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Post by pharmadave on Aug 6, 2018 23:50:43 GMT 11
Hello everyone, It seems the Japanese Leafs are able to be complianced and imported to the Australian market. Here is a listing for a 30KW 2016 Leaf. www.irev.com.au/cars/2016-nissan-leaf-30kw-coming-soon/This could be the start of a wave of newer model LEAFs coming into the market and dare I say, perhaps more affordable? For those interested, I would encourage contacting the dealer and putting in a request for them to 'hunt down a car' at the Japanese car auctions. I have no association what so ever with this dealership, I am simply looking to see whether this import process can be repeated and it seems like they have taken the initiative and tried to fill in a gap and a need in the market place. By the way, JDM = Japanese Domestic Market
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Post by pharmadave on Aug 6, 2018 23:51:43 GMT 11
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Post by pharmadave on Aug 6, 2018 23:52:39 GMT 11
Last photo of condition report Attachments:
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praxidice
EV Enthusiast
Posts: 43
LEAF OWNER?: No
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Post by praxidice on Aug 7, 2018 6:34:51 GMT 11
I'm more inclined to wait another year for the 40kw NV200. Its doubtful that Nissan Australia will import it and there shouldn't be much difference getting compliance given that 24kw versions are fine. My U68 Minicab was the first to get complianced and there was no compliance-related issue.
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Post by Feng on Aug 7, 2018 10:26:54 GMT 11
I'd be curious to know if Nissan Australia would service or replace the batteries on them when they reach end of life. Not that they really do it for domestic models anyway, but they might not want to touch an imported model since the battery is different. 30kWh batteries don't do well with heat either so that's another concern.
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Post by pharmadave on Aug 7, 2018 11:59:02 GMT 11
I would assume that Nissan Australia officially will not touch these cars. Regular servicing and maintenance on the other hand I'm sure the local Nissan dealer will be happy to charge a fee for service.
It'll be a situation where the GPS wouldn't work as the Maps on the SD card will be for Japan, perhaps buying a replacement SD card is an option from a Dealer? Carwings won't work either as the mobile network will be different also.
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Post by pharmadave on Aug 9, 2018 0:09:56 GMT 11
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Post by pharmadave on Aug 9, 2018 0:11:33 GMT 11
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Post by Feng on Aug 9, 2018 2:32:01 GMT 11
Interesting! Looking forward to seeing more Leafs on the streets. Guessing by the picture of the steering wheel, the white 30kWh one has lost two capacity bars.
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Post by pharmadave on Aug 9, 2018 2:39:05 GMT 11
Interesting! Looking forward to seeing more Leafs on the streets. Guessing by the picture of the steering wheel, the white 30kWh one has lost two capacity bars. Interesting, I've had a look at the particular picture which has a glimpse of the dash, it's really hard to tell but it does seem the battery health status bar is missing a bar or two. I've enquired with J-Spec as they state that there are more Leafs on the way as it's a recent addition to the SEVs list. Over time, perhaps the prices will come down and increased availability. I would want to play around with one that's landed to check exactly what works and what doesn't work due to the Japanese specs. As an aside, for the right price, I might be tempted to buy back into the Leaf family with the JDM spec model. My wife really enjoyed driving the Leaf and really likes the idea of having one as a daily commuter. If I can get a newer 30kw model with a battery in good health, that would be ace.
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Post by Feng on Aug 9, 2018 12:34:25 GMT 11
Yeah I was using the "1" as a reference and comparing it to pictures of other dashboards. It would be pretty sweet to have two EVs in the family if your garage can accommodate charging for both!
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Post by rusdy on Aug 9, 2018 16:48:24 GMT 11
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Post by pharmadave on Aug 9, 2018 17:27:46 GMT 11
That's just the tip of the ice-berg, on the website you can also check upcoming auctions: j-spec.com.au/auction/SEVS/Nissan/Leaf/C88Auctions are the best way to buy a car for a much lower price. J-spec will actually go out and inspect the car and make a video for you prior to the auction to ensure customer satisfaction.
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Post by pharmadave on Aug 9, 2018 17:53:32 GMT 11
Just got off the phone with Import Revolution (IREV) and the salesperson stated that they actually will load the local GPS maps onto the car so the GPS will work also which is a nice touch. Also the car will be landing in a few weeks so I'll be checking it out for sure once it lands.
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Post by pharmadave on Aug 18, 2018 22:34:31 GMT 11
Here is one that I'm interested in. 2016 30kWh G-Spec with 6,000Kms on the odometer. Not sure of the battery health as the photos don't show, will require the services of a buying agent to personally inspect. Will report back on how I go. j-spec.com.au/auction/SEVS/2016-Nissan-Leaf-10477104.html
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Post by empowerrepower on Aug 19, 2018 14:24:28 GMT 11
Looks lovely. Do these cars come with any sort of warranty?
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Post by pharmadave on Aug 20, 2018 3:18:56 GMT 11
Looks lovely. Do these cars come with any sort of warranty? I don't believe so as any warranty would be from Nissan Japan rather than Nissan Australia. Upon further investigation, it appears that that later G-spec cars have a different info-tainment system called the 'Nissan Connect' headunit rather than the'CarWings' headunit that we have in Australia which makes simple tasks like setting the time a very difficult task let alone the language selection. (Changing the time is a significant issue as it affects any scheduled charging for off-peak power prices) The dashboard menu options are also in Japanese which requires and OBD device to change: I think I will hold off buying one of these direct imports as attractive as they seem until these issues are ironed out. I believe New Zealand is a lot more ahead of us in this regard as they have been directly importing LEAFs for years and have all the work-arounds worked out. I will dig a bit more and see what I can find out from companies in New Zealand. As an aside, the consultant from J-Spec mentioned that this car seems to tick all the right boxes and will be on the higher end of the price spectrum so should be prepared to pay around $27k landed and complied (I would just have to pay local registration costs). It seems like an amazing value proposition to me, however there are few caveats included. If I were to try and avoid these issues, I'd just get the S-spec 30kWh which doesn't have a GPS - Nissan Connect head unit and install an aftermarket one which has Android auto or Apple Carplay.
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Post by hieronymous on Aug 20, 2018 9:17:27 GMT 11
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Post by electricfuture on Aug 20, 2018 14:47:30 GMT 11
Thanks for starting this thread.
I am dying to get myself a leaf until the Model 3 comes. I don't have charging at home but there's lots of chargers within 5 mins walk of my apartment, so I really need the 7KW charger. Anyone brave enough to import yet? I was emailing j-spec and was impressed by their replies.
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Post by rusdy on Aug 20, 2018 18:23:31 GMT 11
Thanks for starting this thread. I am dying to get myself a leaf until the Model 3 comes. I don't have charging at home but there's lots of chargers within 5 mins walk of my apartment, so I really need the 7KW charger. Anyone brave enough to import yet? I was emailing j-spec and was impressed by their replies. In my opinion, for those who want to enter EV ownership with minimum capital cost, this Leaf imports are it. As long the battery is still in good condition (full bar health on dash). This is absolutely essential to minimise one's depreciation cost (as the battery will most likely survive in the long run).
The second most important thing is the ChaDeMo option. I've used less than 50 fast charges in the last 3-ish years of my Leaf ownership. Although this has been rarely used, it was extremely essential when I travelled 'long' distance. For those in the east, this probably still useless (WA has better ChaDeMo network I believe). So, you might opt out to even cheaper imports with no ChaDeMo installed.
One of marvelous feature about Leaf is the 'CarWings'. Too bad this won't work with the imports (I think). I've found this feature is absolutely brilliant, so I can remotely turn on the air-con / heater when I need to.
The likelihood of getting decent EV (100-ish km usable range) in Australia for AUD25k or under, within 2 years? No chance. So, this is it.
To complicate the matter, for those who have capital to splash around, these Leaf imports may not be the best option. This is due to depreciation is always the biggest cost in car ownership. So, when the model 3 comes out, I think they will retain their value quite well. So, although very expensive to buy, your depreciation cost might not be that high.
Who can wait for model 3 to come up in the second hand market, right? By then, I hope driverless cars will become the norms
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Post by pharmadave on Aug 20, 2018 18:51:21 GMT 11
Thanks for starting this thread. I am dying to get myself a leaf until the Model 3 comes. I don't have charging at home but there's lots of chargers within 5 mins walk of my apartment, so I really need the 7KW charger. Anyone brave enough to import yet? I was emailing j-spec and was impressed by their replies. I've invited Walter, the maker of the youtube video I linked, to join the forum and share the nuggets of knowledge he has regarding such things.
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Post by stewartm on Aug 20, 2018 22:13:37 GMT 11
A small reality check. In the last two years, since the 2G 3G change, carwings has been way more down than up. Months of failed servers or apps have moved me away from using it. In regards GPS, my maps are now over 5 years old, the dealers have no updates even at cost. Given I live on the Sunshine Coast with 15% annual growth, the amount of new and changed roads is huge. As such I now use google maps on my phone for Nav most times as the Leaf unit is out of date. So what does that leave us in the jap imports, newer models, more features, leather, Bose sound , more battery capacity, double the slow charge rate 7kW... I think they are a good deal given the above...
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Post by pharmadave on Aug 21, 2018 11:04:43 GMT 11
A small reality check. In the last two years, since the 2G 3G change, carwings has been way more down than up. Months of failed servers or apps have moved me away from using it. In regards GPS, my maps are now over 5 years old, the dealers have no updates even at cost. Given I live on the Sunshine Coast with 15% annual growth, the amount of new and changed roads is huge. As such I now use google maps on my phone for Nav most times as the Leaf unit is out of date. So what does that leave us in the jap imports, newer models, more features, leather, Bose sound , more battery capacity, double the slow charge rate 7kW... I think they are a good deal given the above... All very valid points. Just need a good support network with parts and people with the know-how to repair them for them to really take off.
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Post by electricfuture on Aug 27, 2018 12:22:47 GMT 11
Thanks for all the replies so far! I think for 15-18k these are a steal. What's the go with servicing with Nissan touch them? I really don't care about the maps. Unless they are Google Maps (aka Android Auto) I wouldn't touch them anyways.
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dave
EV Enthusiast
Posts: 13
LEAF OWNER?: Yes
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Post by dave on Sept 10, 2018 17:39:29 GMT 11
I'm not sure that many people would entertain the idea of driving a car with everything in Japanese. Hopefully EVs Enhanced can come to the party with their device and make it available here, but until then it's a huge risk in terms of everyday driving and resale. TBH I'm pretty surprised that it's even legal to import cars without English option, I would have thought the information conveyed to the driver would form part of the ADR compliance.
All that said I really hope we can work this out, even just 2013 introduced the 360 camera which is awesome let alone all the battery, collision mitigation, etc. In English with working Navigation and I'm all in.
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Post by southernvolt on Sept 13, 2018 0:16:35 GMT 11
I'm not sure that many people would entertain the idea of driving a car with everything in Japanese. Hopefully EVs Enhanced can come to the party with their device and make it available here, but until then it's a huge risk in terms of everyday driving and resale. TBH I'm pretty surprised that it's even legal to import cars without English option, I would have thought the information conveyed to the driver would form part of the ADR compliance. All that said I really hope we can work this out, even just 2013 introduced the 360 camera which is awesome let alone all the battery, collision mitigation, etc. In English with working Navigation and I'm all in. My imported Nissan Stagea had everything in Japanese and it wasn’t a problem. Info for the driver was all in English it was just the entertainment stuff. The GPS showed I was somewhere in the Sea off Japan. Didn’t matter as i used my phone.
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dave
EV Enthusiast
Posts: 13
LEAF OWNER?: Yes
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Post by dave on Sept 23, 2018 4:04:40 GMT 11
My imported Nissan Stagea had everything in Japanese and it wasn’t a problem. Info for the driver was all in English it was just the entertainment stuff. The GPS showed I was somewhere in the Sea off Japan. Didn’t matter as i used my phone.
Thanks that's really good to know. I've made the decision to get a Leaf import, it's just the finer details to be decided. My research led me to hybrids.co.nz to do the dash conversoin (NZ$150 plus postage both ways). I'm told it's not a big job to get the dash unit out and back in, so for let's say AUD$300 that seems like a no-brainer for resale if nothing else. I'm not aware of any option to translate the head units other than getting an X without digital climate control and replacing the head unit with after-market, gps easy enough but I haven't confirmed reverse camera and steering wheel controls, and certainly no around-view camera on X. A tricky choice, gps/english versus a Japanese G sans gps but with Around-view (compelling option for it coming from a Merc and BMW where parking sensors give a lot more information than just beeps).
Also, for other people thinking about this, Google Translate app is pretty amazing, you can real-time translate what your phone camera sees matching font and color, quite incredible what they've done there, so as a fallback this is reasonable too. It's worth pointing your phone at the screen with a youtube video of a JDM Leaf and see how well it does, really impressive.
My wife's reaction to all this is probably representative of the wider market too, she wasn't impressed at all with Japanese language anywhere. On the S/G models there's physical buttons with Japanese on them, and that was a sore point. Ultimately I think a converted dash with aftermarket headunit will have a much higher Wife-Acceptance-Factor, and to be honest I need as high a WAF as possible or this will end up being my car when the Model 3 arrives in a year or two.
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Post by Feng on Sept 23, 2018 14:14:38 GMT 11
I haven't looked into it yet so you'll have to do your own homework, but Greg the president of AEVA wrote off his 2012 Australian delivered Leaf earlier this year. He's still got it and might consider parting out the head unit. No idea how it'll work with an overseas model Leaf, especially a newer model with around view monitors, etc.
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Post by pharmadave on Sept 24, 2018 3:07:03 GMT 11
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Post by pharmadave on Sept 24, 2018 13:09:15 GMT 11
Just a quick update, the car I linked above was listed Saturday and now it has been sold..took all of 2 days to sell. I guess there is demand for EVs if the price is right.
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