Newbie Leaf shopping

[knightmb]

What does the Hx number (91.27%) signify?

Hx is the conductance of the battery pack as a whole (all the cells) usually measured in Siemens but Nissan is using some other metric name I suppose?

This percentage is relative to nominal or 100%. The lower the conductance, the less power the battery can take (charging) or deliver (driving). The drop in conductance is *usually* driven by high temperatures and high state of charge. So letting the Leaf roast out in the Sun at 100% SOC is not a great idea.

It can also change based on age and battery temperature in general. Hx is one of those values like SOH that if you obsess over too much it can drive you crazy. Sure you don't want bad values, but they are changing all the time and you can't make predictions from them. For example if your SOH is decreasing by 0.01% every day, you can't take that and predict that your battery with be dead with 1% SOH in xyz amount of days. It might go a whole month(s) without changing. Same thing with Hx, don't try to predict a future battery failure based on a recent history of readings you record. Sure, you want to make note if you start to see a rapid drop in values, so making a history of the values with larger spaces of time leads to more sanity.

A side effect of a low Hx is that you get limited motor power more often. It will happen more often with a cold and depleted battery. It can also slow down fast charging, etc.

 

[kitra]

I'd ask the Dealer to replace the 12 volt battery as part of the purchase. That is amazing work knightmb.

I have a non-related question. I was looking at a 2024 LEAF SV+. I asked if they have any SL's and the Dealership claims for 2023 and 2024, they didn't make and SL trim packages. I like leather seating as the seats in our 2020 SV looked only fair after 10K miles. Some of the Dealers in the mid-west are discounting $11K off a new 2024. So it comes in at about $26.5K. I don't know if there are any rebates? Oregon spent their rebate money so it's gone. They push EV's here and then penalized you for high Registration fees (because you are not paying gas tax) and PGE added 20% across the board power increase. Another increase expected mid-year. They still want more so the State is pushing for toll roads too.

 

[hbarnes]

If your considering a SV, you should check out the used 2023 with 44 miles for $25k less the $4k tax credit. It's posted on here.

 

[Banger]

If your considering a SV, you should check out the used 2023 with 44 miles for $25k less the $4k tax credit. It's posted on here.

By my understanding, a used EV has to be at least two years old to qualify for the $4k credit. So 2023 models don't qualify, yet.

 

[Banger]

I'd ask the Dealer to replace the 12 volt battery as part of the purchase.

Planned to ask about that if we get to the negotiating stage. At this point my wife is overwhelmed and I have to wait until she's interested in doing this. I have no intention of dragging her, kicking and screaming, into a car purchase she doesn't want us to make.

I have a non-related question. I was looking at a 2024 LEAF SV+. I asked if they have any SL's and the Dealership claims for 2023 and 2024, they didn't make and SL trim packages.

That is my understanding. When you search for new Leafs on sites like CarGurus, SV+ appears to be the highest trim now.

Some of the Dealers in the mid-west are discounting $11K off a new 2024. So it comes in at about $26.5K. I don't know if there are any rebates?

Despite being built in Tennessee and using batteries built in Tennessee, my humble home, the Leaf for some reason does not qualify for the new EV tax credit at the federal level -- leaving folks like me in the lurch, so to speak. I presume the Leaf's battery minerals are sourced from non-qualifying countries. Or worse, Nissan just isn't interested in making the Leaf an even better deal when they have $50k Ariyas suddenly looking very unappealing to folks who can get $7,500 off a bigger ID.4 (also built in Tennessee, naturally) or a trendy Tesla Model Y.

 

[knightmb]

Despite being built in Tennessee and using batteries built in Tennessee, my humble home, the Leaf for some reason does not qualify for the new EV tax credit at the federal level -- leaving folks like me in the lurch, so to speak. I presume the Leaf's battery minerals are sourced from non-qualifying countries.

When Congress changed the way the EV tax rebate works, they set aside exceptions for "strategic" trade partners. This includes Japan. But for some reason, when it came time to write the laws, they messed up the wording and so some years back it stripped a lot of EVs (not just Nissan, but Tesla and many other models) of this rebate. There was an exception where the Dealership could claim the tax credit and then pass that along to the Consumer but it gets messy and well Dealerships would turn into Stealerships (as we like to joke here) with it.

Nissan did remedy this as best they could legally, you can get at least the $3,750 tax credit yourself now, but only on the 2024 models.

More info here:
https://usa.nissannews.com/en-US/releases/2024-nissan-leaf-eligible-for-3750-ev-tax-credit#

 

[ibeckerman]

Hi all,

I'm a Leaf newbie currently shopping for what may become my first Leaf. Looking at a 2020 SL+ with less than 10k on it. CPO with the seven-year/100k mile warranty coverage any CPO Nissan would get. Dealer is asking $19k and says they will participate with the government point-of-purchase rebate of $4k, so effectively a $15k car.

It's tax time and the dealer is cognizant of that, of course, so they're not moving much on price. Not that it's a bad deal, but I'm a shrewd bargain-hunter if nothing else.

Anyway I'm here to read and learn about Leafs. Already have a LELink BLE dongle cornered and plan to check out any Leaf with LeafSpy.

Have had a 2019 Leaf and it is a dependable workhorse. Do almost all driving locally, so charging on the road is not an issue. The ChaDEmo standard will, like betamax, go extinct sooner than later, so make sure you are not planning on taking your LEAF on the road much for longer trips.
I have posted more detailed reports on our LEAF since 2019 if you're interested.
https://ibeckermannotrobot.blog/
Lastly, new tires on the LEAF are crap. See if you can get the dealer to put decent tires on it before you buy.

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

We upgraded our 2019 SV Plus to Leather about a year after purchase.

Chademos are still being installed Tha kfully, but guessing that will nearly stop in 2025 after the Leaf is done being sold.

My road trips in the Leaf Plus are way easier in 2024 than in 2019.