Nissan leaf uk import

Pauldub

Hi all
Just a few questions if anyone can help. I have paid a deposit on a 2016 leaf in Manchester. i plan to travel next week to collect it. Has anyone used transferewise? is it cheaper in the exchange rate? i have read about a chargemycard so that i can access the charging stations enroute, is this an esb card? Not sure how far i would get from Manchester without charging it, all help appreciated.

mel.b

I used currencyfair to transfer my money as I already had an account with them, but transferwise is also likely to be cheaper than the bank.

You will need to download the ecotricity app to pay & charge your car while in the UK. The zap map app is also very useful as it will tell you where the charging points are along the way. Depending on the ferry you are catching, you may also be able to charge on the ferry which may save you from having to charge on the esb chargers for the last part of your trip depending on how far it is then to get home. If you need to charge in ireland, try any card with an RFID chip and if that doesn't work, you can ring e-cars on the number that is on the charger and they will start the charge for you.

Enjoy the trip - I did it at the end of June and it was great fun.

Pauldub

Thanks, very useful, im not sure if the car has a cold pack, its a 2016 acenta, should i pass it by if it doesnt?

mel.b

Not many Acenta's have the cold pack. Mine doesn't. It's just heated seats and steering wheel i think. All Tekna's will have the heated seats and steering wheel. Some people swear by it, but I haven't missed it to be honest and with the pre-heating you can do with the Leaf, the car is warm when you get in in the morning.

Mancomb Seepgood

Pauldub wrote: »

Thanks, very useful, im not sure if the car has a cold pack, its a 2016 acenta, should i pass it by if it doesnt?

The cold pack is nice to have,and as extras go it didn't cost a lot when I bought my Leaf.I certainly wouldn't class it as a deal-breaker though,the car will be fine without it.

NIMAN

Did similar myself last year, bought in Liverpool and ferry back from there to Belfast, then on to Donegal.

All the other advice here covers it all really.

What ferry are you getting and where are you heading to in Ireland once you disembark?

waynegalway

Pauldub wrote: »

Thanks, very useful, im not sure if the car has a cold pack, its a 2016 acenta, should i pass it by if it doesnt?

Cold pack isn’t a “must-have” on the Acenta, IMO. It makes more sense on the Tekna, where leather seats might be a tad cold to sit on in winter.

Do you know if it has the upgraded charger built-in? I’d consider that to be more of a deal breaker than not having cold pack.

cros13

The SV/Acenta comes with heated front seats as standard, the cold pack adds rear seat heating and heated steering wheel.

SVE/Tekna comes with everything that's in the cold pack anyway.

waynegalway

cros13 wrote: »

The SV/Acenta comes with heated front seats as standard.

Does it?

The place for heated seat buttons is blanked off on my Acenta.

DrPhilG

Heated seats of any kind are not standard on the Acenta as far as I know.

OP check if your ferry has a charger on board. Some do, some don't.

I was told mine did, it didn't. Cue a very nervous trip from Belfast Port to the nearest FCP!

KCross

cros13 wrote: »

The SV/Acenta comes with heated front seats as standard, the cold pack adds rear seat heating and heated steering wheel.

Im with the others on this one. I don't think heated front seats is standard in SV trim. The cold pack adds that and is standard on SVE trim.

waynegalway

KCross wrote: »

Im with the others on this one. I don't think heated front seats is standard in SV trim. The cold pack adds that and is standard on SVE trim.

I think you can get the CP as an extra on the SV, but that would be the full pack, not just front seats. Was there a model called Acenta "plus", or something like that, in the UK that might have had the CP as part of the deal?

goz83

cros13 wrote: »

The SV/Acenta comes with heated front seats as standard, the cold pack adds rear seat heating and heated steering wheel.

SVE/Tekna comes with everything that's in the cold pack anyway.

My Tekna has all the heated seats and steering wheel, but my Acenta (1st gen) doesn’t have any of that.

cros13

Huh... apologies... a misremembering on my part.

Pauldub

I am buying in Manchester and going through Holyhead, going to contact the ESB to try get a card, planning on getting the Dublin Swift, thanks for all the info, to be honest still a bit uncertain about going electric, but alot of people in here with good stories

mel.b

Here's my trip report.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=103883340

The Swift doesn't have a charger on board. However there is a fast charger at Holyhead port. It's right down the back past the Hertz rental office. You're getting a 30kwh same as me, however in the cooler weather you probably won't get quite as far, however my post will give you idea.

You won't regret it, I love my EV.

Pauldub

Great, thanks for this

Pauldub

Last question, has anyone used transfere wise to pay for the car?. Mel, whats the max km you have got from the car to date per charge

NIMAN

A final word of advice, there is a guide to the right of the dash display, beside the 12 power bars, which tries to estimate how many km/miles you have left.

Ignore this, it can scare you. It is continually recalculated, so if you have a section of climbing hills, and you have had to floor the accelerator more, it'll say you have less range.

Just drive it as conservatively as you can until you learn what's what. Easy on the accelerator is the best way to drive a Leaf if you want to get the best range.

waynegalway

NIMAN wrote: »

A final word of advice, there is a guide to the right of the dash display, beside the 12 power bars, which tries to estimate how many km/miles you have left.

Ignore this, it can scare you. It is continually recalculated, so if you have a section of climbing hills, and you have had to floor the accelerator more, it'll say you have less range.

Just drive it as conservatively as you can until you learn what's what. Easy on the accelerator is the best way to drive a Leaf if you want to get the best range.

Sound advice. I usually ignore the guess-o-meter too. I find that working off the battery percentage level is a better indicator. I work off 1% equals 1km. That's conservative, but it's not a bad guide to get started.

mel.b

Pauldub wrote: »

Last question, has anyone used transfere wise to pay for the car?. Mel, whats the max km you have got from the car to date per charge

In Summer i got 180km doing 80km on R roads and home with 10% left.

On the motorway in Sept heading to Dublin, 140km travelling at 110shown (actual speed is more like 100), arrived at athlone charge point with 19% left. Charged to 95%, got to the Clayton dublin airport with 20% left. The trip back seems to suck it more (must be hillier!) as both times i've left the airport/dublin with around 95% and got to athlone with under 10%. I wouldn't try that at this time of year.

I haven't done a lot of long trips in the colder weather. Longest is probably around 120km, mostly motorway in cold, raining, wet weather. Left ballinasloe with 94% charge, after the 120km was at around 10% iirc. That's the first time i've had to stop to charge when i wasn't expecting to need to...the weather really sucked the battery.

waynegalway

mel.b wrote: »

In Summer i got 180km doing 80km on R roads and home with 10% left.

On the motorway in Sept heading to Dublin, 140km travelling at 110shown (actual speed is more like 100), arrived at athlone charge point with 19% left. Charged to 95%, got to the Clayton dublin airport with 20% left. The trip back seems to suck it more (must be hillier!) as both times i've left the airport/dublin with around 95% and got to athlone with under 10%. I wouldn't try that at this time of year.

I haven't done a lot of long trips in the colder weather. Longest is probably around 120km, mostly motorway in cold, raining, wet weather. Left ballinasloe with 94% charge, after the 120km was at around 10% iirc. That's the first time i've had to stop to charge when i wasn't expecting to need to...the weather really sucked the battery.

Those are the figures for a 30kwh LEAF, I assume?

Has the OP said which battery size he’s getting?

mel.b

waynegalway wrote: »

Those are the figures for a 30kwh LEAF, I assume?

Has the OP said which battery size he’s getting?

Yes that’s for a 30kwh. I thought i had read that thr OP was getting a 30kwh as well, but now i can’t see it in the thread.

stesaurus

Pauldub wrote: »

Last question, has anyone used transfere wise to pay for the car?. Mel, whats the max km you have got from the car to date per charge

I used Revolut for the first time this week to pay for a car, collecting it in Friday. Normally I used to use CF but I found Revolut quicker and handier. What's good is that I've also left a balance on my physical Revolut card that I can use while in the UK to make sure I'm getting the best f/x while abroad.
No qualms with using CF by the way, I've done it in the past to pay for a car but overall just preffered Revolut. Either is fine.

Pauldub

Thanks for all the advice, reading other forums it mentions to make sure the sd card is present and that you can log into carwings, making sure the previous owners details are gone. Does anyone know how to make sure of this>?

waynegalway

Pauldub wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice, reading other forums it mentions to make sure the sd card is present and that you can log into carwings, making sure the previous owners details are gone. Does anyone know how to make sure of this>?

Just on Carwings: It doesn’t really matter. If the previous owner is known and they are willing to log out, then fair enough. But once the car is in your name and you send a scan of the log book to Nissan, they will reset it for you anyway. Takes about a week to get the log book, then 3-4 days to get the Carwings reset from Nissan.

Pauldub

Thanks for that

KCross

Pauldub wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice, reading other forums it mentions to make sure the sd card is present and that you can log into carwings, making sure the previous owners details are gone. Does anyone know how to make sure of this>?

It is important it has the SD card. It's behind the sat nav screen. Press the tilt button to open it and you should see it in the slot.

Pauldub

Hi all, is there anyway to tell if the charging cable is a 6/6kw, its a uk acenta oct 16 reg.

waynegalway

Pauldub wrote: »

Hi all, is there anyway to tell if the charging cable is a 6/6kw, its a uk acenta oct 16 reg.

Yep, the cable will have “32A” or “32amp” written on it somewhere.

Pauldub

Thanks.

Pauldub

Still a bit nervous about buying commute is 95 km return journey about three times weekly.

mel.b

Pauldub wrote: »

Still a bit nervous about buying commute is 95 km return journey about three times weekly.

Is it the 24kwh or 30kwh version you are looking at?

Pauldub

30, but has no cold pack

NIMAN

Pauldub wrote: »

Still a bit nervous about buying commute is 95 km return journey about three times weekly.

If its a 24kw you're buying, its going to be very tight.

30Kw, you'd be ok I think.

Pauldub

I believe itll still be a bit tight esp in winter.

waynegalway

Pauldub wrote: »

30, but has no cold pack

30 should be fine for a 95km trip. Having no cold pack won’t really make any difference to range, in real terms. Just preheat the car while it’s still plugged in before you leave home.

Pauldub

Thanks for all this

KCross

Pauldub wrote: »

I believe itll still be a bit tight esp in winter.

Why?
The 30kWh should manage it with ease all year round. See post 21 from mel.b above.

waynegalway

Pauldub wrote: »

I believe itll still be a bit tight esp in winter.

Nah, it should be fine. I’d get 95km in winter from my 24kWh LEAF. That’s mostly R roads plus a bit of town driving. If I was doing 120kmh on a motorway, well that’s a bit different.

mel.b

Pauldub wrote: »

30, but has no cold pack

I believe itll still be a bit tight esp in winter

I believe you'll be fine. As examples in the past couple of days in this horrible wet, cold weather yesterday I did 130ish kms with the heater and wipers going, regional roads and as I got home I was getting the low battery warning (13%), Today I did 90km, mixture of motorway and regional roads and got home with more than 20% left.

n97 mini

NIMAN wrote: »

Did similar myself last year, bought in Liverpool and ferry back from there to Belfast

Is there a ferry from Liverpool to Belfast? How long did that take?

NIMAN

n97 mini wrote: »

Is there a ferry from Liverpool to Belfast? How long did that take?

There is. Stenaline.

8hrs.

Pauldub

Hi all, I bought a leaf with the 30 KW battery, when charging git at ecotricity it stopped charging at 95 miles, is this right? thought the capacity was more

waynegalway

Pauldub wrote: »

Hi all, I bought a leaf with the 30 KW battery, when charging git at ecotricity it stopped charging at 95 miles, is this right? thought the capacity was more

I assume it stopped charging when it reached 100%??

The 95 mile indicator is just an estimate of the range, I wouldn't pay too much attention to it. You'll learn to ignore it after a while! The estimate is based in recent trips, so if you drive the arse out if for a couple of days, the estimate will go down. If you drive it nice and handy, you'll start to see the estimate go up.

mel.b

Pauldub wrote: »

Hi all, I bought a leaf with the 30 KW battery, when charging git at ecotricity it stopped charging at 95 miles, is this right? thought the capacity was more

I 'think' the ecotricity chargers only let you charge for 30mins? if you got 95miles, that's almost 160kms, so I'd say you got close to a full charge in that time - would need to know your starting and ending percentages.

I know when I brought back my 30kwh it was just before ecotricity changed their charging structure and I charged up from 8% to 93% in 43minutes. I can't remember what mileage was displayed on the GOM, but I don't take too much notice of that anyway.

Pauldub

Yes, it stopped at 95 miles, dealer had sent em a video of the car previously and it was 112 miles on that, so wondered was something a miss

mel.b

Pauldub wrote: »

Yes, it stopped at 95 miles, dealer had sent em a video of the car previously and it was 112 miles on that, so wondered was something a miss

What was the % at when it stopped?

Pauldub

Sorry I cant remember, long day driving, as you have done yourself.

mel.b

Pauldub wrote: »

Sorry I cant remember, long day driving, as you have done yourself.

I understand that! I only know because I made a post here about my trip! As others have said, don't pay too much attention to the GOM, it is the % display to watch. As an example, I got into the car the other morning and on a 100% charge it had the range as 156km. This was the lowest I'd ever seen it for a 100% charge which is why i remember. The morning wasn't that cold either so it seemed a bit strange. By the time I drove the 16km to work, the range was showing at 167km, even though I'd used 9% of the battery getting to work. Typically at this time of year with a 100% charge overnight and having had the heating on (I have mine on all the time at the moment) my range showing is anywhere between 180 - 200km, but I'm realistically getting 130-140km in winter.

DM1983

Hi all, I read somewhere on here about importing a Leaf from the UK but in this unusual case, the seller put it on the boat in Holyhead and the buyer took it off the boat in Dublin. I can't find it now. Does anyone know any more about this? What's involved from the ferry company's perspective?