Nissan Leaf (used)

lawred2

Wifey and I are pondering about a second car.

It would solely be for short suburban trips to and from Dart P+R/shops etc would be altogether unusual for a long distance journey be needed at the same time that the other car was unavailable (practically zero possibility)

I believe that there is no VRT in bringing cars such as the Leaf in from the UK? Is that the case?

Has anyone brought one over? A cursory look at used leafs over there seems to indicate better value to be had than here i.e. newer and cheaper. If they are exempt from VRT it seems the best route to go.

Has anyone done this? What was their experience?

What are the major pitfalls in buying second hand Leafs? How would you identify a knackered battery?

goz83

lawred2 wrote: »

Wifey and I are pondering about a second car.

You've come to the right place so for info.

lawred2 wrote: »

It would solely be for short suburban trips to and from Dart P+R/shops etc would be altogether unusual for a long distance journey be needed at the same time that the other car was unavailable (practically zero possibility)

Sounds ideal. That's what I use mine for mostly, with occasional longer trips. Dublin to Belfast most recently for example.

lawred2 wrote: »

I believe that there is no VRT in bringing cars such as the Leaf in from the UK? Is that the case?

Not exempt exactly. There is a relief of €5k, which means if you are spending under €35k (omsp), you pay no VRT. So you are safe with almost all EVs.

The car must also have at least 6k klms on the odometer and be at least 6 months old to quality as a used car and avoid VAT.

lawred2 wrote: »

Has anyone brought one over? A cursory look at used leafs over there seems to indicate better value to be had than here i.e. newer and cheaper. If they are exempt from VRT it seems the best route to go.

A few of us on here quite recently, yes. I did in March, as did kceire. mel.b brought in a 30kWh Leaf last month. Search our threads for the details. There is certainly great value to be had in the UK.

lawred2 wrote: »

Has anyone done this? What was their experience?

As above, look at our threads.

lawred2 wrote: »

What are the major pitfalls in buying second hand Leafs?

I'm not really sure there are any tbh. There might be a scratch, or two on the car. The tyres might not be brand new. It might be harder to find your preferred colour. You might hate your petrol/diesel so much that you want another EV (which is what I did less than 3 months after buying the 1st Leaf).

On the positive side, you don't take a huge depreciation hit.

lawred2 wrote: »

How would you identify a knackered battery?

Leaf Spy. It's an APP that lets you check the full battery info when you plug in an OBD dongle to the car. You just won't find a knackered battery though...at least not if buying from 2014 and up. Worst case scenario is that 1 of 12 power bars will be down, but that's unlikely to be the case in a 3 year old Leaf, no matter the mileage.

The real question is what spec you want, and if you want a 3.3, or 6.6 OBC. The 6.6 charges at home twice as fast as the 3.3.

isnottheword

What's your budget? What features are you after?

oppenheimer1

The one pitfall to look out for in the UK is the leased battery, called flex I think. The ads for these models are usually considerably cheaper.

Plenty over there that are battery owned, they are just the little bit more expensive. The older gen 1 leafs suffer more from battery degredation but Nissan worked out those gremlins in the gen. 1.5 and later versions. The lads and ladies here will tell you the easy way to work out which version leaf you're looking at, if I remember correctly it's something to do with the location of Eco button on the steering wheel?

goz83

oppenheimer1 wrote: »

The one pitfall to look out for in the UK is the leased battery, called flex I think. The ads for these models are usually considerably cheaper.

Plenty over there that are battery owned, they are just the little bit more expensive. The older gen 1 leafs suffer more from battery degredation but Nissan worked out those gremlins in the gen. 1.5 and later versions. The lads and ladies here will tell you the easy way to work out which version leaf you're looking at, if I remember correctly it's something to do with the location of Eco button on the steering wheel?

Yes, the eco button is on th right side of the steering wheel in gen 1.5 and there is no eco button in the gen 1. Gen 1 usually have the cream interior and the hand brake is located on the floor console behind the gear selector. Gen 1.5 have a foot brake instead.

Gen 1.5 start from the second half of 2013, so looking from 2014 up rules out the older version.

If you see "flex" or "leased battery" dont bother. Now it is possible for the battery to be purchased, so you could ask, but as I see it, there are plenty of battery owned that will suit your needs.

Soarer

lawred2 wrote: »

Wifey and I are pondering about a second car.

It would solely be for short suburban trips to and from Dart P+R/shops etc would be altogether unusual for a long distance journey be needed at the same time that the other car was unavailable (practically zero possibility)

I believe that there is no VRT in bringing cars such as the Leaf in from the UK? Is that the case?

Has anyone brought one over? A cursory look at used leafs over there seems to indicate better value to be had than here i.e. newer and cheaper. If they are exempt from VRT it seems the best route to go.

Has anyone done this? What was their experience?

What are the major pitfalls in buying second hand Leafs? How would you identify a knackered battery?

Grab this one for €5k, and enjoy the savings.

If it's gonna be the workhorse of the family and only used for the small stuff, there's no point in dropping big money on it.

That's exactly what I did 4 months ago, and I'm loving it.

goz83

Soarer wrote: »

Grab this one for €5k, and enjoy the savings.

If it's gonna be the workhorse of the family and only used for the small stuff, there's no point in dropping big money on it.

That's exactly what I did 4 months ago, and I'm loving it.

Gone

isnottheword

goz83 wrote: »

Gone

Not the only bargain to be had in Galway. Just uploaded video for mine.

lawred2

How many squids?

isnottheword

lawred2 wrote: »

How many squids?

All there in the advert - I guess you may not have been signed in and seen it in my sig? => https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2014-nissan-leaf-acenta-sv-6-6-kw-charging/15915948

Cheapest 2014 advertised in Ireland right now (and that's before you factor in the additional option it has on board i.e. 6.6kW charging - which means that you can charge at an SCP 2x faster than normal).
Cryptocurrency also accepted ;-)