Help with considering a used Nissan Leaf?

[sgtlethargic]

It's a 2011 Leaf that had the HV battery replaced in January of 2018, so it should be a newer chemistry than the original, but it's 7-1/2 years old. The seller has LeafSpy and I took some pics. The biggest concern is that the SOH (battery health) is at 74%. My usage would be almost all in-town (to work and errands), mostly if not all on surface streets, which would be 30 miles per day at the most. I'd probably put 6-10,000 miles a year on it. The weather here is hot in the summer (over 100* F). I wouldn't fast charge it- I'd charge it at home at L1 or L2 trying to do 80% down to 20%.

Who has experience with this? Do you think it'd last (work for my usage) at least five years?

[ME_Andy]

So it's got about 60 miles of range left? I think it would still be useful for a few more years.

The old Leafs go onto limp mode when the battery gets really low, like 5%. But it sounds like you wouldn't get that low.

My wife had a 2015 Leaf for a few years. Great commuter car.

[Piotrsko]

The death spiral seems slow on lipo. 60 miles estimated range and you maybe drive 20 out and back? Should be good for a while, same vintage as my Volt pack. Edge cases will let you know if it's degrading faster but leaf spy does a good estimate

[atikovi]

Avoid the 2011-12 Leafs. Most 2013 Leafs have a 6.6 kW onboard charger while all 2011-12 models and 2013 S models have a 3.3 kW charger. Most 2013 Leafs have a heat pump for cabin heat which uses much less electricity to keep the car warm during winter. All 2011-12 models and 2013 S models have a resistive heater that significantly reduces range when used. For 2013, Nissan made significant improvements to the battery pack including a change in chemistry to reduce battery degradation. 2013 Models seem to be holding up much better than previous years, and is reason enough to avoid 2011-12 models.

[redpoint5]

I'd say the Bolt is the best value EV out there all things considered.

[Isaac Zachary]

I had a Leaf. Here are my thoughts:

If you don't have too far to go, then 120V charging is probably all you need so you can just charge overnight. You can get a 240V "charger" if you want, but as mentioned, you'll be limited to a 3kW charger onboard which will not be that much faster than 120V. I mean, sure, it's about double the speed, but in reality if you planned on going to work, come home, then want to go out and maybe come back and realize you need to go out again but now don't have enough juice you now have to wait until the morning anyway. A newer 6KW Leaf with an appropiate 240V "charger" will get you enough juice to get around again in a couple of hours and will be fully charged in about 3 to 4 hours instead of 6 to 8.

The 2011 and 2013 Leafs had terrible heaters that circulated hot water. You can put some insulation on them, but they are not efficient at all. Even the 2013 resistance heater is better. In 2013 and beyond you can also find heat pumps in some models of Leaf that are even more efficient. I've also heard the heater controls are not good in the 2011 and 2013 Leafs and make for even more wasted electricity. This is likely where having the 24V 3kW "charger" would make the most sense, if where you live it gets pretty cold, since that charger can preheat the interior if you know how to use it. I believe all Leafs have some sort of interior preheat function, but am unsure, so look that up for this particular model.

The nice thing about the older Leafs is you can save your battery by charging only to 80%. I would think you could get another 5 year out of the car especially if you used the 80% feature. But that's with an expecting loss of another 20% or so, which then that might not be enough range for a day on top of the 80% charge. How cool does it get at night? How long is the really hot part of the summer? Do you drive hard or have a lot of stop-and-go traffic, which will also heat up the battery? If it's Pheonix then I'd say probably don't go for it. If it's Denver, then you might be ok.

Having a place to charge at work for free would probably make this a no-brainer.