24 kWh Leaf Range Loss

[ColoradoLeaf]

While there is another thread on range loss, it is 6 pages long and is now spanning multiple issues, so I wanted to focus this thread on the 1st gen Leafs (Leaves?) still in service and to ask what owners plan to do going forward.
Mine is a 2012 Leaf, seven years old, with 80,000 miles. I charge to 100% at 2am nightly. The car retained the full 12 bars for the first four years, then began a slow decline. I have only used Level 3 chargers about once a year. It has recently declined to 8 bars capacity, so the original 74 mile range is now about 50 miles in summer and 36 miles now in winter when below freezing and using the heater as well as seat and steering wheel warmers.
The Kelly Blue Book value is around $4000. A battery replacement with core swap is $6500. It obviously makes no sense to spend that kind of money to restore its range back from 50 to 74 miles when I can get a new 40 kWh Leaf for $18000 after rebates and tax credits. (When the 40 kWh Leafs came out they were dumping the remaining new 30 kWh Leafs here for $10000, so next March I expect the 40 kWh Leafs to have similar deep discounts.)
At this point the only option I see is to trade it in for a new 200+ mile car next year. I can't sell it to anyone in its current state. With a 60 kWh car, if it loses 1/3 to even 1/2 of its range after 8-10 years, I still have a fully functional maintenance-free car with ample range. Half of a 74 mile range is approaching golf cart status.
What are other early adopters experiencing with their cars and what is your go-forward plan?

 

[Paul K]

Well that's a tough one. If the existing car can meet your needs it is both cheaper and greener to replace the pack. The new one will be of better quality. It would be even better if Nissan would offer a 30kwh replacement but they're being jerks about that. If a discounted 40kwh Leaf will open up new possibilities for your EV use then that's the route to go........ maybe. The new Kona from Hyundai sure looks compelling but there won't be any discounts there.

 

[Yanni]

Well that's a tough one. If the existing car can meet your needs it is both cheaper and greener to replace the pack. The new one will be of better quality. It would be even better if Nissan would offer a 30kwh replacement but they're being jerks about that. If a discounted 40kwh Leaf will open up new possibilities for your EV use then that's the route to go........ maybe. The new Kona from Hyundai sure looks compelling but there won't be any discounts there.

When you say no discounts, do you mean no manufacturer discounts, or no government/tax rebates on the Kona?

 

[Paul K]

When you say no discounts, do you mean no manufacturer discounts, or no government/tax rebates on the Kona?

No need for manufacturer to discount the Kona when production is so limited and they can sell them all at full pop. There may still be government rebates of some sort.

 

[ColoradoLeaf]

I had hoped other 2011-2013 Leaf owners would share their plans. I can’t be the only one to have kept mine. I know many went the lease route, but there must be more early adopters that can chime in.


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[Yanni]

I don't have an old Leaf, but if Insurance wasn't so $$$ to keep an extra car around, I would totally want to buy one for cheap, even if it only went 50 miles. 50 miles gets me to work and back with some mileage to spare, so I could use that car on a daily basis, and then have a different car with longer range for "real" driving. I would also like to have something like that for when the kids come home to visit...again, I could use that for work/back and let them have the "real mileage" car to go visiting around with friends and etc.

Right now when I check at the dealers or AutoTrader, most of the older Leafs are priced at $9K, regardless of what age the vehicle is, what mileage it has on it, or what the max charge capacity is now. It's completely lame. WHO is going to pay $9K for some of these 50Mile cars that are 10 years old? Not me. I don't care HOW clean and shiny it is. Just waiting for the used prices to come down so that I can have a Plug In to use my excess solar. That is, until I can get an AWD PHEV SUV with a decent battery size! That's what I'm waiting for, and since Subaru boofed it with their 17 mile Crosstrek (pathetic!) it looks like I'll be waiting till 2020. Blech.

 

[SilverNewt]

When mine hit the state yours is in, and I was looking at ~$1500 in repairs/maintenance, I traded it in for a 2019 Leaf SV. My commentary on it in the
2018 Leaf Thread.

Recap: 72,000 miles, 8 bars, lower control arms needed to be replaced and uneven wear from that meant I needed new tires. Most dealers offered $2500 in trade. They listed the car for sale at just under $7,000.

I still feel a little guilty for not putting the effort in to make it work, as Paul K said it is the greener choice. Also, I no longer have heated rear seats, an 80% charge option, or a CD player. But doing my 38 mile commute in the winter when the battery was only good for 35 miles tops would mean charging at work every day for at least an hour, possibly 2. Work charges $2/hour and at the 2012 Leaf's 3.6 kW rate plus the hassle of moving it to the charging spot and then back to a parking spot...ugh. My office did not make EV charging much of a perk :-( But I do appreciate that it's there.

 

[SilverNewt]

As for OP's "I can't sell it to anyone in its current state." - that's why I decided to trade, I couldn't look anyone in the eye and sell it private party. It would be a great high school student car - local range and they never need to ask for gas money. But I still couldn't do it.

The Nissan dealer gave me $5,000 in trade, but they were only willing to take $1500 off MSRP for my 2019 Leaf, this was at the end of November 2018.

 

[The Gadgeteer]

I think you can sell it for more than trade in while honestly advertising its condition. The dealer is just going to wholesale the car. it will change hands a couple of times, end up with a used car dealer or exported and the person ultimately buying it will not have the benefit of your honesty on the condition.


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[ColoradoLeaf]

The Nissan dealer gave me $5,000 in trade, but they were only willing to take $1500 off MSRP for my 2019 Leaf, this was at the end of November 2018.

While I thought a trade to a 2019 220 mile Leaf was in the cards, facilitating a trade-in, it seems they will be priced higher than the short range Tesla 3... Not sure I’ll have sufficient incentive to stay with Nissan for another decade. I’d rather align with THE electric car company.



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[Kenneth Bokor]

While I thought a trade to a 2019 220 mile Leaf was in the cards, facilitating a trade-in, it seems they will be priced higher than the short range Tesla 3... Not sure I’ll have sufficient incentive to stay with Nissan for another decade. I’d rather align with THE electric car company.



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Well they are different vehicles completely so looking at your daily driving range and overall range needs, budget and costs, ergonomics and style should provide you with a great choice either way. Sounds like you know what you want. Good luck!

 

[Todd]

I have a 2011 Leaf that now has 4 bars and a range of 16 Florida miles. If someone was replacing a 50% degraded battery that would still be a 100% improvement for me! How can I get someone’s old battery into my Leaf at a reasonable price?

 

[Domenick]

Just did a bit of poking around the internet and found this 2012 one with 49k miles for $3328. I have to imagine there are other, maybe better deals out there.
There are also salvage vehicles on auction from Copart, which is probably how many of these places get their batteries to begin with.

It might be that a local salvage yard may have a vehicle and are willing to sell the battery. It would be interesting to hear from others who may have gone that route.