better then 2012 with 15k miles or not?
:?: - is there a chance that Carwings will work in Ukraine? It will be OK if navigation will not work, but wanted to have a possibility to use all remote control features - charging/climate e.t.c.

I have usual gasoline car for a long distance trips. In city I use now Chevrolet Sonic and plan to replace it with Leaf in 1.5 year when the guarantee period will be over.
:!: My daily trip usually home-work-home is about 30 KM (about 20 miles) but due to traffic it could be so that sometimes I need 40 minutes to make this 15 km trip to work or back. And the only place where I will charge my car is my parking at home where I plan to install the charger.
I live near the sea and the climate is moderate. For example today we have lowest +8 at night.
And as long as I have a second car I see no problem not to use Leaf in winter when temperature is below -20 for example. But such low temperatures are very rear not longer then a week during winter.
My idea is to use electric car for a long period. I will not be able to change it in two years so 6-8 years of usage I see. And unfortunately I could not buy a new Leaf and deliver it here cause the price will be to high. I thought of buying a used or salvage(repaired) car on auction and thought that prices are about 15k-18k USD. If 8 years old Leaf will still have charge to make a trip of 80-100 km in summer or at least 50 km in winter this will be OK.

Sorry if similar topic exists, sorry for my English and thanks for your advises.

 

[RegGuheert]

Welcome, spooky! (Good name for someone whose first post is on Halloween! :twisted: )

Your commute is a good fit for the Nissan LEAF, but I would have to say I wouldn't do it. While the car has proven to be very reliable transportation, what would you do if something broke? Its seems many of the service items, including replacements of modules, require the Nissan Consult III computer to accomplish. Until better shadetree mechanic computer options are out there, it seems like a risky move.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[cgaydos]

I'd have to agree not to buy it for a place without service. While it is reliable anything that does go wrong under the hood needs specialized equipment to diagnose and fix - and only a certified Nissan dealer has that.

 

[Phatcat73]

Software updates seem to be common when things go wrong. How would you get this level of service on your own? Unfortunately the Leaf is unlike the Tesla which actually pushes updates over the air.

 

[Phatcat73]

Software updates seem to be common when things go wrong. How would you get this level of service on your own? Unfortunately the Leaf is unlike the Tesla which actually pushes updates over the air.

 

[smkettner]

What is the closest dealer to import from? Would it be reasonable to return to that dealer if needed?
I have had ZERO service that required a return to the dealer. Others have needed complete charging system and other replacements but not common.

 

[highend]

I bought a Leaf in a country withour service at April 2013. It is 2012 model.
Now we have service possible (nearest 80km from me) and I wonder if I should go there
for warranty.... Officially I have one year warranty left (expires January 2014), and
three years for engine+batteries (January 2017) - but I'm in Poland and I won't qualify for battery exchange
as capacity is high (2 years old Leaf, capacity 98%, mileage: 12.000km).
I think I can recommend you buying cheap USA import. It is without warranty anyway.....
Mine is import from Germany and is covered - but I need to go to annual service to have warranty.
I'm in Poland.

 

[spooky]

smkettner unfortunately official dealer import is not a way. For surer I could go to Europe and buy a new car but it will be over 35k EURO which is 45.5 USD + delivery and custom duties the car will cost like a golden one...

highend thank you for your reply! It's nice to hear that our neighbors already have such cars! If Poland will have authorized service I will be able to use it to solve undecidable problems. Of course 1000km will be a little problem to get broken car but as a last chance good enough
I was thinking of course about USA export cause have checked European prices and found that they are much much higher. Similar cars in USA 15-16k and in Europe 22-25k.
And also I am looking for a car with small damage which could be repaired without big problems but will influence on a buying price and also custom clearance price in Ukraine. Like this one

Auction buy now price 11k and it's "run a drive certificated".
Good news for me are that Russia already canceled custom duty for electric cars hope Ukraine will copy their actions as usual
As long as I am planning to start active search of car in a year hope this will happen, also regarding our politics of European integration.

Today my calculation is 13k car(or less) + 2k delivery + 5,5k custom duties+1k for unexpected expenses and charger. Even 21.5k is a good price I think. But without custom duties it will be perfect.
Hope that in nearest future will be in Europe and will manage to get on a test drive to feel the car I am dreaming about.
One Tesla car was already bought and delivered to Ukraine so hope I could be one of next elector car users

Phatcat73 I am learning the question of software update of course it's better to have a possibility to update the software but old software could not be a problem for a car if everything works properly. Thanks you for this idea will try to get as much information as possible. One way to get an official service was found thanks to this forum in Poland so I will be not a desperate situation in any case.

I am trying to find on this forum does anyone used Nissan Consult III kits like this one:

and whether these tools can not only diagnose but erase errors and may be it's possible to update the software using it.

 

[highend]

Official Nissan Leaf dealers and service in Poland are in two cities:
Warsaw and Krakow. Nissan sells Leafs in Poland since June 2013, only Leaf 2013 S trim (cheapest), but you can order Acenta or Tekna if you want.

Both dealers have free CHAdeMO chargers which can be used 24h free of charge.
also in Poland there are only two extra CHAdeMO chargers (in Lodz and second in Krakow). No more yet
But all are free of charge

I used CHAdeMO in Krakow 5 times - 50kW power, works great (20 minutes charge).

If you buy Nissan from USA to Ukraine - you WON'T have Nissan warranty! so Nissan dealer can help you but not for free.
I suggest you could search for european version of Leaf - in Germany I saw two damaged ones (look at mobile.de and autoscout24.de) if you want cheaper.

 

[garygid]

The Android App "LEAF Spy" for Android smartphone can read
some/many/most of the Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC).
It needs an inexpensive ELM327 type Bluetooth device to
plug into the car's OBD port. The phone does not need
to be active, just needs Bluetooth.

We hope that the LEAF Spy Pro ($15) will be able to
reset (many/all/some?) codes in a future version.

You can download the Service Manual, which is approximately
52 pdf files, using a ond-day subscription.

My LEAF is early 2011, serial 855, and never had any
service or firmware upgrades. Buying a good used car,
at least all for the systems have probably been tested.

The USA phone service used for for Carwings is unlikely
to work from you, but some European LEAF might work?

 

[smkettner]

If Poland will have authorized service I will be able to use it to solve undecidable problems.

Check with Poland if they will service a USA vehicle.

There was a post of a New Zealand guy that imported his own from Japan and was refused service.
May have just refused warranty work.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=14721&hilit=new+zealand

 

[highend]

My LEAF is early 2011, serial 855, and never had any
service or firmware upgrades. Buying a good used car,
at least all for the systems have probably been tested.

The USA phone service used for for Carwings is unlikely
to work from you, but some European LEAF might work?

Carwings works in my Leaf in Poland, although official there is no carwings support in Poland (that's
why they offer only S trim version).
For service I have same concerns... I can go for a service but all they do will be computer & mechanical check
+ brake fluid change (why?????) + pollen filter change (I can do it myself). And they ask about 200 EUR to do all the job.
But I want to have warranty - at least for engine & batteries. For car - I think I don't need it.
So like Gary - my leaf never was at any service yet... Still has first-old firmware.

 

[gadyamit]

Hello,
I'm from Israel, I already have 2013 Nissan Leaf waiting for me in NJ.
The problem is that I need to prove that the US car is very similar to the UK for the charging systeam and for most parts.
Any idea how to do that?
maybe to communicate with Nissan they should be able to highlight the diffrences right?
Thanks