My neighbor's Leaf needs a battery

[Tahoe_Hybrid]

Originally Posted by wdb

I'm posting this to help a friend find out what the value of her 2011 Nissan Leaf might be. The valuation tools I looked at don't ask about battery condition, kind of dumb if you ask me. I suspect I know the answer anyway, but thought I'd try to find some folks with more EV experience. She's used it for short drives and errands for years but now the range is so bad she can't even do that. It's time for registration renewal and state inspection and she doesn't want to spend the money if it's not worth it.

Here is her description.

• 2011 Nissan Leaf
• 94,350 miles
• range ~15 miles
• nice seat covers!
• driver's window does not operate
• "car warning light is on" (not sure which)
• weathertech floor and trunk mats!
• drives fine!

Register it in california then make a warranty claim

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by Tahoe_Hybrid

Register it in california then make a warranty claim

Californias “enhanced warranty “ only applies to vehicles with a gasoline engine and a battery

Stupid as that may be I have repeatedly this lie as well, also Cali cars with enhanced coverage have it based on VIN

If the car was bought in California originally (most 2011’s were CA ONLY) you could theoretically Persue your venture if the vehicles in service date was late enough to have an “under 8 year old car”


So yeah, no warranty is likely even in California

[oil pan 4]

Leaf, because I want to be able to park my car in the garage.

[wdb]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

No way. Put it for sale private party to maximize profits. Even in you list for just 10% above a resellers best offer, you'll get high quality buyers willing to purchase with no hassles.

I've sold cars to CarMax. It is utterly free of hassles and that adds value. In this case that gets harder because there is no CarMax within a charge's worth of range. Not even 2 charges' worth in fact. Still, I will encourage her to pursue that path as a possible way to get a few $K out of the car. As it stands it is a place to put money, not a place to make money.

[hayden55]

Just put it on Facebook Marketplace. It'll be gone in a week.

Also, holy cow. She put 90k on a leaf. Thats wild. She got her money's worth.

[redpoint5]

Selling on CL is pretty darn hassle free. List it for KBB private party value and the first person that contacts you will buy it.

Of course, the junkier the car, the more hassle you get because it's the dirtbags that want to buy junk. If it's above about $5k, you'll get serious people that know a fair deal.

Try to give something away for free and the dirtbags will try to talk you into delivering an hour away.

[R.W.Dale]

This is a decade old compact car from a maker primarily popular because of their sub prime lending practices that is in need of a major powertrain component.

It will only sell accordingly no different than a versa that needs a cvt. It's essentially only gonna sell for scrap value but without expensive catalytic converters.

[Drifter]

The Versa is a cheap, harsh car. The Leaf isn't - it is pretty solid & very comfortable. And if you have free charging at work or very inexpensive overnight electricity, it has very low fuel costs.

A 30mpg car going 30 miles/day, 5 days/week, 50 days/year, costs $3,750 annually in fuel (at today's $5/gal).
The leaf's electricity costs about $300 annually in fuel consuming 15kWh daily at $0.08/kWh overnight electric rates. The "fuel" savings will pay for a 24 kWh battery every 2 years and you won't have as many other services (or as often) such as brake jobs & oil changes. You also will reduce air pollution.

[R.W.Dale]

Originally Posted by Drifter

The Versa is a cheap, harsh car. The Leaf isn't - it is pretty solid & very comfortable. And if you have free charging at work or very inexpensive overnight electricity, it has very low fuel costs.

A 30mpg car going 30 miles/day, 5 days/week, 50 days/year, costs $3,750 annually in fuel (at today's $5/gal).
The leaf's electricity costs about $300 annually in fuel consuming 15kWh daily at $0.08/kWh overnight electric rates. The "fuel" savings will pay for a 24 kWh battery every 2 years and you won't have as many other services (or as often) such as brake jobs & oil changes. You also will reduce air pollution.

And the only way someone goes down this road is if the car is essentially free.

The EV buzz of the day does not change the basic numbers that you have a decade old compact car in need of a major overhaul to even be functional. In all but the most strongly reselling auto genres this = a trip to the scrap yard.

[hayden55]

Originally Posted by Drifter

The Versa is a cheap, harsh car. The Leaf isn't - it is pretty solid & very comfortable. And if you have free charging at work or very inexpensive overnight electricity, it has very low fuel costs.

A 30mpg car going 30 miles/day, 5 days/week, 50 days/year, costs $3,750 annually in fuel (at today's $5/gal).
The leaf's electricity costs about $300 annually in fuel consuming 15kWh daily at $0.08/kWh overnight electric rates. The "fuel" savings will pay for a 24 kWh battery every 2 years and you won't have as many other services (or as often) such as brake jobs & oil changes. You also will reduce air pollution.

30 miles a day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year is 7500 miles.
National average gas is like $4.20
7500/30=250 gallons of gas * 4.20 = $1050
How did you get what you got? That's very far off.
A leaf at say 120mpge -> 7500/120 = 62.5gge*33.7kWh/gge = 2106.25kWh
National average electricity is around $0.12/kWh
2106.25*.12=$250+$200 extra fuel tax regi fee. = $450 a year.
I don't really see brake pads and fuel savings on the leaf paying for the battery pack.
Say brake pads are $200 a year thats $1250 - 450 = $800 savings and possibly double that on average at 15000 miles a year.

The clear choice is to sell the Leaf and replace it with a corolla for $2500 lol