leaf18
EV Enthusiast
Posts: 11
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Post by leaf18 on May 12, 2019 21:10:23 GMT 11
Hi everyone,
I've been looking for a used Leaf for longer then I care to mention! I have found what appears to be a great car but it's interstate so I'm potentially looking to purchase sight unseen. What are the main things I should be looking for/asking? Hoping the group can point me in the right direction.
Obviously battery state of health is a big one, I won't be able to use leaf spy so assume I'm just restricted to bars remaining on dash? Kms are low but it's still 6-7 years old now so assuming 10 bars or less at this stage.
The vehicle has minor scrapes to front and rear bumpers but looks like it could be repaired easily. Should I need a new front bar is this likely to be very $$$ or are aftermarket bars available? Exterior wise everything else looks good.
Interior appears dirty on the usual places (cloth door trims) otherwise fairly normal for age.
Engine bay has minor corrosion which appears to be related to poorly painted strut mount tops, have found this to be semi-common but please correct me if wrong.
What else should I be looking for? Car has full service history, should I just expect annual service completed?
Sorry for all the questions! Cheers
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Post by Feng on May 13, 2019 0:09:50 GMT 11
Hi leaf18, welcome to the forum. Where's the Leaf located? If it's in Sydney I can check it out for you.
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leaf18
EV Enthusiast
Posts: 11
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Post by leaf18 on May 13, 2019 0:19:48 GMT 11
Thanks for the offer that would have been awesome but it's on the west coast and I'm on the east too.
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mickey
EV Enthusiast
Posts: 17 
LEAF OWNER?: Yes
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Post by mickey on May 13, 2019 12:44:46 GMT 11
Hi Leaf18, I am in WA is there something I can do to be of assistance? I bought three EV's in 2015 and one was a Leaf. While it was a nice car it didn't have the range I needed as I don't live in the metro area. I sold it two years later with about 3,800km on the clock. One thing that disappointed me was the weak regenerative braking. My Volt and I-Miev hardly require the use of brakes but the Leaf I found needed use of brakes on the winding down hill drive into town. Apart from that in the city it was a lovely car to get around in.
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Post by rusdy on May 13, 2019 17:23:23 GMT 11
... One thing that disappointed me was the weak regenerative braking... I suspect this has something to do with the traction battery limitation, more than anything else. These days, my Leaf only manages have regen braking 15~20kW (compared to full 30kW when I first got it). When I've found out that my Leaf's 'fast charge' is now also limited (I think mostly due to battery aging, see this post) at roughly this rate, that kinda confirm my suspicion that it's the battery limitation. |
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Post by pharmadave on May 13, 2019 19:02:57 GMT 11
... One thing that disappointed me was the weak regenerative braking... I suspect this has something to do with the traction battery limitation, more than anything else. These days, my Leaf only manages have regen braking 15~20kW (compared to full 30kW when I first got it). When I've found out that my Leaf's 'fast charge' is now also limited (I think mostly due to battery aging, see this post) at roughly this rate, that kinda confirm my suspicion that it's the battery limitation. My re-gen is also not as much as I remember in my previous (black) Leaf. I get at maximum 3 regen circles, most of the time it's 1-2 regen circles. I put it down to the age of the battery. Will keep this car going as long as I can and eventually will look into battery pack change over through dealership. |
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leaf18
EV Enthusiast
Posts: 11
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Post by leaf18 on May 13, 2019 20:25:29 GMT 11
Thanks for the responses, I will let you know Mickey if I need some local assistance! So has anyone got the surface corrosion issue too? And is there anything else to look out for?
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mickey
EV Enthusiast
Posts: 17
LEAF OWNER?: Yes
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Post by mickey on May 14, 2019 0:48:26 GMT 11
No worries Leaf18 you can call me on 0418937247. As for the weak regen, my batteries weren't degraded as the car had very low km. The weaker regen occurred after a service but when brought up with the dealer they said the update they did had nothing to do with regen. Mine also used to give the full four circles of regen when new but after the service it would only get to two.
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Post by rusdy on May 14, 2019 13:34:51 GMT 11
... The weaker regen occurred after a service but when brought up with the dealer they said the update they did had nothing to do with regen... That happened on mine too. It's odd indeed. My regen tanked immediately after ' software update' a while back (see the dip in Hx below, July 2016). However, after seeing myself what happened on the ' fast charge' just recently, I'm more inclined to conclude the regen limitation is a genuine battery degradation.  |
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mickey
EV Enthusiast
Posts: 17
LEAF OWNER?: Yes
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Post by mickey on May 14, 2019 16:18:03 GMT 11
That is a fair dip in Hx but yours was well travelled so a lot more charge cycles. In Dec. 2016 when mine was serviced my odo. was only 2606km. A year later when I sold it, it was only up to 3800km so battery should have been as good as new.
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leaf18
EV Enthusiast
Posts: 11
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Post by leaf18 on May 17, 2019 17:06:41 GMT 11
Got some key information on the Leaf, it has only 9 bars left on it. I'm very undecided now as I've got a daily return commute of 75km. Just not sure how long it would work for me now. Thoughts and suggestions?
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Post by Feng on May 17, 2019 18:34:31 GMT 11
My commute is 65km and around 2/3 of that is on the motorway doing 90-100km/h. Before hit it eight bars I would make it home with around 30km on the GOM on a good day. So unless your commute is really hilly or has a lot of stop/start traffic you can probably manage it but you'll have little leeway. Forget about going anywhere after work if you can't charge at work. After two or three years you might have a harder time covering the distance. Personally I wouldn't recommend it unless you can get something with more capacity.
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Post by brunohill on May 17, 2019 20:57:28 GMT 11
Got some key information on the Leaf, it has only 9 bars left on it. I'm very undecided now as I've got a daily return commute of 75km. Just not sure how long it would work for me now. Thoughts and suggestions? If you live in an area with cold winters ( below 5 'C ) your range will be less and to top that off the you will probably need the heating to defrost/defog the windscreen. Mine just makes it ( 74km ) with 10 bars @ -2'C. |
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leaf18
EV Enthusiast
Posts: 11
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Post by leaf18 on May 17, 2019 21:04:21 GMT 11
Thanks Feng and Brunohill. Common sense says I should give it a miss I think. Unless there is a big drop in price I'll wait a bit longer.
As for cold journeys it was 4 degrees this morning on my commute and we're not in winter yet!
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Post by empowerrepower on May 18, 2019 11:10:59 GMT 11
Thanks Feng and Brunohill. Common sense says I should give it a miss I think. Unless there is a big drop in price I'll wait a bit longer. As for cold journeys it was 4 degrees this morning on my commute and we're not in winter yet! There are two Leafs on Carsales with new batteries. And only 21K & 22K, bargains in my opinion. |
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Post by zuuutoootuuu on May 18, 2019 19:23:13 GMT 11
Have you considered a gen 2 import? they are available in 24 and 30kw versions, have better batteries, more features and can be had at a reasonable price now.
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leaf18
EV Enthusiast
Posts: 11
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Post by leaf18 on May 19, 2019 20:34:49 GMT 11
Thanks empowerrepower, I note you are getting a new battery too. Have been talking to owners of the other two already. The example I found was really cheap but not if it needed a new battery in a year or two.
Have been looking at jdm versions too so certainly a few options out there if I can find the extra coin. Once I know someone can do the language change on the head unit it might sway me.
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leaf18
EV Enthusiast
Posts: 11
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Post by leaf18 on Jun 20, 2019 19:32:44 GMT 11
Just to update everyone, after quite a bit of research I have purchased a Holden (chevy) Volt. It met my commuting criteria, fits the budget and won me over with all the tech. Loving it already. Thanks for everyone's advice.
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Kim
EV Enthusiast
Posts: 49 
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Post by Kim on Jun 30, 2019 12:02:40 GMT 11
Just to update everyone, after quite a bit of research I have purchased a Holden (chevy) Volt. It met my commuting criteria, fits the budget and won me over with all the tech. Loving it already. Thanks for everyone's advice. Not sure how small a world is that we live in but did you charge your Volt at Blacktown library car park on the morning of Saturday 29th June and received a note from me? |
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leaf18
EV Enthusiast
Posts: 11
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Post by leaf18 on Jun 30, 2019 23:59:29 GMT 11
Just to update everyone, after quite a bit of research I have purchased a Holden (chevy) Volt. It met my commuting criteria, fits the budget and won me over with all the tech. Loving it already. Thanks for everyone's advice. Not sure how small a world is that we live in but did you charge your Volt at Blacktown library car park on the morning of Saturday 29th June and received a note from me? Not me unfortunately! I'm in Melbourne getting around the SE and NE suburbs mostly |
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