Well I'll be buying a used LEAF soon. Have determined that it's the car that makes the most sense for us. In a few years when the PHEV mid-sized SUV market has more fully evolved, that will be our 2nd plug in purchase. Hoping our gas car doesn't die before then!! So I am currently considering both the 2015 and the 2016 year used models. The "big difference" I know about is that 2015 has the 24kWh battery and the SV and SL in 2016 have the larger 30kWh battery. I prefer the larger battery. I'm hoping to get something with +/- 25K miles on it. There seem to be a steady stream of them coming off leases all the time. I won't get a car that has lived in a hotter climate than where I am (California). I won't get a car that is not a CPO directly from the dealer. I want the extra warranty stuff. I don't have access to LeafSpy. Am I missing out on really important information when determining the health and welfare of the battery in the used cars I'm looking at? Should I download the software and buy the cables and etc etc?? There is one that I just saw online at a dealer -- an SV -- with only 13K miles. It came off a 2 year lease a little early! It still has 12 bars. I looked at the CarFax. It says that the dealer inspected and CPO'd it in April of this year (2018) and it's now SEPTEMBER. I guess it's been sitting around on the lot for a while. Is that bad? How bad? I figure it will make them more desperate to sell it (maybe I can negotiate a lower price?)...but if it is a huge potential battery problem that it's been sitting for 5 months... I won't even bother to go see it (it's a few hours away). What else should I consider? Any/all advice you can give would be most helpful! Thanks!
As far as EV’s, you should lease it, not buy it. The 71.7% depreciation over 5 years on the LEAF, seems attractive, if you plan to keep the car for 10 years, then again the batteries will be no good by then, the 151 miles range, for the 2018, is just ok, being half of that for earlier models, so nobody will buy that car from you in the future, as there will be more options available. I’m planning to lease the SV model in December, then again, I would never buy an EV for the next 10 years at least, just lease them, and drive a better EV in the next 3 years or so ... Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
Just a heads up, we just published a piece on the upcoming 60-kWh LEAF. It appears to be coming early 2019 with a range of 225 miles and around a $5,000 price bump. Although more expensive, I would say this is a much better value.
Yup, I did know about that; the salesperson told me last week, when I was test driving the 2018 LEAF SV model, then again Nissan will release it first in California and then to the other ZEV states, including New York, by mid-2019, which is not guaranteed either; same deal with Hyundai Kona electric and KIA Niro EV, first California and then the others. Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
According to the documents, production for the 60-kwh model starts in January 2019, so deliveries could begin by spring. Again, not guaranteed. https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1119408_documents-60-kwh-nissan-leaf-pricing-aligned-with-chevy-bolt-ev Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
I asked him the same thing and he said ZEV states first, then again who knows, they always say anything to score a deal ;-) he could be saying that to pursue me to close the deal on the 2018 model year car ... Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
