Nissan Slashing Over 10,000 Jobs

[downeykp]

Out side of the the totally inadequate battery my 2011 has been bullet proof. Same tires, 12 volt battery. It is probably worth 50-75 cents per pound as scrap. Nissan totally fu@ked up getting this vehicle to the market when they did.
Just sold a 2006 Frontier that had low miles but a lot of problems. Daughters 2005 Frontier with low mileage has a lot of the same problems. Is in the shop trying to figure out what is wrong with it.

Nissan quality control sucks. They deserve the fate that they are in now. Toyota would never put out such garbage.

Bought a 2019 Chevy Colorado ZR2 that is a beast. Noe more Nissans for our household ev or gas.

[cwerdna]

^^^
Bummer. My first Nissan, an 02 Maxima was pretty decent but I didn't have it for much beyond 4 years before I sold it. Loved the driving experience and power. Handling and brakes sucked compared to the 350Z I got later.

My most problematic Nissan was my former 04 350Z which I had from late 03 until mid-2011. Honestly, it wasn't bad at all and almost all the issues were fixed under warranty. (Sure, it was much worse than my mom's 96 Camry V6 that she had from 96 until early 08, but still nowhere near terrible and nowhere near as bad as the numerous horror stories I've heard of Model S and X, esp. X. The previous GM vehicles in the family were worse.) I can't think of any out of warranty repair costs on the Z I incurred other than a 12 volt that lasted incredibly long and wear items like brakes and tires.

I leased '13 Leaf SV w/both packages and now own a '13 Leaf SV w/premium only. The Leafs have been pretty trouble free.

I'd of course look at reliability ratings of any vehicle before I buy, but as long as it's decent, I have no significant reservations (from a reliability POV) about buying/leasing another Nissan.

[SageBrush]

I was at a local Nissan dealership yesterday (first time ever for me) to have the battery strap recall and chatted with the mechanic. He was one of TWO LEAF authorized techs which surprised me; apparently the other tech was recently certified. I'm not convinced that certification has much relation to competency but I didn't really expect the dealership to put ANY effort into LEAF repair ability.

The more interesting detail is that the mechanic was SURE that the dealership charges $6800 installed for a 24 kWh pack out of warranty. I must of asked him if he was sure 5 times. I would still take it as hearsay but ... maybe Nissan is backing down from their price increase stupidity.

And about the strap recall -- it was anti-climactic. I brought my LEAF in because the car lived in Palo Alto 3 years and I was not sure if ocean corrosion was in play but the metal strap looked to be in really good shape with very, very little corrosion. The mechanic was under the impression the straps job was to ground the battery to the chassis but I find that dubious since every bolt that attaches the battery to the frame is a grounding point ... I think. So I don't really know why Nissan bothered at all.

I drove away thinking that Nissan, like other Japanese manufacturers are paranoid of anything that could possibly be construed as a safety hazard.

[LeftieBiker]

My guess is that was the price, the last time they installed one.

[Lothsahn]

Out side of the the totally inadequate battery my 2011 has been bullet proof. Same tires, 12 volt battery. It is probably worth 50-75 cents per pound as scrap.

So put a brand new battery in it for $100/mth for 5 years, and enjoy the car for another 10. Or, if you have 7+ bars, you could sell it in my area in a day for $3300. But shipping from Hawaii would probably eat up all your money.

I'm not defending Nissan's behavior, but golly, you've had a "bullet proof" car for 8 years that's saved you $5,000 in gas (assuming $3/gal, 60k miles, and $1k electricity cost). That means the cost of the battery, if you account for the gas, is only $3k. And your new battery will last far longer.

Since everyone will say "it just makes more sense to buy a newer car", a 2018 costs $12k more than a new battery. That might be the right move for some people, but it's a lot more. And honestly, my 2011 w/87% SOH battery is running just fine and I don't wish for a 2015 at all. If I was going to upgrade car, I would not buy a 24 kWh.

[SageBrush]

^^ A '2018' is not a 24 kWh battery but otherwise I agree with you.
The market for used LEAFs does not agree with us, by the way. If you take a 2011 LEAF, put in a brand new battery, and then try to sell it in most markets in the USA you are probably going to receive ~ $8,000. That implies that the car's value sans battery is scrap metal.

Inefficient market ? I'm not really sure. My best guess is that we want bigger batteries even if we do not *need* bigger batteries so the 24 kWh Models have become chopped liver. The other issue in play is that the market depreciates the LEAF by age the same way it depreciates ICE cars. That is probably inaccurate although Nissan is not helping the LEAF by making repairs extremely expensive and a crap shoot due to technical incompetence at dealerships.

[downeykp]

I am just over 35000 mi. PV system totally charges it for free. So my costs are zero. With the price of .40 per kilowatt here in Hawaii I might not feel the same way. If I needed it for a commute everyday I would not own it.
I will drive this into the ground and give the car away to whomever buys house, (if and when I sell it).
My EV experience will be over. Unless the price of gas goes crazy I will be an ICE guy for a while.

[LeftieBiker]

The market for used LEAFs does not agree with us, by the way. If you take a 2011 LEAF, put in a brand new battery, and then try to sell it in most markets in the USA you are probably going to receive ~ $8,000. That implies that the car's value sans battery is scrap metal.

It would be more accurate to say that a 2011 is worth about $2-3k, and that a new battery immediately depreciates by about that same amount after installation.

The posting software has gotten slightly screwed up. Let's try to remember to add 2 lines between quoted material and what we write. Annoying, but easy to do.

[retrodog]

Hate to say it, but the only reason I bought my 2015 Leaf S was because I knew it wouldn't have a POS Nissan CVT. And that car ended up being one of my favorites that I've ever owned. And I've owned a wide variety.

So I traded it in for a 2019 SV. I'm liking that so far, with the exception of the flared center console. But I'm working around that while I come up with a more permanent fix.

[Lothsahn]

^^ A '2018' is not a 24 kWh battery but otherwise I agree with you.
The market for used LEAFs does not agree with us, by the way. If you take a 2011 LEAF, put in a brand new battery, and then try to sell it in most markets in the USA you are probably going to receive ~ $8,000. That implies that the car's value sans battery is scrap metal.

Oh, I DEFINITELY agree that the 2018 is a WAY more capable car than the 2011. That said, I don't understand the statement that spending $8k on a car makes no sense when you could get a much nicer one instead (for 2.5x the price). It seems the decision is for new shiny rather than cheap transport.

If you want cheap local transport, the best option for most people is to buy a used, old Leaf with a good condition battery. if you already own a Leaf, you could either sell yours and buy one of those, or for less hassle, just go to the dealer and pay $8k. Buying a new Tesla or Leaf is at least 4x more expensive than a new battery. You could pay for a new battery and all unexpected repairs for 10 years, and it would still be massively less $$$ than a new car.

Inefficient market ? I'm not really sure. My best guess is that we want bigger batteries even if we do not *need* bigger batteries so the 24 kWh Models have become chopped liver.

...and you hit the nail on the head. It wouldn't be as fun as a new toy.