Looking to buy a Leaf but unsure

Hi

I'm looking to buy a 2011 Leaf with 54k KMs. It has 9 bars showing and a SOH of 65.81%. I've become slightly confused reading up on everything, so just wondered if I should be concerned, or does that sound normal? It's a car for my daughter, to commute a few kms a day for work, so range isn't a huge concern.

Can anyone help a newbie out, please?

Thanks

Being accustomed to ICE vehicles, I never thought about it until I had a problem with my Leaf. Before you buy, make sure you have a decent service tech local to you. If you have any problem specific to the fact that it is an electric car, your options can be very limited or nonexistent for service.

A 2011 Leaf should work for a very short commute. Aside from the repair concerns, though, there were a few significant improvements made in 2013 that are worth having. A 2013 with nine capacity bars would likely be a better buy. How much is the car, and does it have the heated seats and steering wheel? That's unlikely. Where are you located? That info can be inserted in your signature line, via the user control panel.

@hairykiwi It's always helpful to post your location too, as climate has an big impact on LEAF range and battery longevity. You can add your location to your profile and also to your post signature.

If you don't need the range and a 9 bar leaf will work for you just don't over pay for it.
To me I think it should be worth no more than $4,500.
I would be trying to get it for around $4,000.

SOH is low for 9 capacity bars so I expect it will drop to 8 bars soon. The range at 8 bars is only 80 km (50 miles) without climate control use. The air conditioner is very effective and very efficient so it has minimal impact on range. The heater on 2011 (and 2012) is a small electric water heater mounted under the hood. Since the heater and coolant lines are not well insulated, heater and defrost use will greatly reduce range. Only late production 2011's have the cold weather package which includes traction battery heater, heated exterior mirrors, heated steering wheel, and heated seats. 2011's without cold weather package are not suitable for extremely cold climates because they lack the traction battery heater which protects the battery pack.

My 2011 had some features I liked which were missing on the 2015. Most of the convenience features that I missed are back on the 2019 SL+, but I still miss the adjustable headlights (turn a switch on the dash to !ower the aim when carrying heavy loads in the back). Fit and finish were better on the 2011 and 2012 cars from Japan than on 2013 and later Leafs built in the USA, but heating systems are better on the later cars.

I would go with a leaf that is at least a couple years newer. With cars, and engineering in general, the earlier years of a generation have more bugs and problems. The batteries also going to degrade a lot quicker. My advice would be to get one under warranty, that way you could mess up the battery and get a free one!

Cheapo said:

With cars, and engineering in general, the earlier years of a generation have more bugs and problems.

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A case can be made that this advice doesn't apply to consumer electronics. Often, the first version of a product is optimized for minimizing risk of production or performance problems. Later on, the fine-tuning of trading off reliability to lower manufacturing cost can be done.