I had a 2012 Leaf, I really enjoyed it. I bought it used, 4 years old, with 34,000 miles. Sold it last year with 80,000 on it. Loved that car! (Nissan did replace the main battery under warranty in 2017.. 😊) In 6 years, I put a set of tires on it. That’s it. It’s smooth, quiet, no gas, no maintenance…
I've had a 2013 leaf for 10 years, and I still have from 63 to 73 miles range depending on how I drive the day before. It depends on how careful you drive. I don't drive fast, and I try to avoid the freeway.
A benefit to buying used EV's that not often talked about is the fact that most of them are garage kept cars (Since they need to be charged up over night). So used EV's are typically in better condition than their ICEV counterparts. I would love to see a battery swap on that Leaf. With a good battery it'd be a killer deal. Especially considering the recent price volatility of gasoline. It would make a great parts-getter car.
I love when you buy sight unseen, Because you literally take us on an adventure with AMAZING content! I know not the smartest, but it’s always AMAZING content on the journey!
The leaf is a perfect car if your commute to work and go home if your trip is less than 20 miles in total. Since every night you can just plug it in, and by the end of the week you’ve got the whole weekend to have the car get a full charge.
I agree. I live in the SF Bay Area. Everything is close. Unless you work 30 miles or more to and from work. I probably would drive 10 miles and that would be average for all my errands. In my city alone there are charging stations everywhere. Seems like every shopping center, a lot of fast food have a charging station. 3-mile radius here by my home must be 50 charging stations. Actually I`m a little mad that there are so many charging stations. They take up spaces near all the entrances. Seems to me if you have an EV, you get premium parking privileges.
I think it would be super interesting to see you replace the battery on it, Randy! I’d love to watch you convert it to the 2017 model battery. Kind of a how to. It might get quite a few views too. I’d love to see it!
Nissan never set up a battery refurbishment program in North America as they have in Europe. So a new battery will run around $13,500. , if you can get one.
@@AutoAuctionRebuilds I just got a fully loaded 2013 SV in Jet Black..Bad Ass car..I have 7 battery bars..Paid $4998 all in..Super gas saver for me..Most all my town driving is less than 25 miles..LOVE IT TO DEATH!
Love the Leaf, people don’t like the looks, but it looks that way to be aerodynamic , people don’t like the range, but it’s perfect for day to day driving, and it’s one of the best built and reliable cars that Nissan made. People that have bought them used for $5000 to $10,000 dollars say it’s so reliable and so little maintenance that they feel like they got a free car! I always tell people to find a used Leaf that might only have 50,000 miles instead of buying an old money pit that has 150,000 miles and need work every month.
Nice car and built with a purpose in mind.and that was to use it around the city. Once again we get to see the more unusual cars on the channel and to me that is what makes it interesting. Thank you for another great car and the usual wonderful video. Now its off to see what a newer battery costs for a Nissan Leaf.
This is the best car I ever purchased. I purchased my 16 Leaf 3yrs ago for 7k and I put over 35k miles it's worth $10,000 now, and the car has never been in the shop for anything, unlike my Mercedes cost me $500 for a set of headlights and $1500 for a fuel pump. Remember this is a city car, not a backroad car
I drove a blue one at the auctions many years ago. I thought it looked better then the first Gen prius IMO. The wind didn't help the range much. It's in great condition Randy. Just like you said, its a little city grocery getter with the store being 4 blocks away. You can put a hitch on the back & add a trailer with a generator for long hauls ( kidding) it's cool for what it is👌. Salute Randy🎬🚘👍😎
Here in New Zealand, we see these cars everywhere beside Tesla's, the leafs make decent quick a to b cars for groceries, picking up kids at school ect.
The Leaf has a bad rap for reasons irrelevant for a lot of people. If you're going to have more than one vehicle, so you don't need to rely on it for long trips, it's a really nice practical daily driver.
Just bought a 2012 Nissan Leaf SL off of Facebook Marketplace. 23k miles 9 bars of battery life, $3500 total cost including tax and registration, perfect interior, a bit sun burned on top surfaces and came with full manuals and a charging cable. Replaced the tires and had a locksmith make me a new fob. Nice car for my wife to drive around town. Our main car is my Tesla Model 3 Stealth that we do quite a few road trips in every year. I figure the leaf will do fine until the $17,500 after rebate Tesla Model 2 comes out.
I just bought a 2015 LEAF with 25,000 miles on it. It has been trickle charged for its entire life and the battery was still in new condition with 12 capacity bars. I paid $9000 for it and I have discovered that the estimated mileage on a full charge of 85 miles is often optimistic. I’ve never gotten more than about 65. As someone else pointed out, most of these cars are in pretty good condition because they’re often garaged. I can’t believe that at some point there won’t be replacement batteries available and an upgrade to a 40 to 60 kWh battery should be a reasonable option which will give 150 or 200 miles of range. The 60 to 80 miles of range that I currently have fits my driving needs 90% of the time and I expect to drop my annual gas bill from around 1500/year to 750/year at current gas and electricity prices in California. I can’t see any reason why I won’t be driving it 10 years from now.
Would a battery upgrade or DIY refurbishment be possible Randy? If other people want to see that too it would be cool 🤔 I bet you could extend that range to 60 or even hundred miles by DIYing something 🤘🏽
All Leaf lovers wished Nissan would sell new replacement batteries at a reasonable cost. But they won't because they want to sell new cars. They will sell new ones for About $12,000. Junk yards also sell replacements but there's waiting lists.
Love love love my Leaf!!! If the charge or display goes a bit wonky 1st. Thing is CHECK THE 12 VDC. FOR HOW GOOD THE 12 VDC BATTERY IS .... The 12 vdc. Battery runs the electronics.... Leaf Spy Pro is a GOOD INVESTMENT!!!!
Last month I bought a 2013 Leaf SV with 41k miles, Bose stereo, 360° camera, for $2,000! I love this car. It’s awesome for daily errands around town. My teens want to take it from me, to save themselves gas.
Hey Randy if your wondering, the light button underneath the heated steering wheel button, its the manual adjustment for the headlights so you can point them in what direction you want. Not sure what the other button is for in the middle, the beeping is to warn pedestrians of the car at low speeds because there is no engine so they wont here it.
I still have my 2011 leaf SL and still running fine. Never had an issue. After all the years and 160,000 miles I am now getting about 65 miles on a charge. We still use it about 3 times a week because our main transport it a Tesla now.
Bought this exact model back in December. I’m in Wisconsin. I had 9 bars. Temps below 32F have a serious impact. My total range fully charged was 30 miles. Sold it the same week I bought it.
I’m an EV owner, and, the only thing really bad with the leaf was the battery degradation. Since they didn’t have active cooling systems for the battery, they would degrade way faster than the others out at the time. For example, I had a 2014 Fiat 500e and had almost no degradation in 8 years. But the Leafs were cutting edge and good quality cars. Tons of them were sold. I would have gotten one except for the battery degradation issues. I now own a 2017 Bolt with 250 miles range and the new battery since GM replaced all of them for free, so my EV experience so far has been really good. Also, the charger is built into the car. The cable that comes with the cars is called an EVSE and it’s just a smart extension cord. The car takes the AC power, converts it and then charges the battery. Now, there is the DC fast charge port too on many of the newer cars. These are where an outside charger and converter makes the DC power and then basically injects it into the battery, since the battery is DC. I think the older Leafs had Chademo and the newer cars have DCFC? Anyway, just some random thoughts about the EV’s. I love them so far. Keeping my ICE cars, but def prefer driving the EV. I never heard of anyone saying they hate the Leaf. The Prius is the one everyone makes fun of. I find the Leaf to even have good styling. The Prius’s were ugly in my opinion, or at least the early versions were. Both cars were good quality tho!
Like you said yourself - City car. The older they get the more critical that you keep the speed (and acceleration) DOWN, and don't use AirCon/Heater - if you keep the speed below 30mph, you'll achieve the original Guess-o-meter range. Do you have Off-Peak (overnight cheap-rate) electrics in Oakie ? - It's a steal ! Alternatively re-charge only at Workplace (FoC?!).
Good score mate. If you want, Look into 62kw battery upgrade if you ever want to have one for yourself with long range for cheap. DIY battery upgrade is cheaper and there is plenty of documentation online how to do it. Cheers!
Hey Randy, the little circle port under the black flap is an AUX port, for connecting an iPod or such. Always love seeing sight unseen stuff and this seems a great deal!
I think the thing you thought was a power outlet was an auxiliary port for music. You plug in a double-sided cord into the car and the other into the earphone jack on your phone (old school) and play your music throughout the car
Great video to see a non-EV person's take on an 11 year old EV. I look forward to your follow up as you learn more about the car. But yeah, even with some battery calibration, going over 60MPH is going to limit the car's usefulness to you. But someone in town could do just fine on it, as you mentioned. A newer, larger battery would definitely make more useful to you. The MAJOR problem with the car is Chademo. It's a dying standard in the US, and the chargers are often in obscure locations. That's probably why these cars are valued so low... Still, a useful city car. I could see one of these being a great first car for Teenagers.
See if you can have jehu garcia to guest on your channel. The man is a battery GURU. I love the Leaf. The voice notifications are reminiscent of Nissan's voice feature on mid 80s Nissan 300ZXs and Maximas.
Although the range has a lot left to be desired, you can't deny that you got a really cheap car that's not too old and "Hooptied'. Wonder how much range you'll get back if you replace just a few of the dead battery cells. I'm sure you can get at least 60 miles!
You got a steal at that price. The reason why people aren't buying them like crazy is the range. Once we hit 500 miles per change, then it will happen.
That's why I like my Prius so much as a commuter... I get the benefit of averaging 48 to 50 mpg on every tank, and no range anxiety because there are gas stations everywhere. No, they're not attractive or fast cars. But for the purpose of having a comfortable car that is cheap to run and carries a good amount of cargo with seats folded down, it's great.
Randy, I looked at a leaf because of the value but I needed more range. So I went with a Ford C Max plug in Hybrid. I get around 10 to 15 miles on all electric for city driving and 40ish mpg when in Hybrid mode, Good buy on the leaf. Carvana is listing them over 10K for a 2012 with 48k miles. Great revenue!! Looking forward to the follow up.
If the cost isn't too much to replace the batteries, consider doing that. It would make great video content. You could show how to replace them. Would be a learning video for anyone wanting to get this car and replace the batteries. Would help to know if it truly is worth buying one of these cars.
Great video. I am not an EV guy but find it interesting that they are now at this price... For a bit of fun I might have a go at one as well for a local run around, to the shops to buy bread, milk etc. Otherwise a good car for the kids as they can not really go out of town or Hoon around doing races, yip a good first car for the Kids!
I used to own a 2014 Leaf. I regret selling it, great car honestly. I HIGHLY recommend getting an ODB2 reader bluetooth or wifi reader and an app called Leaf Spy. It will give you so much info about the battery on this thing and exact battery health. Highly recommend. I would love to see you do a DIY battery replacement on it. I think it would be something different on the channel and make this a very serviceable car for either your self or the next owner. (and incrase it's resale value quiet a bit!)
I have a 2015 Nissan Leaf. Love it. Use it to run around town. Charges fast. I have a charger at home. The batteries can be upgraded to a 200 miles range. Currently have 80-100.
I respect your honest and unbiased review. Also, thank you for giving Nissan a try. I remember a while back you stated you don’t like Nissan. God bless you and your family
Enjoyed watching your video. Just owned a Leaf from 2013. Also bought sight unseen. I have a battery with 9 bars and will try it out in the near future. Good luck with your Leaf. It has exactly the color I wanted. Ultimately it became a beautiful white one.
I almost bought one of those a few. years ago. They are not that bad. I’d like one to use to run around town and save some money lol. I keep looking for a cheap one that the battery still holds charge. You got a good deal on that one. Love seeing Roxy. Also if you look online that model year leaf with more miles then that has on it is going for around 8500 dollars
The concept that EVs are not worth it unless charged using 100% renewable energy is not true. EVs use their fuel more efficiently than ICEs, losing less energy to heat. So throughout the lifetime of the vehicle, the energy savings through driving eventually outweigh and surpass the emissions from manufacturing/mining metals/shipping the vehicle. Check the MIT study which found an EV is environmentally better than ICEs in most of the world, except for places like Poland with *very heavy* coal use.
The thing you found at 5:32 - that's for adjusting your headlight height. Has been mandatory in the EU for a number of years. You're supposed to lower your headlights when the car is carrying a heavy load in the back so you don't dazzle oncoming drivers.
I used to drive a tow truck in a suburb of a major city. A local family bought a leaf for the wife who worked locally. I towed the car 3 times, and don't know if any other drivers in the fleet towed it, but each time the car ran out of battery power within 2 miles from home. When the wife refused to drive it and took the husband's car...it was traded within the next week.
The leaf was expensive and it is ugly but it's not a bad car... apart from the batteries lacking cooling which results in dead batteries after a decade or so like that one here. Such a dumb move that was by Nissan. Maybe you could replace the battery also. Refurbished ones cost like $1500 or so. 17:30 that's not true though. I'm not an electric car fanatic either but they are more enviromentally friendly even with all the extra manufacturing costs. And yes they're greener even when the electricity comes mostly from coal which in many places isn't going to be the case much longer.
I love my 2012 SV so much (bought used in 2016 for 10k) that I decided to hang on to it as a backup car for short trips after buying my 2023 Bolt EUV last month. My Leaf only has 8 bars left on the battery that was replaced under warranty in 2017 and no fast charging. Nice to have when charging the Bolt or for any short trips. Hoping cheap battery replacements will be a thing at some point in the future.
Perhaps you could keep your eyes open for a too-wrecked-to-rebuild late model Lief with a good battery? Of course in saying this, I have no idea how difficult a battery swap would be. I also like the idea of just replacing the weak cells. In any event, fantastic video Randy!
I’m not a big EV fan but the GM/Saturn EV1 is my favorite (because it’s GMs first and basically a Saturn imo) but this is close 2nd. This Leaf is a lot of car for the money
I've been driving my 2011 Leaf since I purchased it new in 2012. This car is very reliable and even though there is some maintenance that needs to be done on the car most of it can be done yourself. My leaf has been to the dealer once for a warranty issue. I currently have 8 bars and showing 65 mile range which is actually around 50 to 55 miles. Carvana offered me $995.00 a few years ago when i thought of getting rid of it and 6 months ago offered me $495.00 so I'll continue driving the car until I can't make my commute. If you can find a leaf cheap it's nice skipping the gas pump. The 11 + years I've driven the car all the charging has been at home. I've never checked to see how much it cost me a month to charge the car since I didn't notice much of a change in my electric bill. I'm in Florida and my insurance on the car did go up from $42.00 per month to $65.00 . The only downside I've has with this 2011 Leasf is the heater, the heater uses too much energy and takes forever to heat up so I've never used it. The A/C works perfect and a must have in Florida.
Ours is a 2014, it has about 120 km / 75 miles of real world range. Living in northen Sweden in Europe it works great. And cross country is no problem, but slow. Has lost 10% range in 9 years, still 12 bars left. It is a great car!
To be honest, you might want to give EV cars their first charge outside if you can. You never know the electrical state of things and why it was at the auction. Could be a fire waiting to happen if left unattended.
Should be LEV - Little Electric Vehicle. In Australia the 2023 model has a price range from $34,450 to $41,500 USD and a fully electric range of 212 miles. I think they look smicko. A good buy. And Randy the 2012 retails here for between $5,945 to $8,325 so you got a bargain. But the range is estimated at 73 miles but I guess that is when the battery is new. So its for a granny who needs to go shopping or maybe a student.
Get a second hand 40KW battery from a face-lift Leaf and fit it. So many people doing it and will give it a new lease of life. Some are even fitting a 60KW battery out of salvage Leaf's.
New feature!! In addition to unmatched entertainment value, now educational as well!! Today's lesson: the adverse affects of buying an auction car sight-unseen.
before juni 2013 this was terrable model! i got: leaf dec 2013 AHR=49,19 SOH=75,25 396V HX=62,52 ODO=148,868 KM 299 QCs 5610 L2 220V every day to 100% CHARGING AT HOME! 2,2KWH i drive 60km a day... own it for 4 years now every end of the week when the charge is full i pull the plug out and i put it in again for 2 times! rebalancing every week :) between 15 celcius and 25 celsius its 1% a KM with 80 kmh!
We have one and use it as a second vehicle and for all local trips in our area. It’s excellent for that and easy to drive and park. It’s surprisingly roomy especially with the hatch. The 120v charger should have come with the car and is usually contained in a bag on the right side inside the hatch.
@@AutoAuctionRebuilds randy have you ever a big v8 truck get good gas mileage i drove that 3/4 truck home with it pissing transmission fliud and me dumping more trans fuld in drove 300 miles from my grandmas home to my house and it lasted all the way home on only a half tank of gas full tank is 34 gallons only stopped to put in 4 gallons of gas when i was 40 min away and it would still would have had fuel
It ain't too bad, sadly replacing the batteries wouldn't make much sense because Leaves sell for what, 8-9k tops? Don't know the market for those. So let's say 4.1k + ~3-4k for the batteries if you replace them yourself and don't run into any more problems..
I leased a 2015 and really liked the car. The looks grow on you. As many have stated, the range is THE limiting factor. Nissan blew it on battery cooling. If they did, the batteries would last for years.
I had a 2011 Nissan Leaf which I sold in January and bought a new Leaf on January 2023. I will say that the battery will last longer on trickle charge. My battery was too low in cold weather so I bought a new one. I saw your dashboard and you have a pretty good battery capacity.
The only problem I have with the leaf is that the range is pretty poor, but to be fair this car is the first of its kind to bring back the EVs into the market. its a pretty capable little car, its got good cargo space , its quick and you can pretty much do a lot within 60 miles really if you're driving responsibly combined with driving on eco mode + b mode . its especially great if you work close to your home, so you pretty much spend nothing on gas!
Randy! Have a dedicated EV series where you buy all the EV vehicles! Leaf, Tesla, Prius, bolt, volt, etc! 🙏🙏🙏😅👌💪. I would love to see that and plus we would all learn because we know nothing about EV. I grew up with V8’s in grandmas car (madea special)
I’d happily let it sit beside my Model 3 Performance, especially when my commute is less than 5 miles (to and back) total. If the car has 30 miles, it’s plenty enough. Plus it saves my Model 3 from getting city beat ups and tire replacements.
The small bars next to the charge level indicates state of health. You likely have6 or 7 bars out of 12. That means around 50% remaining battery capacity. I had one of these with a perfect battery and 70 miles is easy to get 100 miles in summers no wind max 45 moh is doable. It is actually a nice car - just very short range
This was fun to watch ! lol I had an 2013 loved it but the range is sad, I got an 2019 + now with big battery I can drive all over town and on freeway and love it.... for now...hope the battery will last for a long time more. but this old LEAF are fun haha
With the LEAF I recommend NOT DC Fast-charging the car. There's no liquid cooling of any kind so DC Fast charging will rapidly degrade the pack. I have a 2012 LEAF and I only use the wall-plug (trickle charge) to charge it. Love the car a lot though. I'm hoping the liquid cooled battery mod from NZ comes to the US relatively soon.
With 7 bars remaining the battery is basically 50% degraded - the first bar is about 15% the next eleven about 8% each. The range estimate is based on previous driving which is likely less than 40 mph in a city - on the open road, at 60 or 70 will be a lot less. Don't top the battery up to 100% all the time - you will degrade the battery very rapidly.
Thanks for the vid Randy. The future is going to be pretty bleak for the motorist if the powers that be think EVs are the answer. Where do people think the electric comes from to charge these things.
Hardly the most hated EV ever. This car was my entry into the EV market and it was a revelation. I had a 2015 that came off lease in 2016. My wife used it to commute to work daily and we saved a ton of money on fuel. It still had over 90% battery life when I sold it in 2020. I didn't even have to advertise it. They looked a bit odd but its weird looks had a purpose. The headlights were designed for example to cut down on wind noise. As a city car, for urban use, they were pleasant to drive and contrary to popular opinion, these were environmental. No oil changes or oil leaks (read fish kill in streams). More economic in city driving than on hwy. Almost no maintenance. Don't forget regen either. The guessometer is a reflection of recent driving. The predicted range could be better depending on driving style, temperature etc. A great entry into the EV era. By the by, the Eco mode changes the acceleration gradient. Make the acceleration tamer. 88 miles was the EPA estimate if I recall correctly.
Honestly the Leaf isn’t that bad. Good features and decent torque, the range isn’t that good but it’s a good car to just run small errands with.
I agree.
I too agree. Revolutionary car!
Mine was perfect for back and forth to work, etc. Cheap transportation, and it was nice on the inside.
What's decent about it. It's ugly there is zero style. It's as fugly as a prius
Video idea: replace the battery! Plot twist: put a 40 KW battery in it. 😊
I had a 2012 Leaf, I really enjoyed it. I bought it used, 4 years old, with 34,000 miles. Sold it last year with 80,000 on it. Loved that car! (Nissan did replace the main battery under warranty in 2017.. 😊) In 6 years, I put a set of tires on it. That’s it. It’s smooth, quiet, no gas, no maintenance…
I've had a 2013 leaf for 10 years, and I still have from 63 to 73 miles range depending on how I drive the day before. It depends on how careful you drive. I don't drive fast, and I try to avoid the freeway.
A benefit to buying used EV's that not often talked about is the fact that most of them are garage kept cars (Since they need to be charged up over night). So used EV's are typically in better condition than their ICEV counterparts.
I would love to see a battery swap on that Leaf. With a good battery it'd be a killer deal. Especially considering the recent price volatility of gasoline. It would make a great parts-getter car.
I love when you buy sight unseen, Because you literally take us on an adventure with AMAZING content! I know not the smartest, but it’s always AMAZING content on the journey!
Glad you enjoy it!
The anticipation, the nervousness and the commentary to find out the driving range after charging was epic. I was there with ya brother.
The leaf is a perfect car if your commute to work and go home if your trip is less than 20 miles in total. Since every night you can just plug it in, and by the end of the week you’ve got the whole weekend to have the car get a full charge.
I agree. I live in the SF Bay Area. Everything is close. Unless you work 30 miles or more to and from work. I probably would drive 10 miles and that would be average for all my errands. In my city alone there are charging stations everywhere. Seems like every shopping center, a lot of fast food have a charging station. 3-mile radius here by my home must be 50 charging stations. Actually I`m a little mad that there are so many charging stations. They take up spaces near all the entrances. Seems to me if you have an EV, you get premium parking privileges.
And this is NOT a April fools joke!!!
Nah just real content lol
@@AutoAuctionRebuilds And a excellent way to start off my weekend!
I think it would be super interesting to see you replace the battery on it, Randy! I’d love to watch you convert it to the 2017 model battery. Kind of a how to. It might get quite a few views too. I’d love to see it!
Nissan never set up a battery refurbishment program in North America as they have in Europe. So a new battery will run around $13,500. , if you can get one.
@@don-cw1yzit’s easy to find a totaled out leaf for the battery donor car
7 out of 12 bars is not bad for the year but the cost to replace them cost more than the car is worth but be a great first car for a teen.
Not if you replace it yourself.
@@AutoAuctionRebuilds True 👍 I own a 14 and love these little cars saved over $2,000 a year from the little to no maintenance
There is one bar left. Good luck getting 6 real miles of driving
If you replace the battery the value will probably go up. I think people will start flipping 1st gen EVs
@@AutoAuctionRebuilds I just got a fully loaded 2013 SV in Jet Black..Bad Ass car..I have 7 battery bars..Paid $4998 all in..Super gas saver for me..Most all my town driving is less than 25 miles..LOVE IT TO DEATH!
Love the Leaf, people don’t like the looks, but it looks that way to be aerodynamic , people don’t like the range, but it’s perfect for day to day driving, and it’s one of the best built and reliable cars that Nissan made. People that have bought them used for $5000 to $10,000 dollars say it’s so reliable and so little maintenance that they feel like they got a free car! I always tell people to find a used Leaf that might only have 50,000 miles instead of buying an old money pit that has 150,000 miles and need work every month.
It’s actually a pretty fast car from 0-40. And fun to drive. Like a big golf cart.
Love your excitement for cars Randy. No matter the price, $500 or $50,000, you love them all. I admire your spirit
Nice car and built with a purpose in mind.and that was to use it around the city. Once again we get to see the more unusual cars on the channel and to me that is what makes it interesting. Thank you for another great car and the usual wonderful video. Now its off to see what a newer battery costs for a Nissan Leaf.
This is the best car I ever purchased. I purchased my 16 Leaf 3yrs ago for 7k and I put over 35k miles it's worth $10,000 now, and the car has never been in the shop for anything, unlike my Mercedes cost me $500 for a set of headlights and $1500 for a fuel pump. Remember this is a city car, not a backroad car
I’m not gonna lie Randy I loved this episode! Really, hope you change your mind and allow us to follow along while you put a battery in it.
I drove a blue one at the auctions many years ago. I thought it looked better then the first Gen prius IMO. The wind didn't help the range much. It's in great condition Randy. Just like you said, its a little city grocery getter with the store being 4 blocks away. You can put a hitch on the back & add a trailer with a generator for long hauls ( kidding) it's cool for what it is👌. Salute Randy🎬🚘👍😎
Here in New Zealand, we see these cars everywhere beside Tesla's, the leafs make decent quick a to b cars for groceries, picking up kids at school ect.
The Leaf has a bad rap for reasons irrelevant for a lot of people. If you're going to have more than one vehicle, so you don't need to rely on it for long trips, it's a really nice practical daily driver.
Just bought a 2012 Nissan Leaf SL off of Facebook Marketplace. 23k miles 9 bars of battery life, $3500 total cost including tax and registration, perfect interior, a bit sun burned on top surfaces and came with full manuals and a charging cable. Replaced the tires and had a locksmith make me a new fob. Nice car for my wife to drive around town. Our main car is my Tesla Model 3 Stealth that we do quite a few road trips in every year. I figure the leaf will do fine until the $17,500 after rebate Tesla Model 2 comes out.
I just bought a 2015 LEAF with 25,000 miles on it. It has been trickle charged for its entire life and the battery was still in new condition with 12 capacity bars. I paid $9000 for it and I have discovered that the estimated mileage on a full charge of 85 miles is often optimistic. I’ve never gotten more than about 65. As someone else pointed out, most of these cars are in pretty good condition because they’re often garaged. I can’t believe that at some point there won’t be replacement batteries available and an upgrade to a 40 to 60 kWh battery should be a reasonable option which will give 150 or 200 miles of range. The 60 to 80 miles of range that I currently have fits my driving needs 90% of the time and I expect to drop my annual gas bill from around 1500/year to 750/year at current gas and electricity prices in California. I can’t see any reason why I won’t be driving it 10 years from now.
Would a battery upgrade or DIY refurbishment be possible Randy? If other people want to see that too it would be cool 🤔 I bet you could extend that range to 60 or even hundred miles by DIYing something 🤘🏽
All Leaf lovers wished Nissan would sell new replacement batteries at a reasonable cost. But they won't because they want to sell new cars. They will sell new ones for About $12,000. Junk yards also sell replacements but there's waiting lists.
Check out Dala´s EV Repair
@@timothykeith1367 thanks! I'll check 'em ou!
Love love love my Leaf!!! If the charge or display goes a bit wonky 1st. Thing is CHECK THE 12 VDC. FOR HOW GOOD THE 12 VDC BATTERY IS .... The 12 vdc. Battery runs the electronics.... Leaf Spy Pro is a GOOD INVESTMENT!!!!
Roxy is such a sweetheart , you are very kind to her .Randy you are a good man 👍
Roxy is adorable
Last month I bought a 2013 Leaf SV with 41k miles, Bose stereo, 360° camera, for $2,000!
I love this car. It’s awesome for daily errands around town. My teens want to take it from me, to save themselves gas.
That's an insanely good price. You could probably sell that today for $8k
Hey Randy if your wondering, the light button underneath the heated steering wheel button, its the manual adjustment for the headlights so you can point them in what direction you want. Not sure what the other button is for in the middle, the beeping is to warn pedestrians of the car at low speeds because there is no engine so they wont here it.
I still have my 2011 leaf SL and still running fine. Never had an issue. After all the years and 160,000 miles I am now getting about 65 miles on a charge. We still use it about 3 times a week because our main transport it a Tesla now.
Bought this exact model back in December. I’m in Wisconsin. I had 9 bars. Temps below 32F have a serious impact. My total range fully charged was 30 miles. Sold it the same week I bought it.
I own a 2012 leaf .I figure 30 miles between charging stations. Have had it for 9 years love it. Bought a 2022 Ford ET350
I’m an EV owner, and, the only thing really bad with the leaf was the battery degradation. Since they didn’t have active cooling systems for the battery, they would degrade way faster than the others out at the time. For example, I had a 2014 Fiat 500e and had almost no degradation in 8 years. But the Leafs were cutting edge and good quality cars. Tons of them were sold. I would have gotten one except for the battery degradation issues. I now own a 2017 Bolt with 250 miles range and the new battery since GM replaced all of them for free, so my EV experience so far has been really good. Also, the charger is built into the car. The cable that comes with the cars is called an EVSE and it’s just a smart extension cord. The car takes the AC power, converts it and then charges the battery. Now, there is the DC fast charge port too on many of the newer cars. These are where an outside charger and converter makes the DC power and then basically injects it into the battery, since the battery is DC. I think the older Leafs had Chademo and the newer cars have DCFC? Anyway, just some random thoughts about the EV’s. I love them so far. Keeping my ICE cars, but def prefer driving the EV. I never heard of anyone saying they hate the Leaf. The Prius is the one everyone makes fun of. I find the Leaf to even have good styling. The Prius’s were ugly in my opinion, or at least the early versions were. Both cars were good quality tho!
Like you said yourself - City car. The older they get the more critical that you keep the speed (and acceleration) DOWN, and don't use AirCon/Heater - if you keep the speed below 30mph, you'll achieve the original Guess-o-meter range. Do you have Off-Peak (overnight cheap-rate) electrics in Oakie ? - It's a steal ! Alternatively re-charge only at Workplace (FoC?!).
The love child of a Versa and a Juke with a little Murano in the rear 😊 I love the current generation Leaf 🍃
Good score mate. If you want, Look into 62kw battery upgrade if you ever want to have one for yourself with long range for cheap. DIY battery upgrade is cheaper and there is plenty of documentation online how to do it.
Cheers!
Hey Randy, the little circle port under the black flap is an AUX port, for connecting an iPod or such. Always love seeing sight unseen stuff and this seems a great deal!
I think the thing you thought was a power outlet was an auxiliary port for music. You plug in a double-sided cord into the car and the other into the earphone jack on your phone (old school) and play your music throughout the car
Great video to see a non-EV person's take on an 11 year old EV. I look forward to your follow up as you learn more about the car. But yeah, even with some battery calibration, going over 60MPH is going to limit the car's usefulness to you. But someone in town could do just fine on it, as you mentioned. A newer, larger battery would definitely make more useful to you. The MAJOR problem with the car is Chademo. It's a dying standard in the US, and the chargers are often in obscure locations. That's probably why these cars are valued so low...
Still, a useful city car. I could see one of these being a great first car for Teenagers.
See if you can have jehu garcia to guest on your channel. The man is a battery GURU. I love the Leaf. The voice notifications are reminiscent of Nissan's voice feature on mid 80s Nissan 300ZXs and Maximas.
Although the range has a lot left to be desired, you can't deny that you got a really cheap car that's not too old and "Hooptied'.
Wonder how much range you'll get back if you replace just a few of the dead battery cells. I'm sure you can get at least 60 miles!
You got a steal at that price. The reason why people aren't buying them like crazy is the range. Once we hit 500 miles per change, then it will happen.
once they get to 10 min full charge, And a trickle charge port for solar panels, then ok.
Had one in 2012 kept it for 3 yrs. We put 104,000 miles on it in 3yrs. Right before we traded it in battery was replaced under warranty.
You for sure got your money out of it!
Really that Leaf looks very nice, even being sight unseen it looks very nice and at least it has more than 50 miles.
$6,500 to $7,500
According to Recurrent Auto, the cost of a Nissan Leaf battery replacement (2022 model) ranges from $6,500 to $7,500
That's why I like my Prius so much as a commuter... I get the benefit of averaging 48 to 50 mpg on every tank, and no range anxiety because there are gas stations everywhere. No, they're not attractive or fast cars. But for the purpose of having a comfortable car that is cheap to run and carries a good amount of cargo with seats folded down, it's great.
Wow dude, you went out of your way and took one for the team, I feel like I just owe you a thumbs up,
Randy, I looked at a leaf because of the value but I needed more range. So I went with a Ford C Max plug in Hybrid. I get around 10 to 15 miles on all electric for city driving and 40ish mpg when in Hybrid mode, Good buy on the leaf. Carvana is listing them over 10K for a 2012 with 48k miles. Great revenue!! Looking forward to the follow up.
If the cost isn't too much to replace the batteries, consider doing that. It would make great video content. You could show how to replace them. Would be a learning video for anyone wanting to get this car and replace the batteries. Would help to know if it truly is worth buying one of these cars.
Nice to see some new content on the channel.
More to come!
Great video. I am not an EV guy but find it interesting that they are now at this price... For a bit of fun I might have a go at one as well for a local run around, to the shops to buy bread, milk etc. Otherwise a good car for the kids as they can not really go out of town or Hoon around doing races, yip a good first car for the Kids!
I used to own a 2014 Leaf. I regret selling it, great car honestly.
I HIGHLY recommend getting an ODB2 reader bluetooth or wifi reader and an app called Leaf Spy. It will give you so much info about the battery on this thing and exact battery health. Highly recommend.
I would love to see you do a DIY battery replacement on it. I think it would be something different on the channel and make this a very serviceable car for either your self or the next owner. (and incrase it's resale value quiet a bit!)
I have a 2015 Nissan Leaf. Love it. Use it to run around town. Charges fast. I have a charger at home. The batteries can be upgraded to a 200 miles range. Currently have 80-100.
You keep heading the Nissan Leaf because I love it. I have two now I have a 2014 and 2020. You just go ahead and keep heating it more for me.
I think these would be a lot of fun, if I had the room I might buy one. Even better is the spark EV that had 400 lb ft of torque on the early ones.
I respect your honest and unbiased review. Also, thank you for giving Nissan a try. I remember a while back you stated you don’t like Nissan. God bless you and your family
Enjoyed watching your video. Just owned a Leaf from 2013. Also bought sight unseen. I have a battery with 9 bars and will try it out in the near future. Good luck with your Leaf. It has exactly the color I wanted. Ultimately it became a beautiful white one.
I almost bought one of those a few. years ago. They are not that bad. I’d like one to use to run around town and save some money lol. I keep looking for a cheap one that the battery still holds charge. You got a good deal on that one. Love seeing Roxy. Also if you look online that model year leaf with more miles then that has on it is going for around 8500 dollars
The concept that EVs are not worth it unless charged using 100% renewable energy is not true. EVs use their fuel more efficiently than ICEs, losing less energy to heat. So throughout the lifetime of the vehicle, the energy savings through driving eventually outweigh and surpass the emissions from manufacturing/mining metals/shipping the vehicle. Check the MIT study which found an EV is environmentally better than ICEs in most of the world, except for places like Poland with *very heavy* coal use.
Hahahahaha awesome Video Randy 🤘🏽😊 I could feel the range anxiety through the video 😅
The thing you found at 5:32 - that's for adjusting your headlight height. Has been mandatory in the EU for a number of years. You're supposed to lower your headlights when the car is carrying a heavy load in the back so you don't dazzle oncoming drivers.
I used to drive a tow truck in a suburb of a major city. A local family bought a leaf for the wife who worked locally. I towed the car 3 times, and don't know if any other drivers in the fleet towed it, but each time the car ran out of battery power within 2 miles from home. When the wife refused to drive it and took the husband's car...it was traded within the next week.
The leaf was expensive and it is ugly but it's not a bad car... apart from the batteries lacking cooling which results in dead batteries after a decade or so like that one here. Such a dumb move that was by Nissan. Maybe you could replace the battery also. Refurbished ones cost like $1500 or so.
17:30 that's not true though. I'm not an electric car fanatic either but they are more enviromentally friendly even with all the extra manufacturing costs. And yes they're greener even when the electricity comes mostly from coal which in many places isn't going to be the case much longer.
I love my 2012 SV so much (bought used in 2016 for 10k) that I decided to hang on to it as a backup car for short trips after buying my 2023 Bolt EUV last month. My Leaf only has 8 bars left on the battery that was replaced under warranty in 2017 and no fast charging. Nice to have when charging the Bolt or for any short trips. Hoping cheap battery replacements will be a thing at some point in the future.
Perhaps you could keep your eyes open for a too-wrecked-to-rebuild late model Lief with a good battery? Of course in saying this, I have no idea how difficult a battery swap would be.
I also like the idea of just replacing the weak cells.
In any event, fantastic video Randy!
I’m not a big EV fan but the GM/Saturn EV1 is my favorite (because it’s GMs first and basically a Saturn imo) but this is close 2nd. This Leaf is a lot of car for the money
I put almost 100,000 miles on my new 2013 Nissan Leaf SL. Mine was an early Tennessee built model. I loved it.
I've been driving my 2011 Leaf since I purchased it new in 2012. This car is very reliable and even though there is some maintenance that needs to be done on the car most of it can be done yourself. My leaf has been to the dealer once for a warranty issue. I currently have 8 bars and showing 65 mile range which is actually around 50 to 55 miles. Carvana offered me $995.00 a few years ago when i thought of getting rid of it and 6 months ago offered me $495.00 so I'll continue driving the car until I can't make my commute. If you can find a leaf cheap it's nice skipping the gas pump. The 11 + years I've driven the car all the charging has been at home. I've never checked to see how much it cost me a month to charge the car since I didn't notice much of a change in my electric bill. I'm in Florida and my insurance on the car did go up from $42.00 per month to $65.00 . The only downside I've has with this 2011 Leasf is the heater, the heater uses too much energy and takes forever to heat up so I've never used it. The A/C works perfect and a must have in Florida.
That Leaf is so clean. Are you looking to do the 62 kWh battery or the 40kWh one?
Ours is a 2014, it has about 120 km / 75 miles of real world range. Living in northen Sweden in Europe it works great. And cross country is no problem, but slow. Has lost 10% range in 9 years, still 12 bars left. It is a great car!
Hi Randy. I enjoyed your video. I believe that you should let the wind blow that Leaf on down the road. Wishing you better luck with the range rover.
Good morning Randy. The 2012 Nissan Leaf is a great looking car. Hopefully your charger will work.
I hope this channel never ends and keeps spreading happiness.
To be honest, you might want to give EV cars their first charge outside if you can. You never know the electrical state of things and why it was at the auction. Could be a fire waiting to happen if left unattended.
Honestly I love my leaf and I like the fact you can customize it to your liking if you are tech and mechanical savvy.
Randy, Beautiful Leaf!! Have Fun with Your New Toy!!! ❤
Should be LEV - Little Electric Vehicle. In Australia the 2023 model has a price range from $34,450 to $41,500 USD and a fully electric range of 212 miles. I think they look smicko. A good buy.
And Randy the 2012 retails here for between $5,945 to $8,325 so you got a bargain. But the range is estimated at 73 miles but I guess that is when the battery is new. So its for a granny who needs to go shopping or maybe a student.
Get a second hand 40KW battery from a face-lift Leaf and fit it. So many people doing it and will give it a new lease of life. Some are even fitting a 60KW battery out of salvage Leaf's.
New feature!! In addition to unmatched entertainment value, now educational as well!! Today's lesson: the adverse affects of buying an auction car sight-unseen.
before juni 2013 this was terrable model!
i got:
leaf dec 2013
AHR=49,19
SOH=75,25 396V
HX=62,52
ODO=148,868 KM
299 QCs
5610 L2 220V every day to 100% CHARGING AT HOME! 2,2KWH
i drive 60km a day... own it for 4 years now
every end of the week when the charge is full i pull the plug out and i put it in again for 2 times! rebalancing every week :)
between 15 celcius and 25 celsius its 1% a KM with 80 kmh!
Randy will you be getting that other battery for the Leaf? If so, are you installing it? cause I'm interested in buying one in the future hopefully
We have one and use it as a second vehicle and for all local trips in our area. It’s excellent for that and easy to drive and park. It’s surprisingly roomy especially with the hatch. The 120v charger should have come with the car and is usually contained in a bag on the right side inside the hatch.
Great video as always! Loved the preview! Keep it going Randy!!!!
Thanks for watching!
@@AutoAuctionRebuilds randy have you ever a big v8 truck get good gas mileage i drove that 3/4 truck home with it pissing transmission fliud and me dumping more trans fuld in drove 300 miles from my grandmas home to my house and it lasted all the way home on only a half tank of gas full tank is 34 gallons only stopped to put in 4 gallons of gas when i was 40 min away and it would still would have had fuel
It ain't too bad, sadly replacing the batteries wouldn't make much sense because Leaves sell for what, 8-9k tops? Don't know the market for those. So let's say 4.1k + ~3-4k for the batteries if you replace them yourself and don't run into any more problems..
You got a bargain. Keep it for your short distance daily drive. This car is a beast.
I leased a 2015 and really liked the car. The looks grow on you. As many have stated, the range is THE limiting factor. Nissan blew it on battery cooling. If they did, the batteries would last for years.
If “take one for the team was a person” :) my commute is about 15 miles a day so I would consider it but probably not for $4100. Great vid as always!
Thanks for the change Randy. Even in the city, I would want more range. Maybe video on a new battery is in order?
Neighbor has a 2012 leaf and in the winter the range is 30 miles.
I had a 2011 Nissan Leaf which I sold in January and bought a new Leaf on January 2023.
I will say that the battery will last longer on trickle charge. My battery was too low in cold weather so I bought a new one. I saw your dashboard and you have a pretty good battery capacity.
The only problem I have with the leaf is that the range is pretty poor, but to be fair this car is the first of its kind to bring back the EVs into the market. its a pretty capable little car, its got good cargo space , its quick and you can pretty much do a lot within 60 miles really if you're driving responsibly combined with driving on eco mode + b mode . its especially great if you work close to your home, so you pretty much spend nothing on gas!
Randy! Have a dedicated EV series where you buy all the EV vehicles! Leaf, Tesla, Prius, bolt, volt, etc! 🙏🙏🙏😅👌💪. I would love to see that and plus we would all learn because we know nothing about EV. I grew up with V8’s in grandmas car (madea special)
I’d happily let it sit beside my Model 3 Performance, especially when my commute is less than 5 miles (to and back) total. If the car has 30 miles, it’s plenty enough. Plus it saves my Model 3 from getting city beat ups and tire replacements.
nice video reminds me not to buy a EV and keep my old car
The small bars next to the charge level indicates state of health.
You likely have6 or 7 bars out of 12.
That means around 50% remaining battery capacity.
I had one of these with a perfect battery and 70 miles is easy to get 100 miles in summers no wind max 45 moh is doable.
It is actually a nice car - just very short range
While you're roughly right, the bars aren't 1/12 each. First bar is 15% while the rest is 7.5% each. So this one is at 100-15-7.5-7.5-7.5-7.5= 55%
This was fun to watch ! lol I had an 2013 loved it but the range is sad, I got an 2019 + now with big battery I can drive all over town and on freeway and love it.... for now...hope the battery will last for a long time more. but this old LEAF are fun haha
With the LEAF I recommend NOT DC Fast-charging the car. There's no liquid cooling of any kind so DC Fast charging will rapidly degrade the pack.
I have a 2012 LEAF and I only use the wall-plug (trickle charge) to charge it. Love the car a lot though. I'm hoping the liquid cooled battery mod from NZ comes to the US relatively soon.
That is a kind of car or in old lady go to the supermarket come back and go to the doctors appointment..lol😂
With 7 bars remaining the battery is basically 50% degraded - the first bar is about 15% the next eleven about 8% each. The range estimate is based on previous driving which is likely less than 40 mph in a city - on the open road, at 60 or 70 will be a lot less. Don't top the battery up to 100% all the time - you will degrade the battery very rapidly.
Thanks for the vid Randy. The future is going to be pretty bleak for the motorist if the powers that be think EVs are the answer. Where do people think the electric comes from to charge these things.
same place the electric to pump and refine oil to make fuel comes from.
I have a 2015 Leaf. Love it. Theres currently a 30% federal rebate on used and new EVs. Got mine for a song❤.
Hardly the most hated EV ever. This car was my entry into the EV market and it was a revelation. I had a 2015 that came off lease in 2016. My wife used it to commute to work daily and we saved a ton of money on fuel. It still had over 90% battery life when I sold it in 2020. I didn't even have to advertise it. They looked a bit odd but its weird looks had a purpose. The headlights were designed for example to cut down on wind noise. As a city car, for urban use, they were pleasant to drive and contrary to popular opinion, these were environmental. No oil changes or oil leaks (read fish kill in streams). More economic in city driving than on hwy. Almost no maintenance. Don't forget regen either. The guessometer is a reflection of recent driving. The predicted range could be better depending on driving style, temperature etc. A great entry into the EV era. By the by, the Eco mode changes the acceleration gradient. Make the acceleration tamer. 88 miles was the EPA estimate if I recall correctly.
The row of lights on top of the dash are quite useful. I had this model and colour.