New here ... looking for help on buying used Leaf

[BattleBorn]

Hi,

New to the world of EVs. Looking at purchasing a 2012 Leaf private party. It has 40K miles and am told by seller that battery is under warranty still (eight years/100K so ends soon I think). He bought it used two years ago from a Nissan dealer. Test drove it and we liked a lot about the car. But, being new to EV, concerned about the life of this battery.
What's the best way to tell the current status of the battery?
Is there anyway to estimate what kind of life we can expect out of the battery?
What else should be asking before making a decision this car?

Thanks!

 

[Kenneth Bokor]

Hello and great that you are thinking of getting into an EV!

I for one would hook up Leaf Spy Pro to it with a bluetooth dongle. Maybe you can find someone who has this and they can do a "reading" for you to see SoC of the battery, etc.

If not, best to get the VIN and run it thru Nissan Support to verify warranty coverage remaining (I don't think the 2012's had the 8yr/100k) and also ask the owner where he had it serviced. You can check with that dealership to verify service records again based on the VIN. They won't give you personal details on the owner, but they can give you a service record.

And ever ask the current owner if he/she has service records. If they are like me and keep everything, they may have that too.

Otherwise, you can also ask the owner if you can take it to a Nissan Dealership that is certified to sell and service Leaf's and get them to check it over for you, print out a battery report, etc.

Hope this helps.