If Nissan offered to buy back your degraded Leaf, would you?

[SierraQ]

Suppose Nissan, in order to placate those with capacity loss in hot climates, offered to buy back your Leaf for 100% of its original value and apply that towards a different model new Nissan? (similar to what Chevy offered with the Volt) Cash would not be an option, you must get another new Nissan, and you cannot get another Leaf.

First, would you do it?

Second, which Nissan would you replace it with?

And why?

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

nope i wouldnt, mostly because there is no free lunch, only an idiot or a scammer would offer you 100% of the original value on a well used vehicle and i dont deal with either

and if you would have leased, you would have been able to get out of the lease for nothing more than paying fair use of the vehicle for the time you had it

 

[downeykp]

No I would not. I did not buy a Leaf because I like Nissan products. I bought it because it was the first mass produced EV on the market. I, like many, got swept up in all off the hoopla surrounding the car and what it's capabilities were. We have found out that the car we bought was a bigger compromise than we had expected.
So the real question should be would we make the same purchase knowing what we now know. I would not have bought my Leaf. I think the best that we can hope for is that Nissan will replace the batteries with a better chemistry battery. They seemed to know that this was a problem but still put out a product that was a problem. If they want this car to work for the masses they are going to have to make this right.

 

[JeremyW]

Only if I could get a volt.

 

[Drivesolo]

Absolutely! I would give back the Leaf and opt for a 2013 GT-R Black Edition but only if they could insure that I definitely be able to get one and at no more than MSRP (since GT-Rs normally sell for over $10k above MSRP). If not... ehhh... maybe I'd keep the Leaf.

 

[thankyouOB]

I'd do it. but I am not in the HOT zone.
I would want to wait to see the new model coming out of TN.

but dont get me wrong; I love my Leaf.
It makes me happy every day that I drive it.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

sorry if anyone "got caught up in the hype" but i did not and maybe that is why the LEAF has worked out much better than i had hoped. granted, i have lost no bars, lost very little range but before asking myself; i said "can i live with a car that would only go 50 miles on a charge? (before getting mine, i assumed the usable range on the LEAF would only be about 75 miles) or would it work with 70% of its original range?

and that is why i got it.

i guess the real question should be "who you expect Nissan to buy back your LEAF at fair market value? which means deducting for the mileage you did get out of it?

for that question, i would say yes if the degradation had already passed 20% which is has or will for most in AZ and other places. but for those who have solar, the thought of giving up what is essentially free transportation would be a toughie for me since i could make my LEAF work with only 50% of its range left...just not work as much as it does now

 

[Lopton]

No, I understood the risks of buy first generation technology. It was my decision, and I am happy with it.

I am not in a hot climate though, but my answer remains the same if i faced faster then expected degradation.
-Matt

 

[MrIanB]

Suppose Nissan, in order to placate those with capacity loss in hot climates, offered to buy back your Leaf for 100% of its original value and apply that towards a different model new Nissan? (similar to what Chevy offered with the Volt) Cash would not be an option, you must get another new Nissan, and you cannot get another Leaf.

First, would you do it? I am on a lease in Texas and if range drops significantly, I would.

Second, which Nissan would you replace it with? Here is the dilemma, my next ev will be the Infiniti LE should it have increased longer battery range. If it does not, an Audi A6 will be my next purchase.

And why? I can handle reduced range to an extent since I work out of the house.

Ian B

 

[mwalsh]

Maybe. If it starts to become clear that there is NO WAY the pack would be still be at 70-80%, even after only 5 years (and I've got real concerns that might be the case). But if I did it would be with massive regret and sadness. I would still prefer another solution, like an affordable pathway to a replacement (and hopefully improved) pack.

 

[sethr]

Absolutely not. One reason: I no longer trust Nissan Corporation. I do not like a company that stonewalls every question, trivial or important, that I have asked. I had the first year Prius, had many, many questions, all of which were answered promptly. I was never told "that's proprietary information" in response to a question! (I've gotten that response twice from Nissan.) I have lost confidence, mostly because of reading about the troubles of hotter climate Leaf owners and Nissan's lack of response. So even if I was willing to go back to burning gasoline, it wouldn't be in a Nissan.

 

[SanDust]

The only cars Nissan sells that cost as much as the Leaf are the Z and the GT-R. So to get 100% worth of 100% of your money back you'd need to be looking at one of these two cars (or maybe the convertible Murano). Very limiting and not very appealing to me.

I'm OK with the Leaf. I'm half way through the lease. I haven't lost any capacity bars. And if I terminated I'd have to reimburse CARB.

If I could give it back for 100% of the purchase price I'd do that in a heart beat.

 

[Herm]

Lets have a slightly different thought experiment:

Supposed GM offered all the AZ Leaf owners an exceptional trade-in value to be applied to a Volt, disregarding any battery degradation in the Leaf?.. If used Leafs are now valued at $23k (as an example) offer $35k on a Leaf trade in.. Obviously with some restrictions.

It would be a tremendous publicity coup, it would cost GM at most $5 million (the cost of replacing 400 Leaf batteries, assuming everyone took them up on the offer).. it would dump a lot of Leafs on the used market thus lowering its resale value, damaging its leasing costs and at the same time would sell an extra 400 Volts in Arizona. Its a win-win for GM, Nissan should not delay too long on a permanent solution to this problem.

 

[JimSouCal]

sorry if anyone "got caught up in the hype" but i did not and maybe that is why the LEAF has worked out much better than i had hoped. granted, i have lost no bars, lost very little range but before asking myself; i said "can i live with a car that would only go 50 miles on a charge? (before getting mine, i assumed the usable range on the LEAF would only be about 75 miles) or would it work with 70% of its original range?

and that is why i got it.

i guess the real question should be "who you expect Nissan to buy back your LEAF at fair market value? which means deducting for the mileage you did get out of it?

for that question, i would say yes if the degradation had already passed 20% which is has or will for most in AZ and other places. but for those who have solar, the thought of giving up what is essentially free transportation would be a toughie for me since i could make my LEAF work with only 50% of its range left...just not work as much as it does now

+1 (adding solar this year) electric is a much better solution for me than an ICE related vehicle (short trips not good for ICE longevity).

 

[KJD]

Suppose Nissan, in order to placate those with capacity loss in hot climates, offered to buy back your Leaf for 100% of its original value and apply that towards a different model new Nissan? (similar to what Chevy offered with the Volt) Cash would not be an option, you must get another new Nissan, and you cannot get another Leaf.
First, would you do it?

No I would NOT do it.

If I could have a low cost way to trade up to a 2013 I would do that.

If I could trade my LEAF (purchased) for a low cost lease, that would be also be great. I have no interest in owning another gas guzzler of any make or model.

 

[abasile]

I am not interested in another gasoline car from any manufacturer. I would, however, sell the LEAF in a heartbeat for $35K and put the money toward a 2013 RAV4 EV with its much greater range. I might wait a year and try to buy the RAV4 EV used to save a few thousand dollars, though it's unclear what the depreciation curve would look like on such a limited production vehicle. In the interim, I would grudgingly drive a gasoline car that we already own.

 

[GaslessInSeattle]

the way I see it, all Leafs are affected... with sadness and regret I'd sell ours back... I do hope Nissan realizes how close Tesla is to eating their lunch. for not a whole lot more money you get TMS, double the battery, a lot more cargo and cabin and as I heard someone say, sex on wheels!!!

 

[EVDRIVER]

the way I see it, all Leafs are affected... with sadness and regret I'd sell ours back... I do hope Nissan realizes how close Tesla is to eating their lunch. for not a whole lot more money you get TMS, double the battery, a lot more cargo and cabin and as I heard someone say, sex on wheels!!!

You mean $65K more?

 

[EVDRIVER]

I would get a Hummer, good prices and all the money lost on depreciation would get me about 5 years of gas. I have been heating my garage to about 90 all year for this reason. I'm down 1 Gid.

 

[AndyN]

Owned the car for 15 months and so far no loss of capacity. Been able to ride in the carpool lane and avoid massive traffic and got $12500 "off" and a free charger. 15 months of no gas station. For essentially $25k it does what I need it do. I knew it was limited. Luckily I have the luxury of having different tools for different jobs so I'm not bound by the limits of the Leaf. So at this point unless there is a new and improved Leaf with better range and battery then I would not trade it back in. If I can get $37k for it and keep all the credits and the charger I'd do it in a heartbeat and trade in my '10 GTR for a '13 GTR and look at the Model S. Love the EV now that we've had a taste. Just want more range.