Your are right I like to gamble on sure things
. Then is isn't gambling at all. New cars like the Leaf have no used parts availability. You have to use new parts so the re builders generally shy away from them. I once bought a 93-97 Atlima and used it to rebuild 4 other Altimas. Water damaged cars with no body damage make perfect candidates. Front end on 1, side on 1, other side on 1, rear end on 1. Each car only cost $750 in parts to fix. My buddy, who owns his won shop has been working on cars since he was 12, his father is still rebuilding them at 72. Between the 3 of us we can fix anything. No one wants that expensive a car with no warranty or a salvage title. I have had better luck with wrecked cars than used cars as general rule. I KNOW why the wrecked car is available, a used car is a completely different proposition.
If you find one with a clear title, from a private seller, that was not damaged enough to be totalled then the factory warranty is still in effect. Lots of rentals and lease returns fall into this category.
regards
Mech