Choices: 2015 SV or 2018 SV

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jlv

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 24, 2014
Messages
2,005
Location
Massachusetts
My son is considering picking up a used LEAF to commute in. He's got two initial choices:
2015 SV, $8500, 63K miles, 11 bars link
2018 SV, $17000, 24K miles link

I'm hooking him up with LeafSpyPro to read the state of the batteries.

He's in Oregon and has a 10 mile commute round trip. The LEAF wouldn't ever go much more than around town. They already have a pickup they use for camping, back country skiing trips, off road travels, etc, and an old Accord.

I'm not sure the 2018 is worth double the 2015. Opinions?
 
10 mile round trip? I'd go with the 2015 and replace the battery if/when he needs more range. My folks live 10 hilly miles from town out in the country and they are doing great with a 11 bar 2013 Leaf. They put in a L2 charger in the garage which they really like since now it can be ready to go anywhere it is going to go in an hour or less.
 
jlv said:
I'm not sure the 2018 is worth double the 2015. Opinions?
Unless he needs twice the range, he's still going to have more than enough mileage just for work with the 2015. Unless he wants to expand the vehicle to kind of a "everything" vehicle for work, chores, shopping, visiting nearby friends/relatives/etc that will require more mileage or he wants to turn it into a backup generator for power outages. Battery upgrade is possible on the 2015, but for the extra $8k to $10k it may cost to do that, you basically have the 2018 with newer tech, styling, more warranty, etc. if it really comes down to price. I would say it depends on if he just wants a reliable vehicle for point A to point B driving or wants some extra mileage for a point C trip sometimes, it totally depends on what he wants or plans to do with it.
 
To my mind it's a no brainer - the 2015. Oregon climate is pretty ideal, so that 2015 will likely have years of useful life left. By then, he'll want something different anyways.
 
I think both cars are over-priced.
Buy Cwerdna's LEAF for (IIRC) under $6k, or pay more if a CHAdeMO adapter has utility
 
That price is decent for OR and the PNW in general. Likely because battery packs degrade slower here so people are willing to pay a little more.

This 2015 SL appears to still have 12 capacity bars and is only slightly more expensive:

https://nissanofportland.com/vehicle/used-2015-Nissan-LEAF-HB-SL-Sedan-Portland-OR-1N4AZ0CP3FC329078/

With a little bargaining, it might be worth a little bit more (SL, so likely all the features including DCFC)
 
My son is now thinking it would be good to use the EV for the 32 mile trip to where he and his wife rock climb, or for the 36 mile trip up to the top of a nearby peak (2000' elevation gain). Both of those would be a challenge for a 24kWh battery without some range anxiety. And he's looking at LEAFs in and around Portland.
 
He decided not to go for the extra range. They shared the LSP data with me, took it on a longish test drive, and did some math and decided it looked ok. So they bought the 2015 at a slightly better price (under $8K).

Thanks all for comments!
 
jlv said:
He decided not to go for the extra range. They shared the LSP data with me, took it on a longish test drive, and did some math and decided it looked ok. So they bought the 2015 at a slightly better price (under $8K).

Thanks all for comments!

Did the LeafSpy Data look good for it? If they are driving "up" to those heights for climbing, they would have no issue doing regen all the way down :D
 
He didn't take enough data to satisfy me, but it all seemed alright (and it satisfied him based upon what I outlined he should look for). They'll probably never use that car for any of the 60 mile + trips.

After all, used for local travel, used LEAFs like this are a bargain.
 
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