Thinking of buying a used 2014-2015 nissan leaf (need help)

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

rasgaroo

Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2020
Messages
13
A bit about my requirement:


  • I drive very rarely. Around 2 - 8 days per month, between 8km (5 miles) to 25km (15 miles) per day. Definitely not more than 80km (50 miles) per month in total.
  • Once in a while (maybe once every 3 months) I take a 40km (25 miles) ride. For anything longer, I would rather take an Uber.
  • The climate around here is hot and somewhat similar to that of Florida, (I will also have to use air conditioning all the time).
  • I live in a city. The area is pretty flat (no hills or anything). But there is usually a moderate traffic.
  • I'm thinking of buying a used 2014 or 2015 nissan leaf. And I'm looking at the 6 bar ones with around 70km range which are available at cheap price. (I do not plan to change the battery, for now)


Questions:

1) Would this be a good choice for my needs?

2) I read that infrequent use and hot climate contribute to fast battery degradation. So if I buy the car that I described above, how long will I be able to keep it with my usage before I will have to change the battery? (i.e. how long will it take for the range to drop down to 40km / 25 miles) ?

3) It seems that 2015 ones come with a lizard battery. But they are considerably expensive compared to 2014 ones. Considering my weirdly infrequent usage, would one with a lizard battery be of much of an advantage for me?

4) Any other advice or suggestions?

Disclosure: I posted this question to reddit, and I was told to ask on this forum.
 
My suggestion would be to look for a 2014 with a "Wolf Pack" but with 10 or more bars - especially if you can keep the car relatively cool. Failing that, a Lizard Pack 2015 shouldn't have fewer than 10 bars even in Florida, unless the pack was abused (stored at high state of charge, fast-charged while hot, etc.) by the previous owner. It really comes down to just how hot the car would get, and stay, in your possession. If you can keep the battery temp below 7 bars most of the time,and never hotter than 8 bars, then a Wolf pack should work fine for your modest needs. If the car will be parked in the sun, charged while hot, and stored with 80+% charge, then the Lizard pack in the 2015 will likely be a better bet, especially if you have no plans to replace the battery.

In any case, avoid getting a Leaf with fewer than 9 bars, simply because your climate is so hot.
 
Thanks!

If I buy the car, I think it will spend at least 90% its time parked in a shelter. And electricity is cheap during the night here, so I will only be charging it at nights, when everything is cold :)

I have seen people driving leaf cars with just 3 white bars around here and they have around 35 miles range. I don't know how long they get to keep that range though. Maybe even though they have that range for now, it will be dropped down to something unusable pretty soon because of the hot climate?

My biggest concern right now is with the question #2.

What if I buy a 2014 model with 10 bars, and drive it the way I described? How long do you think I will be able to keep that battery before the range drops down to like 25 miles? I know it depends on a lot of things, but.... maybe 5 years at least?

And what if I buy a 2014 model with 6 bars that currently has 45 miles range anyway? Given my infrequent usage, can I expect it to drop down to 25 miles within maybe 2 years? Or would I still get 5 years?
 
Think about getting an ebike! If that's not an option, be aware that batteries degrade much faster under 60% health (8 bars) and will only last a couple years before they need replacement.
 
A bike/scooter is not an option - for a whole lot of reasons! :)

coleafrado said:
be aware that batteries degrade much faster under 60% health (8 bars) and will only last a couple years before they need a new battery.

Wow! That sounds like a huge deal breaker for those smoking deals!

So, if I get anything below 8 bars, and even if I use it very infrequently, the range will drop down to below 25 miles (the max I need) within 2 years or so. Correct?
 
Not necessarily - not with your use case. It's just that once you buy a Leaf with, say, 6 bars, you aren't going to be able to resell it. You don't want to buy a battery, so get a Leaf that won't need one. A 2014 or 2015 with 9 bars should be fine for you for maybe 5 years.
 
Well, I do not plan to resell it anytime sooner. If I tell you my long-term plan, I DO plan to change the battery, but only after at least 5 years from now (sorry for not being clear about this at the first place). And then I plan to keep it with me until it dies :)

There were smoking deals for 6 bar ones and I thought they would be suitable for my plan. It sounds like they won't last for 5 years and I should be looking for a 9 bar one. Hmm!
 
In my opinion, you shouldn't buy a LEAF. You drive so infrequently and do mostly short trips too. In your shoes, I would drive a cheap and reliable gasser (i.e. an older Toyota Corolla) that will tolerate your climate much better than a LEAF.

I would also consider Turo, and similar car sharing options, but only if those options worked out cheaper (unlikely) than buying a cheap and reliable gasser.
 
Most Toyota Corollas (except 1980 ones) cost more than some of the leaf deals we have here these days. Plus we have cheap electricity at nights, which helps a lot to charge a leaf. Plus I'm more of a environmentalist, and love the concept of EVs.

It seems my options are either to look for a 2015 model 9 bar one, or stick to Uber. Given all the headache Uber was giving me lately, I'm on the fence.

Speaking of heat.... I just went through a bunch of local listings on different sites, facebook groups, and local youtube videos, and checked their pictures. All of them showed exactly 6 temperature bars. Still bad, right?
 
LeftieBiker said:
Six temp bars isn't bad, but it's the upper limit of 'acceptable' for a Leaf battery for any length of time.
Ideally, in a cool climate strive to keep the battery at 6 temperature bars or lower. It is not feasible in a hot climate, but 2015 battery seemed to tolerate the Phoenix heat fairly well. The batteries in my cars spend (spent) a lot of time well above 6 temperature bars (center of the scale). A 9-capacity bar 2015 would be a good choice since I doubt rasgaroo's climate is as hot as mine. Even an 8-bar car would probably give rasgaroo the necessary range for 4 or 5 years.
 
I'm actually considering selling my 8-bar 2012; PM me if you want to see the listing. It does 30-40 mile trips with no issues, even at 75 mph.
 
coleafrado said:
I'm actually considering selling my 8-bar 2012; PM me if you want to see the listing. It does 30-40 mile trips with no issues, even at 75 mph.
If it has the original 2012 battery or a replacement of original type from Japan, it will not stand the heat. My 2011 was down to 10 bars after 1 year and 8 bars a year later (8 bars after only 2 years of use). The replacement battery was down to 11 bars a little over a year after installation. 2012 used the same battery type. The 2015 did much better in the same climate with similar use.
 
I've also heard that if you only ever charge your battery to around 40%, you can have a significantly longer battery life. Is there any truth to this claim?
 
rasgaroo said:
I've also heard that if you only ever charge your battery to around 40%, you can have a significantly longer battery life. Is there any truth to this claim?
Tests of other batteries show that keeping the state of charge close to 50% gives the best battery life. What to avoid is:
Long periods of time at high SOC... like over 80%
Going to low SOC. Regardless of how long... like under 30%

The mechanisms are different. 60% to 40% would be a fairly good cycle.
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
Get one that has double the most range you expect to drive and then NEVER NEVER NEVER charge it past 80% SOC.

That advice is a bit extreme. Charging to 100% right before starting a trip isn't going to cause measurable damage to the battery, especially in weather that isn't really Hot.
 
LeftieBiker said:
DaveinOlyWA said:
Get one that has double the most range you expect to drive and then NEVER NEVER NEVER charge it past 80% SOC.

That advice is a bit extreme. Charging to 100% right before starting a trip isn't going to cause measurable damage to the battery, especially in weather that isn't really Hot.

As LeftieBiker said, Dave's advice about never charging beyond 80% is a little extreme. It is important to avoid leaving the car parked for extended time at high state of charge (SOC), but don't worry about charging to 100% if the car will be driven within a few hours. If the car will be parked for extended time such as at an airport, I recommend parking with SOC ranging between 40% and 70%. It is a good idea to pick a car that has significantly more range than you routinely need so that the range is still adequate when the battery gets old, but double your daily needs is more conservative than necessary.
 
LeftieBiker said:
DaveinOlyWA said:
Get one that has double the most range you expect to drive and then NEVER NEVER NEVER charge it past 80% SOC.

That advice is a bit extreme. Charging to 100% right before starting a trip isn't going to cause measurable damage to the battery, especially in weather that isn't really Hot.

With "double the most range" there is NO reason to charge to 100%.

The only reason I said double was to discount winter explanations. He mentions what? 25 miles is longest trip he might take? He uses other options for anything greater. So sorry, no need to charge to full.
 
Back
Top