Buying used: Auction? Trim Levels?

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foliage2000

New member
Joined
Aug 15, 2015
Messages
3
Location
Seattle, WA
Hi Everyone,

I'm interested in purchasing a used Leaf. This forum has been a terrific resource for understanding the ins and outs of the car, and helping people like me nail down the car that might work for us. Thanks to all that have contributed! I'm going to wait until the 2016 Leaf is announced before making a final purchase as I think the prices on older models will be best after the 2016 is announced, but right now I'm targeting a 2013 or newer, in the SV trim or better. I've looked a few used Leafs and even rented one for a few days to try it out, so I'm sold on the car and have a manageable commute, so I know the car will work for me. Given all that, I have a few questions I was hoping people could help with:

1. Does anyone know the process/pitfalls/advantages for buying a Leaf at auction? I know that most of the vehicles at the lots come from auction, so I'm curious about the prospect of cutting out the middle man and buying one directly at auction. I realize this may end up not being a wise choice, since one may have to spend alot of time at auctions before the right vehicle with the right specs comes available, a dealer may have better ability to fix any issues with the car, etc. Also, I haven't heard of others on this forum doing the same thing, so what am I missing?

2. Often the listings by the dealers will be completely wrong (an S will be listed as an SV, SV with QC will just be listed as a base SV, etc.) and I want to be sure I know what's being offered. When looking at a Leaf in person, what's the best way to verify the trim level and options included on a used Leaf? I haven't been able to find any distinguishing marks on the vehicle that verify the trim level (e.g. there's no S, SV or SL badge on the car), so how is one to know for sure?

Thanks for any thoughts!
 
Re: #2, yep. There are no S, SV nor SL badges on the car. Best way is to become VERY familiar w/the '13 trim levels, packages and appearance.

See Specs chart at http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/presskits/us-2013-nissan-leaf-press-kit.

The '13 S, SV and SL all have different wheels. S has cheap painted plastic hub caps on steel wheels. SV has the same wheels that all '11 and '12 SV and SL have: http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/channels/Leaf-Press-Kits/presskits/US-2012-nissan-leaf-press-kit/photos. SL larger wheels that look totally different . The red one in the 1st pic (and many/most there) at http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/presskits/us-2013-nissan-leaf-press-kit/photos has SL wheels.

S has no navigation system and a cheaper radio w/knobs and HVAC w/knobs. All S look like http://insideevs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Metallic-Slate-S-interior.jpg (from http://insideevs.com/real-world-test-2013-nissan-leaf-range-vs-2012-nissan-leaf-range/). They also have dull plastics in place of shiny piano black plastics on SV and SL.

All SV and SL have nav, a touch screen and no knobs for HVAC and radio.

http://sfbayleafs.org/news/2013/01/2013-nissan-leaf-interiorexterior-colors-announced/ points to http://sfbayleafs.org/wp-content/media//2013/01/13leafcolorchart-1024x766.jpg, for the colors.

S is black cloth only. SL is black leather only. SV is cloth only but can come in black or light grey interior.

S has only 1 package: charge package which adds CHAdeMO inlet (large inlet on left side) + 6 KW on-board charger.

SV can have no packages or one or both of these: premium (Bose stereo + Around View Monitor (4 cameras)) and/or quick charge (CHAdeMO inlet on left) + LED headlights. The latter also adds auto on/off headlights and fog lights. My former '13 SV had both and had those fog lights and auto on/off lights. My current '13 SV w/premium doesn't have that.

On SV w/premium, you can easily see the rear camera (1 of 4 total) on the rear hatch handle. There's also a camera under the Nissan logo on the charging door in front.

Ones w/premium (w/Bose stereo) have a Bose subwoofer in the back: http://sfbayleafs.org/commentary/2013/09/2013-vs-2011-nissan-leaf-whats-new-whats-gone-whats-changed/ (search for Bose). Those w/o Bose stereo have a little extra space. See http://sfbayleafs.org/news/2013/01/2013-nissan-leaf-product-highlights/attachment/13leafproduct8/ (from http://sfbayleafs.org/news/2013/01/2013-nissan-leaf-product-highlights/).

Below is a pic of my '13 SV with NO CHAdeMO inlet. Notice the coiled wire on the right? I believe that's for the front camera under the Nissan hamburger logo. I believe ones w/o premium don't have that coiled wire.
IMG_5585.JPG
http://sfbayleafs.org/commentary/2013/09/2013-vs-2011-nissan-leaf-whats-new-whats-gone-whats-changed/ under "Charging port hatch with remote keyfob release and light, option to lock the plug in place" shows what one WITH CHAdeMO inlet looks like.
 
This sounds like a great idea, how does a person that isn't atached to a dealer get into the car auction to find out about the cars in your area?
 
This is exactly what carlypso.com does. They have a car dealer license (required to bid in those auctions) but they are nothing like a dealer otherwise. Fixed markup. Convenient website. Delivery.

I am in the same boat as OP, and briefly interacted with nice salespeople at Carlypso. They say they only sell 12-bar leafs but that can still hide 16% of capacity loss IIRC. Check carfax (available on the Carlypso page) to get a sense of the climate where the car lived. I wish they'd let me go over and run Leafspy before pulling the trigger :)

I'm also holding off until MY16 is announced to decide (hopefully September 7?).
 
So carlypso.com is out in CA, and you can't even test drive or use LeafSpy on the car before you purchase it. So it's site on seen. I don't know if I would ever be able to purchase a car like that. Because your taking the word of a salesman on the quality of the car. Plus with out testing the batterys with SpyLeaf what are you really getting.

Plus you have to pay for shipping from CA, that could add $800-1,1000 to the cost of the car.
 
If I end up buying used from carlypso, I'll make sure they put their "12 bar battery capacity" promise in writing so that it's covered by their 30-day money back warranty. They seem to be a young start up, so I'd prefer to deal with them over a used car dealer...
 
Another good trick if you're trying to find one with QC is to look at the "under the hood" photo. They almost never post a photo of the charging ports, but they usually have a photo under the hood. Two skinny orange cables to the left of the main thick orange cable coming off the J1772 port indicates a QC port. You can sometimes see these two cables through the hole that the hood latch goes into when the hood is shut.

Another thing to look out for is a blue screen stating "NO SD CARD" on the nav screen (SV/SL only). This means the car's center console won't work -- no radio, no navigation, no charging timers, etc. The dealer may have the card separate from the vehicle for safe keeping, or they may not have the card at all. You'll have to spend a few hundred $$ getting a new card programmed for your car. Buying one off eBay won't work.
 
Thanks to cwerdna and others that responded - this is terrific info. I think I can confidently go look at a car and determine the trim levels now.

It occurs to me that I might have better luck doing some research on how to buy a car at auction online, as I'm sure this has been researched to great extents online.

And fwiw, I had already looked into Carlypso, but they don't operate up in our neck of the woods (PNW).
 
Ok... some more info. '13 SL (from the Specs chart I pointed to earlier) I believe already comes with LED headlights and Quick Charge (CHAdeMO) inlet. So, the only package possible on it is premium (Bose stereo + Around View Monitor).

Any car w/Around View Monitor (part of premium package on SV and SL) will have the camera button below the LCD (which turns on Around View Monitor and change views) and a camera visible under the hamburger logo and on rear hatch.

Here are some more visual aids.
IMG_5600.JPGIMG_5602.JPGIMG_5611.JPG
 
Thanks for all the photos on features - that really helps!

Just to close the loop on the auction thing, some light googling on "how to buy a used car at auction" provided some education as to the auction process. In a nutshell, it looks like there are two basic kinds of auctions - those that are intended for authorized dealers and those that are open to the general public. Dealer auctions generally get the good cars (cars that are likely to be easy to turn over, off-lease vehicles, etc.). Public auctions get things that the dealers can't easily sell (high mileage cars, cars with maintenance issues, or complete unknowns). As a Regular Joe, I can attend public auctions, but I'd need a dealer license to get into the dealer auctions. I'm sure my statements above are a gross oversimplification of the auction ecosystem, but for the purposes of this discussion those seemed to be the salient points. Lot's of good insight here: http://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/confessions-of-an-auto-auctioneer.html

I read somewhere else on this forum where a forum member (edit: looks like this was cwerdna - great info here, thanks for sharing!: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=430521#p430521) had been working with a used dealer in his / her area, and basically told the dealer what was desired in the car and the dealer worked the auctions to find the right car. Sounded like the dealer was going to sell the car for about $1k over what was paid at auction. This strategy seems reasonable to me - find a used dealer that you like (perhaps one that sells alot of used Leafs) and place an order with them. See what they can do for you. The dealer uses their privileges at dealer auctions to get a nice vehicle and assumes some risk that they picked up a lemon at auction, and the buyer gets a decent deal on a used vehicle, without spending tons of time attending public auctions and risking a bunch of money on a car that could be a dog.
 
Hello all,
I have a dealers license for the manufacturing company I work for (we build custom trucks and trailers). I regularly attend the Brasher's dealer auction in Portland, Oregon where many off-lease Pacific Northwest Leafs end up being sold. (NMAC off-lease vehicles are usually auctioned on the second Thursday each month).

I'd be willing to help you find a Leaf for my cost plus a reasonable fee. PM me if you're interested!

cheers,
Marty
 
foliage2000 said:
I read somewhere else on this forum where a forum member (edit: looks like this was cwerdna - great info here, thanks for sharing!: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=430521#p430521) had been working with a used dealer in his / her area, and basically told the dealer what was desired in the car and the dealer worked the auctions to find the right car. Sounded like the dealer was going to sell the car for about $1k over what was paid at auction.
Yep. That was basically it, since he didn't have the car he originally advertised (mentioning he leaves his ads up on Craigslist) and when he did get one in, I passed on it, for reasons I already mentioned. Then, I went thru the above and got what I wanted at a pretty good price. And yes, he said his normal markup was $1K.

I mentioned Manheim (the used car dealer gets his used Leafs from there) and I don't recall if I posted http://press.manheim.com/2010-07-27-Manheim-partners-with-nissan-motor-acceptance-corp-And-infiniti-financial-services-to-create-a-better-faster-way-to-turn-off-lease-inventory-into-sales, which I found later.

Funny enough, over the weekend, I saw some guys dropping off a red Leaf to charge at free public L2. After they left, I noticed it had fresh Manheim auction and "Nissan and Infiniti Remarketing Services" stickers still on it. It looks like it was sold at auction this past Wednesday. Too bad I didn't notice while the guys were still around. I'd have asked them some questions. It was definitely a '12 from the side marker lights, 2012 year on the stickers and VIN starting with J.
foliage2000 said:
This strategy seems reasonable to me - find a used dealer that you like (perhaps one that sells alot of used Leafs) and place an order with them. See what they can do for you. The dealer uses their privileges at dealer auctions to get a nice vehicle and assumes some risk that they picked up a lemon at auction, and the buyer gets a decent deal on a used vehicle, without spending tons of time attending public auctions and risking a bunch of money on a car that could be a dog.
The used car dealer doesn't assume that much risk about a lemon as he wasn't offering me any warranty. It's whatever is left on the manufacturer's warranty. The ultimate buyer is the one really taking the most risk of a lemon.
 
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